small things

Brooches, Kathleen Faulkner

It started as a lark.

Sculpture was no longer easy for me because

I wanted to make large work.

I ended up making tiny objects. 

And I'm ok with that.

 

building blocks

'Construct' Necklace 36"
found materials, sterling silver;
Kathleen Faulkner

One day, while walking home from town, I saw a pile of construction debris in an alley.  It looked interesting so I had to investigate.  I found these shards of concrete lying in the rubble.  

They made my day.

'Construct' back; Kathleen Faulkner

Museum of Northwest Art's annual auction is coming up
June 15th.  This is my contribution courtesy of the wonderful Facere Jewelry Art Gallery in Seattle.

Progress

Thids in progress..

Thids' bezels are soldered now.  She can, technically, wear clothes but there really is more to do.  I think the next step will be to get rid of the excess.

Thids is dying to interview for the guest blogger position.  Who knew?  She mentioned how she's always wanted have a radio show or to own her own station.
That tells me something.

Interviews won't begin until the characters are finished.

I forewarned her,  "no politics".
She asked,  "Is being an advocate for the earth political?"

An important message:

'Message in a Bottle' 36' found objects, poem by Gary
Snyder, sterling silver; Kathleen Faulkner

An owl winks in the shadows

A lizard lifts on tiptoe, breathing hard

Young male sparrow stretches up his neck,

big head, watching-

The grasses are working in the sun. Turn it green.

Turn it sweet.  That we may eat.

Grow our meat.

Brazil says "sovereign use of Natural Resources"

Thirty thousand kinds of unknown plants.

The living actual people of the jungle

sold and tortured'

And a robot in a suit who peddles a delusion called 'Brazil"

can speak for them?

The whales turn and glisten plunge

and sound and rise again

Hanging over subtly darkening deeps

Flowing like breathing planets 

in the sparkling whorls of 

living light-

And Japan quibbles for words on

what kinds of whales they can kill?

A once-great Buddhist nation

dribbles methyl mercury 

like gonorrhea

in the sea.

Pere David's Deer, the Elaphure,

lived in the tule marshes of the Yellow River

Two thousand years ago - and lost it's home to rice-

The forests of Lo - yang were logged and all the silt and

sand flowed down,

and gone, by 1200 AD -

Wild geese hatched out of Siberia

head south over basins of the Yang, the Huang,

What we call "China"

On flyways they have used a million years.

Ah China, where are the tigers, the wild boars,

the monkeys,

like the snows of yesteryear

Gone in a mist, a flash, and the dry hard ground

Is parking space for fifty thousand trucks.

Is man most precious of all things?

- then let us love him, and his brothers, all those

Fading living beings -

North America, Turtle Island, taken by invaders

who wage war around the world.

May ants, may abalone, otters, wolves and elk

Rise! and pull away their giving 

from the robot nations.

Solidarity. The People

Standing Tree People!

Flying Bird People!

Swimming Sea People!

Four-legged, two-legged people!

How can the head-heavy power-hungry politic scientist

Government two-world Capitalist-Imperialist

Third-world Communist paper-shuffling make

non-farmer jet-set bureaucrats

Speak for the green of the leaf? Speak for the soil?

(Ah Margaret Mead... do you sometimes dream of Samoa?)

The robots argue how to parcel out Mother Earth

To last a little longer

like vultures flapping

Belching, gurgling,

near a dying doe.

"In yonder field a slain knight lies-

We'll fly to him and eat his eyes

with a down

derry derry derry down down."

An Owl winks in the shadow

A lizard lifts on tiptoe

breathing hard

The whales turn and glisten

plunge and

Sound, and rise again

Flowing like breathing planets

In the sparkling whorls

Of living light.     

                                                                  'Mother Earth:  Her Whales'

                                                                                     by Gary Snyder

Why I wear a hat

'Owl' 5x1.5", sterling and fine silver, glass, plastic, snakeskin,
fossilized walrus ivory, printer's ink; Kathleen Faulkner

Anacortes is home to the amazing Forest Lands Area.  Many miles and many assets: a lake, beaver, hundreds of birds, deer, coyotes, raccoons, porcupine, owl and every other small creature one could imagine.  Trees, moss, mushrooms, you name it, the Forest Lands has it.

I love to walk there:  it's in the middle of town yet a world unto itself and a good place to decompress.

There is a particular owl that lives there who has made a name for itself.  This owl may be a tad bit 'off'.  It thinks hair is potential food and has been known to attack walker's heads.  I've seen this owl because it doesn't try to hide and makes no bones about being seen.  It sits and watches, ready to strike when the moment is right.

This is why I always wear a hat in the Forest Lands.

'Anacortes Forest Lands' digital photo; Kathleen Faulkner

The crows get it

'Pod' Brooch, sterling silver, pods, pigment; Kathleen Faulkner
photo: David Scherrer

I live in the middle of town:  Police station, hospital, elementary, middle and high school, pool, national guard all within two blocks.

The walk to old town is twenty minutes or so.  I go almost daily to check my 'good' mail at the Post Office.  I only receive art related mail there, hence the 'good'.

I enjoy the walk and usually find interesting things along the way that, sometimes, are incorporated into my work.
The journey is not as beautiful or peaceful as in the Anacortes Forest Lands but it can be just as interesting and sometimes more useful.

The 'pods' are dogwood fruit found over by the hospital and the 'sticks' were found within a  block from my house.

I guess that potential and opportunity are everywhere if one just looks.

'Stick Pins" various woods, manzanita berry, sterling silver; Kathleen Faulkner
photo: David Scherrer

The Pod brooch and other Stick Pins from this series will be on view at the Whatcom Museum's "Art and All that Jazz' show.

