Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Quest for the Perfect Ear

Hi all,

Look at this, would you, Fanci and Tribalis.  Shorter (we'll see) and oftener (kind of).

Still working on the fewer words.....so I shall dispense with my usual fluff and get to it.

I've been trying to make or find the perfect ear display so that I can list some of my earrings that need to be displayed as they look when worn.  So first I tried to cast one in resin.  In an ear mold.  Well, you all know how much I love the resin.  Pure unadulterated clear resin.  That, I thought will be the perfect display!  But it wouldn't come out of the mold.  There's no way, I forgot to spray the mold with mold release, I said to myself.  I always remember the mold release, I also said to moi, as I'm in the habit of talking to myself.  Hmmm except that maybe this one time I forgot.  So I tried it again



I definately used the mold release this time, but still it wouldn't release from the mold.  So I shelved my idea of a crystal clear ear.  Wouldn't it have been perfect?  I then used the ear mold and sculpy and came up with this



Which I used in some of my listings.  Until I was told by a helpful friend that it looked like a decaying ear that the skin was falling off of.  Really?  It's not that bad.  Then the hunt was on.  I found these lovely ear displays at ringringring and bought two.




I promptly drilled a hole in the lobe and painted a small canvas background to affix the ear to.  All seems a go at this point.  Then I realize that the wonderful pliable material that the ear is made of doesn't want to stick to the Velcro.  Which would have allowed me to move the ear around on the canvas depending on the length and style of the earring.  Great plan right?  hahaha  You know what they say about best laid plans.  It kept falling off.  So to make it work, I have to lean the canvas at an angle and take pictures really fast before gravity pulls the ear down.  And that wonderful pliable material is also a magnet for everything.  Everything sticks to it!  Everything!  I didn't even know my black sweater had lint until I wore it when using my new ear display.  You'll see the black lint encrusted ear in some of my listing photos. Those will be the photos with what looks like a really dirty ear, but you'll know it's merely the illusion of encrusted dirt. So while this is the best ear display I've found, the quest continues.



See how fresh and pretty the white ear display looks here?  Remember that and please pretend that's how it looks when you see it in my listings, ok?
Now I can list these delicate earrings that you haven't seen before.  I know, I know.  What am I doing making delicate earrings?  They are as unexpected as this guy was when you saw him for the first time way back when.  But now, a leucistic alligator doesn't surprise you at all, does it?


Pretty soon this will be the sort of earring you'll all be expecting me to make ....

Teeny tiny black keishi pearls.  These are the sexiest earrings I've ever worn.  Well, not this exact pair, I haven't worn these earrings.  I've worn the pair I made for myself because I loved how these turned out.

or maybe these




Simple etched copper discs on a long sleek sterling silver earwire.  Perfect for everyday activities.  You know, when your ears feel naked if you have no earrings on.  Simple enough for that quick run to the store.  Or a quick lunch with friends.  Or shopping with your significant other on Saturday afternoon. Or....... yeah I can go on and on.  Not doing so good on the fewer words, am I?




Faceted smoky quartz on a swirled sterling earwire. You can see the swirl in the shadow on the canvas.   I know, I know, these simple earrings are quite a departure from my usual "party on your ears" earrings.

You might have already seen these in my etsy store  but now you can see how they actually look when worn








Yikes! fanci is so right.  Some of my photos aren't crisp enough to see the details.  Any of you camera buffs have any tips for me?  I obviously could use a few.







now, isn't that better?  I'm talking about the ear display, obviously not the photo quality.  One thing at a time. 

Lest you wonder what's up with the minimalist earrings, I still make things like this






Amphoras for your ears!


Roller printed copper with verdigris patina and ametrine crystals.




Rainbow Cal Silica and assorted other lovelies adorning a soldered wire bracelet.





Medalion with verdigris and carved copper beads with polished agate beads.




I haven't named this one yet.     There are earrings and a bracelet that look pretty nice with it.



Well if this is going to be shorter  (what you've asked for), I better move it along, cuz I wouldn't want to disappoint any of you with too many photos or words. (what I do)  If by chance the few photos in this post didn't have enough of my usual visual pizazz, just go back one post and check out the surprise that was unveiled there.  Lots of visual, lots of surprise!

I want to sincerely thank the following ladies for awarding me


Award!

Thank you!







~The rules of the award require me to thank those who nominated me.  Done.

~They also require me to tell you 7 things about myself.  Coming up next.


1. I love old monster movies.  The Creature from The Black Lagoon is my all time favorite.

2. My favorite color is Venetian blue.  Otherwise known as Tiffany blue.  More commonly known as light aqua.

3. I was born and raised in Colorado. I miss it very much.

4. I have no sense of direction.  This comes from being raised in Colorado.  The mountains were always to my West.  It's hard to get lost with mountains looming over your westernmost shoulder.  Then I moved to Florida and well, I've been lost ever sense.

5.  I  hate to cook but love good food. 

6.  I love ocean fishing at night. Off a pier.  Because you never know what you'll pull out of the inky darkness.  I catch and release.  I just want to see what's living down there.

7.  My husband's and my first date was canoeing.  In Florida. With alligators.  Which explains why I am rather fond of posting alligator pictures every chance I get.


