Andre Christine Gallery Opening June 9th

June 9th Saturday  6-9pm
Come Join us for the reception at the Andre Christine Gallery for wine tasting,
and live music with "Grassroots" a Jazz ensemble.

DATE: June 9th

TIME: 6-9pm

LOCATION: 148 Ervin Rd. Mooresville, N.C. 28117

My little Plumeria Necklace

Plumeria Necklace

I hand sculpted this plumeria with a blue topaz in the center along with the plumeria leaves and stems. I wanted to see the plumeria in it's nature form so I sculpted the leaves with texture and then added a high polish finish to my plumeria flower once casting was complete.

The Blue Topaz is a natural round 5mm Swiss Blue Topaz Cabochon

The Plumeria, Leaves and Stems are 925 Sterling Silver

The Chain and pendant length is 171/4" which include the clasp and is Sterling Silver as well.

For additional Information, Click Here.

I hope you enjoy my work as much as I enjoyed sculpting it. -Dawn

Twig Cuff Concept

Quick (3 days) of sculpting out the
rounded cuff concept with three flowers as a visual.



Planting the first cosmos flower on the wax twigs



Cosmos Flower Sculpted in Wax



Cosmos Flower InformationThe Cosmos flower is native to Mexico to Brazil. The Cosmos genus includes the species Cosmos bipinnatus. It is commonly referred to as the Mexican Aster. Cosmos sulphureus, the Yellow Cosmos and Cosmos astrosanguineus, the Chocolate Cosmos are the other members of the genus. The chocolate cosmos is so-called, due to its fragrance that is similar to chocolate.

The Cosmos flowers are produced in capitulum that is surrounded by a ring of broad ray florets and central disc florets. The Cosmos flowers come in varied bright colors like white, pink, orange, yellow and scarlet colors. They can be single or double colored flowers. The flowers are about 2 - 4 inches in diameter.

New Twig Project

I'm in the process of starting a month long sculpting project called "Twig" at this time.

This project will be a-one-of-a-kind which will include a necklace, two cuffs, two earrings (post & hoop style) wedding ring set, wide band, etc.

There will be small flowers incorporated into the design which may consist of Gold and/or enameling. Everyday, I'll update the status of my project. I hope you'll enjoy seeing how this project comes together.
So this is where it starts...

...and this is what I'm staring at...

...and several times a day, I'll show you where I get to.

Well after about two hours this is where I'm at, I'm laying out the design.

Although you can see the depth of the wax, it's very 3-deminsional.

Twigs don't grow flat so some of the twigs are actually

coming towards me as I sculpt them.

I want stones on the tips of some of the twigs while other tips will have buds, so I'll have to make sure I can flutter my stones evenly while sculpting the wax.

...OK, back at it.

hmmm...

Better...it was missing a twig.

Now is a good time to walk away for a while and start on the twig chain...I want to follow through on all the way to the back. So I will be sclpting the chain to match the twig. Once that's completed, I'll go back and work on the necklace twiggie texture and buds.

I know I'm going to add flowers...what kind is going to be fun.

My last Oncidium Jiuhbao Gold ‘Tainan’ AM/AOS Pendant



Oncidium Jiuhbao Gold ‘Tainan’ AM/AOS
American Orchid Society (AOS) asked me to re-create Oncidium Jiuhbao Gold ‘Tainan’ AM/AOS which was featured on their 50th Year Poster in 2009. Needless to say...I was nervous! I tried very hard to mimic the different flips and curls in my wax model as shown in the poster.

I've decided to part with last Sterling Silver Pendant, if interested you can find out more on my Etsy site.

For Additional Photos & Price, Click Here



Crayon Art...off topic but fun.

Crayon Art

I just love this!
I've added a link to a craft blog called "Kill them with Craftiness"
this is a tutorial that's looks fun, young and old (that would be me).

Melted Crayon Art Tutorial 

Fan Coral & Starfish Pendant



Fan Coral Pendant

This is a pretty awesome piece because when I sculpted the wax, I really tried to get the depth and the texture into the fan coral plus a little sculpted Starfish just laying on the coral.

