Dare to be different

Just read this interesting article. It just confirmed to me what I already knew. However, it is not always easy to break out of that shell that we often hide behind as artists. Do we dare to be bold and step out of our comfort zone or do we stay where we are because it feels more comfortable and safe?

I am so incredibly lucky to have such a wonderful and encouraging man who challenges me to step out of my comfort zone because he believes I can. We have many dreams and always try to work at them as best as we can to make them come true. It is always nice to know that someone has your back and believes in your abilities, although it is equal important to believe in ones own abilities, to not give up, no matter what anyone tells you. If you have a goal, go for it. There are always road blocks, but we should look at them as challenges to move forward instead of failures.

With this said, I'm off to bed. It is almost 1AM.

Sending out big warm hugs!


Thanks for reading!

oxo
Sabine

And then there were three...

First of all I'd like to give all of you who hearted and pinned my latest creations my deepest gratitude! It is so incredibly wonderful as an artist to receive good feedback. 

I'm having the greatest time designing new stuff and with that I realized that it is important to push myself out of my usual comfort zone and to be a little bit more imaginative when it comes to creativity. Doing that  has worked well for me these past couple of weeks by feeling a sense of accomplishment and pride. Not that I want to brag, this is just about personal accomplishment, nothing external.

I do would like to show you my latest spring inspired creations:

These little beauties come with prehnite, Nevada turquoise and carnelian. Juicy and delicious!

And lastly we have a "Desert Rose" pendant necklace which is crafted in copper and features a gorgeous mother of pearl with beautiful luster.

It's dinner time here and thinking about making waffles. Yes, here we eat waffles with sliced cold cut lamb, hard boiled eggs and then of course strawberry jam with a dollop of creme fraîche. Yummy!

Happy thursday ya'll!

Thanks for reading!

xox

Sabine

And so it continues...

I guess it's no surprise that I feel inspired by spring these past few days. We've been having snow melting temperatures with gorgeous sunshine this week. Today, when I was in my studio I even had the window open a bit. With birds chirping, and hearing snow dripping off the roof, it was no surprise that I had a great time behind the bench. I feel more energized, alive and eager to put my winter coats and boots to rest. 

Here are the two necklaces I managed to finish today:

Yearning for spring series: Sterling silver and a gorgeous jasper druzy in a gorgeous blue-green color and a mother of pearl with a beautiful luster.

Yearning for spring series: Sterling silver and a gorgeous jasper druzy in a gorgeous blue-green color and a mother of pearl with a beautiful luster.

Yearning for spring series: Sterling silver and Nevada turquoise.

I'll be listing these two sometime today if I can manage to stay out of my studio after dinner.

Have a splendiferous weekend!

Thanks for reading!

xx

Sabine

Yearning for spring part2

I can't seem to stop making spring inspired jewelry. I'm in love with all sorts of forms and shapes. They seem to speak me at the moment, so I decided to just go with the flow. I have two other similar pieces on the go in a smaller style and perhaps a pair of earrings in a similar shape. I'll have another shop update either tomorrow or saturday. I like to use natural light to take pictures of my jewelry and most often the sun is down already by the time I get out of the studio. I am looking very much forward to longer days.

Feeling also very much inspired by make more elaborate copper pieces. I want to make copper hip again. I think we should really wear more of it. Some people are very skeptical about wearing copper, but I have several items of this beautiful metal, and my skin never turns green. I use a jewelry polishing cloth to brighten the items up once in a while, which seems to work just great! 

I forgot to mention on my last post that I am not accepting any more custom orders until further notice.  This will give me a chance to catch up on ongoing projects I have put on hold for quite a while. Plus I'd like to make a couple additional pieces for Sugar Shop in Oslo.

I see it's almost 11PM here and I should get a shut eye so that I can get an early start in my studio tomorrow! Oh gosh, it's almost friday again!!! Thinking about going out for lunch with the J-man tomorrow. Craving a caesar salad. 

See ya tomorrow!

