Mountain Girl

"Mountain Girl"- hand forged sterling silver and copper pendant with a bezel set jasper cabochon on a 

three strand necklace of serpentine jasper, tiger's eye, freshwater pearl and sterling silver.

This is a piece that I just completed for an old classmate of ours who we recently became reacquainted with.  Another one of those reunions brought on by Facebook in this age of technology.  It is fun and sometimes surprising to see where people end up and to find out what they have been up to.  It has been a pleasure to reconnect with MB (as we called her in high school) after all these years. She grew up to be a wife, a mother of two cute and spunky boys and a very talented photographer who specializes in the most beautiful and poignant family photography   Her kind heart and her insightfullness really shines through in her work.  It is truly breathtaking.

It just so happens that MB was in town this summer so we arranged a little artist exchange....a photo session for some jewelry.  I was blown away by the shoot she did of our family.  She captured the individual personalities of my kids in a way I have never seen before.

I wanted to make a piece that was as personalized as possible.  MB now lives in Colorado and just loves the mountains and everything about the area.  The three mountains represent her guys- her husband and her two boys.  I also wanted something big, chunky and over the top because like most moms, MB would never think to buy something like that for herself even though she absolutely deserves it.

If you would like to see something guaranteed to put a smile on your face visit her site, Mary Elizabeth Graff Photography .  Make sure you check out her awesome blog while you are there.

A mailbox full of possibilities

This seems to always be a creative time of year for me. There are just so many reasons. The kids are back in school so I can actually get a few uninterrupted hours in my studio.  Fall is a gorgeous time of year and certainly lends inspiration.  Oh and there's that little thing called the holiday shopping season which is right around the corner..... 

For the past few weeks I have been on the hunt for unique stones and have been delighted with some of my finds. Today, my mailbox was overstuffed with little packages from all over the world.

So here's what I found in my mailbox of possibilities- Mabe pearls, Chinese Writing Stone, Owyhee Jasper, Onyx, Opal, Fordite and some Biggs Jasper.

Can't wait to dig in....

Birth of a Blog

How fitting that my first post involves birth.  New website. New blog.  A new phase for HauteMetals as our collective expands and becomes more sophisticated.  I love new beginnings.  I love babies and everything about them... their beauty, their smell, their promise of endless possibilities.  They are simply awe inspiring.  The empowering births of my own children, now 14, 11 and 8, had such a profound effect on me that I became deeply involved with our local birthing center when the hospital it was affiliated with decided to discontinue the program.  Several of the center's clients, including myself, worked together to build a new center and ensure that the women in our region have choices when it comes to the birth of their babies.  It was truly a grassroots effort and we managed to build Pittsburgh's only freestanding birth center, The Midwife Center for Birth and Women's Health.  I was on the Board of Directors of the center for several years and it really holds a special place in my heart.

Today, I made this piece to give to a very special midwife, Nancy Niemczyk, the former clinical director for The Midwife Center.  She is leaving midwifery for now to pursue a Ph.D.  Without her expertise and her complete willingness to make what many would feel were tremendous sacrifices the center probably would not be in existence today.  We had the privilege of having Nancy assist us at the birth of our daughter. 

The sweet little carved moonstone face cabochon was a gem I bought at a gem show many years ago.  I could never come up with the right design for it.  I think it was really waiting all this time for this particular piece. I tried to pack as much symbolism into this pendant as possible.  The six petaled flower is a representation of the logo of The Midwife Center.  The moonstone represents women and fertility.  I set the little face just slightly off kilter to be somewhat reminiscent of a baby crowning.  I hope it reminds her of all the women and babies she has helped throughout the years.

Here's to new beginnings.........