Featuring Carolyn Cochrane Fine Art Photography

 

 Every time I see the work of Carolyn Cochrane it makes me smile.  It puts me back to the time when turquoise waters and shells  were  a part of my everyday life and where I long to return once again.

Images that take me back to feeling the warm sand beneath my feet at one of the worlds most beautiful beaches; Magen's Bay in the US. Virgin Islands.

Carolyn has dabbled in a number of creative pursuits but found her passion in photography. Her style; uncluttered and simple is powerful at the same time.

Can't you almost hear soft waves in this one?

Spot that perfect specimen sitting like a jewel?

Be amused by the skittish little sandpipers that flit around and run to the edge of the water only to run back away from it seconds later.

Enjoy a small stretch of the beach all to yourself.

Carolyn is captivated by the combination of light, textures and shapes around her and happiest with her camera in hand on a nice day.

She then takes those images and manipulates them to enhance color but, not too far from what nature herself does perfectly well.

Carolyn hails from New Jersey but you can purchase her work on Etsy at Carolyn Cochrane.

Should any of Carolyns's prints be a must have for your coastal decorated home you can order them in a variety of sizes including small groupings to gallery canvas wraps. 

Carolyn is offering a discount right now for 10% off enter coupon code 10PERCENT at checkout on Etsy.

I'm headed off to bring our canine family to the beach and stick my toes in the ocean ....won't you join us? 

To keep up with new introductions follow www.facebook.com/CarolynCochraneFineArt

Please note the images here are shown at a lower dpi (dots per inch) so they do not look as crisp as they will in person.

The fine required print:  All images are the copyrighted work of Carolyn Cochrane and have been posted with permission. This is not a paid advertisement or endorsement.  No compensation of any kind has been received.

Blue Sail Studios fine silver jewelry by the sea collection.

Introducing Blue Sail Studios by the sea jewelry collection handmade organic rustic styling in fine silver. From ocean waves to starfish my new collection is underway.  Early stages at the moment but, it's moving forward which is the important part right?

I had a few different names in mind for jewelry line. I didn't want to pigeon hole myself if I decided to add different products all together in the future. Blue Sail Studios was in the top three but,  not my favorite. It was the name that came out on top of the opinion poll of trusted friends.

Simple starfish pendant.  Currently this has a piece of blue ribbon.

The difference between "fine" silver and "sterling" silver is that fine silver is 99.9% pure silver. Sterling is  92.5% silver with the remaining 7.5% being composed of other metals. They may look the same, but fine silver is more "pure" and is, therefore, more costly and often considered more desirable than sterling silver.

Individually crafted by hand means even similar looking pieces are not exactly alike. 

 

Urchin pendant with CZ on 2mm black leather cord.

Unlike mass produced pieces these take time to craft. For example on the pendants below the bezels for the stones are hand formed. I think it's time for a big magnifier for those fine details.

I made the larger, heavier urchin pendant for my Mother.

Hope she will like it.

After refining, firing, scrubbing clean and tumbled for hours the piece receives a patina if desired.The part I like the least is the removing the patina solution to show the highlights.  It is so tedious.

I was given this small piece of pottery. 

It looks like Delft. I am not sure.what it is.

 I am pretty proud of this one.

Pottery and glass requires being fired in the kiln to test it first.  No sense in setting in the silver to have it shatter or in some cases completely change color or both.  I wanted to use some sea glass and the test firing completely changed the color of the glass.  A light aqua turned an icky yellow brown.  Blue turned rust. Pretty pale gray veins in aqua pottery just went poof, gone!  There went the designs I had planned.

 

Old world cross earrings with a light rust patina

like they were pulled from a ship's treasure.

Small scallop shells the wears the scars of the sea

hidden back bale.

Some of my pieces are fired twice.  I wasn't sure if the shell pendant would have a jump ring or hidden bale. I prefer the hidden bale even though it is more work.

Ocean waves pendant with hidden rope style handmade bale.

Black leather 2mm cord.

I craft with more of an organic, rustic look overall. I think it lends character and gives each piece it's own hand crafted just for you styling.

Seahorse pendant with background waves and

hidden bale.  Currently this is on a 18" 1.8 mm Rollo style chain.

I think it looks okay but a slightly finer chain may

be a better choice.

Art Nouveau style shell pendant.

I thought I would make something for myself.

 I do not know what I was thinking it is pretty hefty. 

There you have it. Should I keep making more?

What do you like or don't like?

Your thoughts and comments are appreciated.

P.S. I am looking for a graphic artist to design the logo I have in mind.

Little silver sand dollar. Precious metal clay creations.

I have been wanting to work with precious metal clay (PMC) for a while.  It was a matter of time and cost.I finally realized the price of silver like other precious metals does not look like it will be plummeting any time soon.

My first piece was a tiny little heart.  Nothing special but happy and proud to have finally tried this amazing material which when fired turns into .999 pure silver; more pure then sterling making it more expensive plus the hand made aspect of the pieces.

My second piece was this little sand dollar.  Being all thumbs at times this was a long process. Well; for me it was.