~Finally, I am required to nominate 15 additional blogs and notify them that I have done so.  The official rules suggest this award should go to an excellent blog, which the 15 below named ones definately are. 
 Are you asking yourselves like I am right now, why am I on this list?  Things to ponder, eh?



















So in your opinions, was I successful with keeping this shorter or less wordy?  You can't hold the blogger award words against me, you know. 

Here's a cliffhanger for you, because now I feel obligated to leave you hanging after Melinda's last comment.   And I don't think she was referring to the Ned diorama.  Her comment about cliffhangers, you guys!  Of course there was some discussion about Ned actually hanging off a cliff, wasn't there?  Anyway....
Do you want me to tell you about the skeleton tour?  Kathy thinks I should share that with you.  It happened on our rockhounding/fossil trip out West.  While we were actually out rockhounding.  But I'm not sure if you delicate types can take it.  We're talking real skeletons. I'm not making this up.  so let's test out how much scary you can take............


I'm not making these up either!
what you have here, my friends, are featherless chickens.  Looks to me like a featherless chicken and a featherless rooster.  As with all things baby, I'm betting that even featherless baby chicks are adorable.



Ba-bye  (Creole)











29 comments:

  1. You're definitely a winner with all those nominations. i have to admit I saw the comment above mine awarding you but quickly pretended I didn't see it and there's a few on your list hat just already got awarded. It's like a big appreciation circle, what fun!
    Those Earphoras are so cool!
    xoxo Kim

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    1. Aww thanks Kim. I really appreciate that you think my newbie blogging skills are worth nominating. I am honestly amazed but very appreciative.

      Love that you've named the earphoras! Hope you won't mind that I used it in my listing description! Of course, I credited you for the great idea.

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  2. HI there, thank you so much for your nomination! Love your blog, the chickens kind of grossed me out, being a vegetarian! Your work is wonderful, and the ear display is really cool!! Take care. Riki

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    1. Thanks Riki! Your blog is wonderful and definately deserves the nomination. These chickens are the equivilant of a hairless cat, aren't they? I kind of don't want to look but can't turn away either. hahaha

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  3. Ha,ha,ha.. you will get there! Today you did some improvement. Anyway, I love your loooooooooooooooong post! Just kidding. Leave this for me that am not a non native American speaker ok? You can read my whole posts while I blink my eyes..
    About the display..I like it. I think that is a good idea have a display.
    My display looks like a very stuck up woman, but so I tried to make her more humble with collage.:)
    Congrats for all your attempts..

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    1. Thanks Deb! I wasn't sure how you would feel about being nominated but even without alot of dialogue, your blog is a delight. You're making me wish I could read Spanish!

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  4. Congratulations on being awarded - was that 4 times?!! Well, you deserve it - your posts are very entertaining. Thank you for mentioning me in your list - I curtsy here and relinquish the prize... ;)

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    1. Yes, 4! go figure, eh? How kind of you. Of course I mentioned you. You're one of the most supportive, encouraging people to those of us just starting out with blogging. I sure appreciate all of your kind comments- thank you!

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  5. After all your stressing about my nomination, I feel ok now that you had three others besides. Woohoo!! You don't get four nominations because there's something wrong with your blog, do you now??
    All that beautiful new work!! I'm with Kim and those Earphoras - Ha, what a great name for them!!I love the spiral ones too, and that big chunky cuff is wonderful. I love your 'ear parties' too though!!
    Eeeeugh, that sculpy ear gave me the creeps!! Lifelike is not always best!!Shame you couldn't get the resin idea to work, - I'm sure there must be way, although the slipping down,white one looks very pretty!
    Oh, those poor chickens - I hope they live somewhere warm.
    Great first date, but how did you get the alligators to stay in the canoe??

    xoxoxox

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    1. hahaha again you have me laughing out loud. The alligators prefer to run alongside the canoe. Very entertaining. Picture a jogger with their dog, now, insert water, lots of great big teeth and a skinny little boat. Doesn't that sound like fun?
      Thank you for the confidence you have in my blogging skills. Of course you (and fanci) have provided me with so many tips and pointers. couldn't have done it without you. So really, this nomination boomerangs right back at you!
      Gross chickens and creepy ears, why is it you guys read this blog?

      Delete
  6. I love those spiral black earring s:) They';re my fave outta this batch.. although those little keishi pearl flowers are cute.

    Idea for the ear display.
    You don't show the entire ear in your photos, just the lower half, right? So what about using some contact cement to glue a loop of yarn on the back, then attach some buttons to the top half of your canvas. You can move the loop to whichever button is the right height for your earrings to dangle beneath the ear. You won't see the loop or the buttons in your shots since they'll be behind and above the ear. If you think the yarn is too bulky and will make the ear stick out to far, just some nice strong beading thread ( i have no idea how heavy your ear is ;) )

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    1. Skye, that is an excellent idea- thank you! I wouldn't have thought of that. Will let you know how it works. Really appreciate the suggestion. I think you've solved my problem. Yay you!

