Gayle Bird Designs

on April 6, 2012

. 2 Comments

I’ve added an index of tutorials to this site; you can catch them all at the link at the top or click here to view all the tutorials (so far!).

Dangle Earring Tutorial

Published

on April 2, 2012

. 0 Comments

This tutorial riffs off the last one. It’s twist based so if you can wrap beach glass the way I showed you, you can make these earrings! Enjoy :)

Still making birds!

Published

on March 25, 2012

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I’m still working in the studio to get ready for the Home to Roost exhibition… at first I wasn’t digging the fact that I only had time to work on birds, and only birds… but this week I started to get really into it! Check out these wire tributes to the peacock feather:

Meanwhile, polymer clay has been a side interest for many, many years. For instance, check out my little dragon-guy from a million years ago:

I haven’t always incorporated into jewellery though, and it’s been sort of on the back burner for a long, long time. But one day I realized that the best way to use all the miniscule watch parts leftover from my steampunk work – the bits that are too small to wire wrap – was to shove them into some clay. And so, my clay steampunk shells, discs, and hearts were born (the hearts, with a little help from a tutorial by Christi Friessen):

I used to make canes all the time, and I still have a batman logo cane and some fiery leaf-feather things; but I haven’t gotten into anything so complicated for years.

Until yesterday.

Yesterday, I woke up wondering what kind of bird-y thing I could make today… and while I snuggled in for an extra 15 minutes of our awesome bed, the idea for a peacock feather polymer clay cane started slowly forming.

And slow it was! I don’t have a clay machine for making sheets of clay, so I was using a hand-roller (ow) – and some of my clay is old and crumbly, and I didn’t have the colours I wanted, so I was mixing over and over (through half a season of Buffy!).

But then, I had what I wanted – a reasonable facsimile of a peacock feather! Sort of!

I squished and reduced the thing – too quickly, as it turns out – but managed to get quite a few perfect little feather slices out of it. And here’s what I made with them!

A series of various-sized slices for earrings and pendants. I used my new pearl-ex powders for this and I am AMAZED at the beautiful shimmer they give:

And what I think might be the coolest thing I’ve ever done, a whole peacock in a pendant:

I’m always happy with my work but this was the hardest (did I mention ow?) and most satisfying thing I’ve done in a very, very long time.

Oh and hey, while I have you here, take a look at my first attempts at 3D wire sculpture, also bird-like:

I think I’m going to dig up my old box of canes and see what leafy things I have that might turn successfully into feathers. Something not peacock-y. I’ve also got to get those single peacock slices into earring and pendant form. Away I go!

Home to Roost

Published

on March 4, 2012

. 0 Comments

A bunch of super-talented local artisans and I are working on a gallery exhibition that opens in about a month. It’s all about birds and there are a LOT of great ideas flying around our intermittent meetings. Working with such creative minds is exhilarating… staring down a deadline, a little less so ;)

Here’s a tiny little update on what I’ve been working on. Eyeballs by Sarah Beck!

BROOCHES!

Published

on November 30, 2011

in Craft Shows & Galleries

. 1 Comment

For the hundreds of people who have gone away crestfallen over the years… I’ve finally made brooches! These are all I have… when they’re gone, they’re gone! Available exclusively at the Holiday Spirit Fine Craft Market, TOMORROW, Friday, Saturday & Sunday!

No time! Setup is in 12 hours! Gotta run!!

Steampunkerflowersisies

Published

on November 27, 2011

. 1 Comment

In the midst of unbelievable chaos, I managed to complete a last-minute batch of steampunk flower pendants before the CBCCD show in 4 days!

I especially love the one with the red/orange leather, below:

I had to make some more because I nearly sold out at my last show! These things go very fast.

I was tucked in behind the table at the C200 show and it was fun watching jaws drop from my nearly-hidden vantage point.

I started playing with sheet metal – copper and aluminum – shaped, hammered and hole-punched as a basis for the flowers. It’s working pretty great! You can see it on the left, above, and in the middle, below.

In other news, about a month ago I was building flat, round, upholstered display discs (see turquoise, above!) and in so doing, I think I over-used the duct tape and strained a tendon in my right index finger. It could also have been the heavy wire-work I was doing for ornaments and neckwires.

In any case, working was painful and it seemed the best thing was to rest the finger. So aside from my day job, I’ve been avoiding using that hand for four or five weeks now. Getting back to the bench and being able to create again was a relief! It’s still a little stiff but I couldn’t help myself.

I hope to get a few brooches done before the show, but it is hard to say if I will have the time.

The fancy martini fundraiser party is this Thursday, and you can contact CBCCD for tickets. After that, we are open Friday evening, all day Saturday and Sunday for only $2.00 admission. Hope to see you there!

