Urban Bazaar 10

I had a wonderful weekend. I participated in Urban Bazaar 10 in the Bishop Arts District; it was my first Art/Craft Fair. The Urban Bazaar is put on by the girls at Make and, can I just tell you, they are a really fun and supportive group of people to work with. They brought together around 60 local artists and crafters, plus live music and it was a blast. I got to see some fun and amazing work by other artists and I was pleasantly surprised by how friendly and supportive my fellow vendors were. It was really more a community than a competition.
I am saving up for a craft apron from Mia Maria. She makes the cutest functional aprons in fabulous fabrics; I will be wearing that one constantly. It will help keep me organized and clean during class and studio time. Maybe I should get two. The clothes by Rewerked were beautiful. The artist recycles vintage clothing and fabrics into these airy contemporary-cut shirts and dresses. And over at Three Yellow Starfish, there were adorable baby clothes in a selection of fun prints. I loved the ruffled diaper covers, so cute.
I really enjoyed chatting with the visitors to my booth. It was an intelligent group that appreciate and understand the love and labor that go into handmade art and craft. I was so grateful for all of the interest and positive feedback. It was a refreshing and encouraging experience, after being locked away in my studio for so long. I am definitely looking forward to doing more fairs.

Putting It All Together

I have so many bits of pieces that need to be finished out. Today in my studio, I am listening to Pearl and The Beard and working on finishing out a twelve strand pearl and silver necklace. After this, I plan to start a batch of cleaning and then it is time to make some earwires. Hopefully, by the end of the day I can start tumbling some findings and finally finish some pieces.
Focus. Focus. Focus.

someone told me it's all happening at the zoo

So I am putting away the spinach, as I am preparing my lunch, and I notice a puddle in front of the refrigerator. "Oh, no! The fridge must be broken," I think to myself. But wait, there is a bit on the little plastic grille at the bottom. Philip must have spilled some juice and not bothered to clean it up. Rude. Wait, no, we are out of juice. Okay, what is this mystery puddle? No suspicious containers in the refrigerator; well, regardless of its source, I have to clean it up. So I get the paper towels and start wiping. Goodness that is warm and smells like... peeeeee! Because the dogs weren't just outside ten minutes ago; clearly there was either a urinary emergency or someone was trying to take over the refrigerator territory.
Oh, and Cameron is sitting in the corner looking GUILTY.

Foldforming

I recently bought Foldforming by Charles Lewton-Brain and it has been incredibly inspiring. I have been busy making all sorts of samples in a wide variety of materials. The possibilities within line folds alone seem infinite.

Over the Christmas break, I was commissioned to create a ring for a man. The ring was a replacement for a lost wedding band and I was given free reign, as far as design goes. I wanted to create something unique and masculine that highlighted the structure and properties of the metals. After exploring several design options, I decided to use some of the foldforming techniques I have been testing.

The final design is a structural band of sterling silver with an interior band of line-folded fine (pure) silver. The folded band moves and spins independently of the sterling band. Over time, the sterling band will develop a dark patina and heighten the contrast of the fine and sterling silvers.

Cuttlefish Casting

The cuttlefish casting experiment is finally complete. This ring was cast as a flat strip and then formed into a circle after casting. By creating the band in this way, I was able to take full advantage of the cuttlebone texture as a central design element. If you are interested in seeing some of the process, please check out these links:
making a mold from cuttlebone
cleaning and forming a casting

A Wonderful Afternoon

Yesterday was my niece's 8th birthday party and she invited me to come and do a jewelry demonstration and project. I was honored to be invited and thrilled that she was interested in what I do. But I accepted with a bit of trepidation. What could I possibly do with the girls that would be safe, interesting, and fun for more than ten minutes? I love making jewelry but I recognize that it involves a great deal of tiny, tedious activity. I find the repetition enjoyable and meditative but I am not eight.

After considering several projects and rejecting each for a variety of reasons (toxic chemicals, too expensive, requires too much supervision) I determined on making silver domed pendants on spring-wire necklaces with beads. The pendant could be personalized by each girl and would allow them to see some metalworking processes that, perhaps, they had never thought of before. Then, they could string their beads with minimal supervision.

I gathered all the materials and loaded up the car and headed over to my niece's house. The girls started arriving as I was setting up my gear. They ran about and jumped on the trampoline and were generally busy being little girls and I started to sweat a bit. How on earth was I going to get all of them through the project when they couldn't stay in one place for ten seconds together?

The moms and I called their attention and I sat down at my bench and started to show them how to make the pendant. It was absolutely silent. They were gathered around my bench watching and listening to everything I told them about the materials and the tools and the reasons behind each step. The entire demonstration took about 15 minutes and they enthralled for the entire time. They asked really bright questions and were excited about making their own necklaces. After I finished showing the pendant-making process, they went off to the worktable to string their beads. One at a time, they came over to the workbench and assisted in the making of their pendant.

I had such a good time working with all of them. It is really refreshing to experience that bright interest of a child again and see the things that we, as adults, often take for granted or have ceased to care or think about. They embrace the process of creation with such enthusiasm and joy. They share their wonder and energy so willingly.

My niece and in-laws kept thanking me for taking the time to do the project with them. But, really it was a gift they all gave to me, to spend the afternoon with the girls and get a fresh perspective on the nature of work and the joy of making things. I had a wonderful afternoon.

Making Little Things

Sometimes it is nice to make little clothes, just for fun. A little hat and booties for baby Nora made a good break from all of the over-analyzing that I do. I hope they keep her warm this winter.