Shooting

I finally got everything laid out and ready to shoot. There was lots of new work to be photographed. Lots of new work! I spent about 6 hours last night and this morning just taking pictures. Now it is time to sit down and edit the photos.

You can see my little homemade light box sitting on my desk. It is a pretty effective tool for shooting small work. I suppose that some day I will invest in actual floodlights but the desk lamps with reveal bulbs seem to work pretty well. I got bold and fiddled with some of the settings in my camera (you wouldn't think that requires boldness, right?). Well, it did. I played with the custom white-balance and using the spot metering. It really helped the images. There will be much less editing in this batch. Hooray!

My eyes are going digital

Shooo-wee! I feel like I have been staring at the computer all day. But, the website has images now. Go me! Except, I have to go back and caption all of them.
I am really looking forward to finishing all of my web stuff so that I can get back out to my workbench. Of course, I can't really do anything until I tidy up the mess I made while getting ready for Urban Bazaar (I think that bench came with a top but I am afraid that I may find that all of those materials are actually levitating).
Oh, and then I need to photograph all of the new pieces so that I can get them posted on Etsy. So, more computer stuff. I knew I went to architecture school for a reason...turns out that I mostly just learned how to use graphics programs really fast.
Then, finally, I can get back to making jewelry. I have all of these ideas and components to work with. now I just need the bench time.
But for tonight, I am going to cook dinner for my wonderful husband and friends. I know, some of you are now doing a double take and making sure it is actually me. Really, it's Anne. I am going to cook some things. I already made red wine marinade for the steaks and it took more than a pot and a pair of scissors (which is generally the extent of cooking utensils I will touch). I am going to make creamed spinach and roasted red potatoes for the sides and cut up some fresh cantaloupe for dessert. I am looking forward to this meal.
It is nice to slow down and enjoy good food with the people who make life wonderful.
P.S. I already looked up the number for poison control. Everything will be alright.

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