Thanks for reading!

xx

Sabine

Fresh from the bench

Here are three more pieces I managed to finish today! Little bit quirky, fun and whimsical. My style these days. I am sure that will change again. I tend to go from rough and rugged, to fine, to whimsical and then back to rustic. I never know what kind of mood my eager muse is into when she is active.

I just go with the flow.

The first piece is composed of agua nueava agate, mother of pearl and sterling silver. I actually had something completely different in mind when I started on this piece, but somewhere along the crafting process it changed. The first word John uttered when he saw it was "Aztec". I didn't really mean to make anything aztec inspired, rather botanical. I guess it has both elements to some extend.

The second necklace is a fun little necklace that showcases a beautiful jasper druzy in this gorgeous green-blue color, a lovely flower and a hand sawn butterfly. Just charming I might say.

And then lastly we have a "forest trail" necklace which features a running deer, a moon and and several flattened silver granules on copper. Dangling below is a stunning golden colored rutilated quartz cabochon. Love this one because it resembles my love for the outdoors, wildlife and the night sky. 

The "Aztec" piece is already listed in the Etsy shop! The other two I'll be listing either tonight or tomorrow. If any of these tickles your fancy let me know and I can reserve them for you!

Wishing you all a happy monday!

Thanks for reading!

xx

Sabine

Yearning for spring

The sun was out in its brightest force today, making the whole landscape look incredibly beautiful, with sunbeams reflecting off the snow. We have been incredibly lucky this winter so far regarding snow. We have only perhaps 2-3 inches compared to last year where we had a couple of feet. I'm dreaming about spring, about warm temperatures and crocuses poking their heads through the ground.
Yearning for spring, yeah! This is why I have been feeling compelled to make colorful pieces of jewelry lately. As you can see below, my spring like dreams have transformed themselves onto metal. I want to make nothing but floral shapes these days. The muse is on strong. Trying to hold her back a little. She is as usual all over the place. Often, when the creativity circus comes to town here in this household, I could make nothing but jewelry all day. It can really work against me in some ways as I have too many ideas and too many unfinished projects laying around that often don't get finished. I am in the learning process of working on one piece at the time and to stay focused.  It doesn't matter to me anymore if I can't manage a shop update every week. I had put so much pressure on myself.  If it doesn't feel right I am not going to sit behind the bench and force myself to come with something that in the end does not transcend what my work is about. I want quality, not quantity.
I have been trying to push myself a little bit harder to make more elaborate pieces and to learn something new. I would really like to be getting into metal etching, but am a little weary about all these chemicals. If any of you happen to have a good idea about what to use, let me know.

Here is my latest piece. I am having two more in the pickle pot and hope to have them ready to polish tomorrow.

Hope you like it as much as I did making it!

Sprout necklace. Oxidized sterling silver and green onyx.

Happy  Monday Everyone!

Thanks for reading!

xx

Sabine

A shop update in the works

How are you all? I know it's been a while since I updated my blog and my Etsy shop. Life has been incredibly busy these past few weeks. From working at my day job to making a large collection for a beautiful jewelry shop in Oslo. I am beyond the moon excited, to say the least! It's been a dream of mine for quite a few years to be able to showcase my work at this place.
The owner approached me a couple of weeks ago and asked me if I were interested in selling at their shop!
So I went ahead and made 19 pieces of jewelry for Sugar Shop. It's is a huge honor for me to showcasing my work next to  all these incredible Norwegian jewelry designers / goldsmiths.

I still have a few projects on the go, but my primary focus right now is to update the Etsy shop. I should have some new items available this weekend and next week. Stay tuned!

A few of you have asked how my Dad is doing. Thanks so much for that! He is coping and still getting Chemo. He never complains even though he's been battling this nasty disease now for many years. His strength is incredible. I have learned a lot from him through this and hope that I would have the same strength, grace and willingness to fight if I'd be in the same situation.
I miss my family, but I know that my mother takes such good care of him. In addition he has my niece and nephew that keep him on track.

Have a great weekend everyone and thanks for reading!

My niece and me.