Lorena Angulo: flowers

Showing posts with label flowers. Show all posts

Saturday, January 4, 2014

It all started like this.......

I started playing with metal clay in 2006, I took a class with Claire Holliday in San Antonio. Claire was my metals teacher and she mentioned to me this practically "new" material that she though I will like to play with.
To be honest, I was not very happy with it the first time, I took the class but I was confused by the material and did not continue with it after the class.

Everything changed when I took my second class with Claire again and came to the class with a more open mind. Something happen during that class that finally made me understood the incredible use I could do with this material. I was able to translate my ideas into reality, ideas that I have been holding on for a while.

I was eager to start exploring more with this material and since that date I have not stop. It was during this class that I made one of my symbolic pieces, my Flaming Milagro Heart. The heart was 4 inches tall by 3 inches wide and I sold it almost as soon as I made it. This is why I decided to make another one and it was this second heart the first piece I had published, my Flaming Heart.

FLAMING HEART

Hand sculpted in pure silver.

Photo by Dean Powell

Since that date I have been creating most of my work with metal clay although I also fabricate my work and combine metal clay with fabrication techniques too.

Another piece that has a special place in my heart is my Tree of Life, I enjoyed making them and sculpting the little birds that I always include in them. This was my first Tree of Life that I had published.

Arbol de Vida
©2009 Lorena Angulo
Pure silver and a lab Garnet
2.44 inches by 2.22 inches

I am also known for my Calaveras and one of the calaveras that I have close to my heart and where I combined the use of metal clay and soldering and riveting techniques is my Corliss Calavera.

Corliss Calavera
©2010 Lorena Angulo
Pure silver, copper and bronze

Taking a look back at how I started is a great incentive for me to keep moving forward, after having a year of almost not creating as much I used to, I am now feeling great and I am ready to start creating as much as I used to.

I am BACK !!! I can not avoid to smile when I create another set of little birds, I have missed making them so much!

Pajaritos
©2014 Lorena Angulo
Sterling and Peruvian Opal

Monday, August 5, 2013

My transformation

August is my birthday month, I will be turning 44 this year and after my whole journey with my Thyroid cancer I can honestly tell you; I will be more than happy to celebrate my 44 years !
I am finally coming back into my studio to make my work again, its been so long since I was able to create something and I am enjoying every minute I can spend here.
My journey through out this whole ordeal has been difficult and scare at times but I never lost my smile and positivism, yes I did have my moments but who does not have them? I had so many plans for my work and where I wanted to move on with it, so many plans.......but life made me put a stop on them until I can get better. Having to put my plans away does not mean I am not making them a reality, it just means I have more time to get ready for all of them.

This experience has transformed me in different ways, all of them positive ones, I always take the good and learn from the bad in all my experiences in life and in my work.
Now that I have more energy I am starting to draw some ideas in my journals, I love the feeling of grabbing a pencil and drawing in paper. I have two big sketch journals and love to go back to them and see my ideas since my beginnings.
Most of my work is inspired by my culture from Mexico and the beautiful folk art, this time is no difference. I love to design using the Milagro heart motifs, birds, flowers and skulls and this time I went back to look at my drawings and saw two butterflies I made 2 years ago and I knew what I needed to do. I have always love butterflies and knowing their symbolic meaning made me realized they will be the perfect reflection of my whole Thyroid cancer journey.
Butterflies represent transformation and faith, this is exactly what I had during all these months!
I am finishing my first "Mariposa" piece today, I am happy to finally be able to transmit my feelings with my work again.

MARIPOSA REINA
©2013 Lorena Angulo

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

My Virgin is finished

Since I was invited to be the lead artist for Dia de los Muertos: La Ofrenda at SSA, I have been painting some pieces I will display during the event.

I am planning in having some of my pieces of jewelry, paintings, figurines and folk art inspired in the day of the dead tradition of my country Mexico. All these pieces will be made by me and it will be the first time I will show more than just my jewelry.

Painting and making folk art is something I enjoy doing a lot. I have never taken classes for painting or learn how to create the folk art but I like it to be this way much better because all my work is 100% what comes from my heart.

One piece that will be the center piece for my altar is a painting I made in a hand carved wood tray of the Virgin of Guadalupe. It took me more than 5 months to finished it, I painted almost everything but I left the face plain until today that I felt it was the right time to bring her in my painting.

Mi Virgen Morena
©2012 Lorena Angulo
Hand carved wood tray painted with acrylics.
25" x 12.5"

Monday, August 6, 2012

Announcing my QuickArt Templates

I am happy to announce my QuickArt Templates with very organic designs I am sure you will love to use. The templates are available at Metal Clay Supply. More brand products will be available soon !

