I admit I have been rather relaxed about posting things...but as the weather is getting cool again, that pattern will be changing. I'm trying to get into another art show. This one is in December and is called Crafty Balboa. I made these two rings today. They were spontaneous and I had so much fun making them. The second photo is a necklace I made about 2 weeks ago. I'm going to make a few different versions. This one has carved purple heart. I might also try to do some relief carving with pierced silver.

image 1: Challenge. Mom gave me her engagement and wedding band from her marriage with my father. My challenge is to use the materials to make a ring for my sister and I. I'm kind of scared about it..but my gears are going.



image 2: I piece of turquoise I carved the other day. I'm pretty excited about carving rocks right now. I don't know how I feel about this little guy...but i'm making a setting for him, and it's coming out pretty well!


image 3: Close up of a copper incense burner I make on commission as a birthday gift. It sits about a half inch off of the table. It came out really well! I love that I had to do some things I haven;t done in years with this. I also made myself a sandbag for forming. cool!

This is the new piece. It's called From the Banks of the Wissahickon. I really love making hollow formed objects. When I was in school, I thought it was awe full...but not I love the challenge.
The rock in the top of the ring is a piece of stone I found on a hike with my mom. There are so many rocks in Wissahickon that have flakes of Mica in it. This one has some flecks..but it's mostly grey. I carved the rock down and polished the sides, while leaving the top natural and rough.
This is another piece with the idea of talismen in mind. I would love to make more of these with rocks from other places i've visited or for other people with rocks or shells that they have.

today made me realize that I really need to add things to my portfolio page on my website...maybe even write a bio?
I've been working on a ring for a while now. Well I made most of it about a week or two ago...but I have been very puzzled by where I should go with it. I came to a conclusion this morning, while playing around with it. I'll hopefully be done with it tonight, and will post pictures later or tomorrow. I'm pretty excited about it.
I need to sketch more. Ideas are floating around in my head. They need to be put to paper so I can work through them and develop the designs more.

I made this necklace the other day for my aunt Linda. Since I am super tired, you can just go read about it on her blog. She makes things too! (mostly bags made from ties!)
http://blog.lindaeve.com

So it's been a little while since an update! Getting ready for the show last week was hectic...and i had decided to take a little break once it was over. I wore myself out a little bit, being the perfectionist that I am. Wait..is that perfectionist or control freak? Either way, I'm getting a bit antsy, and tonight is my first night back at the bench. I've been doing embroidery the whole time though. Can't seem to stop doing that! What most people consider tedious, I consider relaxing. Of course not on all accords though.
So the first pic (sadly blurry), is of my table at the Art For the Cash Poor...with David sitting behind it, neatly placing labels on my art cards :) Thanks David! I'm pretty happy with the way the display turned out. I did learn from seeing other tables though, that varied heights are a positive thing. I suppose it draws the eye around the table better. I should have thought about that...but you can't think of EVERYTHING your first time around! I also learned that the lower priced items sell better for the most part. Next time I will have more things in the 15-65 range. I had a pretty wide range of prices this time....from 15-199. Of course I have things that are a bit pricier as well...just not at that show. With more time and material comes more cost. I try to keep the prices down as low as possible though.

The second image is of a necklace that DIDN'T sell at the show, so I started wearing almost every day since. I've been getting an extraordinary amount of compliments on it, and think I will make a couple variations in the near future.

*** I will start listing in Etsy again soon, so keep your eye out!!!***

The last photo is of the embroideries I've been working on. I'm doing a catastrophic disaster series. They will most likely all be brooches...and similar in form to "Shark Attack". I am working out in my head a better way to put it together. I have some idea's brewing.
So far, I have completed the stitching for volcano, tornado, and almost done with plane crash. I really love them!! I'm hoping that when I am done, I will submit them to a show or a publication.

Alright..that's all for now. I'm going to go treat myself to a toenail painting, courtasy of rite aid pharmacy. (( I love going and picking out nail polish and walking out with every finger a different color..... the lime green was the best, but I bought a hot pink)) :)

shark attack!

i'm really liking the way my display stuff is coming out.
a little too brain dead to say much else right now

What HAVE I been doing.... I've been making stuff...duh.
Here's a taste if some recent things....things that will be for sale at the Art For The Cash Poor event next month.
Yesterday I started collecting from thrift stores, old silver and glass for displaying my work. Getting pretty pumped about it...but still stress is leaking out of my pores. I know it will be fine, and only the first of many shows. It will get better the more I do. Thank heavens I have Dave here to help me get ready and support. It's so greatly appreciated to not have to it all of my own.
Oh...and the middle photo...that's just something I made for Beki.

just made this tonight. ooooo super cute. Going to make at least 5 of them. $30. Get em while they're hot!

