Wire Artist of the Month May 2012: Elizabeth Bisogni

My name is Elizabeth Bisogni and I just retired from a health care facility after 20 years. I live in Rockville Centre, Long Island, New York. I have 2 grown sons, a beautiful granddaughter and a wonderful daughter-in-law.

I have been designing jewelry for the last 5 years and I found wire wrapping is my favorite. I do have a Web site that I have been designing myself, which I am quite proud of. My quote is "Each piece is one of a kind made especially for you."

Purple Beauty by Elizabeth Bisogni is purple paua shell cabochon, 40x30mm, wrapped in 20-gauge sterling silver wire and topped with a sparkling bail.

My inspiration was the Purple Abalone Cabochon, I was born in February and anything purple appeals to me. I wanted to make this completely different from my normal wraps. Since this purple paua shell sparkles, I wanted to add a sparkle without overpowering the stone, this is how, I added the sparkle in the bail, and I left the top wire draped loosely to give this design a very relax look. The unique part of this design is the bail.

Elizabeth wrapped this mineral stone with 20-gauge sterling silver square wire and adorned with freshwater pearls; about 3" in height

I began creating wire jewelry when I found Dale “Cougar” Armstrong. I ordered her DVDs and I guess you can say the rest is history. I was hooked. I wear all of my pieces and have sold one off my neck while I was in line at Trader Joe's.

Elizabeth wrapped this 40x30mm Dalmatian Cabochon with 20-gauge square Sterling Silver wire and has Jasper gemstone beads and a Paw Charm - what a wonderful pendant for a dog lover!

Elizabeth made a collar for her housecat so he could go outside safely; she made several for him, and started making very fancy ones, that she switched to making dog collars. Elizabeth has sold dog collars and also offers matching bracelets, which you can find on her website, so dog owners can match their dogs - what a neat idea!

A "Lucky" CZ is surrounded by Swarovski olive pearls and 20-gauge 14kt rolled gold wire in this elegant Lucky pendant by Elizabeth Bisogni.

I love designing jewelry, it gives me a wonderful feeling when I am finished with pieces and receive many compliment on it. At first I found making jewelry to be a wonderful stress release from a hard day at the office, now that I am retired, I can create as many pieces that I want. I am trying to establish my work into a full time business because it is something that I truly love doing.

Elizabeth Bisogni wrapped this Infinity Pendant with 20-gauge brass wire and accented with peridot and emerald 10mm snapset gemstones.

Delightful Swirls, a pendant by Elizabeth Bisogni, is made with 21, 20, and 18-gauge sterling silver wire, formed by hand, and accented with two 8mm Deep Peridot stones and pearls - one of Elizabeth's personal favorite pieces.

It never fails to amaze me, how quickly some folks progress with their own ideas, after learning a few basic techniques! I think Purple Beauty is a fine example of this progression, where Elizabeth used a minimal amount of wire to beautifully frame a cabochon and then added her own 'sparkling' touch to the bail - creating her own "look". I also like the fact that she has created her own special niche in the jewelry making world, by specializing in collars for animals!

About wirejewelry's Wire Artist of the Month Program

Each month, we pick a talented wire jewelry artist and their work to highlight. We know we have some incredibly talented customers, and we seek to encourage and highlight those members of our community by highlighting one wire artist every month.

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