Exciting News

I am very proud to be an official Support Centre for the Mid Cornwall School of Jewellery Silver Metal Clay Diploma Home Study programme. The Home Study Diploma allows students study at their own pace and at a time that suits them. This means they can fit it around their own commitments and is especially suitable for those who cannot travel to Cornwall to study at MCSJ.

The MCSJ Diploma is widely acknowledged as the most thorough and comprehensive metal clay qualification in the world. It is independent and brand neutral so students learn to work with all types of silver metal clay and it also includes traditional silverwork skills. The three hands-on grades take the student from basic skills to advanced techniques and the fourth grade has two options; Design and Construction or Teaching Metal Clay Effectively.

A commitment to high standards of workmanship is rigorously applied making the MCSJ Diploma the foremost qualification for those serious about developing as metal clay artists.

The Silver Metal Clay Home Study Grade 1 pack is available to buy from the MCSJ website now, http://www.mcsj.co.uk/home-study-metal-clay-diploma/home-study-diploma.html. Further grades will be available in 2012. The Grade 1 pack contains two instructional DVDs, a CD of resources and project notes and all materials. Completed projects are submitted to MCSJ for evaluation and students get detailed feedback on their work. When all seven projects pass, the student is awarded the Grade 1 Certificate.

There is a network of official Diploma Support Centres around the UK and also in Greece, Austria, Ireland and Germany. Diploma Support Centres offer a range of services to support students undertaking the Home Study Diploma. These include kiln firing services – for which there is a free voucher in the Home Study pack – and open studio opportunities for students to use tools and equipment for a small fee.

Diploma Support Centres are staffed by qualified MCSJ Silver Metal Clay Diploma holders who have completed the teacher training module. They are committed to high standards of service and teaching and provide classes and workshops which give Home Study students further support if required. Home Study Diploma students can choose to purchase additional classes run by official Support Centres which have been specially developed to support the Diploma curriculum.

Students can also purchase a one-to-one critique session with an experienced metal clay teacher who will check their projects before they are submitted to MCSJ for evaluation. These teachers know exactly the standard MCSJ evaluators expect so this session can really help students to pass the evaluations first time.

This and That

I love playing with textures and curves.  This piece was created for a new magazine and the article features surprisingly, textures and curves!  It is so amazing what you can do with metal clay, indeed the possibilities are endless - I just wish I had more time to create.  I am currently working on beads for the next issue, using cork clay to make beads and doming techniques to make lentil beads...... so much to do and so little time.  I will post the finished products up here soon, no doubt following endless nights working into the early hours.... I always get there in the end.

Valentines

Oh so another Valentines Day descends on us...... Just a little something I made up for the occasion - random heart earrings.  Oh yes it is nice to focus on matters of the heart this weekend.  We are actually in Southend at a craft fair all weekend. Well to all of you sweethearts out there - whatever you may be doing, I hope you have a wonderfully romantic valentines day......  Back soon with more creative pieces I hope.....

New Piece

I have been busy making pieces for a magazine coming out in March.  This is an advanced piece that I made for them......  It has opened a door for me and I am currently working on more advanced pieces and pieces with a difference for our website.  I am also going to be braving my phobia - rings!    Need to get my act together, both in making rings and finally getting a Metal Clay workshop up on my website for rings - it is my biggest request from students.   Gulp!  Will let you know when up and running.  Gulp!  BRB x

New Word Tag Jewellery

I have been making new jewellery with word tags.  They are proving to be very very popular - indeed, I cannot make them quick enough because they are just flying out.   I love them and the choice is endless.  I think I have been very very influenced on this by the loss of my dear friend Helen - the angelic realm is taking over and these words are proving very comforting to me.  Still thinking of Helen every single day and missing her infectious laugh...

I feel Sad.. :(

It has been a very hard couple of weeks. My beautiful friend, Helen (pictured), lost her three year battle with cancer, aged 42. We had known each other for 40 years and she leaves behind three gorgeous children, the youngest of whom has just turned 6. My memories will stay with me forever- the day we first met was through a hole in the fence in our gardens as she had just moved next door. I remember with laughter our little tea parties in the garden as children when we used to use Helen's china teaset and fill the teapot with Cola and the milk jug with milk and then pour this amazing concoction into teacups and drink our tea containing mixed cola and milk. Oh how we pretended it was delicious. We would then run around and around her Willow Tree in the garden tugging at the leaves - I loved my friend and I will miss her forever, but my memories are cherished and imprinted on my mind for an eternity. Goodbye my beautiful, clever and very very inspirational friend Helen - your life has impacted on me and I will never forget you. x

Bird on a Wire

I have been busy today with new designs. I wanted to do something a bit more random - so random I did. I wanted the chain to be unmatching and I wanted a bird - so that's what I got. A bird is peaceful and in my mind he is on a wire happily tweeting away............ more to follow soon.

