New Copper Jewelry

I've been very productive lately making new copper pendants and earrings. Each piece that I make is etched copper that is then oxidized to highlight its beauty or left to its unaltered perfection. I design each etched image; these are not stamps or decal images. Each is an individual and can never be reproduced in the same way twice due to the etching process. All items are sealed, on both sides, to protect the wearer’s clothes and to prevent future oxidation. All items are beta tested before I sell them for appearance and wear-ability.

I start with copper sheets and then hand-cut each shape and acid-etch each image. After etching is complete, assorted finishes are applied and then each piece is sealed to protect the wearer’s clothing. Each piece is unique due to the chemistry of the air during the process. The back of each piece is an unaltered chemical finger print of the process often with beautiful greens or blacks.

All items are available at my etsy shop: http://www.etsy.com/shop/nikkiskeleton

Twilight Bats

Relaxing in the cool night watching bats emerge and cross the moon is a captivating experience. Whether you are up late watching bats or up late being up to no good, the charming a casual pendant is an excellent accompaniment for your late night capers. Etched and oxidized copper round pendant 1.38 inches (3.5 cm) with 24 inches (60 cm) standard weight black rat-tail with lobster clasp and jump ring terminal.






Spiral the Sun Lizard

Reminiscent of petroglyphs found in the southwest, this sun scorched pendant gives a bold and contrasting complement to casual adventures. Etched and oxidized copper round pendant 1 ¼ inches (3.2 cm) with 24 inches (60 cm) standard weight black rat-tail with adjustable Lover Knots terminal.







Geometric Burst Earring and Pendant Set

An explosion of geometery, this pendant and earring set is reminiscent of star quilt patterns. Etched and oxidized copper round earrings (3.2 cm) 1 ¼ inches with copper ear wires. Etched and oxidized copper round pendant 1 ¼ inches (3.2 cm) with 24 inches (60 cm) standard weight black rat-tail with adjustable Lover Knots terminal.

Weathered Ponies

Weathered Ponies

This pendant's design is a little more abstract and stylized...this is a weathered image of horses running in a lightning storm. The design came about almost by accident but I liked it. I enjoy Western motifs, especially images of horses; I have been riding my entire life, since the time I could walk, and it reminds me of my childhood. This was one of my first copper pendants - an etched and oxidized 1 1/2" x 2" pendant on an 18-inch spiral-braided hemp cord with a pounded copper S-clasp. And also here are a couple of pictures from my home-town rodeo (which I still faithfully attend every year).

Beetle Mandala Pendant

Here is yet another mandala designs. This week's design is inspired by something a little different than the typical flower that most people would find beautiful - this one incorporates the shape of a beetle. Like the previous mandala this is etched and oxidized copper 1 1/2”(4 cm) diameter on a 36-inch vinyl cord with adjustable Love Knots terminal and copper wire bail, and as with the previous entry, here are some macro pictures that I've taken of beetles.

Flower Mandala Pendant

For the next couple entries, I am showing off a couple of nature-inspired mandala designs. Mandalas are circular geometric patterns which represent the cosmos from a human perspective. Initially the purpose of a mandala was to focus and aid meditation in Eastern religions. In art, a mandala can be thought of as a microcosm of the universe. And using something from nature on a smaller scale, like a flower, as a representation of something large (the universe) is an appealing idea to me.

So this week's entry is my flower mandala pendant - etched and oxidized copper 1 1/2”(4 cm) diameter on a 36-inch vinyl cord with adjustable Love Knots terminal and copper wire bail, along with some pictures of flowers that I have taken.

Armadillo Pendants

Here are a couple of different etched oxidized copper pendants that I've made, both with an armadillo motif. Nine-banded Armadillos (Dasypus novemcinctus) are pretty common in Oklahoma and I see them frequently. Armadillos are fascinating for a lot of different reasons - for example, they are the only known mammmal to always give birth to four identical young (which develop from the same egg and share a placenta). A female armadillo can also delay fertilization for up to two years. Everyone knows that armadillos are great diggers but they're also great swimmers and can jump straight up in the air nearly four feet as a defensive mechanism (which is also why they end up being hit by cars so often, as they tend to jump rather than stay put when a vehicle passes over them). The Nine-banded Armadillo has relatively recently colonized the U.S., not crossing the Rio Grande until the turn of the century, but is now one of our most common mammals in Oklahoma. Contrary to popular belief the Nine-banded Armadillo cannot wrap itself into a ball in its shell. Of the several different armadillos found in the Americas (family Dasypodidae), there is only one genera that can truly perform this trick - the Three-banded Armadillos of South America.

This is the first of two armadillo themed pendants I made. I call it "Rustic Armadillo". This is an etched and oxidized copper pendant 1½ x 2 1/8’’(4.5 x 6 cm) with armadillo motif on 36-inch vinyl cord with adjustable Love Knots terminal and S-clasp bails.




Here's the other pendant, which I call "Tribal Armadillo", an etched and oxidized copper pendant (1 1/2" x 2") with tribal armadillo motif on 18-inch leather thong with pounded copper S-clasp.





Here's a couple pictures of nine-banded armadillos, and a picture of me trying to chase one through the brush!





And here's a Three-banded Armadillo.

Horned Lizard Pendant

This is another interesting wildlife-themed design for a copper pendant that I came up with - a Horned Lizard or "Horny Toad" pendant. This one was inspired by actual experiences that I have had doing field research in western Oklahoma. I have come across Horned Lizards many times doing that work.

Here are some pictures of the pendant which is an etched and oxidized rectangular copper pendant 2 x 1 5/8” (5 x 4.5 cm) on a 36-inch vinyl cord with adjustable Love Knots terminal and cooper wire bail. The actual size of the Horned Lizard on this pendant is about the size that they are about a month after hatching.






And here are some actual pictures of Texas Horned Lizards (Phrynosoma cornutum) that I have taken over the years doing research. One of them is of a Horned Lizard posed on a Cheez-its box and another shows one outfitted with a radio transmitter collar.

Elf Owl Pendant

Out of all my etched copper pendants, this may be the one that I am the most proud of for several reasons - 1) I created this image from scratch, based on my own drawing 2) I got an incredibly large amount of detail into such a tiny space and 3) I made this as a custom request for an 11 year old girl's birthday present - she is really into the Guardians of Ga'Hoole and her father is an ornithologist. She loved it and wears it all the time now.

If you haven't heard of it before, the Elf Owl (Micrathene whitneyi) is the world's smallest species of owl. Elf Owls live in the Southwest U.S. and often nest inside cavities in giant saguaro cacti.

This is a two-sided pendant featuring a closeup of the adorable little owl in its hole surrounded by a cactus spine motif around the edges of the hole. On the reverse side is a wider view of the giant saguaro with the tiny owl visible peering out of its hole.





And here are pictures of an actual elf owl.