What I’m Doing!

This is the time of the year when I experiment with new activities…things I generally don’t have the time to work on during the rest of the year.  

I’ve tried my hand at painting and drawing, I’m impatient…I want to be descent right away…obviously  that isn’t going to happen…it was too frustrating for me as I saw the finished product in my head but I couldn’t translate it to paper so to speak.   As for drawing I took a great online class on drawing a face and surprisingly enough I was able to draw the individual facial features  to my liking, but couldn’t for the life of me put them all together to make a respectable face…just isn’t my forte I guess?   Either that or I need more patience to practice, practice, practice!

I think I mentioned before, I take photos of my jewelry for my website and blog, have for 7 years, always disliked the job.  I always thought of it as a huge chore, which I tended to put off.   This often meant I didn’t get a photo of a piece of jewelry as it sold before I took the time!   Part of the reason I disliked taking jewelry photos is I couldn’t seem to get the photos the way I thought they should be…they were too blue, too yellow, too dull, too whatever, you get the picture.   Definitely a pun intended… there is that patience thing again!

Having said all that I found I enjoyed taking photos of other things, in particular water, sunsets, trees, nature shots…I don’t find practising frustrating or annoying…I enjoy it!  Since October, I’ve been taking photos when I go for my daily walks…well missed a couple of days last week as it was just too darn cold…

As a result most of my shots right now are around the area where I live…snowy & cold, if I can say that about a photo, but some great blue skies, if you like blue skies…check out my photography website… www.heathercote.com

If you would like to see larger photos, take a peek at my website...I put them on there a bit larger as I think it shows the detail more...

I’ve also added shots from Key West…to change it up from a continuous stream of snowy shots…

Thanks for reading…

As always if you have a question send me an email at hjcote11@hotmail.com or leave a comment on my website above.

Have a great week…

 Cheers

Slowing down…

Things are beginning to slow down, with less creating for the last couple of weeks, I find by the time mid January into February comes round I’ve lost my creativity, and I do other things…I’m doing custom orders right now which keeps the creativity flowing…if there is anything you would like, there is still plenty of time for Christmas, feel free to get in touch with me.

Dawn and I ventured out in the cold on Friday, (November 30^th)along with many other people, to check out the annual Downtown Christmas Walk…the temperature wasn’t bad, around -12, but with 20km winds so it was biting cold at times.  We did think attendance was down somewhat from last year, not a great deal but we didn’t see the hoards of people on the street we remembered from last year.  Who knows it could have been the time frame we were out…approximately 6:30 to 7:45.  Still, I think a great night was had by all… Dawn and I certainly enjoyed ourselves.   Of course we visited some of our favorite shops, some were packed so we decided to keep going, and stop in on our way back but of course we forgot!   The opening of the Abbey was Friday…great timing…if you didn’t get a chance to stop by  you have to make the effort… they took down the false ceiling that was put up 35 years ago, leaving three magnificent sky lights in the curved ceiling…and the trim is gorgeous!  Visually stunning… We ended the evening at Cecil’s…great company, great food, great beverages!

I took a photo of the downtown Christmas tree…it is a bit fuzzy but you will get the idea…

I’ve decided to introduce my new website today...www.heathercote.com… my photo site.  I started out thinking I would limit my photos to in and around North Bay, but I’ve loads of photos taken over the last couple of years, many great ones from Florida, so I won’t be limiting.  A few of the photos I took with my old Sony, but for the most part the photos I’m showing are taken with my iPhone 4 and now my iPone 5.  ­­­­­­I'm not and never will be a great photographer, but I do enjoy taking shots of things I like or find interesting…the iPhone is perfect for me, it has an 8 mega pixel camera, is small, light and I can carry it in my pocket.  I debated on getting a new camera a few months ago and decided for the time being to continue using my iPhone…a new camera would mean I’d have to concentrate on learning how to use it and I’m not feeling like it right now.  I also considered taking a course but then I would need a camera so that is out for the time being!  Regardless…I enjoy taking the shots and now posting them on my site.  If you get a chance stop by and take a look.

As always if you have comments or question send me an email or leave a comment on my blog…

Have a great week!

Cheers

www.heathercote.com

Love that Argentium Silver!

Here are three more pair of earrings all made with Argentium sheet silver and wire...I'm a huge fan of this silver as it is shinier and more resistant to tarnishing than Sterling Silver!

Each pair of earrings has been hand cut, sanded, polished, detailed, and tumbled, by me of course!!
I've recently purchased some Fine Silver, which is 99.9% pure silver, I've read this is the silver used to make bullion bars for international trading...interesting! I'm not sure if I will enjoy working with this silver as it is very soft ...but I wanted to try fusing which is similiar to soldering without the necessity of solder and chemicals... I'll let you know once I begin working with it. Probably won't be until after the new year now!
I'm looking forward to a productive winter...taking courses in metalsmith and improving my photography skills...both will keep me very busy until the market/show season begins in March!
Wishing everyone a safe and happy holiday season!
Cheers