Travel and Fresh Metal…

Recently arrived home from a trip to sunny Cancun Mexico. A week in the sun and the water was wonderful. After about 6 days I am ready to return home from anywhere but it was good times had by all of us. We really wanted to take our two kids out of the country as well just so they could experience life lived in was other than what they know. It was good for them. The water in the Yucatan Peninsula is known for being crystal clear and aqua blue. We snorkeled and scuba dove, swam and ski jet skied, ate, walked, toured the Mayan ruins. The Mayan ruins are one of the wonders of the world and I now have more information on that then I’ll ever need. (Our tour guide has a Phd Mayan culture.)

Mayan temple is not really a temple… it’s a calendar. The Mayans kept such accurate track of time that their calendar has a leap year every 5,000+ years. Nasa uses the Mayan calendar and developed the Atomic calendar with it. Pretty smart for 4,000 years ago. Twice per year on the Spring Equinox and the Fall… the corners of the temple create a shadow down the stairs of a slithering snake- ending at a huge stone carved snakes head which. We were there the day after the Equinox…the day of the Equinox 50,000 people there to see it.

Traditional Spanish town about half way to the Mayan ruins. This church was built in 1545, destroyed of course in battles, rebuilt in 1705, some town Mayors murdered in it and the church was painted with their blood..eeekkkk!!!!!!!! This is one of the only churches in the world banished by the Catholic church because of it’s gruesome history. I did not get an accurate story about this church either…the language barrier kept a lot of details from me.

Guy in this town making Mayan charm pendants for tourists while they wait. He is working in a space the size of a closet with people lined up out the door.

Under ground Cenote…

Just loved this Flatbed bug 🙂

Savannah snorkeling…right after this photo we saw a fish as big as we are and he was standing his ground so we turned around like a couple of chickens.

The end of our travels to Mexico… it was very hot there and actually when we got home to 35 degrees it felt refreshing but I have always loved it here in Wisconsin.

Nail Through My Heart Necklace With Handmade Chain… This photo is not the best… the stone is awesome! I love making this necklace and this is the best one yet! Link: https://www.etsy.com/listing/521810847/sterling-silver-heart-necklace-handmade?ref=shop_home_active_2

Labradorite ring with Aquamarine Gemstone. This was a custom order and my apprentice made it, Kali… she really held down the fort here while I was gone. Without her it would be very difficult to take a vacation for a week. I just cannot keep track of orders, emails, shipments, and production without help. She is a great help and is also becoming a very talented metalsmith.

Palm Root Fossil and Citrine… handwoven viking knit chain. Link: https://www.etsy.com/listing/506828562/sterling-silver-necklace-handmade-one-of?ref=shop_home_active_52

Crazylace Agate and Vanadinite…handmade solid cable neck wire. I just made this Thursday but it is sold. These are really my favorite pieces to make…the unexpected stones turned jewelry, the rough with the polished, the ugly and the pretty…. I am glad that you all like my crazier pieces because if you didn’t I couldn’t keep doing what I love to do, so thank you. I am at a point in my life where this is what I am and there is no turning back, just going forward and learning/evolving.

To anyone I went to High School with I will be in the Oconomowoc Art Show this year August 18th and 19th… it’s as close to Fort Atkinson as I can get so please stop in and say hello. That is a new show for me and had several of my Door Co. customers ask me to apply there because they live in the more southern part of the state. I just got news that I was accepted in. I will not be in Madison this year. I just decided I do not like the Urban environment and the great expensive of the show. I would rather be in the grass at a park then on hot pavement in between high rise buildings. Other shows are listed on my events page. Summer will be here soon. Happy Spring to all and God bless you and yours.

