Saturday 15 February 2014

My Artful Dragon Studio

Hi everyone.  

I have finally decided to begin a blog about my Artful Dragon Studio!!  I know, it's about time! This will allow me to share all the new ideas I have for my art and craft work and hopefully some of you will share yours with me.  

When I first came to Canada I began trying my hand at art, in particular Pointillism and although I enjoyed it, having to work got in the way and the only time I really had was weekends.  I completed a number of pieces of wildlife, the Brockville Museum and Fulford Place and had prints made from them.  Although I don't actively draw at present we still enjoy the originals on our wall.

I now have a jewelry studio called The Artful Dragon - the name came from the first jewelry I made - polymer clay dragons on gemstones.  I have always loved stories about dragons so, to me, it seemed logical.  Of course, I began trying other types of jewelry and it just keeps on expanding.


There is just so much out there that I would like to try and now that I'm retired I can do lots of that.

My Collections (so far):

Wired by Lea


An art form all it’s own – Sterling Silver Wire is coiled, wound and bent in flowing, free form designs to complement the beautiful gemstones, pearls and crystals used in each piece.





The only thing I have found when using wire is that no piece ever comes out the same way as before, each piece is unique.







SilverGreen

Art Clay is manufactured in Japan by two companies, who recycle and reclaim metals, including the precious metals gold and silver.

These companies are "green" companies. They collect metals, which have already been used, such as those in computer printed circuit boards, silver from photographic supplies and X- Ray film. A portion of this harvest becomes Art Clay Silver and Art Clay Gold.

The metal clay combines these reclaimed metals with non-toxic, organic binders. When the piece of jewelry is fired in a kiln, the binders burn away, leaving objects made of 0.999 pure silver - aka fine silver.

Every effort has been made to ensure the safety of artists using Art Clay and the result is a product, which can be handled safely. Even the production processes used to create art clay are designed to have minimal effects on the environment.

Art Clay is an environmentally friendly material that does not lose its beauty in the process. 

Mythical Moments Collection

This collection features wearable art inspired by the world of dragons.

Each dragon in this collection is hand sculpted from polymer clay and decorated with gemstones.  No two are ever the same. 

Each piece comes with it’s own name and story, together with a description of the folklore, legend and healing properties of the gemstones used.

The piece on the right is Rylar -The Music Man.  Zoom in to read his story!

To see more of my work please go to Flickr Lea Hamblett


Then, this winter I dragged out my Parchment Craft/Pergamano box that I had stored away back in 2001.  I felt like a change and so began re-learning how to do this.  I really enjoy small detail work and this is really small!  Here is a parchment wine glass shade on a wineglass.  In the wineglass is a battery tea light to illuminate the design.






It's been fun finding new patterns and turning them into cards.  I also made some wine glass parchment shades and baby bootees.  However, I really have to get back to practising my harp playing, which I have been ignoring in favour of crafting.  Hopefully, I will be able to do both.

Keep on creating!!

Lea