Kathryn Rebecca - latest addition to Jewel Envy :)

Hello,
My name is Kathryn Rebecca.
I recently had the pleasure of joining Jewel Envy Studio. I graduated from George Brown College in 2007 and have since been working in the industry.

I am so excited to finally be a part of a studio and creating items for my new collection.  This new collection is inspired by the beauty of Muskoka and the urban landscpape of Toronto. I have been working hard to complete the collection for fall 2010. This collection first began with the piece below. It was one of the last projects I did while studying at George Brown College.

I loved creating this piece which has inspired me to develop more pieces in the same type of style.

I look foward to sharing my progress with you!


*Kathryn

Please allow me to introduce myself.....

(i bet your singing the sympathy for the devil song..woo hoo, woo hoo)
(well, if you weren't you are now! hehe)

Hi, my name is Sarah.I have recently moved back to Toronto after a five year hiatus. I discovered jewel envy studio while still in Ibiza, met with Gillian just three days after arriving and have been happily working away ever since.

I am currently developing my magic mushroom line (its really colourful and fun) as well as my chocolate chip cookie line.

You can check out my jewellery at www.sarahdegasperis.com
or at the jewel envy website.

ciaoooo

The beginning of an envious experience

There are times when after beginning a jewellery project — a ring, for example — I find it taking on a form of its own choosing. The ring I had carefully designed urges me to bring it to life as a pendant. The earrings I had planned soon morph into a ring, while the cufflinks I had imagined, unhappy at the prospect of spending quiet and subtle lives at the end of a sleeve, beg me to let them flirt, prominently dangled from an earlobe instead.

And so it is with life. When I joined the Jewel Envy studio back in October, I had no firm idea of what I would be getting myself into. I had recently returned to Canada after spending a couple of years taking an intensive jewellery-making course in my native Korea. Initially I thought that I would simply rent a bench in Toronto and work very much alone. Little did I realize that in finding Jewel Envy I had stumbled upon a highly creative and supportive setting in which I would be able to learn and grow as a jeweller. Now that I’m here, I’m comfortable. I can ask questions about certain techniques and there is always someone who knows the answer. We collaborate and plan ways of promoting our work as a group. Yes, I rent a bench, but at the same time, I feel that this is MY studio. It’s hard to believe, but I’ve already been part of Jewel Envy for six months. I have the feeling that the next six months are going to be even more creative and fulfilling than the first six!

Young Kyoung Ko

Intro Fabrication Class

Hello all ~ First of all, I want to thank my students, Monika and Ann learning patiently with me in 8 weeks intro-fabrication class. Jewellery fabrication require lots of patient and focus. There are lots of details we need to be aware of while making our own jewellery. It may sounds a little too much, but NO!!! You guys did it so well! I am very proud of you guys whom conquered all difficulties.
Here are my students final projects. They chose to do bangle. It is interesting to see how they come up with different design with characteristic of their own.

Work by Ann Hart
Ann decided to use saw and piercing technique to create a sense of negative and positive surface. Her inspiration was came from her last name, " Heart"/ Hart. It is her symbolic sign to her, and she is also a very passionate lady!
Good Job!

Work by Monika Weber
Monika applied many techniques that she learned in classes. There are saw and piercing, riveting and soldering. She created depth while riveting brass circles on top of sterling silver bangle. Circles are in different sizes to show an excitement of 2D surface.
Great Work!





The next intro-fabrication has started. I am very excited to see what works they will come up with.
to be continued.......

ChiaChien Tsai

Cloisonne

This week I finish up the first 8 week session of Intro Enameling. The last two weeks the students learned how to do cloisonne, the technique of inlaying and packing enamel around thin silver or copper wires. Most people would be most familiar with this technique on vases and beads, the result is beautiful and intricate, resembling stained glass.

As usual, great results!  This raindrop pendant (above) was made by Sonia Ho. Below is a reed pendant by Amanda DelaCruz. It is worth checking out Amanda's blog as well, she has great photos of the cloisonne process.

