Finishing Touches

Now that we have recovered from all the excitement of the World Masters it is time to catch up on the many things on my to do list.  I've been sorting through our latest pieces that still need finishing off and taking photos as they are completed.  There are so many ways to finish our pieces and so how do we decide?

When we look at a finished clay piece we like to feature it in it's best light.  Some of our pieces are purposely designed to hang on a nylon coated stainless cable.  We like how it causes you to focus on the bead or pendant and the cord is almost invisible.  We will try our pieces on a variety of colors to see which gives the best effect as in the ones in the photo shown below.

I cannot believe how light and comfortable the cables are.  I made one of these for myself and I had to keep checking to see if it was still in place.

I love making these stripe blends and have created bangles and beads for bracelets and earrings to match.

Another type of cord we like to use is the "softglass" which is like a rubber cord but has a silky look and feel to it.  You can see how they look with the variety of pendants below.

At times the cable or softglass cord just doesn't seem to fit with certain pieces.  I'm always scouting around for just the right materials.  I found these beautiful organza ribbons and a light bulb came on!  I pulled out my sewing machine and stitched some into cords and voila!  Soft, elegant and yet comfortable.

So how do we decide on what to use?  This part is generally a joint effort between Dave and I.  We sometimes create a prototype first and I will actually wear it to "test it out".  We will take note of how it fits or if it hangs properly.  Sometimes we are satisfied and other times we go back to the drawing board  if it needs any tweaking.  I have a drawer full of these prototypes that have become part of my wardrobe.  I must say my hubby has a keen sense for design and style and I tease him that he has a pretty "good" eye for a straight guy!  It is really great to work together like we do and bounce things back and forth.