My poor little pendant where I made my first bale was the first piece I dropped upside down. The bale once rounded became more flat.  The fall actually made the piece wave a bit and got more of a rustic texture which I liked.

This simple love charm is about the size of dime.  I made it to try out these fabulous old small vintage letterpress letters. It's currently in an unfinished state meaning it hasn't been cleaned or tumbled yet. When it is removed from the kiln it has a whitish coating on it that needs to be scrubbed off.

I always thought these were neat.  Now I had a reason to buy them!

Here it is after cleaning.  It has a brushed finish right now.  Once tumbled it will be shiner and the silver will harden more.

The crown also awaits being tumbled and then put into a solution to make detail dark but it isn't necessary.

This is a piece in the works.  As you can see it is an odd color and needs the edges and surface made smooth before firing.  I wanted to make some sea glass pendants but when the glass was tested in the kiln the colors completely changed!

I set my first stone this week in another piece and look forward to sharing it soon.  Like any new medium my head is spinning with ideas. 

Happy holidays

Happy, healthy holidays everyone!

Beach Decor Coastal Christmas Ornaments White Clay Seaside Decor and Wedding Favors

Coastal Christmas in beachy white clay.

I'm still loving working with clay.  I have so many planned and a number of styles already made. Now I hope they will sell really well or I will likely end up with enough to outfit our outdoor pine tree.

First up a scallop shell with a starfish.

The seahorse version.

What makes them different is there shape.

Most shells aren't completely flat, neither are these.

Slightly convex.

It takes some time to shape the clay and wait to shape it slightly again.

I feel like a mother bird with her babies. Checking them again and again.

The starfish is a bit more tricky due the "fingers".

 Convex as if it were pulling open a shell on the ocean floor.

A simple starfish that you can write a name on.

Add a paper tag and turn it into a beach wedding favor escort card combo all in one.

 A flat scallop shell works as a favor too.

Available without the scoring marks.

Can't you just picture them in a box filled with sand lined up
for a wedding?

After holiday don't put these away.

String a bunch together and hang on a curtain rod.


available at my shop Beach House Living on Etsy
Till next time!

Seahorse Mugs by Karrita Renzelmann. Custom handmade in America Beauties.

I spotted these large and lovely seahorse mugs in Karrita Renzelmann's Etsy shop My Mother's Garden.

 She also has starfish cups.

I wrote asking if she could make the seahorse cups 

where just the seahorse would have a light blue wash

and the rest of the cup in the lightest white she could do.

 

I admit to a bit of sticker shock at first. 

Me, that also crafts handmade items for sale.

Helloooo! 

Wait a minute; handmade custom colored cups just for me.

I thought about the process which is long.

Shaping the clay.

The clay has to dry slowly, be fired, fired again.

Firing up a kiln alone is small fortune

Handmade in America!

Original handmade custom works of art.

Something we can enjoy each morning.

My photos do not do them justice.

The seahorse has more blue and the white is lighter.

These are tall heavy cups.

Karrita even made them in his and hers; how sweet!

One holds 16 ounces and the other 14 ounces.

When I opened the box they were a sight to behold 

and well worth every penny and the three week wait.

Now I see Karrita came out with Mermaid cups.

I like nice looking mermaids and may have to get those too.

Go on treat yourself.  

Visit Karrita at My Mother's Garden on Etsy

White Clay Tags, Ornaments and Wedding Favors: Beachy | Shabby | French | Rustic

White clay ornaments and gift tags are my new passion.  I've stamped on just about everything else; silverware, paper, fabric, wood, canvas, linens to leather and then some...

I adored Play-Doh(tm) as a child.

I have been wanting to work with "metal clay" for some time.

 A kiln is not in the budget.

 

Pottery class isn't in the near future either.

I did have a "pottery clay" date with a friend last week.

I had mentioned my tags to her and she invited

me over to play.  It was so much fun. I can't

wait to see how they look after she takes them

to be fired in the kiln.

This is not kiln fired clay.

I like it a real lot though.

This starfish would make a nice wedding favor.

It's pretty big.  You can write on it with a felt tip marker.

So would these hearts.

I like a more organic, shabby, rustic, imperfect look so my tags vary

in thickness, texture and aren't always perfectly flat.

I will make some more uniform in the future.

These are shaped to hang on the curve of a bottle.

I named these "torn page" tags like a torn love letter or

page ripped from a book.  So far they have received a lot

of comments how unique they are.

Of course, the torn page starfish and seahorses are the favorites.
I have at least 30 different styles of tags / ornaments in the works..
and my DB dearly beloved is once again supportive.

 Compasses for your holiday tree?

Some will be stamped with ink like I used to do more often in the past on paper and fabric.
(don't be surprised if you see that revived)

I think DB was a little worried when I asked where that big huge roll of canvas was as well as the old barn wood we have hanging around while sorting paint brushes, tubes of acrylic paint and rubber stamps.
(yes, Dore the barn wood is still here) 

I can't imagine where my old painting palette went.
New ones just don't look as cool.

I hope to expand with more items.
Been talking about it for so long and done absolutely nothing!

Some styles are already posted in my Etsy shop.

Would love to hear your thoughts.