Thoughts on Wealth

'I Used to be a King' 18" sterling silver, seed beads, pottery shard, slate, copper, rocks;

Kathleen Faulkner

Fall is upon us.  Crisp mornings, great light.  They say it will be a hard winter.

I live and work in an old drafty house.  I keep the heat consumption low so as not to waste it.  I've learned how to dress for the upcoming season: long underwear, wool socks, wrist rockets and layers, layers, layers.
Up in my workroom, in the winter,  I work with a little portable heater at my feet.  I worry about getting by and wonder if I'll sell enough work.   Going the art route is a struggle.  Sometimes I dread the winter season.

If I were to be transported into a third world country with what I have today I would be considered a King.

Food for Thought

'Umiliak's Wife' 4x1.5" sterling silver overlay, fossilized walrus ivory, printer's ink

Kathleen Faulkner

'Umiliak's Wife' goes to the water's edge and calls the whales to the hunters.  The whale gives himself so the community can sustain themselves awhile longer. The hunters always only take what they need.  They are very grateful.

'My Aleut Friend' 5x3" sterling silver, found objects, fossilized walrus ivory, printer's ink

Kathleen Faulkner

'My Aleut Friend' paddles out in his baidarka looking for seal.  He is a very wise man;  he finds many but he only takes what he needs and always thanks them for their sacrifice.

.

'My Friend's Sister' 5x2" sterling silver, rubber, bottle cap, garnets, fossilized walrus ivory, printer's ink

Kathleen Faulkner

'My Friend's Sister' weaves baskets that hold the berries that grow abundantly during the season.  She picks the berries but never takes more than she needs, sharing with Mother's other children.  She appreciates her good fortune.

'Mountain Girl' 6x3" sterling silver, linoleum, wood, coral

Kathleen Faulkner

'Mountain Girl' gets a glimpse of a world where everything is considered sacred and care is taken to live in harmony with Earth.  It works well.

A Snail Tale

There is an area down by the docks where I go to look for broken pottery, glass shards and miscellaneous flotsam.  It is interesting potential for jewelry.

I've heard that it used to be a dump site for the town - a bit unsettling if I think about it much.

I found it when I used to go to Flounder Bay Boatyard to visit Robert Sund, the Poet.  He lived in a very lovely little cabin in the lumber yard.  Everything about his place was a work of art and everything about him seemed to be a ceremony.

Sometimes we would visit outside in the yard while he'd hunt for those annoying snails that eat everything in sight and overwhelm the gardens here. 

They're everywhere, cause trouble and have no friends. Unlike most people, Robert would never kill them.  Instead, he'd collect them in a bowl and then take them across the street and over to the abandoned yard on the corner, wishing them well as he'd gently place them.   Very Buddhist

I first noticed that beach one day while traveling with Robert and the snails to their new home.

Ever since, I've made a point to go down and look.  There is always something.  My route takes me  by the place where Robert lived.  It has since been torn down and the new owners have built two 'cute' cottages in it's place but it will be Robert's home forever, in my mind.
Then, as I head for that beach, I pass by the 'dropping off place' and I always think of Robert and the snail tale.

"Flotsam" Neckpiece 30" sterling silver, glass shards, Kathleen Faulkner

How to Make Overlay Jewelry

Bracelet, sterling silver overlay;  Kathleen Faulkner

                            How to Make Overlay Jewelry

  1.   Come up with a design.
  2.   Draw a pattern from the design, cut it out and paste (elmer's glue is good) onto two sheets of 24 gauge silver that have been glued together.  Super glue works well for this.  I use 24 gauge for earrings, link bracelets (such as the one above) and some brooches.  That is two layers of 24 gauge.  Sometimes I use 22 gauge for the cut out to create a deeper cut,  Large cuff bracelets, rings and  belt buckles will require a larger gauge.
  3.   Drill holes in all the areas to be cut out.
  4.   Put the blade of the jeweler's saw through the drilled holes then saw.
  5.   Sand the edges of the cut-outs.
  6.   Saw out the bottom piece from the double sheet.

Bamboo bead Necklace
sterling silver overlay
Kathleen Faulkner

  7.   Torch the pieces so that the glue will burn up and they will come apart.  You will then have two top pieces and two bottom pieces.  I do this especially for earrings so that the design is the same on both tops. It would also be helpful for bracelets such as the one above.
  8.   Rinse and Dry.
  9.   Stamp name and s.s. hallmark on the back of the bottom pieces.

10.   Sand all surfaces on all pieces of silver.

11.   Clean the surfaces that were just sanded.
12.   Paint both surfaces with flux then place solder on the bottom side of the cut out surface.
13.   After the flux is dried, place the surface with the solder onto the bottom piece of solid silver.
14.   Solder the two surfaces together then drop into pickle, let sit while you do other things... maybe take a break..
15.   Take the piece out of the pickle, wash with soap and water then dry.
16.   Sand the surface to check for firescale.  Overlay has a tendency for this. If found, sand until it's gone.
17.   File the edges.
18.   If the piece requires components such as pin backs, ear posts, bails, etc., solder those now.
19.   Check again for firescale.  See #16.
20.   Buff the piece to the desired finish.
21.   Clean in ultrasonic solution.
22.   Wash again, with soap and water.  Dry with a soft cloth.
23.   Paint oxidation in the recessed areas on the top surface.
24.   Rinse, dry, wipe brow.
25.   Buff with a buffing stick and jewelry compound.
26.   Add whatever findings to be used with the piece: pin stems, ear nuts or wires, chains, etc.
27.   Type up a price list of the work going to wherever it's going.
28.   Pack up and then deliver.
29.   Hope the gallery loves it.
30.   Come home and take a nap.

Gun and Holster Brooch, sterling silver
overlay, found pottery shard;
Kathleen Faulkner