About four years ago I designed the sutured heart. Some see this piece as broken and others prefer mended. Originally the heart was sculpted out of fine silver clay and was created as my p.m.c project in school.
It's pretty funny to look back at the first one... it's huge!
The concept was in my head and was frustrated that my sketch didn't look like what my brain said. And through the process of working with precious metal clay, I realized that I'm really a sculptor at heart (wow no pun intended).
This fantastic material begins as a chunk-o-clay and can be manipulated to form pretty much anything! Once fired in a kiln it becomes a solid metal. To create the "puffy" shape the clay was formed over styrofoam, then sliced and punctured before being scorched. My friend Alicia V wanted me to make her one and from there the design evolved...
After sculpting a couple dozen hearts, the time had come to rework it into a casting. So into pieces my heart was now formed and then re-constructed by hand with sterling silver. This new variation of the design was the beginning of idle hands designs in 2006!
Velouria in Ballard gave the sutured heart it's first home and
Etsy came soon after.
A dear friend of mine Elaina has crazy skills with the camera and blessed me with this photo. Check out her amazing work at
Elaina G photography.
Her "sisters" series is among my favorites!
In 2009 idle hands became my full time gig! No more would I have to sling skin care by day and moonlight as a silversmith by night. My timing was...well interesting. A failing economy and metal on the rise, sounds like a formula for success! However crazy it is, my business has survived with hard work
and all of your amazing support ::)
Currently the "classic" variation is limited edition. Only a few remain. The two piece will return as a locket at some point in time. I have reworked the design so that it looks the same as the original but can be cast in one piece. This new variation opens up possibilities of working with metals such as bronze, making the necklace a bit more affordable.
It is very important to me to make my jewelry as reasonable as possible
and strive to do so without compromising quality. It is also important to me to use as few chemicals as possible. Since this new variation does not have to be soldered,
re-working the design now eliminates my exposure to two toxic liquids.
Well, this is getting wordy so here is the bronze sutured heart!
In the past few years i've acquired many new tools and a few more skills. So I was super excited about reworking the back! The stitches look like a ribcage and has more of a beat up texture. I also incorporated mortimer! You may have seen him before, on the back of the "My
bloody Valentine" variation. A wee little creature to keep you company.
Another new addition is the chain is strung through the pendant. Allowing it to move more fluidly, I love how comfortable it is!
Available
online
