It's been far too long since I've updated my blog, so I thought it would be great to jump back in with a post about things I'm currently working on here in my studio, and since it was also selected as this month Aspiring Metalsmith's Blog roll theme, it was perfect timing! I always have many projects going at once...sometimes certain ones will be put on the "back burner" while I work on new idea that comes up, or because I have customer orders to fill, or just because I am not inspired to sit and finish them. The picture above shows a pretty Sillimanite faceted bead and a sterling silver ring, which will eventually become a hammered hoop necklace. I started on this one piece back in April.This picture below is my sketch of the next stone set piece I'll be working on, featuring two cabs cut by Laura of Cabbing Rough. They are so pretty together, and will be blooming into a pretty flower themed necklace! You can see the sketch next to it, which I did for the finished necklace that's in my shop currently....you can see how it turned out here. I always do up a couple of sketches when deciding how I was to set a cabochon. I find it helps a lot to have something to refer back to, and I make changes as I go. This is the first rough sketch for this piece.
This next picture shows a simple set of three sterling rings, which still need to be textured and polished, and will be listed in my shop soon. I use my old Looney Tunes mouse pad under my bench block so I don't scratch my table....I love the Warner Brothers Looney Tunes! Whose your favorite character? Mine is a toss up between Michigan J. Frog and Gossamer....
And lastly are these sweet kitty and baby whale pendants still waiting to be sawed out and finished. I sketched these out over two years ago, and these poor creatures have been waiting to come to life for far too long. One of these days I'll get around to them.... I hope anyway! :)
And that's what I'm working on here.....to see what my fellow team mates are working on in their studios, please check out the links below.- Esmeralda http://jewelry-by-silverblueberry.blogspot.com/
- Happy Tortoise Designs http://www.happytortoisedesigns.blogspot.com/
- Crow Steals Fire http://crowstealsfire.blogspot.com/
- Contemporary Jewelry by Beatriz Fortes http://cjbf.blogspot.com/
- steph http://stephstargell.com
- Jessica @ Abella Blue http://www.abellablue.com/blog
- Pennee- All Wired Up Jewelry Designs http://www.allwiredupjewelrydesigns.blogspot.com/
- Stacy http://www.formandfunktionaccessories.blogspot.com/
- Mary Anne Karren http://silverpearlmetalworks.wordpress.com/
- Brightstar109 www.brightstar109.blogspot.com
- Amy Nicole Artisan Jewelry Http://Rubymtnbeads.blogspot.com
- Resurrection Silver http://www.resurrectionsilver.blogspot.com
- Kwant Essentials http://kwantessentials.blogspot.com/2011/07/show-and-tell-from-start-to-finish.html
- Kit and Caboodle Shop http://thisartistsjourney.blogspot.com
- Julie http://jamauerer.blogspot.com
- Lilian http://www.girllovesglitter.blogspot.com/
- Autumn Bradley Jewelry Design http://www.autumnbradley.blogspot.com
Then on the wall opposite from the doorway, is my large painting table, where I create mixed media designs. I love this huge table and drawers that I got at Ikea this year!!!
And this shot shows the other side of my painting table..
And as we continue around the room, we get to my other Ikea table which is where I do my wire wrapping and jewelry assembly at. This is where I spend a lot of time at, and so it's a bit messier. 
And next to my jewelry table is my workbench, where I solder and finish all of my jewelry at. My workbench is the dirtiest place in my studio due to the nature of metalsmithing work. The soldering process is very messy, and polishing is even worse. That's why my bench is in front of my only window, so that I can get plenty of ventilation while working! I always wear a particle mask while working as well as safety goggles...because you never know when a piece of metal might take flight, not to mention the toxic fumes and dust that happens while working with metal and compounds. 
You can really see how dirty soldering can get! The black things are pieces of my charcoal block which have disintegrated. They are still usable though, and I will continue using the bits and pieces until they are much smaller. The dust around is from polishing and finishing work.
Thank you for taking a tour of my studio. If you enjoy seeing where artists create, I encourage you to take a peek my teammates blogs, where they are also sharing their work spaces this month. :) 