On The News Tomorrow

Tune in tomorrow to Channel 5 at their live 9:20am spot…. I guess it will be me…. which is a little scary that it is live. (You can witness me being my dorky self.) The live spot is for ArtStreet which takes place in downtown Green Bay. There is art, entertainment & food all weekend long: Friday 4-8pm, Sat 10-8pm, Sun 10-4pm. I am booth #147 which is on the corner of Cherry St. next to Associated Bank. I am right by the food & beer if that is any motivation. The next few pics wrap up summer. It has been a good one…

I made a series of 10 of these necklaces… It is Manganese Dendrite on Limestone. These stones were mined in a famous mine in Germany years ago name Solenhofen. Link to this necklace: http://www.wildprairiesilver.com/store/p377/Manganese_Dendrite_Citrine_Gemstone_Necklace_.html    I will have others listed next week. If you want a pic of each one just send me an email and I will send you some pics. email joy@joykruse.com

This was a custom order for a lady based on another one I made that was much larger. The follow picture is of how it arrived at her house.

Hmmm… ran over it ??????? This box is stuffed tight with tissue paper… inside the tissue paper is another hard jewelry box that is gift wrapped… inside that box is another bunch of tissue paper and your jewelry. The pendant in photo above was bent at a 45 degree angle ~ seriously, it’s layers of 20G metal… The customer was wonderful about it. I am making her a new pendant and filing my insurance claim with the post office. I have never had this happen before. I did go to the post office with my photos… I just needed some kind of a explanation. They said a conveyor must have eaten it…. well… then send it back me.. really… look at the box.. jeez. You can leave that at someones door step and think it’s ok? Saga over… Making another one. It was a pleasure to do, so third times a charm.

One of my favorite pieces of all summer… Ocean Jasper, Tourmaline and White Topaz…sold

This is Crazy Lace Agate and Diamond. This necklace is at The Flying Pig Gallery. It is a beauty. The pics do not do it justice. The top of the stone is a drusy and I could not seem to get that to sparkle. Link: http://www.wildprairiesilver.com/store/p361/Crazy_Lace_Agate_Diamond_18K_Gold_and_Sterling_Silver_Necklace_Handmade_One_Of_A_Kind.html

This piece is at The Flying Pig Gallery as well. 18K Gold and Jasper. I have to make a pin based on this piece for a good customer… I am looking forward to it. Link: http://www.wildprairiesilver.com/store/p363/Jasper_Garnet_18K_Gold_Sterling_Silver_Necklace_Handmade_One_Of_A_Kind.html

This is a piece of Coral Fossil, Garnet and Citrine. It is at:http://www.wildprairiesilver.com/store/p373/Coral_Fossil_Necklace_Sterling_Silver_One_Of_A_Kind_.html

Lake Michigan Beach Stone Souvenir Necklace… Sold… Huge piece of sterling silver rod going right through stone… embedded Garnet… heavy, hammer, forged, handmade sterling chain. I never had so much fun 🙂 really, it was really really really really fun to make this necklace.

We got a dog. He’s great. We needed a dog. The kids needed a dog. His name is Dusty. He came from a shelter in Alabama to the shelter here in Green Bay. (I think he is german Shepard and heeler?) He has been a delight for this past week. He is silly. He does not seem to have ever been out of a caged environment. He eats frogs and bees. He has learned a lot in the last week we have had him… like not to walk through a glass door. He has learned to almost trust us and relax and be a dog.

Kids life ~ Dogs life ~ good stuff, they have no idea how loved they are… and won’t for years and years…

Diamond Accented Cross sent to Germany. Was a favorite for me… even the guy it was going to was just wonderful. I hope he is wearing it as I type this ~ It was the saying he wanted and I really loved it… ‘Being Myself… Being Confident’ – ‘Happiness & Wonders All Around…’

Lake Michigan ~ Cave Point State Park a favorite place Summer or Winter

Yeah, they buried her entirely. This is our neighbor girl. She’s fun and sweet and easy to smile… Summer could not be any better when you are twelve.

See you tomorrow on the News at 9:20 WFRV Channel 5 and at ArtStreet all weekend long #147….

Summer Is Almost Over…Enjoy…

 

Art Show Dates and Classes 2015

Happy Spring!

It’s been a whirl wind here in the last month, many changes and its hard to absorb them all. Maybe next winter I can look back and remember what I was doing during April and now May. My jewelry business is growing nicely and that is all good. It has been a progression that was meant to be. I sent jewelry to a new gallery in New Orleans and that is exciting. The Thomas Mann Gallery:  I/O Gallery will now be showcasing my jewelry. That is a happy feeling. I’m ramping up for show season and can’t seem to keep a stock of inventory and that is also good. It’s good to be busy. I can’t believe my first show is in three weeks… I have a lot of work to do. It’s also my favorite show… Sturgeon Bay’s Fine Art Show Memorial Weekend in Sunset Park (Sat and Sun only.)

