100 American Craftsmen

I got accepted into the 40th annual 100 American Craftsmen show!  This is a wonderful show with incredible artists!  The show is June 4, 5 & 6.  My first show of 2010!

Featured on Etsy Metal's Blog!

Check out the Etsy Metal blog to see the post that features me and two other new EM artists!

Etsy Metal Blog Carnival March 1st 2009

I just became a member of Etsy Metal, and one of the challenges that they promote is to blog about a given subject each month.  This month's subject is "Create an inspirational 20 things to do to kick start creativity."  So, here are my 20!

1. Keep communication lines open.  Talk to creative people and bounce ideas off of them.
2. Always be on the lookout for good design.  Whether it is jewelry, architecture, furniture, etc.  If you like something enough, take a picture and archive it.
3.Participate in activities that challenge you to think creatively.  Join a club like Etsy Metal, SNAG, Crafthaus, or something as simple as reading and writing blogs on the subject.
4. Take an "inspirational walk"  get some fresh air.  Get your legs and arms moving.  This will help get your brain moving as well.
5. Meditate. Close your eyes and picture yourself working in your space.  I do this every chance I get.  It's like counting sheep for me when I can't sleep.
6. Subscribe to inspirational magazines.  Metalsmith, Craft, Jewelry Artist.
7. Seek out new books.  Sign up for an account with Amazon and type in books that you own.  They will recommend similar publications for you to check out.   BE A BOOK STALKER!  Search the wish lists of artists you admire and see what they are asking for.  This is a great way to find inspirational publications! (No one has to know).
8.Be a blog stalker!  Find out what blogs your favorite artists are bookmarking.
9.Be an Etsy stalker! Find out what shops your favorite artists are "hearting".... you get the idea?
10.Participate in challenges.  Etsy metal offers daily, weekly, monthly project challenges.  Art Jeweler is always asking for sketch submissions.  Participate in as much as you can.
11.Make models.
12. Give yourself plenty of "play time" with your materials. Sometimes the best designs happen when you have no clue what you're doing.  Let the materials guide your decisions.
13.  Make your workspace comfortable.  Take time to clean it if you can't stand clutter.  Find music that offers the best working mood for you.
14.  Sometimes just sitting at your bench will help kick start motivation.  When you don't feel like working, force yourself to just sit in your space.
15. Remove distractions.  I've learned to keep my laptop out of my studio if I need to get serious work done. Turn your phone off if you have to as well.
16.Take workshops whenever possible!  I know they are expensive, but save up, and deduct the expenses!
17. Make friends with colleges and universities that offer metalsmithing and jewelry design courses.  Friend them on FaceBook.  Go to their art openings.  See if they have guest lectures/ workshops open to the public.
19. Force yourself to learn a new technique.  This opens up more design possibilities for you and will increase your knowledge and skills.
20.SKETCH!  This is a big one that I need to practice more.  Draw every idea that comes to mind.  Even the bad ones, and never throw out a notebook!  As you grow as a metalsmith, sometimes ideas from old sketches will "click" later on.  A good design that was previously beyond your skill level could now be a piece of cake to produce.

If you like my ideas, check out the other participants of the blog carnival to see what they have to say!

1. http://www.chris-parry.blogspot.com/ - Chris Parry 2. http://www.sarawestermark.blogspot.com/ - Sara Westermark 3. http://www.kmjewelrystudio.blogspot.com/ -Katie Miess Kohlhagen 4. http://annhartleystudio.blogspot.com/ - Ann Hartley 5. http://www.amandaconley.blogspot.com/ - Amanda Conley 6. http://wildflowerdesigns.blogspot.com - stacey 7. http://www.evemmetalsmith.blogspot.com - Esther Eve 8. http://www.jewelrytutorial.blogspot.com/- 2Roses 9. http://www.fluxplay.blogspot.com - Maria W 10. http://cosmosmoonjewelry.blogspot.com 11. http://vtakahashi.blogspot.com/ - Victoria Takahashi/Experimetal 12. http://lunatic-art.blogspot.com [Berenice Schaltegger] 13. http://brookemedlin.com/blog (Brooke Arin Medlin) 14. http://metalriot.blogspot.com (Thomasin Durgin/Metalriot) 15. http://bcyrjewelry.blogspot.com - Beth Cyr 16. http://catherinechandler.blogspot.com/ - Catherine Chandler

Enameling

 I just realized that I never posted the pictures from my enameling class.  After my computer crashed, I lost my original images so I took some quick shots of my samples to post.

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Cloisonne with transparent enamels over white.

Stenciling technique with opaque enamels and painting technique with acrylic enamels.  This sample is still in progress.

Champlave with transparent enamels. The transparents burned a bit because my design had too many small areas.  This resulted in a golden brown color in all of the "tight" spots.  It actually looks very pretty on this piece.  

 This hasn't been cleaned up properly yet, but my Mom spent the day in the studio with me last night and she made a color sample for our opaque enamels.  We'll be doing one next week for all of our transparent enamels.

To Do

I wish I had new jewelry to post every day, but I don't.  So instead, I'll post my intentions with these little post-it notes I just discovered.  Kind of makes list making fun.  Also shows how much of a dork I can be :).

Lark Books, A Call For Entries!

Lark Books is asking jewelry designers to submit a proposal for 30 minute rings!  This is a great opportunity to get your work published. Check out their website for more information.  The deadline is March 19th. 

What's on my bench?

Lots of copper etched pieces almost ready for enamel or patina!

Etsy Metal!

I opened my email this morning to find that I have been accepted into the group Etsy Metal!  I am really excited to become a part of this talented team of serious metalsmiths.  I hope to get a lot out of the group, and contribute as much as I can as well.  Yeay me!

Waiting For The Fix

My hard drive crashed over the weekend and I haven't been able to post anything.  I'm waiting for my applications to get re-installed to my new hard drive and in the meantime don't have any pictures to post of what I'm working on.  Hopefully I'll be able to get my information off of my old hard drive. 

Since I can't post about jewelry, enjoy this picture of my beautiful sister.  She just got a new hair cut, and I think she looks absolutely stunning! Check out her blog to read more about her and to see her wonderful photography.

Enameling Workshop!

As a result of purchasing my enameling kiln, I decided I'd like to brush up on some techniques that I've learned. I started doing some research on classes and workshops available in my area. I thought I'd find a handful of options offered throughout the year.  Instead, I found one. One workshop in western New York for the entire year. And it's THIS weekend.

At first I thought it would be impossible to attend with no money saved up. And then I contacted the coordinator of the event. She was able to work with me on the price, along with allowing me to make several installments to pay for the weekend.

The workshop is three days long, and will be offered by the Oatka School of Glass in Batavia, New York.  It will be taught by enamelist Katharine S. Wood. Her work is published in the book "The Art of Fine Enameling". She has been working with enamels for over 20 years. She does all types of enameling, however, she specializes in the technique called champleve'. This combines acid etching and enameling. Both are my current focus.

I cant wait! I am certain that this workshop will help me to improve my skills, expand my knowledge of enameling, and give me great inspiration and motivation to move forward with my work!