I've been constantly thinking about the idea of talisman. I don't even believe in good luck per se, but the history of them are so fascinating to me. An object infused with positive energy and hope. As many of you know, I have a Rabbit foot tattooed on me, and I also carry around a real one. The meaning behind my tattoo doesn't have to do with luck, but rather a positive memory that I have retained from child hood; Special moments that I shared with my father, and my sister Beki. The foot that I carry is not from my child hood, but was a gift from Beki. So even if I don't think that it brings me luck, it reminds me of something good. It pushes a good memory into my head, which puts me in a good mood....and when I am in a good mood I radiate positive energy.... which brings positive situations my way. I guess in a round about way it is a "good luck" piece.
I also have an alligator foot on my keychain that sits next to the rabbit foot. I kind of put that there to mock the idea of having an rabbits foot...a severed animal foot...AND because it's the predator to the prey.
Man am I rambling or what?!
During my exploration of talisman, I decided to do something with a heads up penny. This is kind or a mock up. I don't like it..but it was you know...a sketch. While messing around with pennies, I discovered that pennies made after 1982 are copper plated zinc. Boy was I surprised when I had a torch over this penny, and it begins to shrivel up, then poop out a strange white metal, then disintegrate before my eyes. Shoot! So I've been going through my pennies and picking out all of the copper ones. You know it would cost more than a penny to MAKE a penny in copper at this point! I also am in the middle of another penny design..another one that I am not too excited about..but it also featured the eye of the pyramid.


This next picture here is of the embroidery I just finished that I will turn into a necklace, I am titling is Hush My Darling. I have some fancy idea's for the setting, and I excited to execute it in silver. I like how I can see my progression with technique and idea's SLOWLY evolving with my embroidered jewelry. I really have to stream line my work though. I seem to take so long to make things, which drives up my costs.

I am looking for some backup software so I can keep a mirror of my laptop externally. I downloaded some random program on c-net called FBackup, and it's not working...much at all. Can anyone point me in the direction of a good program? I am blind, lost, and wandering through a web of over stimulation.

and just to top off the off topic post...look at this amazingness. I can't even begin to express my joy when I look at this : Honduran white bat

The necklace above was finished last week.... I am so bad about posting. The embroidery at the bottom I just finished today. I don't feel much like writing about everything... I will just say that the bottom one is a self portrait, going along with the theme of severance. 2nd piece in that stream of thought.

Progresssssss

I love it when I am making something and on the way to the end, more designs come out of it. It's like making babies...kind of.

This shot is where I am as of tonight. I need to spend a little more time in the studio. I've been slacking a little lately. I have been doing embroidery every day, but the metal work...well I haven't really done anything before tonight since easter (when I finished the sunset necklace). That was a bit of an ordeal though...and the break was nice. Time to get back to work!

I'll be sending in my application tomorrow for the Art For The Cash Poor art sale. It will be held at the Crane Arts Building - 1400 N. American St. in Northern Liberties. The dates are Saturday and Sunday, June 13-14th...1-6pm. I hope I get in.....I hope I sell stuff...I hope I AT LEAST break even.

OK...sleep "early" tonight. Dentist appointment in the morning.

I've been mostly without internet for the past 5 days or so, and it's been a little bit of a set back. I completed the sunset neclace on Sunday. I've decided to call it Personal Sunset. Imedietly after, I began to embroider one of my recent self portraits. I've deemed it an experiment, as there are some things about it that I don't like. I don't think I will turn it into a piece of jewelry, but I might frame it. I'm going to look for a frame today, and will post it when I have completed it. I'm feeling fairly motivated to MAKE today.
Today is lecture at SOFA. I wish I realized that it was on a day that I had off. I only just noticed it was on a Thursday about an hour ago. Poo. Well I hope someone I know goes to it, and I hear a review of the lecture. I wish I had a tape recorder when Elisabeth conducted the interview. Oh well.

I didn't have that much energy to work on this tonight. I had to do a little bit of repair to a different necklace...go out to dinner with Geniva, show her to use some equipment in my studio, and how to go about feeding my cats. If you are reading this Gen, thanks again for looking after my babies.
I can't believe it's 1:30am already. I might have worked more on this if the next step wasn't a crap ton of hammering. Don't need to wake up the neighbors. Boo. I'm going to get this finished up on Sunday and post final shots then.
Off to pack for a couple days of loafing in New Jersey!

I lied again. I am really liking the way this thing is turning out...so I AM posting progress shots.