I redid my website completely after being coerced into it by my friend Tammy Rae. Her daughter helped me endlessly… I was very frustrated because maintaining a website is a full-time job. I wanted to be able to change my pics, change my slideshow, have a shopping cart, not lose my several domains I maintain, and do it easily with it looking nice. My other web designer was great but she can’t change things on a daily basis. I now have control over minute to minute changes. Well, all of that seemed overwhelming to conquer when I already had a website. I was sick of my old website. It needed a facelift, but I did not want to spend any time changing it or waste time making something I liked even less than what I had. So THANK YOU Kristina and Tammy! It looks amazing and was not as painful as I expected and I love it. It has a full shopping cart attached to paypal and square and I can update it whenever I want to very easily. Please visit it and check it out! I would love to hear your feedback. http://www.wildprairiesilver.com

Beautiful Bloodstone Necklace ~Sold

Pearl and Dryhead Agate Necklace available Link: http://www.wildprairiesilver.com/store/p324/Dryhead_Agate_Sterling_Silver_Pearl_Necklace.html

Other personal changes… my father in law passed away very unexpectedly a few weeks ago. He was a wonderful man. He was a father that was an example of how to live your life and love people. We will miss him greatly. His grandson spoke at his funeral and describe him as ‘warm’ and that is so right. He let you love him and he loved you back. He was a warm, loving person with a sense of humor. He was non-judgmental and rolled with the punches. I lost a Dad and a friend. His own children lost not only a father but their guide post, the foundation of their lives. We all are grateful to have loved him and we all are grateful for how he passed away… in his sleep, never sick, living and going and being right up to that moment. That is a beautiful to gift to him and a reward for the self-sacrificing life he lived. Love you Gramps.

Mother’s Twig & Vine Ring ~ This is a custom order with your choice in stones. This was made as a Mother’s Ring with her children’s birthstones. You can have your own ring made in a similar style but they will all be very different. I have made about five of these rings this month and each one is just as unique and beautiful as the next one. Link: http://www.wildprairiesilver.com/store/p181/Twig_and_Leaf_Mother%27s_Ring_Custom_Order.html 

 

Florida Fossilized Coral and Citrine… Handmade Chain ~ This necklace is one of the boldest necklaces I have ever made, yet there is a softness about it. If you are interested in this necklace you can send me a message or call The Flying Pig Gallery and purchase it directly from them. It is on display and for sale at The Flying Pig Gallery in Algoma WI. 920~487~9902 http://www.theflyingpig.biz

Labradorite Bullet Ring Link:http://www.wildprairiesilver.com/store/p173/Labradorite_Bullet_Ring_Sterling_Silver_Hand_Made_One_Of_A_Kind_Wild_Prairie_Silver.html

 

Azurite Specimen Necklace Handmade Chain Link: http://www.wildprairiesilver.com/store/p325/Azurite_Stone_Hand_Made_Chain_Sterling_Silver_Necklace_.html

Here is the show and class schedule for 2015. I am excited that I did get into the Madison Show and Wausau Art Show. Madison is terrifying me but you have to do new things, right? Why is Madison terrifying? I have a list… It’s huge, it’s a ton of over head in $$$, it’s huge, it has 200,000 people in attendance, it’s one of the top art shows in the nation, it’s huge, it’s windy, it’s huge, I will need help, I have children that are helpful ~ thank God for that, oh did I mention that it’s huge. It is on the streets surrounding Wisconsin’s Capital building so I think I will love it but I won’t know unless I try. IT’S HUGE!!!!!!! Ahhhhhhhhheeeeeeeeeekkkkkkkkkkkkk!

