Steam Punk Wizard and a bit about how I make jewelry

This is another of those pieces that has been some time in the making.

I bought the wizard probably a couple of years ago knowing that I would find a use for him, and when I began trying things out with the watch parts he was an obvious fit for the big plate, but then he sat for a while longer.

I tend to work on several pieces at a time, so often a few will be sitting around together wating to be finished. Sometimes I'll try something on one and decide it would look better on another, sometimes I'll decide that more than one needs something--in this case, Funky Monkey got one of these chains and then I realized that it was right for the wizard as well.

The words were sort of an experiment: in my non-art-making mode I am definitely a word person, but I tend to believe that art should speak for itself and not need explaining. However, I had a bunch of these word charms, a lot of my artist friends use words in their pieces, and I thought I should give it a shot. "Imagine magic" seemed pretty appropriate, and the pieces fit right in with the wand-ish watchparts, so I ran them past my collaborators and critics and went with their thumbs ups.

etsy listing--more photosThe copper spiral was added to lighten up the left side, and then the "diamond button just fell into place. The bead chain at the bottom went on, the piece was hung off the big copper chain, and it was finished.

Some works in progress

This one shouldn't still be a WIP. I want it to look like sunken treasure, & filled the spoon (a shaped 2 peseta piece) with Diamond Glaze. I let the layers dry & it was clear, but now it's clouded up. Do I have to melt it & start over, or what?

I'm not quite sure where this one's going, or whether the wire at the bottom will stay or change, but this guy has been waiting for work for at least a year, and I wanted to do something with words--even though I'm a word person, I don't usually use them in my art, but thought these fit, so am giving it a try.

This one's kind of a steam punk man in the moon, and this piece may be done except for deciding whether it should be a pin or pendant and how and on what to hang it--which is still a lot!
The strange little guy is bone I've colored with metallic wax and/or lumiere paints, the moon is colored a pearly purple with a dye pad, the other parts are pretty much as they came except of course that I've combined them. I'm liking this one a lot, just not sure how to present it yet.

This is a style of face bead I've often used on my doll pins. In this case I haven't decided whether she'll get a body or whether the whole thing will go in some other direction.
The gears can still go around, which I like a lot.
And I absolutely love all the guilloche engraving on this old pocket watch (it has jewels, too, but I don't think they show here).

I found a necklace I made probably 20 years ago at the bottom of a box of things waiting to be listed or reworked, and it included watchworks and had some message about time--apparently I was doing steam punk before the term was invented.  Interesting.