I love texture on jewelry, this is why I choose to be a lost wax artist...the wax allows me to mimic what nature gives me before I cast my jewelry.

Materials: Solid 14k Yellow Gold Starfish, Sterling Silver Fan Coral
Pendant Size: Fan Coral - 1 3/4" High

 View Details On Etsy

Made to Order Calla Lily Cuff - Sketch

Calla Lily Cuff

Beautiful flowing Calla Lily Cuff with two leaves, one slightly covering the lily and the other tucked under the lily, each design of mine is hand-sculpted in wax before cast in sterling silver.

Each piece is then finished with a high-end polish for a quick cleaning.

The finished piece will be 3/4" wide (Lily and Leaf width) smallest width will be 1/4" cuff band.

This piece will be a Limited Edition of 20 which will be signed plus a Certificate of Authenticity will come with each piece.

I will make a mold of the piece but for only 20, this way I can spend the necessary time to sculpt the original. I'm a bit of a perfectionist and will spend weeks just sculpting the wax. I look at every piece as though I would wear it.

Below I have posted one of my Calla Lily Necklaces so that you can get a good idea about the work I sculpt plus my finishes.

To Pre-Order This Piece, Click Here or Go to my Online Shop

Options: This piece is priced based on Sterling Silver.  If you would like to add gold accents, please e-mail me for a quote based on current gold prices. A Rhodium and Yellow Gold Plated are also optional, please e-mail me for additional cost.

Note: This cuff is "M A D E - T O - O R D E R" and process of my wax will be photographed and posted weekly so that you can see my process...it's a pretty amazing process that I don't mind showing you.

Sizing your Cuff: Please indicate your wrist size in the "Note to Seller" box, I will customize the cuff to fit you by adjusting the wax before casting. A soft measuring tape wrapped around the wrist above the bone will give me an accurate measure of your wrist.

Shipping: All items are shipped by USPS Priority Mail (USA) with Insurance plus Confirmation to track the package for delivery if necessary. All paid by me.

This cuff will be based on my Calla Lily Necklace (shown below)

This necklace is also a pre-ordered piece,

please e-mail me for the current price.

One more inspirational shot...

Inspirational Bug!

This little guy has been bugging me to take his picture all morning, and I know why too!
Look at the beautiful detail in his wings...amazing!

If I ever decide to do Bugs, Butterflies or Dragonflies...this guy will go up as my new screen's wallpaper on my computer, which means I would have to take off my coral..........well...........maybe not yet.

Anyway, back to work. I have 6 new sketches that have to be designed by Friday



Direct Check Out Available on Etsy!

I love this new feature!

ETSY is now excepting Credit Cards DIRECTLY in my shop instead of having to go through PayPal.

PayPal is great, but this is wonderful.

So what this means is that you can purchase my jeweler in my Etsy Store with a credit card, which in my opinion, Etsy is now among the big boys and I'm a happy little girl.

My shop will be accepting Visa, MC, Discovery and American Express!

My Online Shop

My Inspiration Tray

Inspiration Tray

I'm not sure if every artist has one of these but I have to have a few of these around, this is my largest inspiration tray that sits on my studio table. It's filled with shapes, texture and some of natures coolest designs. The shells are for some of my upcoming projects and the driftwood is an everyday staple that I like having around...I love the flowing lines, you just can't improve on perfection.

I love nature such as twigs, leaves and flowers but lately, the sea life has taken over my mind, in fact you'll see a lot of new pieces coming up soon from my little tray below.

This is my mobile inspiration tray...I can carry this little tray everywhere...kitchen, living room or patio. It does double duty, the tray is a flower which was a little bit of inspiration for the Cosmos Collection coming soon.

The darker shell to the left, well that shell design was sculpted into a ring and then I added my Fusion detail into the side of the ring. This will be one of those OMG "Boca" size rings that I love sculpting so much.

The bottom right...that's a texture thing and as far as the starfish, that's an everyday thing, because Starfish are just cool!

If you have an inspiration tray, plate, box, etc...send me a picture and I'll post it on my blog. I would love to see what inspires you to create beautiful objects.

