Sister Sepi Should Be Proud Of These Steampunk Earrings

I do much of the designing for our Handcrafted Jewelry USA Shop on Etsy.com but sister Sepi likes to order jewelry elements. She tells me it is the best part of this business. Browsing websites in search of findings, gemstones and other components to make the jewelry has Sepi always on the hunt for something different and interesting.

Some of the stuff she comes up with leaves me talking to myself. "What I am going to do with that!!!"

Then it seems to all fall together for me as if it were meant to be. That is where I was hanging with these watch gears and internal organs Sepi purchased and said "there you go, See what you can come up with from a Steampunk point of view."

I love the Steampunk style. It is old and it is new. It is very fascinating and frustrating at the same time, at least from a designer point of view. This is because so much of the Steampunk jewelry seems to look the same even though it is all different. It borders on Victorian with a quirky twist.

The quirk is what I love about it too. I was rocked when I managed to put this pair of earrings together. Hope you will like them too.


 

The Las Vegas Art District

Once a month some of the regional artists gather in a part of the old, downtown district of Las Vegas to show their skills and hawk their productions to curious shoppers. A blend of musicians, craftsmen, painters, potters, and partiers, amongst others, take it to the streets. They call it First Friday. This is where I got my first taste of the many flavors, of a creative feast, open to all, in The Las Vegas Art District.





Like most street festivals, First Friday offers a variety of food and libation to enhance the experience. Cold beer stands and an array of cocktail vendors keep the party going. This scene seems a hot spot for some UNLV students, and as the sun goes down the volume goes up. We took advantage of the evening and took in the sights and sounds, enjoying mild evening weather.











Tent vendors display an assortment of creative styles with paintings, photography, ceramics, jewelry, unusual lamp work, textile crafts, and so much more. The variety of creativity offers something for every one's delight. My sister Sepi, my niece, Mother and myself especially enjoyed the antics of a street band called Steam Powered Giraffe. Their costumes were fun, their makeup was marvelous, the music was upbeat and their stage presence was captivating. Mother, at 83 years old enjoyed their performance more than anything on the venue. Their "steampunk" image goes hand in hand with a particular style of jewelry I have become fascinated with. Seeing Steam Powered Giraffe boosted my curiosity to say the least.











The Las Vegas Art District hosts First Friday each month, 12 months per year, rain or shine. The entertainment begins in early evening and goes into the night. When the sun goes down the musical entertainment overshadows the visual arts so keep that in mind if you ever plan to attend this exciting bit of The Las Vegas Art District.

Mixed Media Steampunk Jewelry

Just for a bit of fun and flare Sepi ordered up some findings to get me going on a trendy style of jewelry called Steampunk. I like the mixed media in all art forms so it seemed to be something I might get a rush out of trying.

When the shipment came in I have to admit after taking a look at the Steampunk collection I was left feeling sort of empty about it all. It just seemed to be a bunch of stuff that I could not relate to. That is when I decided to do a little digging and see what other Jewelry Designers were doing on this style.

I shopped around quite a bit and then went back to the workbench still feeling a little anxiety about Steampunk jewelry. That was until I actually picked up a few pieces and started arranging them around on the table top. I played with it for a good hour, just checking out the colors, shapes, sizes and how each element played off of another. I started getting excited about the entire idea. Yeah this was starting to be very cool.



Personally I love vintage things and old is mysterious and attracting, magnetic to me. I feel like there is a certain spirit to the pieces that is energy carried over from people in the past who handled and even adorned themselves with these very elements. It stirs something deep in my own spirit, something intangible and distant.



So I have created a few different pieces and I have to admit that as I worked to finish the first piece I was already feeling good about starting another. The energy was flowing and the past was the present and now I would like to display some of that happening here. From C.S. Alexis, @ Adrift Art Studio Steampunk is intetresting to say the least.