From the studio of Melody Basch

TEAAA!!

2011-03-17T12:37:00.002-04:00

I haven't posted here in a while, but I need to get started again!
I've been posting mostly to my facebook fan page at facebook.com/goldencalfjewelry. Check it out! I've just been accepted into the Art Star Craft Bazaar coming up in May, and need to get crackin' on some work. I came up with a good motivational tool: TEA! I bought a "Shanghai Green Tea Sampler" at Adagio Teas, and it's AMAZING. This is my new favorite tea shop. Go check out the green teas here: Green Tea and go see all of teh other yummy teas they have as well. You can even make and post your own blend for other people to see! Way cool.

2009-10-05T16:38:00.004-04:00

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.

2009-08-07T13:36:00.002-04:00

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!

2009-07-25T21:43:00.002-04:00

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.

2009-07-24T17:00:00.005-04:00

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.

2009-07-05T23:15:00.002-04:00

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

2009-06-21T19:20:00.002-04:00

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)) :)

2009-06-05T16:38:00.000-04:00

shark attack!

2009-05-30T22:48:00.001-04:00

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

2009-05-24T19:53:00.004-04:00

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.

2009-05-10T22:16:00.002-04:00

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

2009-05-07T23:44:00.000-04:00

2009-05-07T15:23:00.009-04:00

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.

2009-04-30T12:56:00.001-04:00

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

2009-04-28T22:55:00.004-04:00

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.

2009-04-21T22:57:00.004-04:00

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.

2009-04-16T10:13:00.007-04:00

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.

2009-04-08T01:01:00.002-04:00

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!

2009-04-06T23:12:00.002-04:00

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.

2009-04-05T19:29:00.002-04:00

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 :)

2009-04-04T20:30:00.002-04:00

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.

2009-03-27T14:14:00.003-04:00

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.

2009-03-19T02:07:00.000-04:00

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.

------------------------------------------------------------------
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

2009-03-16T22:30:00.002-04:00

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.

2009-03-16T00:47:00.008-04:00

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 :)

2009-03-12T13:30:00.008-04:00

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.

2009-03-05T21:07:00.006-05:00

Wow...taking photo's of silver is hard. arhg! I finally finished this piece. It's still not exactly what I had imagined it should be...but I like it! I'm not absolutly sure of the tittle yet, which is strange for me. I was thinking of calling it "Is there something in my teeth?"; but the emotion I was trying to evoke with this is not that at all. I'm so glad I'm done with it though. I'm going to go make my favorite vegan chilli recipe and some jalapeno-cheddar corn bread. Yum. A treat. Wish I had a movie to watch or season 3 of lost (I finished watching season 2 this morning).
Oh, and I dropped off that ring this afternoon. Dude suggested that I gypsy set the diamond after casting rather than casting with the stone in. So hopefully I will finish that up tomorrow and list it on etsy, then start on Linda's necklace. *Phew*

2009-03-01T23:51:00.003-05:00

Sometimes procrastination isn't THAT big a beast. The brooch I'm working on is still stressing me out, so I took an unexpected break and carved up a new ring. It's kind of a reincarnation of a past ring..with a little twist. I might do a few different variations on is. This one is the same general shape as the old one...except that I crafted it with MUCH more care. The last time I made this ring was when I was in school during casting class. I carved it about 3 times before I got it to cast right..and by that time I was just so pissed that I didn't even care to take my time...I just wanted to get something made. I give my casting guy a lot of credit for always turning out good work. I guess you can though when you have years and years of experience as well as high tech machinery :)
So yes..now I pay someone to cast for me. I don't have the means to do so myself at this point.
So there..look..I got sidetracked talking about getting sidetracked! This ring (which I've already titled "Candy Mountain"), is faceted on the top, a diamond is set into the point, and it's smooth around the band. Once It's been cast, I will solder in my signature and quality stamp. This is the first time that I am trying to cast with the stone already in. I figured since I have real diamonds, I might as well..seeing as you can only cast with the stone in with diamonds or synthetic's. So there you go. Time to get back to work though... the brooch needs to be done by wednesday night/thursday morning.
I'll drop the ring off at Casting HQ tomorrow on my lunch break.

