Beautiful Winter and Beautiful Winter Looks @ YIKES Studio

This winter season has gotten off to a gorgeous start. Christmas was beautiful here in Lucerne, Maine, with the recent ice storm we experienced coating the trees and bushes with a shining coat of ice that shone merrily in the sunshine. No decorated indoor tree could compare to looking out over acres of gracefully bent trunks and branches, each wrapped in  a natural coat of glittering tinsel.

I've been focused on celebrating the holidays with family-- both at home and in Portland, Oregon-- and staffing the artisan gallery, SevenArts, where my work is represented in Ellsworth during the Christmas season. Soon I'll be back in the studio in earnest, though, and I'd like to share with you the focus of some of my upcoming work.

Over the past few years I've had a growing interest in fiber arts. Knitting, and then felting, became interests for me. But if you know any small business artist types, you know that our interests don't tend to stay simply hobbies for long-- we develop our work, tweak it, and start to offer the finished products for sale. In 2014, I'll be working more intensively with fiber arts and integrating these into my product line.

Here are a few pieces from 2013. What jewelry styles did you like most in the past year-- YIKES! pieces and others?



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Suzanne Anderson is the creator of YIKES! Studio Jewelry. Suzanne has been busy creating for most of her life. After graduating with a BA from Maine College of Art, she worked as a graphic designer and a painter. Suzanne works to ensure that YIKES! Studio creates work that is fun, beautiful, always interesting, and adorns the wearer with joy. Catch up with her on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, or Etsy, or her website at www.yikesstudio.com.

New outfit? Deck it out with matching earrings

Get a new sweater or blouse over the holidays? These cool, organic and fresh earrings (left) are a perfect compliment to any outfit-- they come in Tangerine, Ocean Blues, Forest and Stormy Gray. Nature inspired, they imitate the way nature makes colors so entrancing through subtle variations.

Their forms are so organic, and they might look like glass, but they're lightweight polymer. Great for anyone who does not like a heavy earring, these bright beauties will attract lots of compliments!

They hang about 2", and all of the polymer and silver work is done by me-- no pre-made parts, just all quality craftmanship by a Maine artist!

Each pair comes in a colorful organza bag (left).

A steal at $30, you can check out more views of this product on Etsy.


YIKES Sea Wafer Dangle Earrings of Color Polymer and Sterling Silver >>

FREE Shipping on YIKES! Jewelry on Etsy for the Holidays

Need a perfect gift for someone in your life for the holidays? YIKES! Etsy shop is stocked up for the holiday season with gorgeous and affordable Maine-made earrings and jewelry in every price range and styles to suit everyone. Earrings start at just $28, and beautiful gift packaging is included.

Even better, through December, enjoy free shipping on any purchase at etsy.yikesstudio.com.

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Suzanne Anderson is the creator of YIKES! Studio Jewelry. Suzanne has been busy creating for most of her life. After graduating with a BA from Maine College of Art, she worked as a graphic designer and a painter. Suzanne works to ensure that YIKES! Studio creates work that is fun, beautiful, always interesting, and adorns the wearer with joy. Catch up with her on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, or Etsy, or her website at www.yikesstudio.com.

What's On My Workbench

As the days get shorter, the sunsets ever closer to the sunrises, it's a wonderful time to devote to creative pursuits indoors. The newest work in my studio is alive with lavender, golden yellow and fresh green. Patterns and shapes abound in infinite variety created by the polymer caning process.

I've also been showing my work at some fine craft shows, and the next one takes me to Portsmouth, New Hampshire for a Designing Women craft show.

These are great shows with a wonderful group of folks that I get to know year after year.

They're a fantastic opportunity to get your YIKES! jewelry holiday shopping in, too!

What's On My Workbench

I've been working with new colors, combinations and patterns in my studio for fall. Red, black, and white continues to be very popular. I love working with the graphic contrast.

The contrast and lines in the canes remind me of comic book art, or perhaps some kind of alphabet or symbolism.

The complex, winding lines and shapes seem to speak of new languages, mystical communications.

Besides working in my studio and playing with new colors and patterns for fall, you can find me at SevenArts Gallery in Ellsworth, Maine some days of the week-- just contact me for my schedule in the gallery. My work is always available there, Monday through Saturday, 10 am to 5 pm.

New Items on Etsy from YIKES! Studio

These blue and lavender dangles will really bring out blue eyes! Their delicate, colorful design will brighten up any complexion and eye color, though, since they just seem to dance with color. The earrings are made with artisan polymer clay and sanded and buffed to a smooth finish, with no paints or glazes used and nothing to wear off.

They are lightweight and fun to wear!   The ear wires are hand-formed sterling silver and the dangles are accented with genuine Swarovski crystal. Click here to see more views.

