New Studio Sign

Friday was an exciting day at the new studio as both of the signs were installed!

The other is at eye level and is a QR code you can scan to take you to the website.

We are getting close to moving time so stay tuned for details!

inspiring art education

 I  completed the three-year post secondary visual arts program at Central Tech Art Centre.
This year The Art Centre is celebrating "50 years of inspiring art education". Therefore one of my sculputers will be included in the show.
Check it out if you are in the neighborhood.
 www/ctsartcentre.ca

Fall/Winter 2012 - KR

Last time I blogged I shared with you a few of the gemstones I had purchased for my fall/winter collection.

I am very excited to now share a few of the pieces I made with those lovely stones!

10k yellow gold, rose cut citrine and small garnet set on side.

Sterling silver, labradorite and smoky quartz.

The rest of these items will be up shortly at kathrynrebecca.com  

Hope you are enjoying this beautiful season... 

*Kathryn Rebecca

More Student Work

Here at the studio we have been getting our usual calls about upcoming class availability.  I am currently teaching the last 8 week class that will be held at our present location on Spadina before making our big move into the new space in Roncesvalle.  Fortunately, we have been receiving enough interest to continue listing our one day workshops on Saturdays up until we move.  If you are at all interested do not hesitate to sign up!  

The class that I am teaching is the 8 week Intermediate Fabrication Class, and it also includes a student taking on advanced jewellery making projects.  Each student in the class has come up with challenging projects, using the demos of the class to their utmost potential.  Check out some of their creations.            -Alexis 

Monika Weber's hollow constructed pendant.

Erin Noh's pierced and dapped pendant.

Joanna Savvaidis' pieced, formed and wirework cuff.

Joanna Savvaidis' bezel set faceted gem ring (Joanna's been a busy bee!)

 

   

Corporate Class with City Orthodontics

This past August Jewel Envy had the pleasure of holding a team building fun day for City Orthodontics. Eleven people working in all areas of the clinic came in to learn how to make a piece of jewellery.

Jewellery and dentistry have quite a lot in common and many of the skills are transferable. We use many of the same tools and both fields have a passion for tiny but important details.

When the City Orthodontics group showed up you could see their eye light up with recognition the moment they saw the display of tools for their class were in fact common items in a clinic. The dentists drill is called a flexshaft in the jewellery studio and we use re-purposed dental tools for carving tools.

Kathryn Rebecca and I taught the group how to carve cuttlefish, which is the bone of a sea animal, and cast precious metal into the cavity created. Everyone had the option of making either a pendant or key-chain and the group came up with a variety of designs.

A lot more goes into making jewellery than is generally expected without any experience so I think after a few hours the group had a new found appreciation for hand made work!

Below are finished pieces. They are all turned out exceptionally well and we hope the group had as much fun in the class as we had teaching them.

If you would like more information about special classes for your group please let us know and we can design an event just for you!

Happy jewellery making!

Gillian

My First Blog Post!

Hello Jewel Envy Fans!

I am Theresa, a recent graduate from OCAD University and a former summer intern at Jewel Envy! I am excited being a new member and moving with the team to the new location!

I hope you all had a great long weekend. Mine was rather exciting, accidentally running into the Heritage Antique Show in Centerpoint Mall! There were many vendors with antique jewellery and home decor but something that really caught my eye was this grouse bird foot brooch with amethyst and citrine stone settings in 15k gold!

Even birds need a ring!

And check out the filigree work in this miniature table setting!

Until next time,
Theresa

P.S. Come say hello to me at the Queen West Art Crawl this year on September 15-16 booth H8!

Cerussite

The Royal Ontario Museum houses the world’s largest faceted specimen of a mineral called Cerussite. Cerussite, from the Latin “white lead”, is a lead carbonate mineral with the chemical formula PbCO₃. 

Cerussite is especially interesting to jewelers and gem enthusiasts because of its extreme dispersion or fire. Dispersion is a gem’s ability to split light into prismatic colours. The desirable sparkle and flash a diamond displays is nothing compared to the vibrant dispersion of Cerussite. 

Diamond lovers can rest easy knowing that fragile Cerussite will never become the gem of choice despite its colour and flash. Besides only having a mohs hardness between 3 and 3.5 (quite soft!), Cerussite is very sensitive to heat and vibration. The specimen of Cerussite on display at the ROM is called the “Light of the Desert”, and weighs an astounding 898 carats and is approximately four times the size of the next largest faceted specimen. Considering how fragile Cerussite is, the “Light of the Desert” is an amazing feat of gemstone faceting.