Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Day Dreams

So I'm in western Pennsylvania for the holidays, but day dreaming of North Carolina's beaches. This image by Tim Lisko isn't helping.

Found via dear ada

Monday, December 20, 2010

Quote of the Week

"Sometimes we look for great wealth to save us, a great power to save us, or great ideas to save us, when all we need is that piece of string."

~Bill Moyers, The Power of Myth

Searching, searching, searching for my piece of string. . .

Sunday, December 5, 2010

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Think Less, Make More

It's the end of the semester and I keep adding items to my "To Do" list quicker than I can cross them off. I did however, allow myself to spend some time enameling today. Strange thing, I know. I was just playing around, and I did a little sgraffito, which turned out kind of interesting. I really like sgraffito as a technique and thought to my self "I should do more of this."

This seems to be a current theme in my life, "I need to do more fill-in-the-blank." I need to sketch more, I need to apply for more shows and opportunities, I need to read more poetry, I need make more wearable work, I need to make more things happen in my life, I need to eat more vegetables and take more vitamins, and above all, I need to make more work.

After a while I began to think of the things I need to do less of. Like talk less, worry less, obsess less, put out less of other people's fires, and let things bother me less. I need to be more cloistered, more monk like, less distracted.

I'm not quite sure how to accomplish all this. Maybe if I do less of the things I need to do less of, I'll have time for the things I need to do more of. Maybe I just need to think less and make more.

Happy St. Eligius Day!

St. Eligius is the Patron Saint of Goldsmiths and today is his feast day! I hope you celebrate by having a productive day in your studio. I have a paper to write and a bunch of other things that I need to take care of, but hopefully I'll get to squeeze in a little studio time my self. I'm getting those itchy enameling paws again. . . .

Happy St. Eligius Feast Day!

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Quote of the Week

The impetus for Sacra Sancta:

"In India, I have seen a red ring put around a stone, and then the stone becomes regarded as an incarnation of the mystery. Usually you think of things in practical terms, but you could think of anything in terms of its mystery. . . .That is the point of what is called consecration."

~Joseph Campbell, The Power of Myth

Monday, November 22, 2010

Some Days. . .

Most days I feel like this:


But then there are the days when I feel more like this:

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Bob Ebendorf Gala and Silent Auction

Saturday night I got all gussied up and went to Bob's Gala/Silent Auction. It was a lot of fun and I got to hang out with a bunch of good friends that I don't get to see very often. There was SO much amazing work in the auction, I couldn't resist bidding on a couple pieces. I even won this sweet silver and silk necklace by Caroline Gore! My brooch went for $110, which isn't bad, but I would have like to have seen it go a bit higher. I got to talk to the woman who bought it though, which was cool. She had also won the Elizabeth Turrell piece. I'm kind of excited to think that my piece is in the same personal collection with an Elizabeth Turrell.

The food was good, and dessert was AMAZING, and we even got to see a bit of the interview they filmed here this summer with Bob, for the Governor's Award. I was in it, for about 3 seconds in my space, wearing my grody apron and gesturing wildly with this half finished electroform in my hand. I have no idea what I was doing, or what I was talking about.

So many people came out to support Bob. It was really great to see. Here's a shot of all the current ECU students and ECU alumni with our wonderful metals faculty. There's no denying it, we're a sexy bunch!


Happy Tuesday!

Monday, November 15, 2010

Quote of the Week

"I am the taste in the waters,
the radiance in the sun
and in the rabbit marked-moon,"

~The Seventh Discourse of the Bhagavad Gita

Thursday, November 11, 2010

Progress Report

I feel like I've been fairly productive lately. That being said, I'm not really sure what I've produced. I did a lot of geology this week and a little thesis reading. I made some quick production pieces for the upcoming holiday sale and I've done A LOT of baking the past couple weeks. Today it was for the Metals Guild Charm/Bake Sale. I made a bunch of prints over the weekend, and a couple today, and I sewed a purse. I just have to finish the handles.

