Tide pools was this month's theme, chosen by our blog hostess Erin, who posted the following illustration as inspiration for this challenge.
The Inspiration
Living here on the beautiful Oregon coast, tide pools are a constant inspiration for me. To really do this right, my husband and I decided to have an adventure in Oceanside, a beach south of where we live. Though it was 90 degrees in Portland on this day, it was foggy, cool, and windy on the beach. Since there was a minus tide, we could hike to remote parts of the beach usually inaccessible. For example, waves usually crash up on this rock outcropping (below). On this day, however, we could just walk around it. Cool!
This is a view of the sea stacks, with countless tide pools.
The tide pools are full of fascinating life - barnacles, mussels, urchins, starfish, anemones, and kelp.
The sand is home to so many treasures - agates, jasper, shells, and sand diollars - that we had to remind ourselves to look up. When we did, we were dwarfed by the sea stacks towering above us.
We made quite a nice haul of shells and rocks. Lots of beautiful agates.
The creative process for me: chaos. Always.
The Earrings
* This month's experiment in photography staging involved some new locations and props - a piece of driftwood, sand, and shells on the beach.
I was on fire these past two weeks! So many earrings to share. I'll limit my text and let the photos do the talking.
I was determined to make something organic and asymmetrical. Took some thought but very satisfying when it works.
Tiny pieces of beach driftwood wrapped in oxidized copper wire.
Beach agates caged in gunmetal wire.
Beach agates caged in oxidized copper wire.
(This picture below better captures the color of these earrings. Looking at it now, I realize that one of the caged pieces is a shell, and the other is an agate.)
These links were repurposed from one of my mom's necklaces.
The soft blues in the sky and water and the greens of anemones. Matte amazonite is one of my favorite gemstones.
Last, some brass starfish charms I picked up in a local vintage shop and patinated. Cute and whimsical.
Thanks for joining me on this trip to the beach, and, as always, thank you Erin for the best inspiration ever. To see the tide pool earrings created by other jewelry artists, Click Here.
First your photos of the coast are awesome! I can't wait to have my husband retire so we can make a trip up that west coast. You really were on fire, these are all gorgeous earrings. I especially love the repurposed sand dollar links and the driftwood earrings. Have an awesome day!
ReplyDeleteThank you! Oh, yes. Do swing by the Oregon coast when you are enjoying retired life. There is so much to experience here. Endless natural beauty. Paradise!
Deletethat beach is gorgeous! love the earrings you made from your finds as well. I am way overdue for a beachcombing adventure
ReplyDeleteThanks, Staci. You make so many cool beachy components and utilize them so beautifully in your creations. I would have guessed you were a regular beachcomber. :) I have you to thank for getting a feel for asymmetry. I actually looked at your work and blog posts for tips on how to achieve a pleasing asymmetrical balance. Thank you so much for your constant inspiration and your kind words.
DeleteAwesome! Not only the earring creations but the additional tide pool photos! Really like the asymmetrical looks you were going for....especially in the first pair. Wow!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Terri. This was a grand adventure both on the beach and in the studio. I am planning to challenge myself to create ONLY asymmetrical stuff for a while to really get the hang of it.
DeleteHow lucky you are to have such natural beauty and inspiration so close. Your photos make me want to hop a plane to west coast. Beautiful earrings. Love all the organic components and asymmetry.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Tammy. I do feel fortunate to be living here in paradise. I'll remember that sentiment in the winter when we have 90 mph winds and days and days of pouring rain. (Though we could sure use some of that rain right now.) This challenge was a grand adventure.
DeleteYour creations are just wonderful. I find myself on fire for asymmetry, too!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Susan. I feel like I should challenge myself with ONLY asymmetry for a while to really get in the groove. It's an art, for sure.
DeleteI can see everybody loved this inspiration, almost everyone had multiple creations and I think it's great!! I love your pics of the Oregon coast! I really like the wire swirling around the beads, very creative!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Kristi. What a grand adventure this was, both on the beach and in the jewelry studio. My favorite challenge so far!
DeleteFirst of all I love your beach photos, you live in a very beautiful place. I also love every single one of your designs, this inspiration really fired you up!! You've got the organic and asymmetrical look nailed and when I got to your driftwood earrings I actually gasped - gorgeous!! xx
ReplyDeleteThank you for your kind words and your gasp, Fiona. This was a grand adventure in all ways! Go organic! My new motto.
DeleteHow lucky you are to have access to such great tide pools. I would spend all day there every day LOL! Your designs are beautiful and really capture that feeling of treasures scavenged from whatever the tide has washed up on shore. I particularly like the silver sand dollars with the bright blue briolettes.
ReplyDeleteThank you! Exploring the beach and the possibilities with beach treasures was an absolutely delightful experience.
DeleteSo many wonderful earrings. I love your inspiration.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Alice. This was such fun to explore (both the beach and the earrings).
DeleteAs soon as I saw your beach pictures I was thinking Oregon coast, before I even read anything. I love the OR and WA coast and feel so blessed to live here. I love how you incorporated your beach treasures into your earrings. My favorites are the driftwood earrings.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Linda. We are indeed blessed to live here. (Sure could use some rain right now, though.) Veralynne mentioned sealing the driftwood, which seems wise. I wonder what would be a good sealer to use. Any ideas on that?
DeleteI love all your designs -- very organic, unique and beautiful!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Oksana. All things organic! :)
DeleteLove all of your fabulous earrings and your pictures! It must be wonderful to live so close to the beach and have that constant inspiration.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Kym. Yes, I have retired in paradise, which constantly inspires. I do love living here. Great reward for all those years of workaholism! :)
DeleteWow! You were super busy! I love the ones where you incorporated your beach treasures... especially that first asymmetrical pair. And thanks for sharing pictures of your adventure on the Oregon coast.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Sarajo. What fun this was!
DeleteWow, those are stunning. So lucky to live that close to coast. I am curious, I have drift wood pieces, but I would have thought you would have had to seal them....so I guess just wire wrap and they are ok? Thanks!
ReplyDeleteYou have a point there. Playing with this idea. When I oxidized the wire in LOS, I noticed that the wood soaked it up and stained. When I rinsed it off and it dried, the stain disappeared. Fortunately, no LOS smell lingered. As for sealing, that's a great idea. Seal BEFORE wrapping and oxidizing. Will have to experiment. What would be a good sealer to use on wood?
DeleteOh my word! I can't believe that I inspired an actual FIELD TRIP! I love it! Thank you for sharing the journey with us. I love the shots of those massive rocks and the sandy pools, but that anemone really fascinates me. One of these days I hope to see these things myself! I love the variety of earrings you made and especially the variety of materials, all of them speaking of the beach! The driftwood, the shells, the colors and textures. Wonderful! Join me on July 3rd for the next inspiration for We're All Ears! Enjoy the day. Erin
ReplyDeleteThank you, Erin! What a lovely field trip you inspired this month. This was the best challenge yet! Looking forward to you next inspiration.
ReplyDelete