2009-02-27T18:06:00.003-05:00

I am so frustrated with the piece I am making. I want to smash it. I haven't even had any "incident's" yet. "Incident's" happen during just about everything I ever make...they include melting, un-soldering, gauging, fusing, general mess up's.. or of course injuring myself.
I think I'm going have to do a re-design of this thing...or start something new. I don't think I can handle starting something new right now, so a re-design seems like the most likely thing to happen. I am not going to touch it today...if I can help it...unless i get all my cleaning and grocery shopping done. Since I had a very lazy crappy day of headache's and sleeping..it probably won't happen. I feel like the ultimate procrastinator at the moment. Good thing I got all of my errands and laundry done yesterday.
Oh..and the Flower show window won "Best Use of the Poster"...which was awesome. I received two tickets to the flower show. Now to find someone to bring that loves flowers as much as I do.

2009-02-26T01:34:00.004-05:00

I picked up the piece from my casting guy this afternoon. I'm not going to post photo's of it until it's done though. I'm fairly happy with it so far... It IS a little weighty, and the details aren't exactly how I wanted them...and there isn't enough contrast in color in the whole thing over all.. ARHG. This is why I wanted to carve it in wood. Maybe never time I should just cast it in bronze.. then at least I would have that color difference that I want. I might do some more spot oxidizing to emphasis some dimensions. *sigh*. I'm too hard on myself sometimes, but it will pay off in the end I think.
I made a tiny little sterling and diamond ring as well tonight. I just did it as a little excersize since I haven't done any settings in a long time. I lost the first diamond. I'm sure it's around somewhere..oh well. The second one I got in there fine. Sterling is much too mushy for this kind of ring. Now I know that if I want to make more, they will have to be in gold.
I sold the rabitt foot necklace on Etsy Monday night. I sent it out this morning. I made up this little gift box for it...made a few actually. Hopefully I'll get to use them!
I'm super sleepy and need to go to bed now. Haircut at Juju salon in the morning!

2009-02-23T01:57:00.009-05:00

so remember that piece I started in uh....November? Well I finished the wax tonight. Took long enough...shoot. I haven't worked on it in a few months, and tonight I got all obsessive over it. I kept on having to add in wax and subtract wax and blah blah because I was going crazy and not liking it. It's really hard to make an accurate judgment on the shape and surface when none of the colors match up. SO, I decided to just go as far as I could, then do most of the outer shape defining once it's in metal. I'm still trying to decide if I want to cast it in brass or silver. The fabricated frame will be silver, and I like the contrast of materials and colors...and it will be cheaper to make in brass. I'm also going to get a mold made of it so I can do some duplication in the future. After all of that time making it, I would like to be able to expand on it.....and ya know, not have to dooooo alll of that carving agaaaiiiin. So here are the photo's. It looks cruddy..but it's awesome I swear. There's also a picture of a bit of the everglades that I took when in Florida. A nice contrast between the tortured mouth and the serene water.

2009-02-21T01:47:00.006-05:00

Tonight was the opening reception for the Heart to Hear Art Show. There was quite a large turnout, but not as much art as I was anticipating. The fashion show was pretty great, and there were some amazing outfits showcased from a handful of local shops that sell handmade goods. Topstitch and Vagabond being two of them. My piece got a lot of great feedback, and everyone seemed to really love it. I felt very weird about showing it, but I'm glad I did. I'm not sure if I mentioned the requirements earlier, but here is goes. We were all given a large quantity of these red rubber hearts, and asked to do something with them. I played with a few idea's before reaching this point...but this one seemed to be the thing I needed to do. The piece is called Severance. It's carved wood, felt, tacks, part of the rubber heart, and brass. It's a wall hung piece.
It is for sale. E-mail me if interested. (melody@goldencalfdesigns.com)

So I have quite a bit of work ahead of me. I am making a hamsha pendant for Henry, a heart-peace sign pendant for Jane, and a custom Home Sweet Home necklace of some London Row Homes for Linda. I'm really excited for the row homes, because I was trying to work out a design for South Philly row homes..and the London ones that I designed look pretty great.
On top of all that, I was just asked to be one of seven people from the Metals department to participate in The Art and Design @ 50 Expo/Sale/Gala at the University of the Arts. 1 person from the 2005 class, 3 people from the 2006 class, ME from the 2007 class, and 2 people from the 2008 class. All work will be for sale, and half of the proceeds will go toward student scholarships. Pretty exciting! Even though I am needing some financial assistance myself with paying off school, I am super excited to possibly help out a potentially awesome new art student. It will be a really great opportunity to gain exposure and hopefully sell some work.
The work will be on exhibit to the public on March 18th, and there will be multiple formal openings for collectors and trustees, friends of the University, critics, faculty, staff, alumni, students, their parents and friends on the 19th.

