Slither....

I take a considerable amount of inspiration from the Art Nouveau movement.  This pendant was inspired by a serpant necklace I found in one of my many books. 

The stone is a white agate, and vintage black beads adorn the sterling silver chain.  I originally cut the snakes out separately & soldered them together along with the bezel setting to save on metal.  Once again my love for Intaglio is where the etching originated from.  I used Nitric Acid to etch the silver, and I rub in an enamel paint to help bring out the details of the lines.

Necklace is available to view on my website.

little blooms...

I like to add detail where ever possible, I'm not a supporter of "less is more".  I created a little silver frame by cutting out a piece of silver & soldered on a bezel.  I drew a little picture and watercolored it.  Set the picture & filled in my little frame with a 2 part resin.  A little tricky to fill such a small space with such a goopy substance.  

A friend and I once made a coffee table with bottle caps and filled in the area with resin.  It is amazing!  Very durable and scratch resistant.  Equivalent to 25 coats of poly-eurothane or something ridiculous like that.

Going Postal...

Printmaking is my other passion in life, especially intaglio. It's an art that has remained the same for centuries. You start off with a flat zinc plate, and through a process of resist, nitric acid, drawing, waiting, proof printing, adjustments and creating the perfect final edition, you are rewarded with an intricate, beautiful & dimentional piece.

This work was inspired from a postage stamp of an actress whose name I can't recall. I have it as my avatar on my www.emylewis.etsy.com site.

Roman chain...one of the most tedious, frustrating, & cumbersom creations ever! (Hence the hefty price tag!) Despite the process, it can be rather relaxing once you get a rhythm.

You start out with making your own hoops, fusing them together, (melting half of them in the process), and then stretching them to an oblong shape. The relaxation is when you get to weave all your stretched out hoops together, until you have a chain (that will look horrible!). The trick is to anneal the metal (without torching your chain!) and draw it through a series of holes in wood or metal to tighten everything up.

But...after much practice, set backs and creativity, you create something unique and one truly amazing.

Tree Nouveau

I absolutely adore the Art Nouveau movement. Nature was truly appreciated and always portrayed so elegantly. This is one of my favorite creations. The silver pendant is a hollow form, and I etched the tree design using Nitric acid. I had been holding onto this stone for a while, not sure how to present it. My design kept evolving & I think the pendant and the Rainbow Agate were destined for eachother!

Love it...

Coral is a slightly new obsession of mine. I love the look, the color, texture (although a little painful). It just has a certain aesthetic appeal. Mother Nature really knows what she's doing sometimes!

This is an enamel coral pendant I created. I took the piece out of the kiln early to create a slightly bumby texture. You can view it on my website www.emylewis.etsy.com

If only I had more time...

Cloisonne is one of my favorite things to create, unfortunately there is 6 hours of tedious work that goes along with it. I love the process, it's so satisfying to see the progression of the piece, but I just don't have enough time! Here is one of my cloisonne creations! You may view it on my website www.emylewis.etsy.com