Show Prep

Published

on October 30, 2011

in Craft Shows & Galleries and Previews

. 2 Comments

Yesterday was SO productive! I worked 8 full hours in the studio, with hardly any lollygagging or shenanigans. It was all about preparation for the four shows I have in the next 5 weeks, to make setup as painless (literally) as possible. I:

Covered one of the presentation boards I got on the cheap with fabric that I guessed at the length for and was an inch shy of being not enough. This process caused me to stretch in ways I haven’t stretched in a while. Today I am paying for it with aches and pains. But it’s totally worth it! Then I loaded the presentation board so I can just slip it into its case and have the world’s easiest set-up.

Completed a wholesale order for… wait for it… Little Mysteries in Halifax!!! Squee! They took one each of my new Focus line, as well as a dozen simpler gemstone pendants with meaning cards attached. I’m so delighted with this I can’t even think straight. The photo below – of simple gemstones with simple meanings – is the culmination of my career. Literally, this is all I’ve ever wanted to do but could never figure out properly.

Printed cards for my rare beach glass pendants that fit into the new boxes I have on hand and loaded them up. They look so fancy!

Created new STEAMPUNK cards and loaded my clay steampunk into boxes.

Loaded some beach glass onto cards.

Loaded my ring tray.

Counted and sorted my inventory.

Did a dance of joy.

Busy as a Bee

Published

on October 29, 2011

. 0 Comments

My Arts North end-of-season inventory is back, and I’m pleased to discover that I now have twice as many rings as I thought I had, and nearly twice as many earrings. Phew! This is good, because I woke up this morning realizing this is my last full weekend of production, and before I’d gotten out of bed I had organized my whole day. Except now it’s 11am and all I’ve done so far is poach some eggs! It’s OK though because I got some much-needed sleep.

Today I need to figure out the final say on my ornament design… I ran out of beads from the very successful ornament from last year, so I had to order new ones but they’re too small for the old design. I posted a new design on my Facebook page, but private and public opinion was that it wasn’t right. So it’s back to the drawing board! I might make a smaller version of last year’s design; I haven’t decided yet.

I DID decide that I will be making a small batch of Christmas earrings, and they will be my Show Special at only $15! I’m pretty excited about that… I was playing with the new beads to come up with the new ornament and have a bunch of too-small-for-the-tree pieces that will be perfect for earrings.

It was fun this week to be someone’s mentor… a friend I showed some jewellery techniques to about a decade ago is finally worked up to her first show, and she had questions for me… and I had the answers! I felt like a rockstar for a second there.

After ornaments, my priority this weekend is to make coal pendants and beach glass pendants.

OK. I have got to get to the studio. Have a great one folks!

New Rings!

Published

on October 25, 2011

. 1 Comment

Been making crazy amounts of jewellery these days…

Check out how awesome that labradorite is!

Finished up a bunch of rings lately, some even with gears and such!

Managed to get a few gemstones going as well, although I’m not quite able to identify this one.

This rainbow one is totally fun.

And a huge flowery one! So cool.

For the first time ever I’m running a calendar and a production schedule. Today I’m supposed to be making ornaments :)

Where to Buy, Xmas Season 2011

Published

on October 22, 2011

. 0 Comments

Some folks have been asking where to buy my jewellery this year. Here’s the list!

Centre 200 Christmas Craft Fair

Friday, November 11: 2pm – 9pm
Saturday, November 12: 10am – 8pm
Sunday, November 13: Noon – 5pm

Holiday Spirit at Cape Breton Centre for Craft & Design

Tentative schedule:

Private Shopping Party, Thursday, December 1: 5pm – 9pm
Friday, December 2: 5pm – 8pm
Saturday, December 3: 10am – 6pm
Sunday, December 4: Noon – 5pm

If you happen to know my avon lady or my future mother-in-law, they’ll be holding private jewellery parties at their homes next month as well.

And of course, my work is available year-round at the Cape Breton Centre for Craft & Design:

CBCCD is open year-round, Mon-Sat.
PO Box 1686,
322 Charlotte Street
Sydney, Nova Scotia B1P 6T7
Tel: 902.539.7491
Fax: 902.539.4807
www.capebretoncraft.com

My Etsy shop is currently empty; once I see what my returning inventory is like after Arts North closes this weekend, I might be able to put up a few items. I’ll keep you in the loop!

Nova Scotia Gem & Mineral Show

Published

on August 21, 2011

. 0 Comments

For the first time in 3 years, I got my little behind to the NS Gem & Mineral Show. I went completely bonkers and oh boy am I glad I did! Check out the colour on that aquamarine! The deep blue apatite! the brilliant yellow citrine, the peridot… oh man I’m excited.

