Surprise...

It has been a busy last few days. The studio has been humming with activity and my brain has been throbbing accordingly. Even with the dull nag of a headache that won't seem to go away, I got a lot finished happily. As promised, here are the six surprises:

I've carved six new designs. Well, actually... I carved five new designs and redid one. I've made a limited number of each design in copper and they are available in my Shop right now. CLICK HERE to see the selection of Andrew Thornton Originals.

When I designed the little dove pendant, I envisioned it as a focal of a necklace. So I included three holes. Two for stringing and one for dangling.

With the butterfly pendant, I placed the hole a little off center to give it a more fluttery look. I did a light flame-polish to bring out the details on the pendants and I think this one looks particularly nice with the slightly iridescent finish.

I'll be honest when I say that I'm a smitten kitten with the Shatter Star pendant. I was thinking about a lot of different things when I created this piece. I was inspired by quilts, Pennsylvania Dutch hex symbols, and Midcentury Modern Atomic stars. I'm quite pleased with the end result!

Sometimes I start off with an idea of how the finished component will look on its own. Other times, I picture a finished piece first and create the component to fit within that idea. This tree of life link sort of grew out of a simple image of a bracelet with braided cord and beads with this as the focal.

Sometimes a combination of words will spark an idea. I love the title "Wings of Desire". I have a vague recollection of reading that book in high school, but the words that make up the title are what really stuck. The Wings of Desire Focal is, I think, a successful translation featuring a flaming winged heart.

The last "surprise" is a new take on a recent piece. The original Owl Medallion (which I have one left of) was quite popular. But the mold broke, which turned it into a very limited edition. I'm sort of glad that it broke though. While it was sad at the time, it forced me to address some of the things that I wanted to change about the original. Particularly the size and weight of the piece. The Owl Redux pendant is lighter, smaller, and includes more accent details. Happily, I was able to keep my favorite details and overall design of the chubby little owl pendant. I guess this is just another example of how a piece can be inspired.

A few of each design are available in my Shop right now! CLICK HERE to pick your's up. Tomorrow I'll introduce some of them in bronze. (If you order some tonight in copper and get some in bronze tomorrow, I'll refund your additional shipping, so you don't have to pay for shipping twice.)