We introduced our final project in the Enameling class this week, and I'm super excited about the assignment Ken and I came up with. We're doing champleve, and the assignment is to create a piece based on a favorite song or piece of music. How cool is that?! I'm so excited about this project, that I decided to make a piece for it too. (Thesis? What thesis?) My song is "The Rabbit, the Bat and the Reindeer" by Dr. Dog, so I've been working on champleve rabbits this week. Hey, I had to demo on something, right? I only wish my students were more pumped about this project, 'cause most of them aren't.

I've also been chipping away at Salt in the Soul. I'm getting closer to getting the results I want. I have to plug the holes with wax, and I think I'm going to enamel these forms, instead of using the liver of sulfer. It just doesn't hold up to the salt water the way I want it too. Plus, I might try submerging them, to get them good and crusty.

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Dr. Matthew Fox Lecture

So I went to a really spectacular lecture last night on "Reinventing Christianity" by Rev. Dr. Matthew Fox. I found out about it sort of last minute, but it sounded applicable to my thesis work (and free!), so I decided to check it out.

I'm really glad I did. It was really incredible for me in a way that's hard to articulate. He spoke about religion, theology, spirituality, science, education, creativity and mysticism. Seriously, it was everything that's in my brain right now regarding the work and everything I try to put in the work. Fox was a theologian of the Dominican order, but he spoke about the Eastern religions quite a bit, Taoism, Buddhism, and Hinduism, the yin and yang and the chakras. This was really good for me to hear since over the past few months I feel I've been turning into a religious mutt. Taking what speaks to me from all of these places and more and making it my own.

He talked about inner work and meditation and how if we don't start doing more of it, we are doomed as a species. About what it means to be human and how "one must make room in one's heart for the wonders of the Universe." About how whenever we eat food, we are literally eating sunshine. About the backwardness of our current educational system.

He spoke at length about mysticism, and how the loss of mysticism has hurt Christianity and humanity. How there are more scientists who are mystics than there are ordained theologians who are mystics. About how artists are mystics. How Einstein, when asked at the end of his life if he had any regrets, stated that he wished he would have been exposed to the mystics earlier in life. I thought I had a pretty clear understanding of what it meant to be a mystic, but after this lecture I'm left wanting a better definition. Research ahead.

Fox also talked about creativity, and creativity and prayer. How you pray from your heart, but often in organized religion we're too busy reading other people's prayers at each other. What it's like to dance your prayers. And my thought is, if one can dance one's prayers, can't one make one's prayers?

I bought two of Fox's books, which I'm super excited about and I need to get my paws on another one, specifically about creativity. (Don't worry, I'm sure you'll see me on an episode of Intervention soon, regarding my book buying habit) This lecture was exactly the sort of thing I needed to hear. It was like the Universe saying "Hey Liz Steiner, you're on the right track. If you keep going you'll be ok." Which after a year of what felt like being constantly kicked in the pants by same said Universe, felt pretty good for a change.

Monday, November 8, 2010

Quote of the Week 2

"By this, may you
cause the gods to be;
and may the gods
cause you to be.
As you both
sustain each other,
you will reach
the higher good."

~ from the Third Discourse of The Bhagavad Gita

Quote of the Week

"Good art is a form of prayer. It's a way to say what is not sayable"

~Frederich Busch

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Pictures!!!





Some shots of what I got accomplished today. Top, finished collaboration with Jennifer Wells for the CoOperative Tableware show, and bottom, slate and enamel brooch. This brooch is for a benefit auction, where proceeds will go to a scholarship to the ECU Metal Design program in Bob Ebendorf's name. I must say, I'm quite honored to be participating in this event.

600!

So a lousy home internet connection and a busted camera have led to a serious lack of posting. But still, I've somehow managed to reach 600 blog posts in just over three years. Wow, that's a lot of crap from my brain.

I knew that my 600th post was rapidly approaching, and the pressure was on to make it spectacular. I couldn't come up with anything that felt appropriate, especially since I can't take pictures right now. The pressure was to great, so I'm caving in and posting just the regular stuff.

