erinhewgley

2010-04-22T09:30:00.003-05:00

On suggestion from a friend of mine, I created this design with a little bling added in... a bit of ruby to set it off!

This piece makes me think of Saturn's many rings and the moons that orbit it...

The foundation of this piece is created from one 18" length of 16 gauge solid sterling silver wire. It is hand-bent and hand-hammered to fit the curvature around the neck and over the clavicles, laying perfectly above the breast bone.

Clusters of moons orbit around this ring of a necklace, just like Saturn. I make these clusters by hand-bending, hand-soldering, and hand-hammering each circle from 20 gauge solid sterling silver wire, then composing and soldering them together into asymmetrical clusters. They are joined in a pendulum style by 20 gauge solid sterling silver wire, soldered and hammered. The dimensions are 2.5 inches(64mm) across and a 3.25 inch(85mm) drop from the necklace ring.

In the center of the bottom moon, I hand-set a .26 carat, 4mm ruby in a tubular sterling silver setting. Just a little bit of bling to totally set off this stunning piece! A certificate of authenticity for the ruby accompanies this piece.

Rubies are associated with wealth, joy, sexual energy, and power. They are believed to generate passion and assist with spiritual endeavors. At one time, rubies were thought to protect against misfortune, inspire courage, and attract love.

Make it yours!!!

My Brooklyn rooftop gardening experience....

2009-07-15T17:10:00.005-05:00

I thought that Brooklyn would be the perfect place to have a garden. Although we have no yard.... we do have roof access to our building, which is painted silver. It seemed to be perfect for a container vegetable garden! It's the middle of a densely populated urban area with no room for natural predators...right? No aphids to attack the tomatoes and no squirrels to run off with your ripening tomatoes in their little jaws--and a nice hot silver roof! Well, I have learned many things during this season of gardening.

This year I bought seeds online from The Territorial Seed Company out of Oregon (www.territorialseed.com). I bought 5 different types of tomatoes, 3 different peppers, basil, pattypan squash, spinach, black coco bush beans, and sugar snap peas. I sprouted them in damp paper towels and a ziploc bag in a dark room. Then I transplanted them to tiny Dixie cups once they sprouted, placing them under compact florescent lights inside. I loved them and talked to them...but they still resented me when I finally placed them outside. They have so far survived bouts of aphids, fungus gnats, white flies, and some little green bug I just found today on the tomatoes! I went to Sprout Home in Brooklyn (http://sprouthome.stores.yahoo.net/organiccoop.html) for some help. For the aphids, neem oil did the job. The leaves will die but they do come back as you can see in the photos of my bush beans. For the fungus gnats, they gave me nematodes which feed on fungus gnat larvae. This seems to have done the job. And worm castings are a great organic fertilizer, which they also sold to me! Check back for updates od their growth!

fresh new jewelry designs!!!

2009-07-15T17:02:00.004-05:00

So... this is my most recent creation! I call this one Saturn's Moons. I create each unique piece in my Brooklyn studio from solid sterling silver. To view the full gallery please visit www.erinhewgley.etsy.com!

2009-07-09T08:41:00.002-05:00

WELCOME..... To my blog! Please check back often for updates on new jewelry designs, lessons learned from my rooftop gardening experience in Brooklyn, recent trips, and the general state of things!