These are one of the earrings I've added recently to my Etsy shop. Remember that you can Like my Facebook page to unlock a 10% off coupon code for my Etsy!

Here's some more new earrings from YIKES!

Gilsland Farm Audubon Show, August 17-18, 2013

 Next weekend I will be at the Gilsland Farm Audubon Show in Falmouth, Maine. The show is held at the Gilsland Farm Audubon Sanctuary on Saturday, August 17, 10-5 through Sunday August 18, 10-4. 

The sanctuary is a beautiful area maintained by the Maine Audubon. Walking trails, fields and woodlands wind along the Presumpscot River estuary. The Visitor Center and pristine apple orchard will be the places to go for art and fine craft next weekend, though: these areas of the sanctuary will be host to over sixty fine artists' booths. The Gilsland Farm Audubon Sanctuary is located at 20 Gilsland Farm Road. For more information on the show, you can visit audubonshow.com.

August Etsy Spotlight: Handmade and Vintage Finds

August days are Summer's golden days. Fruits and vegetables become mature, they begin to burst with flavor and juice. The light seems to mellow and soften, with golden tones that linger through the long afternoons. Late summer is a feminine time, when the fervor of Spring melts into a long, sultry period of fullness and beauty.

Gold is that timeless color that encapsulates the changing textures and sensations of the season. It seems to soak up light and radiate it back. These beautiful finds from Etsy are handmade, artisan-sewn, or vintage. Built around colors of gold, ivory, cream, and white, their youthful delight is evident, but their appeal is timeless.

Here are the selections:

• Beautiful Lace Dress in Champagne Satin

• Vintage Moss Agate Ring

• Fabulous Handmade Knit White Purse with Golden Chain and Clasp

• 1940s Peeptoe Gold Glam Heels

• Yikes Selection: Ivory and Buttercream Earrings

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On My Workbench: Eye Candy and Razzle Dazzle

Why is this ship painted this way? Is it a modernist art piece? The whim of a wealthy eccentric? Perhaps a retired warship put to some strange new use?

Nope. This is the USS West Mahomet in 1918, bedecked in US-Navy-approved camouflage. The particular type of camo is called razzle dazzle or simply dazzle. Dazzle was not intended to conceal a ship, but rather to confuse enemy targeting systems so that they couldn't tell if a ship was coming or going, its size, and where exactly the bow, and other parts of the ship, were located.

This type of camo was used extensively in World War I, and less so in World War II. Did it work? No one is one hundred percent certain, since controlled trials were impossible, and every ship was different. Dazzle design was the work of skilled artists. Vorticist artist Edward Wadsworth supervised the painting of over 2,000 dazzle ships during WWI, and the dazzle ships caught the attention of Pablo Picasso, who credited the designs to Cubism.

More examples of amazing dazzle camouflage:

Razzle Dazzle SS Hannibal print	Another dazzle ship, name unknown

Sharply contrasting geometric designs, even when only employing black and white, pack quite a visual punch. They intrigue the eye and delight the imagination.

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In the studio, I have been creating my own set of black and white designs, as well as lots of new colorful patterns and luscious layered dangles earrings. Here's a peek at what's on my workbench this week:

Big beads ready to be strung!	Colorful multihued and black and white earring dangles

In style this season: Stylized, bold accessories with imaginative geometric patterns.  Even a small piece makes a statement. Geometric shapes and designs can be big and bold, or smaller and more subtle.






The patterns in these designs originate as small sections of caned clay, which are combined to form larger canes in ever more complex designs:

 

Of course, a bit (or a lot) of color can be nice too!

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Suzanne Anderson is the creator of YIKES! Studio Jewelry. Suzanne has been busy creating for most of her life. After graduating with a BA from Maine College of Art, she worked as a graphic designer and a painter. Suzanne works to ensure that YIKES! Studio creates work that is fun, beautiful, always interesting, and adorns the wearer with joy. Catch up with her on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, or Etsy, or her website at www.yikesstudio.com.

What's On My Workbench: Summery Stacking Bangles and Cuffs

Here are a few recent items from my workbench, where I've been exploring Swarovski-studded starfish cuff bracelets, summery stacking bangles, and lots of color. When creating I like to drift between the real and unreal – fantasies and reality.
















 Constructing the red and turquoise starfish cuff








 

















Red and turquoise studded starfish cuff: Ready for its final curing

 














Details, details!

Royal blue starfish cuff: the sculpting and molding portion of its creation. Here, I am adding the Swarovski crystal and the textural "nubbles" of the starfish.
 

A view of the inside pattern of the royal blue starfish cuff, and the cane used to create it.

 















New stacking bangles in royal blue, hyacinth and tangerine!