Upcoming classes are scheduled for the following dates:

8 Week Intro/Intermediate Enameling, starts Thursday, March 25 6:30pm to 9:30pm

1 Day Enamel Workshop (Pendant and Earrings) Sunday March 21, 10am to 6pm

Send the studio an email if you are interested! info@jewelenvy.ca or call 647.436.6709

This is a brief blog entry in comparison, but I must get back to work! 

Remember you may become a fan of Emily Gill Jewellery Design on Facebook, or join the group.

Hopefully it stops raining soon...................

- Emily

www.emilygill.ca

Tuscon Gem Show and the most AMAZING thing I saw

I would have to say it was the Morganite and the White Gold Alchemy Singing bowls.

The Morganite bowl emitted such a high frequency that interwove itself so well I could barely hear it. The lady who showed them to me started laughing when I choose to play bowls with such high frequencies. She said "Not just anyone can work with frequencies that high but I always find it's the leaders on this earth who are drawn to these bowls"

I have been familiar with Tibetan Singing bowls for years but to see them mixed in with gemstones and precious metals was a dream come true.

What's a gemstone singing bowl? Let's go back further, what's a frequency?

Everything on Earth has its own frequency. Science has already proven this. A frequency is simply the speed at which something vibrates. Everything vibrates! The measurement for frequency is called "hertz" which is simply the number of cycles per second. 

The bowls emit a powerful, pure resonance. The larger bowls reverberate more, with the tone lingering longer. This happens because of the size and amount of crystal. The size of the bowl does not necessarily determine its note, although the larger bowls have lower octaves and notes. Each bowl is tested with digital technology to identify its sound. One will have a sense of which tone "feels" most right with individual needs or desires.

One of the bowls primary uses are for sound healing. When an organ or body part is healthy, it creates a natural resonant frequency in harmony with the rest of the body. When the vibration of a part of the body is out of harmony, we have dis-ease. With dis-ease, a different sound pattern is established in the affected part of the body. Car manufacturers also use this technology to locate and then figure out how to correct internal problems. It is also used in music more than you realize.

You can check it out for yourself http://www.crystalsingingbowls.com/

or listen to it  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FLVJgMa3xtk 

One day I would love to play around with metal alloys and create a new one that would be made to create custom cymbals for drummers besides the usual brass alloys. We all love the sound of steel drums so I want to take it a step further..with GOLD and other metals. 

Enjoy the beautiful Day I'm heading out on my bike to the studio!

Quincy Rae

Quincy Jewels and; Design

Flocked! with turquoise interlude

Ciao!
 I promised to post pictures with flocking and now I am here to deliver.  I have to be honest - right now my brain is full of mush since I have spent a lot of my time worrying about my application to the Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition.  Now to wait for a reply... and back to why I originally was here to post (geez, I'm so easily distracted).  Story time.  I bought three pieces of turquoise back in 2004 on a trip to New Mexico with my dad.  On the plane ride there I found $40 next to the buckle of my seat belt on the airplane and I used that money in a casino that night and won all my spending money for the trip (woohoo!)  My dad and I ended up going to every Museum and Gallery that exists is Albuquerque and Sante Fe (I was obsessed with Georgia O'Keefe in high school, so I was basically in hog heaven).  While at the Turquoise Museum  I spent a half hour choosing from a collection and ended up with three pieces.  The others I used fairly quickly.  

The first I used to create a wave necklace.

Then I decided since it was such a memorable trip for me that I should keep a piece of turquoise for myself and I created this ring. 

Then the last piece of turquoise sat in a cupboard for a long time. Until a few weeks ago when the idea for this piece popped into my brain and I was so excited to finish making it.

It is interesting to note that the first and last pieces of turquoise pictured are both from the same mine (now exhausted called "Number 8" in Nevada).  

My work is continually influenced by how people attach memories to objects and trying to objectify memories.  I am so happy with how this brooch came out.  Lastly, since this post was originally supposed to be about flocking (holy turquoise tangent batman) I should point out that the bright blue and cream area of the piece is flocked!