My jewelry classes at Peninsula School Of Art are a little goofed up in the catalog. As I type, I am reminding myself to give them a call. The three days of jewelry making where suppose to be consecutive days. You could pick and choose but not just come on Friday only and think you can make the necklace in the photo in one day. I am a little worried that I will have a class 20 people on Friday that all want to make something awesome to wear for their weekend in Door Co. in one day and that is unrealistic. We will just do what we can with what we have but Friday was only supposed to be available if you picked one of the other days or all three. So if you come Friday only and have never used a torch or a pair of pliers in your entire life we will still have you make something amazing but it won’t be what is in the photo. We will do our best though and as always in class I hold nothing back. We can take class wherever your skill level and imagination allow. All the links to show information and classes are on my website: http://www.wildprairieisilver.com http://www.wildprairiesilver.com/show-dates–classes.html

Late little note… I started posting daily pics in my workshop as they are created on Instagram. If you want to see those pics download the Instragram app (you can go to Instagram on your computer too) and type in the search wild prairie silver. The pics are fun, spontaneous eye-candy, no extra hoopla, very little text. Hopefully see you all soon on a beautiful summer day, in a park at an art show. Take Care & God Bless ~ joy

 

Art Show Schedule and Class Schedule

Sturgeon Bay Fine Art Show May 23rd, 24th Memorial Weekend, Sat & Sun only. Sunset Park Sturgeon Bay Wisconsin Door Co.

Art On The Square ~ Art Off The Square July 11th, 12th Madison Wisconsin, surrounds the Capital building

Bergstrom Mahler Fine Art Show ~ July 19th Sunday Only, 165 N Park St Neenah WI 10-4pm.

Art In The Park ~ Appleton Wisconsin Sunday July 26th

Artstreet ~ Green Bay Wisconsin August 28th, 29th, 30th Friday evening, Saturday and Sunday

Wausau Fine Art Show ~ Wausau Wisconsin Sept 12th, 13th

Towline Art Fair ~ Ephraim Wisconsin at The Fine Line Gallery Door Co. October 10th, 11th

Redbird Christmas Show East DePere High School Nov 28th Doors Open at 9am

 Class

September 14-18th Peninsula School of Art Fish Creek Door County

Sept 14, 15th Business Class Opening Your Etsy Shop: In this class we set up your Etsy store from start to finish. If you already have an Etsy store we make it shine. Class covers social media, SEO and other business aspects of selling your work. Two half day classes, morning

Sept 14, 15th Demo Microscopic TIG welding: Over view of new microscopic TIG welder for jewelry and mixed metal artist.

Sept 16th, 17th, 18th: Three days of making whatever jewelry piece you want from sterling silver…. come one day or come all the days… open to all skill levels.

ArtStreet Preview….

Agate and Pearl Sterling Silver Necklace

Ocean Jasper Handmade Teardrop Chain. I can’t tell you how good this necklace feels on… it’s smooth and weighty and beautiful.

Crazy Lace Agate and Garnet Gemstones….

Been working hard at my bench for ArtStreet. I have more pieces that these but won’t get the pics up before the show. Please visit: http://www.joykruse.etsy.com to see individual listings.

I’ve also had some family things going on that have needed my attention in far away places so it’s been a whirl wind of a month. ArtStreet always marks the last week of summer and that is hard to believe. I don’t want to believe it. I guess if I lived in an ‘endless summer’ I would tire of it….

Class, Run, Weekend, Tools….

Busy week last week… Taught class at Peninsula School of Art in Fish Creek Wisconsin. Thank you to Rick and Maryann as they drive along way and were back for a second year in a row. I hope they return next year. It’s been amazing to see what they have done in a year. Beautiful creative work ~ both of them! And thank you to Silversmith Sylvia Youell who stopped in to show us her work. She graduated from UW Madison a number of years before I was born and is still making amazing pieces of jewelry. She has a class at Peninsula School of Art first week in December and also during the summer months. Students work done in class…..

I have had a problem for years teaching class…. Students do not want to buy torches, regulators and tanks. It’s an expensive investment. Hand held butane torches I find frustrating: too small, run out of fuel, not hot enough, not adjustable enough, short life expectancy of the tool itself… (There are a lot of people that do all their work with a hand held butane torch. My hat is off to them as I do not have the patience for that kind of torch.)