Send a picture to my e-mail at: dawnvertrees@gmail.com

A few new pieces on Etsy...

Fossil & Ocean

Just added four of my favorite pieces to out Etsy Store,
these are one of a kinds pieces.

Click here for additional Information

A Very Thoughtful Card...

I'm not usually one for words...I like for my work to speak for me but I just wanted to post a copy of a very thoughtful card sent to me by one of my youngest clients. His name is Juston. 

Don & I met Juston while doing the Ft. Lauderdale Orchid Show and Juston was helping his Mom and Dad, who are Orchid Growers, answer questions about the plants, packing them up as well as carrying the newly purchased orchids to the customers car. Sometimes Juston got a tip...sometimes not but Juston was OK with...each tip he received was more than he expected plus, every tip he made was going for a gift for his mother.

Juston would hang out at our booth, with one eye on his booth over in the corner while looking over the jewelry. He would ask a question about a pearl or a stone, then he would think about it, carry out a few more orchids, come back and ask some more questions to the point he settled on one of my Ocean Reef Rings with a little 14k gold starfish which lays on the fan coral! He said his mom just finished painting in their house and it had starfishes painted on the wall so he thought his mom would really enjoy the ring with a starfish. 

Don & I thoroughly enjoyed talking to Juston...he was great salesman, even I bought an Orchid from him, but it wasn't just an Orchid...he had listen to me talk about all of my orchid growing failures because I constantly over water them and then just die. Anyway, Juston hearing this, brought over a Jewel Orchid and he said...you can't kill this one, it loves water and proceeded telling me why water was OK for this particular orchid. Well to make a long story short...I still have my orchid and it's the only orchid I'll ever buy. 

After reading the card you may be thinking? Why would I send him a card that saved him time...well, I knew Juston couldn't drive so I purchased a Hallmark card with words saying...where would I be without you Mom? ...and then shows a little boy under a bunch of dirty clothes, well you get the picture. I thought after talking with Juston for three days, I think I picked the right one I hope.

Once he recieved the ring, a couple of days later I recieved this card and I wanted to share it...I hope you enjoyed it as much as we did. 

I will cherish this card for a long time.

Thanks you Juston!

Cattleya Orchid Rings

Featured in St. Pete's Bay Magazine

Cattleya Orchid Rings
are now available on Etsy, my online shop.

All Sterling Silver Ring
Sterling Silver & Bronze

Glass and Sterling Silver Cuffs

Update!

The glass is starting to take shape and these are looking better than anticipated! I am blown away by the unlimited possibilities of using glass and silver together in this manner.

I'M SO STOKED!!!

New Orchids!

Dendrobium, Cattleya & a Ladyslipper

These cute little nickle size pieces will be my next small collection of orchid rings,
pendants, pins, earrings, maybe even a small orchid cuff.

My favorite is the dendrobium (center), this is going to make the ultimate orchid ring.

New Ultra Cool Stingray Ring!

Stingray
Ring

This ring is in the process of being cast but I just wanted to give you a hint of

what's coming.  When I slipped the wax piece on my finger, it looked

as if the stingray was swimming across my hand plus I did

something really cool, yet functional with the tail...that you'll

have to wait for.

Be Back Soon!

New Curved Cuff Added to my Fusion Colection

The Starfish texture is the base
to my New Fusion Cuff.

The 1" Wide Cuff
featuring the Fan Coral
fused into the starfish design.

You can see where the base of the fan
coral starts wrapping itself around
the cuff.

...just a few other Fusion pieces available.

Fusion Post
Earrings

Starfish Cuff

Adjustable
Starfish Ring

Fusion
Starfish Pendant

Fan Coral Cuff

Fan Coral Cuff

Just Completed sculpting this one...why is it that the simple ones take the longest? I knew I needed to do this cuff for a whole year, but I kept putting it off...sometimes I'm just not too bright.

This 1 3/4" wide cuff will be all Sterling Silver with a high polished starfish which could go Silver or 14k Gold plated.

