Fused Glass and Jasper

Last week when the autumn winds blew through wild enough to drop the temperatures to 39, I created this necklace while at Artisans of the Gap. This is the gallery/shop that I co-own with two other artists, Fiona Zahnke and Valerie Dowdy.
I was rearranging a few pieces of jewelry at the shop, when I began to rework some jewelry. I added fused glass to a hammered brass earring and added gold leaf charms. I used the cording from the fused glass focal point of this necklace. The red jasper I have had knowing that the muse would come and the red jasper beads would find a home. They are graduated in size with smoked red jasper between them. The rhodonite triangle beads seemed to create a modern wave to the piece. I continued to use picture and smoked jasper beads to finish the autumn necklace. I added a hammered sterling silver S clasp to the necklace. The earrings are smoked jasper with a jasper star at the end before the silver twirl. Twirling is something leaves do rather well in the autumn.

Artisans of the Gap

Each Wednesday, well, each Wednesday when I am in town, you can find me at Artisans of the Gap at 419 Wood Avenue in downtown Big Stone Gap. Yesterday afternoon, Fiona and I changed the windows of the shop/gallery. It was a very hot afternoon, but we were both determined to fill the windows with a change of art. Today, I took the camera to the shop to take photos for our blog. I was surprised to find the reflection of the street of Big Stone Gap so clear. We are located across the street from Miner's Park. The white lines are the parking lines for cars and trucks and most importantly, customers.

 The window to the right faces an intersection and Trail Realty. The cars you see are cars driving along the downtown streets. The large grocery store is only a block or two away.

I added a new piece of glass to the shop case. The butterfly plate is an rainbow red that is iridescent. The plate has three copper butterflies fused between layers of glass. Below the plate on the first shelf are some fused glass hair pins. These were popular items purchased by my family this weekend. On the bottom shelf are two fused glass plates and a lovely garnet citrine necklace.
I'll be there on Saturday from 10 - 2. Stop by if you are in the area. Lots of great pottery, fiber, silk scarves, jewelry and glass to see and purchase.