re-maker: blog hop

Thursday, February 28, 2013

The Challenge of Music

Welcome to the Challenge of Music blog hop

hosted by Erin Prais-Hintz!

We were challenged to find a piece of instrumental music that spoke to our soul. The goal was to find a piece without any choral accompaniment, so that we had the freedom to interpret the colors, textures, shapes, movements or images that it evokes.

I knew immediately that I wanted to use

Rhapsody in Blue by George Gershwin.

This song has always been one of my favorites. Even back in the 80's when I was sporting a paper white mohawk and dancing to imported industrial vinyl, it spoke to me.

It makes me think of New York and Chicago in the 1920's when steel was king and we were a hopeful, industrious nation.

My goal with this piece was to give it a retro industrial art deco kind of feel. I love to work with steel wire so I fashioned steel beams that are connected by copper rivets. These rivets allow the rigid steel beams to have movement. I chose to frame a beautiful vintage Russian stamp that has an amazing industrial deco image from 1970. The pendant is allowed to move across its' beam via a bail crafted from a link of steel bicycle chain.

close~ up of pendant

When I was two years old my Mom, Dad, Grandmother (aka Great-mother!) and I drove to New York for the 1964 World's Fair. I have a few remembrances of this trip to New York. I remember the elevated train tracks in Brooklyn (apparently, we got lost), the Ford Magic Skyway and the Unisphere. So, it seemed appropriate to add a vintage teal carnival token to the back of the pendant.

close-up of the back ~ a vintage carnival ticket

The necklace is finished with linked chain and a clasp that are
hand-crafted from steel and copper wire.

I can't wait to see & hear what inspires everyone else!

Michelle Bourbonniere

***Pam Farren***

Images & Text © re-maker

Saturday, June 9, 2012

Alice in Wonderland Blog Hop and
A Give-Away!

Off with her head!

"I'm late! I'm late!

For a very important date!

No time to say hello, goodbye!

I'm late! I'm late! I'm late!"

Today is the blog hop for Alice in Wonderland hosted by

Stacie Louise. I didn't complete my piece in time to get in on the hop, but wanted to show you what I came up with anyway!

The challenge was to create a piece of jewelry inspired by

Alice in Wonderland. It's a wonderfully imaginative story that offers lots in the way of inspiration! An additional requirement was that

at least 50% of the piece had to be handmade.

As I was pounding some well worn silverware into garden markers for the upcoming Vintage Bazaar I noticed a few pieces with a great rose pattern and decided that I would choose the Queen of Hearts!

I used the spoon on the right to create a toggle. The bar is cut from the stem of the same spoon into a scepter and arrow. Messy work, but well worth the effort. I think it came out great!