A little bit of everything.......

 I am having such a great time here on Cape Cod and have been busy busy busy. Trying very hard to fit in all the summer fun, family fun, art fairs, and making some new pieces. Last week however we had a family road trip up to Vermont to visit with my aunt and uncle.  They have a wonderful big house that can accommodate all of us. Their lovely house is very old, filled with antiques and was built in 1812.

When I go to Vermont I am always so amazed how green it is, the trees, the lawns, I believe this is why they call it the "Green State". Here is a photo of the front of the house, love the red!!

Their back yard is immense and great for family barbecues and playing with the dogs. Here is Bell, my sisters dog who always comes on the Vermont trips.
                                           

                          Fresh eggs from the chickens and yummy tomatoes from the garden.

                                        Making smores is a must in the evening also.

Since I have been in the States I do miss my Kiki, so I got my cat fill with my aunt's cats. She has two wonderful cats, the one in the photo is Pumpkin, and then there is Barney, a big black cat who was a little shy so it was hard to get a good photo.  I just love that face!!

After the road trip and back on the Cape I had to finish some new pieces  for the art fair. During the summer, there is an art fair every Tuesday here in the Falmouth town square.  Next Tuesday, the 26th is the last day, so if you are in the area feel free to stop by and say hello.

Some new pieces I managed to finish for the fair. A lovely new ring with a Royston ribbon turquoise and a necklace with a Nevada Chrysocolla.  I am also trying to take advantage of my mothers studio and all her wonderful tools to learn some new techniques.  I do not have a rolling mill so I have been experimenting with that and trying to learn all the ins and outs of it.  I used a strip paper to texture the band of the Royston ring. I have also been dying to try chasing and repousse', my mother has some lovely chasing tools I thought I should experiment with.

These tools were handmade and each one has a different texture on the stem of the tool, very cool. I did not have pitch so I used a neoprene pad and taped my piece of copper to the pad so it would not move around.  Obviously I wanted to try it out first to see if I liked it or was capable of making something before I went out and bought all the tools and the pitch. I started with a simple leaf design, naturally if I had the pitch the raised part of the leaf would be higher, but I can say I am pleased with the first outcome.  I think I could easily get into this new technique, the possibilities seem endless. Here is the link for the tools if you have a desire to give it a try,  I also followed the instructions in Nancy Megan Corwin's chasing and Repousse book, very clear and good photos. It was fun!!

The Mettle Works


Have to run, this weekend, biking on Martha's Vinyard, what could be better!!!!!