A Winter Day in the Maine Woods

                                                      A Winter Day in the Maine Woods

What do you do on a winter day in the Maine woods? If you're lucky you work on a custom Etsy order.

The client has a very small wrist (the same size as mine), 5.75 inches measured over the wrist bone. So I'll make a 6.5 inch bangle.

The first step is to cut about 11 inches of wire. I'll use Argentium sterling since it rarely needs polishing. And I'll use 10 gauge wire, the heaviest I can work freehand.

The second step is to file, sand, steel-wool, and polish the ends.

Tools with Bangle in Process

The last step is to form the bangle. Be careful. You only get one chance. A bend cannot be undone without showing---it's like footsteps in the snow. 
                                                                                                                                                                                            

Finished Asymmetric Bangle 

A New Direction

After 18 years of making bangles, how do you come up with something new? Not just a new design, but a fundamentally new direction.

The answer came to me while working on a series of mobiles / stabiles. The overlapping and elaboration of geometric triangles in my Hanging Sculpture 2, (the mobile below)  gave me an idea.

                                                            

The result, after loosening up the idea, is a collapse bracelet. Instead of a rigid bangle, the geometric elements stand or collapse with wrist movement, creating a wristpiece that has a life of its own, that changes personality when it interacts with the wearer.

                                                           Collapse Bracelet 2