I have been planning my Focus series for like a billion years now, and now I have the full complement of what I need. Here are some closeups!

The most amazing blue AAA kyanite, citrine, and amethyst/citrine points.

AMETHYST!

Carnelian. Loving these facets.

Top row is some rainbow moonstone, nearly invisibly. The rectangles are the kyanite I had before – rough, inconsistent colour, full of matrix. The triple-a stuff is just so much better. The bottom three rows are iolite, iolite, and more kyanite.

One of the big regrets I had about the last show was not going back for more agate slices. This time, I bought nearly everything they had!

Including these brilliant tumbled fragments.

I am completely in love.

Crazy New Vintage Steampunk Flower Birchbark Clocky Things

Published

on August 6, 2011

. 0 Comments

Hoo boy, I love this batch. I had several new sets of components I had wanted to try – enameled flowers I got from an artist on etsy, lacquered birchbark I’d harvested from a friend’s woodpile, skeleton keys my dad salvaged from his basement, and stamped bronze and copper filigree that I’d coloured and varnished myself. I meant to do four different styles, but somehow they all got mashed up into my steampunk line and turned into something crazy and awesome.

Sneaky Preview

Published

on July 27, 2011

. 0 Comments

The new materials I’ve got on the bench are blowing my mind. Unfortunately, my vacation totally interrupted my creativity time and I can’t show you anything finished yet!

I can, however, totally tease you :)

And ok, you can see some of the half-finished bits in the background. Maybe I jumbled them together on purpose so you can’t make them out. Y’know. Maybe.

Brooches of the Steampunk Variety

Published

on May 22, 2011

. 0 Comments

For those of you who have asked if I make brooches …. I do now!

I know I’ve been inundating you with updates lately, but I can’t help it! I’ve just been so productive and I love to share :)

Soft Beach Glass Necklace

Published

on May 22, 2011

. 0 Comments

Some lovely soft colours of beach glass – yellow green, blue – wired together and placed on a ribbon necklace.

Yay!

Specular Hematite Faery Flower Necklace

Published

on May 21, 2011

. 1 Comment

This pile of beads has been haunting my last three studio benches. Today it finally became a necklace!

Firescale Carnelian & Garnet

Published

on May 15, 2011

. 1 Comment

This is the most fun I’ve had in the studio in a while! Mostly I’ve had to focus on production pieces – making a million earrings in a row and spending weeks building rings; they’re satisfying to make but it can get monotonous. I finally decided to spend today doing something completely unique!

I didn’t have a serious plan for this one but it worked out beautifully. I’ve had these firescale carnelian ovals for a very long time and it was lovely to use them in a serious piece like this.

Rare & Ultra-Rare Beach Glass!

Published

on April 24, 2011

. 0 Comments

You guys, I am so lucky. My parents, my future mother-in-law and my friends all love to hunt for beach glass and have been bringing me the most delightful finds. Plus, I managed to get out once or twice my own self! It’s completely re-energizing to stand on that beach, look across into infinity and just breathe in the salt air.

With the exception of most of the marbles, all of this was found within the past month or so. That huge amber-orange piece (whose colour & rarity I’m having trouble identifying) I was lucky enough to find myself, but the two red/orange art glass pieces were found on different days by different people!

And now, some of the final results:

Is this yellow? Or orange? Or honey amber? I can’t tell.

Teal!

A gorgeous A-grade Gray.

This isn’t quite gray, but it’s sorta getting there, which along with the super rounded state, suggests it’s really old. It’s sort of a flattened cylinder which makes me think it used to be a cup handle.

Gorgeous piece of Aqua. I think I like the antique gold wire on it; do you?

Fabulous yellow!

A smooth piece of Jade.

A kind of blurry photo of a nice piece of Lavender.

Cobalt! So pretty, that cobalt.

Fabulous piece of citron – sooo pretty when you hold it up to the light.

And finally, this amazing piece of art glass that is red which smoothly transitions to orange. It’s got ridges, suggesting it used to be a plate or bowl. It’s kind of small so I had to use smaller gauge wire. It seems like I only get 1 red piece a year, and this is it for this year! The other piece above appears to have come from the exact same piece, and it doesn’t really count because it’s so small I don’t think I’ll be able to use it. But it’s pretty!

In other news, I’ve been thinking of doing a bunch more shows this year. It’s a lot of work and I find them mentally and physically exhausting, but the sales are always good and we’ve got a few wish-projects for around the house, so I think I’ll go for it. Which means I’ve gotta get off the internet and go make some things :)

Upcoming Uncommon Beach Glass

Published

on March 31, 2011