The Bright And Colorful World Of Gems

Yesterday, I spent the whole day learning about gemological materials.

Along the first 7 hours' class of Gemology, Rui Galopim de Carvalho introduced us to the vast universe of minerals, rocks and gemstones.

Among a valuable range of information, we've learned about concerns around evaluating a gemstone and how different shapes and cuts can enhance or destroy its characteristics.

Today, as I was browsing through the links he gave us, I found this interesting test in the Gemological Institute of America (GIA), where you can check your own level of info on gemstones. It's very simple and fun, yet it can really help you to be able to distinguish some important aspects that define the quality of a gemstone and, of course, its price. Give it a try :)

Summer Cravings

One Perfect Summer Day Etsy Treasury curated by natalya1905.

Let's make this a hot day! Click on the picture and take a closer look at my Black Kitten Ring surrounded by this lovely collection. And if you leave a comment in there, temperatures will surely rise :D
Thank you so much Natalya for bringing a Summer scent into my portuguese rainy day!

Over My Dead Body - The Remake

And this is a charcoal drawing, the one I was talking about at the end of my last post.
I guess some of you recognize this girl from the "Girls Are Weird" series.
The original drawings from this series are a size A4 or A5, made with sharped pencils or black ink pens. As I was working on the new series "Girls Are Weird [XL Pendant/XS Portrait]" and had to reduce it to fit the frame, at the same time I had this unbearable urge to enlarge it.
So, this one is around 140cm x 70cm.
I've used charcoal and red soft pastel and I made it for my house, but now I'm willing to remake all of them this big, giving the girls some new dresses from the 2010 collection (if you're getting shot in the head, at least you should be wearing a nice dress, don't you think so?) and giving their little friends some new flashy patterns.
For now, I'm deciding if this one is finished enough to varnish and we'll see.
Oh, by the way, I'm listing the "Girls Are Weird [XL Pendant/XS Portrait]" series on Etsy.
The first one Cut It All Off is already there, hopefully the other ones along the week.
And I'm starting on the previous orders I had while I was away.
Luckily the school work is not killing me by now, so I'll try to keep doing it all again :D
God, I missed the Etsy rush!

Busy Missing You All!

Well, it's been quite a while since I last uptated this blog of mine.

I decided to stay offline for some time (I still have my Etsy shop on "vacation mode", kind of an ironic name for it now) so I could focus on my school work. Although I'm missing all of my online friends and routine, I realize there's not enough time to have it all running, unless I could use a competent clone.

For now, I'll tell you what I'm up to so you know I'm still alive :)

So, in a nut shell, I've moved to a new home and I'm really happy about it. As spring just started, I'm filling my space with flowers and bright colors.
Today I have to finish an assignment for a master class about Metal Archeology lectured by Barbara Armbruster.
Meanwhile we had another master class where Barbara Schmidt gave us such an amount of valuable information about Design Management. It was pretty tiring, last friday and saturday from 10 am till 6 pm, but I enjoyed every minute of it. And, of course, another assignment to do.
And, at the same time, we're making a new piece for the most technical class, Metal Laboratory under the sharp eye of Rui Seixas, and it must reach perfection. And I'm still finishing the last project for the Jewellry Design Laboratory class in Rhinoceros - Scale.
We're also already introduced to the Project class, that will beggin in a couple of months, with José Carlos Marques and Carla Castiajo. This project will be our final statement in the Post Grad, evaluated by a jury.

As I'm trying to keep my creative soul from going insane, I'm learning a lot.
And for keeping the sun shinning through my veins, I'm starting a big charcoal drawing just for myself. A private selfish project.
You'll see :)

Open Your Eyes

There are no grades of vanity, there are only grades of ability in concealing it. Mark Twain

There is certainly no absolute standard of beauty. That precisely is what makes its pursuit so interesting. John Kenneth Galbraith

This necklace is my third piece for the Jewellery Design Laboratory class.
This project "The subject and the object" intended to explore the link between the jewellery piece and the individual wearing it. They were not supposed to be totally finished by the creator, but to allow an interaction, a post transformation by the user.
My "Open Your Eyes" necklace was created to question where (or even if) we should place the fine line that keeps us from weaken our image with too much adornment, once again in the boundaries of Beauty and Vanity.
A plain clean pendant, a layered complex one, or an open necklace where the damask pattern grows, as you open your eyes to the realm of beauty, until the last and most fragile piece that escapes from the circular frame into a free form.
I have a secret expectation for that last piece to break somewhere along the way. Maybe I made it strong enough and it never will, but you can't know it for sure, can you?
Don't you think that could be the final chapter, that perfect ending?

Warm In The Shadows

...


Recovering from the hard work for the presentation (I got to finish the necklace :D and post about it later when I organize the info about it) and now I'm seriously packing my endless stuff for I'm moving to a new home next week. So, I've been too busy to keep my blog updated.
Still, since last week I was featured in a couple of Etsy Treasuries and a blog.
Desire for Sunlight assembled by the amazing Nauli girls > click on the first picture to go to their facebook fanpage and take a look at their Treasuries.
Gold and Silver by dafnadagan > click on the second picture and you can still see it online, so you can leave a comment if you'd like.
And I was also featured in this brilliant blog The daily sardine > click in the picture bellow to get to my interview!
I'll be back soon with full strenght, but while I'm away, these rays of sunshine are keeping my heart warm :)
Thank you so very much!

Hard Working

The damask pattern I'm piercing in the picture belongs to the "Open Your Eyes" new necklace. I'm already finished with the saw, but there's still a lot to be done.
Today will be a long day. Off to work!