I am Back......

So where have I been I hear you ask........? I have been everywhere but blogging. Had a fab summer in Cornwall with kids and husband. Been galavanting around at the craft fairs and so here I am about to put my head down and get on with more jewellery designs. I have loads in mind to make, but it is just finding the time to create and be happy.... I am hopeful to be posting pictures and blogs more regularly. I have run some very successful workshops recently and have met some great people. Am busy planning further workshops to include ring making. I will be back soon with more updates I hope!!

I have been busy!!

I know it has been a while since I have blogged - where oh where do the days and weeks go? I am posting here a couple of new designs that I have been working on. Both items have been oxidised to show the beautiful detailing. I feel a new range coming on........ watch this space....

Herts County Show Day 2

Wow - yesterday was hot, but today was hotter still. The marquee made a tropical greenhouse seem cold! Heat aside the day was great with many sales and lots of lovely positive comments about our jewellery. The show was fantastic - yes those dancing sheep were still there dancing away and there was also a daredevil breathtaking show of motorbike stunts which left you fearing for the lives of those riders. We had rather too many Muller Light yoghurts which were being given away by the dozen and we had way too much yummy handmade fudge from the stall opposite. We watched dozens of people walk into the marquee only to walk out again when hit with the heat. Overall the weekend was a huge success and we will return next year........

The Herts County Show

Well we have been at the Herts County Show today and what a hot day it was - wonderful - at last! However, the heat outside made the marquee like a greenhouse - it was stifling. A busy day for us except maybe tomorrow I will go in a bikini - er not! It is a fantastic show with so much to do that you almost forget the reason you are there. There is the sheep show which has real live dancing sheep - yes they really do dance - it is hilarious. A fab day was had by my two girls too - our friends came and took them to the circus which is there too - it is endless.... we give it the thumbs up. Back tomorrow to report further.

Creative Mode

Well, I have been a busy bee. We are at the Herts County Show this weekend and the days are flying with little time to finish my designs. However, I have been busy making and doing. I have added to our collection with the charm bracelet (pictured) for little girls. I had loads of fun making it and I have just posted one off today in response to an order. There are loads more designs coming - I just need to upload them. More space watching I am afraid...... I will be back.

I hate Mondays

Oh joy of joys - why is it that I come downstairs every mornining at 6 o'clock to a bouncy full of beans barking dog wanting his breakfast - I am bleary eyed and tired and he is jumping around like a complete lunatic. I love him to bits, but he has the energy of roadrunner. Once he has had his breakfast he wants to go in the garden, but Oscar does nothing quietly, so my poor neighbours get woken up every morning by my hound barking. He flies down the garden to catch the birds - to date he has never succeeded - well what bird would stay there with a ruby red lunatic dog speeding down the garden like lightening barking very loudly. I must teach him how to tiptoe - Now there's a challenge!

Raring to go

OK so I have an energy burst today. Have picked my 8 year old daughter up from a sleepover - am trying to forget the fact that she was up half the night - she is very very quiet - in la la land actually! I have kept the house quiet for my other daughter to revise for her SATS this week and I have blitzed the kitchen - it is sparkling and now I am ready to sit down and make jewellery in readiness for the Herts County Show (http://www.hertsshow.com/) in a couple of weeks - I have so much to make and so many ideas buzzing around my head that I can't wait to get going...... watch this space - creative mode now active!

Tiredness

Wow - after feeling so dire for so many weeks I finally went to the doctor for blood tests. I have now been told I have an under active thyroid - oh joy of joys - a little white tablet now gets swallowed every morning for the rest of my life - oh the thrill of getting older. I can only describe an under active thyroid as being chased uphill by syrup - that is what I have felt like for so long now. Everything goes in slow motion.

Hey ho - I will not be defeated and cannot wait for these pills to kick in so that I begin to feel human again. I am back on track now with making new jewellery and trying to be focused on new ideas. We are at the Herts County Show (http://www.hertsshow.com/) in a couple of weeks and I am now busy busy busy making and doing. Any tips on thyroid anyone?