 

Starfish earrings and pendants ready for assembly. ❉

 

Etsy Spotlight: Fresh Summer Blues

Etsy is a great place to do some shopping to get ready for summer! We found a great selection of greens and blues to remind us of sparkling lakes, green grass and white clouds. Check out this all handmade and vintage outfit pulled together from Etsy sellers, with a stacking bangle bracelet and earrings by YIKES Studio!

Quick links:
YIKES! Studio Stacking Bangle in Blue
Dirty Birdies Vintage 80s Woven Leather Sandals
Minxouri Vintage Mod Minidress
Aimarro Crochet Triangle Bag
YIKES! Studio Robin's Egg Blue Earrings ❉

What's On My Bench (WOMB) This Week: Sanding and Finishing Polymer Earrings!

My workbench is where my polymer pieces are "born"- it's kind of like a womb for polymer earrings, cuffs and necklaces! Each polymer clay piece I create is carefully crafted, formed and then cured, but that's only part of the process. To create beautiful and professional polymer jewelry, the secret is in the finishing.


Today I'll take you through the steps for finishing polymer earrings, with photos from my studio.

My Four-Step Process for Finishing Polymer Clay Earrings...

1. Sanding the pieces and buffing
2. Creating the ear wires and attaching
3. Selecting Swarovski crystal embellishment for each pair
4. Assembling the earrings-- bringing all the pieces and details together!

It all starts with sanding...and more sanding...and more sanding. I work from 800 grit through 2500 grit wet/dry sandpaper in soapy water. The sudsy water helps to keep the sandpaper free of debris.

My hands get really sore from this but they are super clean-- and my pieces look great! If you have trouble with sore fingers from sanding, try wrapping your fingers with masking tape.

When I am satisfied that my pieces are sanded to perfection, it's time to begin assembling the earrings into their final form. Every set of earrings gets their own pair of unique, hand-formed sterling silver ear wires. I use 20 gauge half-hard round wire.

Here is a peek at a brand new shape I'm working on now for YIKES!Studio. The ear wires on these earrings have a hook on back. The shape and colors of this piece are organic and perfect for spring. I've chosen a light blue Swarovski dangle for the ear wire.

These red and black earrings needed a little extra on the ear wires. I wrapped blackened steel wire around the sterling silver. I love the way the black steel mimics the lines in the polymer.

Manipulating the steel wire around the ear wire.

Here I want to create a funky, messy looking knot of wire to attach the ear wire to. It starts with a loop from the blackened steel wire.

More wire bending

Finished wire work. I like a messy looking knot of wire. Its just more fun that way!

 


Finished!

I have been working on some photos for my new, soon-to-launch website! Stay tuned! ❉

The Art of Chaos

"fire and ice"

It can be hard to think these days, hard to plan. The bitter cold has broken at least for a couple days and finally I got out and absorbed some vitamin D filled sunshine!


Recently I have been working on some black and white drawings. I just found out that these are called zentangles! I had no idea--I was just exploring shapes and forms that I have been interested in and drawing for years! It's really addicting and fun. Here's a link to some examples. I hope to post some of my own soon.

I had a chance to take a webinar this evening by the Handmadeology blogger, expert easy sellers, Timothy Adam and co-conspirator Lisa Jacobs. It was very interesting and hopefully I learned a few things to tame the chaos of running a business and properly using social media.

Sea Wafer Earrings, BIG Cuffs, and more

new colors
new styles

Sea Wafers: the newest earrings from YIKES! Studio.

 Big patterns &
Big Colors!

rich mochas
Coffee, bronze, black.... studded with Swarovski.

 

bright blues
Earrings in bright hues using inks together with traditional polymer technique

Pantone's Fall Fashion Colors! The Pantone color forecast has some pretty sweet colors and combinations in it. As you may or may not know, I have a huge love of color and fashion and am always happy to pass along these fun Pantone charts. Still loving the chartreuse and the orange and wow I adore ultramarine green, olympian blue! Really, I guess I love them all! I try to work in as many of the current fashion colors as I can into my work. Since my work is so labor intensive I am only creating a few major pieces per season. Oh dear... must learn to work faster or something...!

Studio News LAST YIKES SHOW 2012 This coming Saturday I will be at the Designing Women show at Husson College. Its a lovely, smaller sized show with so much to offer by highly talented woman artisans. Many folks start their Christmas shopping at this pleasant show. As always the door proceeds go to a local woman's cause. Where else? I will have a nice selection of work at my home space SevenArts Gallery in Ellsworth as well as participating in EXTRAVAGANZA! at Aarhus Gallery in Belfast. My work can also now be found at Archipelago in Rockland. Please check my web site for a full list of shops carrying YIKES jewelry  Be sure to visit my Etsy shop if you can't come to me! I am in the process of updating it and should have more new items coming in regularly. Do you Pinterest? If you do, consider following me.  Pinterest has to be the most fun online thing you can do. Its kind of like hunter gathering on the internet.