April’s Kitty Necklace
Posted on April 2, 2014
I recently made a silver kitty cat necklace for April of AprilJustinTV and AprilAthena7. She has three little cats, Charlie, Bob and Sunrise, that she adopted from rescue centers and have become a part of her family. April and her husband, Justin, shower their kitties with all the love and affection they could possibly hope for! Below are the initial sketches of the cats that I made before I made the necklace.
Below are close ups of the three little cat pendants I made. I wanted to make cute, little cartoon versions of April’s kitties. I cast these parts in ancient bronze.
Charlie is the gray cat with the tuft of white fur under his chin. Sunrise is the orange tabby cat with stripes. Bob is the kitty that is half gray and half white.
Below are is an image of the whole necklace. I fabricated the clasp and charm out of sterling silver.
Here is April’s video featuring the kitty necklace I made! She shows the necklace in about 30 seconds into the video. You can even see April wearing the necklace when she and her husband go to a restaurant.
April and Justin are such happy, cheerful people! I enjoy watching their channel because they exude such positivity! I hope you enjoyed looking at the kitty trio necklace I made! I have much more jewelry and candy posts coming in the near future!
One Sketch a Day: Week 3
Posted on March 26, 2014
I fell under the sickness that was going around last week, but I’m feeling much better today! Thankfully, we are back on track and have sketches to show! Here is week 3 of my Sketch a Day journey.
Above, I have various sketches of pieces I’m considering making for Comic-Con International. Before I know it, Comic-Con will be around the corner and I have much to prepare! This is definitely the biggest show of the year that I prepare for. Despite the craziness, it is a lot of fun to do! 🙂
On March 12, I went to my friend, Veronica’s, birthday and housewarming party. Hanging on her wall, she had framed surreal painting of a large cat and a small girl that I loved. I was just barely able to sketch a general outline of the figures and then when I got home I filled in all the details from I could remember. I’m sure I made a few creative embellishments here and there. 😉 On March 15, I made some sketches of cherry blossoms that I am going to fabricate for an upcoming project. I drew details of the flower to give me a better idea of how I will make this metal. On March 16, I am still sketching out more ideas for my Creative Stone Setting class that I am teaching right now. I have clearly finalized how I will approach future demonstrations for the class. On March 17, is a drawing of another fun piece that I might make for Comic-Con: a cute mini marshmallow character!
On March 18th, I was sketching a husky for a felt sculpture. Fortunately, I finished making the little husky and recently delivered it this past weekend. Here is a little peak at what the finished project looked like!
My last entry for the week was on March 19. I was watching Katy Perry’s “Dark Horse” music video and fell in love with the sphinx cat head masks that her back up dancers were wearing. These sketches were inspired by the masks and I drew the heads from multiple angles. I’ve always found sphinx cats to be very fascinating to look at, therefore these drawings might evolve someday into a finished jewelry piece.
I hope you enjoyed looking at my most recent sketches!
Here, again, are links to the sketch book that I use and my favorite drawing pens:
One Sketch a Day: A Visual Journal
Sakura 30062 6-Piece Pigma Micron Ink Pen Set, Black
Copic Markers SP Multiliner Set A with Replaceable Nib
If you would like the watch the accompanying video I made of my sketch a day journey you can watch it below!
One Sketch a Day: Week 2
Posted on March 14, 2014
I am so sorry that I am already a week behind! I am still working up towards sketching once a day, but I’m glad that I have definitely been more productive with my drawing than I have been in the past.
As I mentioned in my last “One Sketch a Day” post, I want to try to use my sketchbook with more purpose. Above, I was sketching possibilities for my last demonstration in my “Marriage of Metals” class that I recently taught at Whaley Studios. Below that, I was also considering updating my business card and postcard designs. I think this will be a big improvement to the current design I have now.
Above, I have another entry sketching out demonstrations for my upcoming “Creative Stone Setting” class at Whaley Studios. The following two entries are research for an upcoming long term project. Over the past six months, I have seen several documentaries on bees and was struck by the devastating bee colony collapse disorder that is sweeping across the globe because of current commercial agricultural practices. I look forward to working on this project and I will definitely reveal what I finish in the future! Next, I recently went to Taboo Studios for an art opening that featured some of the work of my past graduate professor, Helen Shirk. If you live in the San Diego area, this gallery is definitely worth taking a look at! It’s certainly the nicest jewelry gallery in San Diego as it features work from small studio jewelers with more innovative designs.
Above, is the last grouping of entries. Both are jewelry projects that I am working on. One, obviously, is related to cats and below is a piece that I am revisiting from graduate school. I made a very bizarre necklace of naked mole rats because I found these creatures to be so fascinating despite their not-so-attractive exteriors. I think the revisions that I plan to make on the necklace will be a significant improvement.
I wanted to include images of the pens that I use to draw with that I mentioned earlier.
These are great for fine detail work in drawing! I have been using these for years. You can find them on Amazon, if you are interested. Sakura 30062 6-Piece Pigma Micron Ink Pen Set, Black
My absolute favorite are the Copic Multiliners.
The pen nibs and ink are replaceable. The body of the pen is also more durable because it is made of metal. If you are interested in these you can check them out here.