Time to get to work!!!

More publicity!

2009-02-17T12:56:00.002-05:00

A lady by the name of Laura Draper approached me on etsy.com, and asked if she could write a little article about me. YESSSSS...here it is!

http://www.examiner.com/x-3706-Philadelphia-Arts-and-Crafts-Examiner~y2009m2d17-Shopping-local-on-Etsy--Goldencalfdesigns

-melody

2009-02-13T11:53:00.004-05:00

Last night on Etsy, I was up on the front page!!! It caused me to get a TON of hits and a bunch of people to add me to their favorite list. It didn't generate a sale..but I'm hopeful. Super exciting!!!

2009-02-12T02:23:00.002-05:00

I was already in bed and about to go to sleep, but I remembered there was something i needed from the living room, and got up to get it. The bench was calling. I have been thinking about a pair of earrings I wanted to make, so I sat down to make them. It turned into making 2 small necklaces that are a bit different from the earring idea. I will still be making the earrings...maybe when I get back from Florida. In the next two days I must put my jewelry aside and focus on getting the piece for the Heart to Heart Art Show done. The work is due during the time that I will be on vacation, so I need to get it done and submitted by Sunday. It's coming along at a steady pace, but I need to kick it up a notch so I have time to fuss with the details. It's a mixed media wall hanging piece made mostly of carved wood. There are wood chips all over my studio, and the cats have been rolling in it. I need a dust buster.. Well I mean it's not that I don't have a vacuum... it would just be nice to have a small sucker in my work area. Blah blah blah. Speaking on studio equipment; I am super excited about some new stuff I'll be purchasing soon! I'm going to set up a copper electroforming bath. That mean's I'll be able to make multiples of some of my previous pieces, and continue on with those trains of thought.
Well, It's time to go watch a movie and pass out. It's been a long day. I'll post pics of the necklaces and the piece for the show by the end of the weekend probably.

2009-02-05T15:48:00.006-05:00

I made another necklace today. I've been stuck on the two dimensional graphic work that's I've been doing.. welcome the lucky rabbit's foot necklace to the collection!

2009-01-30T17:08:00.004-05:00

Another city scape has been made today. I've not been working too much lately. I'm getting antsy and need to make other things. I had a goal to make at least 4 different landscapes, so I need to do one more before I can move on.
I also have a show coming up. I'll participating in the Heart to Heart Art show benefiting C.H.O.P. (THe Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia). I have a huge box of rubber anatomical hearts, and need to come up with something to do with them. I have some idea's, but nothing is jumping out at me. Soon. Soon.
Hearttoheartartshow.blogspot.com

sweet tooth

2009-01-22T09:56:00.007-05:00

So the piece I was going to make entitled "Sweet Tooth", changed dramatically. It still has the same ideas behind it, but the form, function, and overall design has changed. I like it a whole lot better than the original idea. Still might make that one in the future..who knows.

I am setting up shop on etsy.com. the address is goldencalfdesigns.etsy.com . Please Check back there for updates. Things posted here will be added to the shop so you can purchase them. There is also a button to request custom work. If you see something in the "sold" category, and you want one, please contact me through the custom work link, and we will arrange a sale.

2009-01-16T15:49:00.002-05:00

Ok. Here it is. I'm really happy with the way it turned out.
I'm going to start working on a necklace I designed a while ago, and now have the means to do so. I'm excited about it. It's pretty simple, but it will also be a little bit of an experiment on construction.

2009-01-16T05:03:00.002-05:00

Last night I worked on the second on the Home Sweet Home series. This time it's a rural theme with no specific local affiliation.
I started to fall asleep. Jeez. I need to start getting quality sleep...but there are just not enough minutes in the day. I will write more later when I have a photo to present.

2009-01-11T21:14:00.002-05:00

I know I keep posting crap about my work area. Kind of lame. Whatever. Tonight I finished building the much needed soldering station. Another trip to Lowes, and about an hour and a half later...
It's 1/2 inch plywood covered with galvanized steel. It's really solid, the edges have been hammered over, and it's the perfect size. Yay! Now I can play with fire and hot metal without the constant worry that I will light something aflame.

Only a small amount of blood was shed during the making of this episode.