Yesterday I got this in the mail from Euro Tool…. I did not have it in time for class but that is fine since I have been waiting for this for a few years. A torch that is simple, reasonably priced, interchangeable tips, easy fuel source: propane refillable tank (your gas grill tank) or propane disposable tank (little bottle of propane for a coleman camping stove). THANK YOU EuroTool!!!! I tried it out yesterday. I was impressed. It’s not as hot as propane and oxygen which I use but it gets the job done easily, quickly and the three torch heads are perfect! Four feet of hose and the torch handle swivels, very comfortable for hours of use. Yippeeee!!!!!!!!

Link: https://www.etsy.com/listing/163607558/copperhead-torch-propane-jewelry-torch?ref=shop_home_active

Other tools I tried out….

Power Max Full Flush Side Cutter and Euro Tool Rotary Flexible Shaft: The power max full flush side cutter I have had for a while. It is my favorite pliers. It has its’ own hanger next to my hand at my bench I use it so much. Effortless cutting with minimal distortion of  12 and 10 Gauge material ~ Nice.

The flex shaft is good quality at a reasonable price. If you are currently using a dremel this will be a nice upgrade.

Another amazing looking bug…. Walking Stick that was on my porch yesterday. What is it with the weird bug sightings? This bug was about 3 1/2 inches long and would have matched a pine tree/needles perfectly.

Side note:  ran the half marathon in Appleton Wisconsin on Sunday. It is a great course and had great cool fall weather to run in (7am 44 degrees). My sister in law ran that distance for the first time ~ 13.1 miles. Great job Jen! She has been training faithfully for at least six months. The energy at a race is so positive it’s addictive. I hope she wants to run another one.

Got to go! I have lots on my bench in the making. Show this Saturday in Fish Creek Wisconsin at The Settlement Shops ~ one day only 10-5…..

 

Ruth’s Ring

Just finished Ruth’s ring…. It is a wedding band of 18K Gold, 7 sapphires (she has 7 children), and sterling silver. The interior of the band reads ’22 years from tomorrow’ and ‘I love you more…’ The band spin freely on the ring. The following picture is of Steve’s ring. The man behind the plan….

Steve’s ring is 5 bands of 18K Gold that spin freely on the band. His ring also reads ’22 years from tomorrow’ on the inside of the band. I have all the pics to follow of the making of these rings…

This is setting up the sizing of the bands….

Sapphires Ordered… Yummy!

The soldering of the bands after the wording was stamped on the inside while the metal was flat.

Matching up stones and making sure they are the correct size for the tube bezel settings. Measure my gold out for the other bands…

Soldered these together—then make them round. When These rings have to fit on a spinning band I make them 3 sizes larger then the band they will spin on.

Soldering on settings

Hers

His

Bezel setting punches to set stones
Fit the right bezel punch to stone and tap with a mallet to curve bezel over the stone with the punch.

How to dome the rings….

Delivering Today! Gorgeous!

Earrings finished today too! Here’s the link: https://www.etsy.com/listing/130977217/pink-dryhead-agate-earring-sterling

Very cool carved jade stone bead. I bought a set of these at a bead show yesterday and made a leather ‘pull’ for my bell that is outside on my porch. It calls my kids in from the woods/river.

Happy Spring. All the snow finally melted a couple days ago. It has been a long winter. Nice to see the sun.

Spring Day Today

I have so much to share and some of it is the weather…. It’s been just awful. It has snowed several times in April…. jeez. So, today it’s finally 50 degrees. What a blessing. A sign of spring is that the gallery near me ‘The Flying Pig’ reopened for their season of tourism. Yippeee! This is great! They have been open a couple weekends now and will open on a daily basis in May. You can visit them in Algoma WI on Hwy 42 (one mile south of town) or visit http://www.theflyingpig.biz.

On a very sad note: The Urban Princess Boutique in Philadelphia has had a fire. It’s an old style downtown building and the store next door to them completely burned down including apartments above. A fireman was killed in the blaze. My heart goes out to the ladies of the Urban Princess. It was their dream to open that store.