I also tapered this cuff...the exact way your arm is tapered, made sense to me.



April is National Pecan Month!

"Little Pecan Box"

I picked up this cute little box while at Andre Christine's Gallery in Mooresville, NC

The artist who made the little Pecan Box is Dana Gingras.

Dana has beautiful hand carved boxes. Each box has so much thought carved into each one, it's as though while looking at the wood in it's natural state he can see the box within the wood and then he skillfully removes the box by carving it out.

I've added his impressive Bio below, but one sentence described his work beautifully... "His goal is to create something new and visually stimulating, yet still retain the natural dignity of material."

About this little box...

...Now, although I could have chosen one of his bigger boxes, like the one with the actual knot hole in the lid, or the box with the curvy wood grain that ran through the lid into the box which was so cool...but just in case I couldn't continue his art...I choose one of Dana's simpler pecan boxes which had beautiful flowing wood grain lines. I wanted to take this little box and continue the story by adding flowing pecan leaves.

My Leaf Choice

Pecan Box...Pecan Leaf. 

I'm a realist so my brain won't go in another direction and thanks to Michael McPeak, an awesome photographer on Flicker, I don't have to hunt down a pecan tree.

Not completed yet but I will be excited to show Dana our Pecan Box. I'm in the process of casting Silver so more than likely it will go silver with an antique finish.


Dana's Bio

Dana Gingras grew up surrounded by nature at the foothills of the Berkshires in Northwest Connecticut. After traveling extensively throughout Europe and the states he received his degree from The University of Connecticut. Continuing his education he spent the next four years apprenticing with noted glass and steel sculptor Larry Livolsi. Ever since he has maintained a studio focusing on large-scale work and custom interior pieces. His primary mediums are glass, metal, and wood. His work comes from the process of understanding these materials, their intrinsic properties, and inherent beauty. He currently resides in Mooresville, NC

“My goal is to create something new and visually stimulating, yet still retain the natural dignity of material”.

New Design using Sterling Silver & Glass...

Coconut Grove Art Festival

49th Annual Coconut Grove Arts Festival
February 18,19,20 2012

See Us at Booth 171

"Wine, Women, & Music" Gallery Opening

Have a glass of wine with me tomorrow night and lets enjoy this wonderful evening!



Andre Christine Gallery Art Opening: Saturday February 11, 6-9pm

"Wine, Women, & Music"

Show opens with forty eight paintings and a reception to meet the artists.

Wine tasting with World Premier wines, and live music by
"The Greenhouse Jazz ensemble" Introducing glass blower David Goldhagen's incredible glass sculptures, and new to the sculpture garden is Robert Winkler "Winding Out" this large Cedar sculpture is very clever and uniquely done.

The gallery has seven new painters showing in this show, as well as Jewelry Designer Dawn Vertrees introducing a new collection of pieces exclusive to the gallery. Come join us for an evening of art, and music at 148 Ervin Road, Mooresville, N.C. 28117 Gallery hours are Tues- Sat. 10-5 visit our website: www.AndreChristineGallery.com

New Koi Cuff

Some may say my fins are finished, but nope..only a third there.

My fins will have some awesome flips in these.

Cool Wavy Fins...I'm having a blast!

 I'm trying to create a graceful movement with the Koi's fins yet keeping the cuff comfortable at the same time.

The detail in this cuff will be over the top, from it's fins to the texture of the scales on the Koi's back.

I'm finding that I like to keep around 3-6 projects going on at the

same time and at least 15 "to-do" projects on my mind...I think it's because of a couple of things, first my fingers get tired from

doing repetitive movements, such as scraping, carving, or making way too may dots or holes. 

Two...some designs require

designing while sculpting and this piece is a good example...so the brain needs a rest, third, ADHD!

 

A few cute Orchids added to my Etsy Shop...

Cattleya Orchid Post Earrings
Available in SS or 14k Gold Plated

Cattleya Orchid Pendant

Available in SS or 14k Gold Plated

Cattleya Orchid Ring
Available in SS or 14k Gold Plated
Please specify your size when ordering.

Our Etsy Shop