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  7. i give you so much credit for working so hard to come up with a good earring display... seriously! i end up using a wire display i got on etsy with a simple background... tips? go to the shops you love to look at and see what they are doing... also - i use mid-morning and late afternoon light... but for me, the evolution has moved towards simplicity...
    the jewelry is really fabulous - i love so many of the earrings...
    and thank you so very very much for the nomination - i am honored...

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    1. Welcome mairedodd, Thank you for the lovely compliments! I'm a big fan of your work, so that means alot. You can see that I do have some major prop love going on in my photos, eh? Yes, simple backgrounds would probably make my photography sessions so much easier. Great suggestion-thank you!

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  8. OK I actually had my hand up because I thought your post title meant you wanted a real live ear model! So now I'm a bit bummed to know you just wanted a mold.

    I love all your earrings, and have learned my lesson to expect the unexpected here--including dainty earrings(which I love) and pink featherless chickens.

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    1. hahahaha you can be my earring model anytime!
      Thank you, what nice things to say! Now I feel all warm and fuzzy (unlike those chickens).

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  9. Thanks so much for thinking about me and giving me an award. I give a deep bow and relinquish the award...but I am chuffed you gave it to me.
    I shoot all pics early morning light...simple background, Delete all your out of focus pictures right away.
    Why show a map behind your earrings? I end up looking at the map. You want your focus to be on the piece right?
    I think a background should just be to add perspective to the piece.

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    1. You're very welcome.
      What do you mean delete my out of focus pictures? All of my photos are out of focus. I think that's the problem. I have the little tripod. Do I use the little tripod? Um, no, I don't. Which I guess may be the explanation for the plethora of out of focus pictures.
      Thanks for the suggestions- appreciate it.

      Delete
  10. Beautiful work, as always... I'm in love with that bracelet... and hey, I love the long blogs. I'm always kinda sad when I come to the last photo and have to wait until next time... but that's just me. My husband wants to send me to "on-and-on-anon." Sigh.
    I am however left with one question... whose ear did you use for a mold in the first place? (That's a real question... I really do want to know.)
    XOXO

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    1. Oh good! One person who isn't put into a blog coma with my chatter. Thanks Melinda! So it's not the last photo itself that makes you sad?
      The real answer is............it's a candy mold. Not made for resin use, which it would seem is the underlying issue. My non-chemist-type mind doesn't see why it isn't working. I mean, I used mold release after all.
      shhhhhhh don't tell my husband about "on-and-on-anon"

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  11. Are there fries with those drumsticks............or mashed taters and yummy gravy? I am loving more frequent posts! I find myself checking daily to see if you have visited and shared words and pics. Don't ya think that Petra could make an ear with a hole that would work for showing how the earrings look when worn? That should be a project! Yes, it should! Oh, was that a salty comment I just heard from across the pond..............I bet if you asked she would give it a try.

    three cups and done,
    Sue

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    1. Ya know, I do think Petra could AND SHOULD make me an ear display. Excellent idea. Petra are you listening? Isn't that a great idea? (Thanks Coffeefreek, I'll slip ya that $20 later.)
      How disappointing for you, I mean either way. If I have posted or if I haven't posted that day. No seriously, you check every day?! Wow! That leaves me rather speechless. And after taking a couple of my classes, you know how infrequent that occurrance is! :)
      Thanks so much!

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  12. Now that's what I call oven ready chickens. I have the same problems with earrings and I just hang them of a lantern that I have, but I would love to get a mannequin. Love the lightness of the earrings and especially like the big copper medallion.

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    1. Thanks 13! I'm really happy with how the medallion turned out. But then any time I can hammer on metal, I tend to love the results.
      I'm going to go check out your lantern earring prop. I find earrings are the hardest to photograph. The nice thing about the white ear is that it's flexable so the twisty earrings are easy to insert as they would be on actual ear. Just in case you're looking for a flexable ear display.

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  13. dude. i was so enthralled by the ears then the glorious earrings and then... i haven't been able to get my jaw off the ground from seeing those poor chickens! oh dear lord. and so red. arent they freezing? ugh....
    all your ears look awesome by the way. what's wrong with those clear ones? i just hang mine off a piece of metal stand thing i found somewhere. now im feeling i should up my game some. the white one is gorgeous. tho i really liked the flesh one, too! damn. you should have an ear giveaway. they're gorgeous, really. im going to ringdings now.
    awesome post. still chocked with eyecandy and your firecracker spirit.

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    1. aww fanci. Thanks for the nice compliments. The resin is stuck in the clear molds. Permanently, I think. An ear giveaway? That's hilarious. So it's the decaying flesh one you want eh? I think that can be arranged.
      fanci gently suggested that my earrings might show up clearer in my photos if I adjusted my camera settings, but me being me, which means being extremely tech-challenged doesn't quite know exactly what to adjust them to. or how to do it. and yes, cameras do qualify as a technical tool. So, you guys might have to continue to put up with my out-of-focus photos. sorry bout that.

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  14. Hilarious ear post. Too funny. And more gorgeous earrings! But those chickens are freaking me out.

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    1. Thank you Lela! Your kind words are much appreciated. I think I had better stick to less freaky animal shots from now on, eh?

      Delete

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