They have handled the entire situation with professional grace keeping everyone informed as they had many consignment items. Not that it’s important in the grand scheme of things but my jewelry was really not harmed. It was in a locked glass case that took on some water and smoke damage. The have ‘content’ insurance as well which is in our consignment agreement. I now have my own consignment agreement and my own wholesale agreement for retailers. In a situation just like this it is very important. Bad, unforeseeable things happen. I hope they can recover and reopen their store but it’s going to take them a lot time to just catch their breath. The building is being torn down by a 7 story crane as we speak.

Made some really great stuff this past week in the shop and busy as ever which is good because the summer season will be here quickly. I have to get ready for teaching at the Bead and Button and that is a ton of prep work. Also I will have a nice spread in a jewelry magazine this summer. Yipppeeeee! Thanks to those nice folks that contacted me. I have to proof read the article today. I  can’t tell ya what magazine yet as I am not sure I am suppose to. I will let you know when it’s finalized and off to everyone’s mailbox. Piece of above is a crazy lace agate and citrine. I really enjoyed the hinge style pendant. It creates a lot dynamic that the pendant moves. The bullet shapes on the ends of the hinge are citrines. I could not get a good picture of this piece but I have not taken my time trying either. I will try harder on the photo later.

This is an Laguna Agate and Amethyst…. The purple hues make this stone a favorite of mine.

This stone is 4 inches long – a whopper! The gemstones are peridot and pink topaz. The pink topaz is a vibrant hot pink, striking.

Last but not least these are some custom wings I have done for people that requested them. The oxidized pair of wings are the best wings yet! They are just the right size about one inch tall and super cool looking together. The tiny wings also look great as a pair. The earrings were by request from a great local customer – thanks!!!!!!!

Off to the shop to get to work…..Might have to take a jog outside for lunch today. It’s finally sunny.

Tiny Angel Wing, New!

These are tiny. 11mmx4mm. I made five new wings this winter and they are all finished. I even made some for guys…that is really going out on a limb. I made them from pmc and have a huge carving pile of pmc scrap. I am going to experiment with all of the metal clay shavings and see what happens. These wings are perfect for just about anyone and they are at an awesome price of $14 so I hope they are a great selling point.

This bracelet is a hinged bracelet I have been working on for about 2 weeks. It’s going to have a very interesting clasp and just the pin for the clasp is going to take me most of the day tomorrow. This is just a picture of the bracelet in the rough. The bracelet is pretty large but it’s for a man’s wrist.

You can see the pin sticking out the bottom of the bracelet in this picture. That pin is not finished yet. I had to put it down for today. I concentrated on it so long I started dropping things. When I do that it’s time to close up the studio and put my tools away.

On an awful note: It looks like Alaska here. It is snowing and blowing and freezing cold. It is March, right???? Jeez, we could use a thaw. I could use a trip to the ocean right now. Even 50-60 degrees would be awesome. Looking forward to spring. Where are you spring?

Show This Weekend

 

Got a show this weekend in Green Bay Wisconsin ~ ArtiGras….. It is held right across the street from the famous Lambeau Field Home of the Green Bay Packers. Saturday is 9-6pm and Sunday is 10-5pm. I am booth #20. Hope  to see you there.

 

I really wanted to thank everyone that donate to the Michelle Tingley Benefit last Saturday. I sold about 4 pairs of the Prayer Earrings and donated all the money to the family. Michelle is a 34 year old nurse battling a rare liver cancer. She has a young son and needs to survive. The benefit was packed so I am sure they made lots of money to help Michelle with her household bills while she has been in treatment (since Oct or Nov – could not work.) Again, Thank You! It really makes a difference.

 

This last picture is stuff I have to haul out of the basement for the show. I sell little tiny things and you would think I could get by with just bringing a trunk load of supplies. Well, not so much….I have a trailer of Art Show set up stuff. It’s crazy. It’s really, really crazy. I must be crazy.

 

I will take a picture of my booth this weekend and post it. It will be different again this year. This last picture is of an amethyst specimen necklace, handmade chain. I finished it last night at midnight. I cannot for the life of me get a decent picture of it but I did not have much time to try either. It’s really cool. It looks like a relic….like I just pulled it out of the ground. I will work on getting a better image of it. I named it ‘Purple Heart.’ It’s massive. Picture does not do it justice.

 

Wish me luck this weekend and maybe see some of you there.