I had another image..but this stupid applet isn't getting it. Maybe I can try again later.

o.k. I lied. Last night after that post, a shower, and some dinner, the motivation/inspiration faerie came and gave me a swift kick in the rear. (She had quite a lot of work to do motivating AND inspiring). I started on an embroidery of a sunset and skyline. I will then make a silver skyline to put over top that, dome the whole piece, and set it. I'm not sure if it will be a brooch or a necklace yet. It looks super purty though..and it feels really good do do some embroidering again! I'm not posting any in progress shots..but I'm sure it won't take long to finish :)

My brain is all over the place. I haven't been doing any brainstorming on the Inferno series lately. The past day or two I've been thinking about embroidery. I think I'm going to do a small embroidery and turn it into a brooch. Yea yea yea...brooches. I have to decide what I will be embroidering though. I've done a bunch of self portraits...maybe I'll do something with those. Maybe I will just do the inferno like that rather than enamel them. Bah.
I've just been kind of wanting to make something but not wanting to make something that isn't going to be awesome but not having awesome ideas. longest run on sentence ever.

I keep on meaning to sit down and write a blog about recent stuff, but the recent stuff keeps on getting in the way :)
I've been trying more with the enameling, and even started to try to incorporate it into my "art", not just production work. I've started sketching and brainstorming for the series I am about to begin. I am going to do an illustrated brooch interpretation of Dante's Inferno. I've started with the image of souls entering the gates of hell. Vague blurs of people walking from the hills, and through an ornate gate with a sign at the top saying "Lasciate ogne speranza, voi ch'intrate", which is what in the 3rd cantos Dante wrote the gates said. It means "Abandon all hope, ye who enter here".
Here is my test piece for the background:



Again...just a test.

Yesterday morning I had my telephone interview with Elisabeth Agro: Associate Curator of American Modern and Contemporary Craft and Decorative Arts, Philadelphia Museum of Art. She asked me questions about where I find my inspiration and what my work is about. She also pulled 4 images to use for her lecture. The lecture is called Incubation: Philadelphia’s Emergent Metalsmiths. It will be at the SOFA New York Conference on April 16th at the Park Avenue Armory. You can read more about the lecture and the conference here.

I've been doing more organizing the past two days. I can actually find things...it's amazing. Nothing in my entire apartment (sans the pots and pans), are stacked precariously anymore. With the help of my aunt Linda and my mom, I dropped off a ton of stuff at the AIDS Thrift. So hey...if you need a 100 set of prismacolor markers, a lightbox, awesome vintage aisic running shoes, blah blah blah...go check them out over there and support a good cause.

One of the great things about streamlining things is that it's giving me time to look at things that I have and come up with things I can make. I found some chunks of small ornate frame that I want to do something with....if I can find more. So the hunt ensues for cool frames and ornate woodwork. huzzah.

I am thinking about applying to have a table at the Art Start Craft Bazaar this year.. I would love to do it with someone......for mutual support as well as splitting the cost of the table. Please let me know ASAP if you would want to do this. Application deadline is the 1st of April.


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Location: Philadelphia, PA - The Great Plaza at Penn’s Landing, which is along Columbus Blvd, between Walnut & Chestnut Streets.


Dates: Saturday, May 30th 11- 6 PM & Sunday, May 31st, 11-6 PM Rain or Shine

Fee: $250

APPLICATION DEADLINE: Must be in our hands by end of business day on Wednesday, April 1st.


Orgainzied & Juried by Art Star Gallery & Boutique - www. artstarphilly. com

did a little bit of experimenting with the enameling tonight. Didn't spend a lot of time on it...feeling a little burnt out. So I learned that I can indeed sweat solder silver on to the copper, then enamel it. That's definitely a cool thing to think about design wise. Let's see where it leads me.

I've been working my tush off as of late. I just finished this necklace tonight, i oxidized the candy mt. ring, I experimented with enameling with Gen, I've sketched, I even drew a few self portraits. I still need to tumble the necklace after I get my shot in the mail. So here are photo's o the necklace before shining it up, and the ring after dulling it down! Oh, and the necklace is called So It Goes. Dorkus McDorkerson approves. I unfortunately don't have photo's of the enameling I did. I gave what I made to a friend before I took the shot. Oh well :)

Man! It's been a week since my last post. I've been so frazzled lately, and I'm just not getting my brain back aligned. So Here are photo's. Lot's of them! I finished the Candy Mountain ring, I finished Linda's Home Sweet Home necklace, I started on a simple fabricated necklace..blah blah blah. Here they are... And let me just state for the record... I HATE that I can't lay out photo's well on here. boo.