Copic Markers SP Multiliner Set A with Replaceable Nib
And, of course, the sketch book: One Sketch a Day: A Visual Journal
I hope you enjoyed looking at my recent drawings! You can watch my video review below:
One Sketch A Day: Week 1
Posted on February 27, 2014
I was an Illustration major when I was in undergraduate school at the Rhode Island School of Design. Even though I went on to teach and work in the jewelry industry, I still find tremendous satisfaction from the drawing process. I came across this sketch book in 2012 at the San Diego Museum of Art gift shop and immediately fell in love with it! The book is called: “One Sketch a Day” and is by Chronicle Books.
I love the sketch book’s retro styling! It has a 1950s textbook feel. In the interior, each page is divided into two sections for drawing, making it a manageable size to tackle on a daily basis. At the beginning of each section, one can write in the specific date of when the drawing was created.
Above are some of my early drawings in the sketchbook. I find the paper quality to be decent, despite what I read in some of the reviews of this sketchbook. This is not a multimedia sketchbook, therefore I found pens to work the best. Micron and Copic Multiliners are my favorite brands to draw with to achieve the kind of fine detail that I am looking for. Here are a few links for sets of these pens:
Sakura 30062 6-Piece Pigma Micron Ink Pen Set, Black
Copic Markers SP Multiliner Set A with Replaceable Nib
Good old ball point pens are also excellent to sketch with! I can build up light layers when shading that give my drawings a similar feel to those done with pencil!
Below are some later sketches.
I worked in the sketchbook more consistently in 2012, however, in 2013…well…I ceased to make it a priority to draw in this book. In 2013, I finished a dismal two sketches! Now that we are in a new year, I want to draw on a regular basis and I feel, hopefully, that creating blog posts and videos about my weekly progress will give me the structure I need to produce. This time around I will use the sketchbook as a tool to aid in my design process for jewelry designs and other creative freelance projects. This will in turn give me more purpose in utilizing this awesome sketchbook! I hope you enjoyed looking at some of my drawings! I hope this encourages you to practice sketching as well! If you are interested in this specific sketchbook, check it out here:
One Sketch a Day: A Visual Journal
If you would like to watch my video review of “One Sketch a Day”, you can watch it here:
Takoyaki Candy Review
Posted on January 8, 2014
The next review in my Japanese candy adventure is Takoyaki candy by Meiji. This is a candy version of the popular Japanese street food. Takoyaki is a ball-shaped dumpling made with octopus, green onions, and ginger. A Takoyaki sauce, similar to worcestershire, and mayonnaise is drizzled over the top and finally sprinkled with bonito flakes.
Above is the front and back of the candy package. This DIY candy kit came with four packets, the cutest little white spoon and a brown plastic tray as pictured below.
When mixed together, the final result was a glossy, miniaturized version of takoyaki. In the center of the candy ball, I inserted tiny little octopus-shaped gummies inside!
I have to admit, this did scare me a little to taste this. Past experience has proven that these little DIY Japanese candy kits are barely passable as edible. When I took a bite out of this, I was pleasantly surprised! This tasted like a soft peach flavored Jello! The interior gummy was firm and grape flavored which contrasted nicely with the soft gelatin exterior. The caramel sauce on the outside had a nice, slightly smokey flavor. The sprinkles were probably my least favorite part, but not terrible. The sprinkles were more airy and chalky in texture than what you typically experience from candy sprinkles. All in all, I definitely give this two thumbs up! A Japanese candy kit that is both fun to make AND fun to eat?! That definitely deserves high marks!
If you are interested in purchasing this candy, I received this kit from Oyatsu Cafe. www.oyatsucafe.com This was something that I picked out from their website to give my honest review. You can also check out my video review on Youtube below!
I hope you enjoyed my Japanese candy review and I will be back with much more! 🙂
Choco Neri Candy Review
Posted on December 14, 2013
I sincerely apologize for the long delay in posting on my blog as well as making candy videos! 😦 Fall and summer are always the busiest seasons for me. I exhibit at several shows, work on an increased number of freelance projects as well as teach. I feel fortunate to be able to survive in a career path that I love! With that said onto our Japanese candy review! 🙂
A Japanese online candy company, Oyatsu Cafe, contacted me to see if I was interested in receiving some of their candy in exchange for making review videos. Obviously, I said, “Heck Yes!”. I go out hunting for bizarre Japanese candy finds all the time specifically for review, so this was the perfect match! I was able to go onto their website and pick out some candy that I was interested in and they sent it to me directly from Japan. I chose to focus on picking DIY candy kits, such as Popin’ Cookin’, since I find these the most fascinating to review.
The first candy I will be reviewing is Choco Neri by Kracie.
Choco Neri is a DIY chocolate candy making kit. The end result is a sticky chocolate mixed with large puffed rice. The package contains three packets, a large mixing container, a measuring scoop for water, and two wooden craft sticks.
You mix all three packets with a scoopful of water which forms a gooey mass of chocolate and puffed rice.
Surprisingly, this tasted good! Choco Neri is one of the best Kracie DIY products I have tried in terms of taste. The chocolate has a smooth, sticky consistency and has a very distinct milk chocolate flavor. The soft texture of the chocolate pairs well with the crunchy texture of the puffed rice. The chocolate also has slight underlying notes of citrus which creates a more full-bodied flavor. I definitely recommend Choco Neri and give this two thumbs up! If you are interested in this product, you can find this at Oyatsu Cafe online:
http://oyatsucafe.com/candy-snack-food/kracie-popin-cookin/kracie-choco-neri
I you would check out my video review on Choco Neri, check it out below!
I hope you enjoyed this review and stay tuned for more bizarre Japanese candy reviews!
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