Unconventional Combination

New earrings by Karma Grotelueschen combine fiber and sterling silver to give a tiny pop of color to sterling silver leafy earrings.  Available by mail now or in the gallery at the candlelight holiday weekend or in May of 2016. 

Fresh From The Workshop: Lampwork Bead and Sterling Silver Bracelets

 As much fun as it is to make art, it is also fun to purchase are from other makers.  These dangly jangly bracelets with their matching earrings all silversmith Karma Grotelueschen to do both.  She collects handmade lampwork beads from glass artists around the world and then selects coordinating sets, using them to adorn silver jewelry.  For these pieces every part is handmade.  The bracelet links are of heavy sterling silver wire, with each link individually soldered and given a hammered texture for shine and sparkle.  Even the clasps and ear wires are hand made in Grotelueschen's silversmithing studio.
This set features beads in shades of amber and soft yellows by many different glass bead artists.

 This bracelet and earring set has blue beads with a swirl of white from a single artist and sterling silver miniature leaves that add movement and shine to the pieces.

 Our third set has beads of a creamy pomegranate red that dangle from large oval bracelet links with an occasional small silver leaf.  Each earring has a single leaf and bead. 

Woodburned and Painted Boxes

My friend Susie does amazing folk art painting and I hope to have her work at the gallery SOON. One of my favorite things that she does is these heart shapes that have bold geometric bands of black and white and assorted vines and berries. She woodburns the designs first, then paints them. I have had these wood boxes stashed for a while, and Susie's art inspired me to do some woodburning and painting of my own. Instead of opaque paints, I used calligraphy ink so that the wood grain shows through. They are lightly varnished to protect the artwork.

Wooden Postcards

These wooden postcards are sized to mail and sturdy enough to make the trip. Computer printed and hand embellished, they are made of paper-backed wood veneer, and each is one of a kind.

Oak Tree Block Print

The branching pattern of the wide spreading burr oak is very different depending on where it grows. In a moist prairie, the tree grows taller and can be more open at the bottom, and in a drier prairie, the tree can be wider and shorter and have branches almost to the ground. The tree is often struck by lightening and then just keeps on growing, filling back in around the damage. The leaves can vary from tree to tree and the amount of 'burr' covering the acorn can vary as well. Here are the first few off the block hanging to dry.

Silk Chiffon Scarves

My new scarves are sheer silk chiffon. Lighter and airier than the haboti silk I have used before. Sort of a retro look about some of them. Fun to be painting on silk again!

Notecards from Carrie Auwerter Watercolors

Carrie Auwerter's Watercolor Paintings

Carrie paints nature scenes from her garden and beyond, with meticulous realistic detail in clear rich colors, and lets the white of the paper glow through for rich contrasts.

Colors of Scarves

Scarves are available in Yellows and oranges, oranges and reds, pinks and purples, purples and blues, blues and greens, greens and yellows. Tones can be bright and vibrant or more muted and dusky.
Each scarf is painted with several tones in the range of colors and has a white resist line that features a leave or flower along it.

Karma Grotelueschen's Painted Silk Scarves

Using a resist process, nature motifs are painted onto 100% silk scarves.