2009-01-09T19:32:00.002-05:00

I did a major (but not complete) cleaning of my studio today. It feels good to be slightly more organized. I went to Lowes and got things to build a little soldering station. I still need to get some steel sheet for the surface and backsplash. I learned to hard way the other day... I scorched part of my bench with my benzo-propane torch. Thankfully it didn't go up in flames. I put a small fire extinguisher next to my soldering station...which should have been there from the start. You live you learn. For some reason all of the steal sheet at Lowes was super expensive. Does anyone know where I can get some inexpensive steel from?

2009-01-04T22:53:00.003-05:00

I made this last night..assembled it this evening...took the photo's tonight..and can't seem to get it into the website. This is the first in the Home Sweet Home series.

2009-01-01T15:45:00.004-05:00

www.goldencalfdesigns.com is officially online! There is really only just a bunch of "coming soon" pages...but I'm working on getting other things up. One step at a time! It's taken me a while to just get THAT up. I didn't realize this was going to be so confusing. There are so many things that go into starting a buisness. I feel like I've barely scratched the surface. I have some buisness cards coming in the mail tomorrow, I have the website and e-mail working, I've been telling tons of people about what I'm doing.... Now to make things! I have a series I've begun to draw up that I will be starting tonight, (after a heavy day of cleaning). The series is called Home Sweet Home, and they will for the time being be available in necklace format. I will be posting photo's once I have one looking fairly decent. I will have them for sale through me, as well as maybe one or two at the Curiosity Shoppe. And if you didn't know already, I have 3 pieces there right now. 2 have sold already. Go take a gander at the goods!
I'm trying to decide how I will set up shop. I may have an etsy shop for golden calf, or I may just set up a paypal account and embed a payment system in the website. For now, just contact me directly with any questions, requests, love notes.

Sometimes sleep just isn't necessary.

2008-12-24T04:33:00.003-05:00

I worked a full day at Pearl today, hung out with Michelle, Justin, and both sets of kitties...and still I managed to spend a few hours working at the bench. It's nearly 5 am now...Jeez how time flies. I had a bit of work to do in order to complete my fathers Hanukkah gift. I bought a nice shirt and made silver buttons to replace the original ones. I really love the meditative process of making. These super simple buttons really let me get in a steady rhythm of motion and thought. Sometimes even the most mind numbing things can be good. So I went from making these buttons to sewing them on... (another meditative practice). I think it came out pretty well. I'm even kind of thinking about drawing up a bunch of simple buttons that I could make in the future.

It is so gross outside right now. I wish the ice was snow, and the sound of car alarms were birds.
I can't stop listening to this album by Fountains of Wayne. So many of the songs make me want to jump in a car and drive up to Vermont and hibernate in a cabin for the winter. Particularly "Valley Winter Song". So great.
Maybe I should sleep now..

Enter The Golden Calf

2008-12-19T14:04:00.003-05:00

For the past week I have been working on starting up my own jewelry company. The website will be up soon at www.goldencalfdesigns.com . I'm very excited and also very nervous about everything...but things seem to be rolling fairly smoothly so far. I'm hoping to find someone to assist me with the web site within the next week. If anyone out there is reading this and does web desgin, please give me a buzz at melody.basch@gmail.com .

2008-12-04T20:23:00.002-05:00

I bought a new sketchbook yesterday. Always nice to start a new one! This time I purchased a hardbound one. I realized after I got it that I usually put my mechanical pencil and pen in the spiral binding. I'm not the kind of person that carries a pen in my pocket. The pen and paper have to transport together....so I made a pen and pencil pocket on the front on the book with leather and copper. Came out alright. There are things I could have done to make it better, but I'm happy. It has character. I feel like such a nerd sometimes.

2008-12-02T23:43:00.006-05:00

Today I decided to do more work on Riley Gets in the Way, rather than doing any sketching or working on the wax. It's been a work in progress for quite some time now. I had put it down around August and hadn't had the motivation to pick it up again until about a week and a half ago. It all started a little less than a year ago, when I decided to do a portrait of Sophie called Princess Sophie and her Sea of Fishies. The embroidery made it to a show at My House Gallery, and quickly pushed me in the direction of a small series.
I still have quite a ways to go, but I'm anticipating this piece being done by the end of the month. Like most of my work, the process is meditative. I like to take my time and think about every stitch and every line. Most of my embroideries focus just on the line, but these two are in full color.

2008-11-30T00:37:00.001-05:00

I've had this drawing in my sketchbook for a few weeks, and decided to start making it. After realizing it was not going to be very effective as a carving in wood, I decided to make it in silver. Here are a couple of progression shots of the wax as of tonight

2008-10-03T12:42:00.000-04:00