You can mixed and match different shapes to create unique pieces of jewelry like these samples I made:

You can add some extra details like the flowers or simple just use the shape and add a texture and patina (like Gilders paste) to them.

Sunday, June 3, 2012

Happy Summer to all !!

I am so sorry I have been so quiet in my blog this year. Lots of new opportunities are coming my way and I have been very busy. I can not say that I am sad about it because I am learning so much and having a great time, but I do missed writing in the blog and sharing with all of you what I am doing.
The kids are out of school now and we are getting ready to spend a wonderful summer with them. They did a great job at school and deserve to have a trip maybe next month.
What are your plans for summer? Are you traveling or taking any classes?
I will be going to the last PMC Conference at the end of this month and although I am sad because it will be the last, I can not wait to be there and see again wonderful friends and meet some of them for the first time.
If you are going to the PMC Conference, SEE YOU THERE !!
I am also teaching a class at SSA in July, my class name is PMC3: Making a Hollow Ring.
I have also been busy making new pieces and working more with Sterling PMC, I am very happy about this type of metal clay.

Here are some of my new pieces.

FAMILIA (Family)
©2012 Lorena Angulo
PMC3 and Sterling

FOLK BIRD
©2012 Lorena Angulo
Sterling PMC and Sterling chain

LOVEBIRDS
©2012 Lorena Angulo

I have also been working on some pieces I will display at the Dia de los Muertos: La Ofrenda altar at SSA. I was invited to be the lead artists and I am enjoying making these pieces and much more to come for that event.

Monday, May 7, 2012

I am the Lead Artist for Dia de los Muertos: La Ofrenda at Southwest School of Art

It is a great honor to have been invited to be the Lead Artist for Dia de los Muertos: La Ofrenda at the wonderful Southwest School of Art in San Antonio, Texas.

I am very happy to have the opportunity to share this wonderful tradition from my country, Mexico, with all the community in San Antonio.

Southwest School of Art has been doing the altars for years and this time I will lead this wonderful event.

The invitation came at the best moment for me after having a very difficult summer in 2011 when I lost three very important family members.

This will give me the incredible opportunity to make a day of the dead altar to honor them and all my other family members that are not with us any more in body, but they will always be with us in spirit.

I will make my best to transmit why the altars are so important in our culture and why we see dead in a totally different way.

Hope you will come to see it if you live in San Antonio and the surrounding areas, I will love to see you there.

Thursday, April 26, 2012

New pieces in my Arbol de Vida Collection

Since I started making and designing my jewelry I have been making various trees of life in different forms. I always love the symbolic meaning of the "Arbol de Vida" and it has been my passion to make them all the time.

The tree of life represent the union between earth and heaven. It was said that the founder gods in Mexico came down to earth through the trees. I love to make them using flowers and birds because they represent new life, hope and love.

My latest piece is going to be a necklace and I am still working in it. It gives me joy to see this piece come alive little by little.

My other pieces in this collection are one more brooch and earrings. Every piece I design is unique and have the same feeling of nostalgia about the wonderful folk art from my beautiful country, Mexico.

Amor
©2012 Lorena Angulo
PMC3 (silver)

Arbol de Vida Esperanza
(tree of life hope)
©2012 Lorena Angulo
PMC3 (silver)

Saturday, April 14, 2012

The making of my "Tree of Life" brooch

Going back to my first days when I played with metal clay, I still remember how confusing this material was for me at the beginning. I already started taking silversmithing classes at Southwest School of Art and my mind was use to the rough playing with hammers, jeweler saws and metal sheets. Metal clay was such a confusion but I knew I will like it.

I played with metal clay two or three times and then I just decided to leave it on the side and focus on my metalsmithing work. It was until I took a casting class that I totally understood what this wonderful new material will do for me.

Casting is an option but I did not have the equipment to do it in my home, this is why metal clay was the perfect option.

I love to hand sculpt and carve and metal clay will give me the amazing opportunity to make pieces I have always had in my design note book. My designs are very three dimensional and with lots of details, metal clay will make all my ideas come to reality.

Since that day I have not been able to stop creating with metal clay, I still do some fabrication work but most of my pieces are made with metal clay. I absorbed myself into this way of working with the material, time can fly by and I feel like I have only been minutes working. I am so relax and happy hand sculpting and carving every detail in all my work and finally yesterday I finished my first brooch I made with my tree of life design.

The Tree of Life (Arbol de Vida) is one of my symbolic pieces, I have made it into earrings, pendants, necklaces and cuffs. Now it was my turn to make it as a brooch.

I am a passionate about detailing my work with a lot of attention in every side of my pieces. Spending time to make nice and clean finishing in the front is as important as taking your time to do the same on the back. I am not only talking about having a secret detail on the back, I am talking about having a clean and nice finishing. Craftsmanship is very important and we all must take our time to do so.