New Beginnings

I’m not sure if you are like me or not, but every year it seems to take longer to get my bearings back after the holidays.

I like the new year. It reminds me of long past Septembers when going back to school meant a fresh start. New clothes, sharpened pencils and empty notebooks waiting to be filled with lessons and the always present doodles and butterflies flying over the pages.

Instead now, there are sheets of fresh, cold sterling silver, gold and also some new raw diamonds to add to the mix. My bench is clear and I have a million ideas in my head swirling like those butterflies on my pages. Which ones will land and open their wings, I wonder?

Looking back on the past year, I am so grateful for so many that made this creative journey possible. My ever supportive husband, my wonderful, encouraging friends who inspire me with their creativity and compassion and all of the people who purchased my jewellery and followed me online with their abundant enthusiasm. Thank you.

So…for the coming year, I have been busy working on a new website that will house all my work, where to find it and a shopping cart to purchase. I will be blogging more and hopefully it will be easier for potential clients to find me and me them. The new site will be up within the next two weeks and will have the web address: http://www.rebeccageoffrey.com, the same as before.

I look forward to all of our interactions this year!

Holiday Cheer

I know you must be somewhat like me throughout the holidays  and find yourself hardly catching your breath before you realize it’s almost over.

Myself and all my maker-friends have been bustling inside and outside their studios to bring everyone a handmade Christmas.

New designs are flying off the shelf with new and returning faces and I am happy to find myself connecting much more personally with my customers than before. My newer handmade and personalized work seems to have touched people’s imagination and I am so happy to be meeting so many of you that want their gift to mean something and touch someone’s heart.

I hope you are having as wonderful a time as I am during this crazy and sometimes overwhelming time of year.  Happy Holidays!

 

 

Holiday Open House

I hope you are stopping by the Heather Haynes Gallery in Kingston this weekend ( November 21 and 22) for their Holiday Open House.

Along with the most incredible art by Heather Heather Haynes and hip Jewellery by Whitney Haynes, I have created a bunch of little fingerprint pendants that will be on sale to benefit the Tchukudu women and children of the Congo. You can read about and follow here: Worlds Collide

Each little pendant is made from an actual fingerprint of one of the women in the Training School and 100% of the proceeds go to helping the Tchukudu women and children through Worlds Worlds Collide.

What a great weekend to see the new tree in Market Square and  do a little Christmas shopping!

 

And last but not least, The Tchukudu Women’s Training Center calendars are on sale for $20 at the gallery as well as through me in the upcoming weeks (p.s. I think I’m Miss January! lol!!).

In the mood

The holiday season is looming and the busiest time for a working metalsmith. These past few weeks have been filled with sawing, soldering, forging and guilding.

I was contemplating today, how lucky I am to be able to play out different moods with my work. Sometimes I like bright and modern, other times cool and minimalistic. This past week brought out the moody, mysterious work once again and how satisfying it was to revisit these elements that are rough and textured, yet refined with a delicious touch of decadent gold to bring out the light  from the shadows. How lucky am I?

All of this work and then some, is heading to Artina’s in Victoria and also Metalworks Metalworks Goldsmithing here in Kingston.

 

 

New Series Part 2

Here are some of the new pieces that emerged from the previous etching. I am very happy with the results. Every experiment does not work out as one hopes and I have a large scrap pile to prove it! I think I will continue with this line for a long time to come.

The etch on this bracelet and earrings is from a picture I took of some trees. I love how the image translates to the silver. Captured in time.

 

New Series

Of course, because my excitement gets the better of me, I couldn’t wait
to show you the new series I am working on which involves two of my other favorite hobbies, painting  and photography.
I have taken photographs of my paintings and nature and added them to my silver via the etching process. Definitely a less structured and more
spontaneous creation which makes me very happy.

I had the privilege of making a pendant, actually three pendants for the lovely Rebecca Harrison this past week. She had her newborn son’s footprints etched onto a pendant and his date of birth onto another. The third pendant of his handprint is yet to come because it is really difficult to get an infant to open up their little fists completely. Hopefully at about six months we can do this.

Now off to do some production for the amazing three galleries that carry my work. Not much time left before Christmas!

Metalworks Kingston

Fireworks Halifax

Artina’s Victoria

Ladybug Visit

I always like to have visitors in my studio but didn’t expect this little lady today! She kept flying through my soldering area and I had to move her out of the way. Didn’t want to get her wings singed!

Day Off

 

Not a lot of jewellery making happening today but I was luck enough to travel to Prince Edward County with my hubby, Scott to catch a last bittersweet glimpse of the Autumn colours.

It was a blustery day, so there was plenty of wave action going on – my favorite kind of day!

 

 

Hello Again!

I am back in the blog writing business and hope to stay for awhile this time.

For the past few years I have been happily honing my skills and trying to be a much better metalsmith. Here, on this blog, I will be updating you with my new work and where to find it, upcoming shows and events and just a little peek into the ultra-glamorous life of a jewellery maker.

I am also an aspiring weekend painter and will be posting pics of some of my creations. Please be kind…I am just starting ;o)

Recently, I have created a new line of fingerprint jewellery. It has been very well received and I hope to promote it more. Included in the collection is a variety of wedding rings, pendants and bracelets. Each piece is custom and very personal.

I hope you join me on this artful journey and comment wherever you like. I want this blog to be as interactive as possible with lots of discussion, questions and hopefully a few answers as well!