Catcraft

I love cats. Now perhaps I'm predisposed to one day become a crazy old cat-lady, or perhaps cats just make excellent inspirational artwork, but either way I do enjoy cat-themed jewelry. Here is a picture of my Tonkinese cat Basil. I know that some people treat their pets like spoiled children...my relationship with Basil is more like a respected friend and long-term roommate.



And here is a piece I did inspired by Japanese/Chinese style brush-painting and woodcuts. This is a collage that features 12 cats, in a variety of cat poses (including perennial cat favorite, napping). This is a 4.5 inches x 2 inches (11mm x 4.5mm) etched copper barrette with spring clasp.




Here I am walking through the neighborhood randomly making friends with the local neighbor cats. I like to name the surrounding cat populace wherever I live. I have often considered starting up a neighborhood walking tour of local cats, but that is somewhat weird.


And here is a second barrette I call "Japanese Cat with Kittens" in a similar style to a Japanese woodcut. The depth and shadows on the piece give it a haunting yet serene look. Also a 4.5 inches x 2 inches etched copper barrette with spring clasp.

DeWitt new town new events

Last week we moved to DeWitt, Michigan. They have a great farmers' market. So this Tuesday I set up at the farmers’ market. It was hot but I had a blast. Here are some random farmers’ market pictures. I will be there next Tuesday as well.

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.