It's mid semester funk. Everyone is sick and/or super stressed. There's bad studio juju all around, people melting stuff, over firing enamels, wishy-washy design decisions and temper tantrums. I spent most of Monday in my studio and all I managed to accomplish was a bunch of really gross enamels. Yesterday was a wasted day in printmaking. I could not get my gauche to do what I wanted it to. Today was better; I finished up a brooch for Bob's auction and got my flatware handles enameled. Now I just need to assemble them, photograph them and fill out the paper work. By Friday.

I'm lagging on the thesis work. Like I want to make everything BUT the thesis work. I just want to play, start something new, experiment. But now is not the time. And I still have a giant gross blister on my finger from when I burned it over three weeks ago. Ick.

So much for an incredible 600th post. Happy Wednesday.

Saturday, October 30, 2010

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Forked



So, I'm anxiously awaiting the arrival of this fork and spoon, fabricated by the ever talented Jennifer Wells, in the mail. I have to make handles for these sexy things by Nov. 5th. I'm not panicking. . . .yet. I'll probably electroform something, 'cause that's what I do, and enamel them dark rock gray. Could be a couple of sleepless nights headed my way. But I can't sleep half the time anyway, so I might as well be productive, right?

Monday, October 25, 2010

Non/Funtional

Vessel by Loring Taoka

I should have posted this a couple weeks ago, but it totally slipped my mind, like most things that aren't right in front of my face these days. I have a piece featured in Loring Taoka's online exhibition "Non/Functional" over on Crafthaus. Here's the blurb:

"Non/Functional” is an online exhibition that features Crafthaus members from a variety of media. This exhibition questions the role of functional objects and how dependent function is on context."

It's great little exhibition, featuring a variety of work.Check it out here.

Happy Monday!

Sunday, October 24, 2010

Quote of the Week

"Do you think you can take over the universe and improve it?
I do not believe it can be done.

The Universe is sacred.
You cannot improve it.
If you try to change it, you will ruin it.
If you try to hold it, you will lose it.

So sometimes things are ahead and sometimes they are behind;
Sometimes breathing is hard, sometimes it comes easily;
Sometimes there is strength and sometimes weakness;
Sometimes one is up and sometimes down.

Therefore the sage avoids extremes, excesses and complacency."

~ #29 of the Tao Te Ching.

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Progress Report

I'm having one of those rare moments today where I actually feel ok about where I'm at in terms of the work. After I finished my first two pieces the other week, I immediately stuck them in a box and didn't look at them again until yesterday when I had a conversation with Bob about them. I always enjoy talking with Bob, and he definitely said some things that I needed to hear. He confirmed my own feelings that there's something not quite right with Sacra Sancta, and we talked about some possible solutions. I'm not sure what I'm going to do yet, and I'm going to talk to Ken about it later this week, but it won't be anything too drastic.

I'm stripped all the salt off my pieces for Salt in the Soul, and also realized that I need to drill some holes in my forms if I have any hope of stringing them. So I'm not so upset about the back tracking. Since I kind of have to conform to the salt's time line, I'm not real worried about finishing this piece right away, but it should be done by the end of the semester.

I've made a lot of progress on the wall brooches, up to 93 now, and I've made a little progress on Flow Like Water, which is going to be my main focus next. I finished the Upanishads, started the first book of Rumi's Masnavi, and a different translation of the Baghavad Gita. But, I think my reading is going to shift towards the resources for my geology paper until I get that done. Back to a more art and science flavor and less theology/philosophy/spirituality.

I also decided that Gray Prayer and Lightness of Being are going to go in the show. At first I wasn't going to use any old work, because I wanted to prove some kind of point. I'm not exactly sure what point, but I'm pretty sure it's something I thought I had to prove to myself. But I woke up Sunday morning and decided that these two pieces should be in the show, and it feels right.

Anyways, that's where I'm at on this gray Wednesday. Thanks for reading.

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Quote of the Week

So I just got this wonderful book Jewel: Hesitations in Art by Tanel Veenre. I am absolutely drooling over this work and the writing is fantastic also:

"Jewellry is crystallized poetry, a precious compact genre with a finely honed vocabulary of patterns. Spare, but taut. Art requires to be one's own storyteller."

How can I get to this crystallized poetry?

Monday, October 18, 2010

Guest Star

Well what do you know, I was featured as a "Guest Star" over on Amy Tavern's blog!

I was fortunate enough to finally meet Amy in person a few weeks ago, and listen to her give a great lecture about her work. I've been following her blog for quite a while now, and it's been incredible to see her work evolve. We didn't get a chance to chat much face to face during her visit to ECU, but hopefully we'll get to hang out again in the near future.

You can read her post about me here.

Coastal Processes Field Trip

I got to go to the beach this weekend. I bet you're super jealous. Ok, maybe you're not, since it was a learning trip to the beach and not a leisure trip, but it was still a lot of fun.
We started off in Duck on Friday at the USACE Field Research Facility. We sat through a brief presentation, saw some cool equipment/vehicles that they use to collect data, and then walked out to the end of this giant pier. It was all pretty cool, and we even saw some dolphins. Although personally I think the diving cormorants were much more interesting than the dolphins. There were bunches of jellyfish too.
Then we went to Run Hill, a place that only Outer Banks locals really know about. We hiked around a bit, found a snake and ate lunch with this spectacular view of the sound.
Next up was more hiking through Nags Head Woods. It was a very pretty little hike. We saw dozens of Bay trees. I never realized that the Bay leaves used in cooking came from trees. I guess I just assumed they were some kind of bush or something. All that green stuff in the photo above is some kind of water plant. We speculated on the likely hood of alligators.
A nice view of the marsh.
The edge of the marsh. We took a core sample of the peat around here.
After that we went to Jockey's Ridge, which was pretty neat. I'd been there a couple times before, but had never hiked all the way out to the top of the dunes. This is a view of the sound from the dunes. There was a hang gliding class going on at the top of the next dune, which was kinda fun to watch.
Our last stop for Day 1 was the beach at Nag's Head which has this fantastic garnet sand. I totally brought some home. It's gorgeous. We also went to a section of the beach where everything's eroding and the beach houses are condemned and falling the ocean. We talked a bit about beach nourishment and management, etc.
The Atlantic at Nag's Head.

We spent the night at a tiny motel in Salvo, grabbed some dinner and some beer and just hung out for the rest of the evening. A few of us hit the beach in the dark, and tried to figure out what the mysterious thing out in the water was.

Sadly, I don't have any pictures from Day 2 because there's something wrong with my camera (sad face). We hit the beach once more at dawn to see if we could figure out what that thing was in the daylight (we couldn't) before heading off to breakfast. After that, we backtracked up to Oregon Inlet, New Inlet, the Haulover, Isabel Inlet and Cape Hatteras, so see where the light house had been and how the beach there is eroding. We did some ground penetrating radar too.

Then we hopped a ferry over to Ocracoke, hiked through all this marsh grass to talk to some Upenn students who were studying the overwash there, and then to the beach where we dug a trench to look at the sediment layers deposited by the tides. Then we caught another ferry back to the main land, which was really great. I like being on boats and this was a 2 and half hour ride across the sound. Much cooler than 2 1/2 hours in a van.

All in all it was a great weekend. I got to hang out with a different group of people for once which was nice. And while I did get asked about my work and what I do, it was nice to not talk quite so much shop. Or at least listen to people talking a different kind of shop. I got to see the ocean, which is always good for me, and collect some sand and some other cool things. I even got some input on how to fix the issue I'm having with my salt crystals for Salt in the Soul. It was exhausting, but good.

Now I'm buckling in for what's sure to be another crazy week. Thanks for reading!

Thursday, October 14, 2010

Quote of the Week

I may have posted this before, I don't remember, but here it is again, because it bears repeating:

"Hope begins in the dark, the stubborn hope that if you show up and try to do the right thing, the dawn will come. You wait and watch and work; you don't give up."

~Anne Lamott

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Fall Break




So we're on Fall Break this weekend, and I've been trying to make the most of a few days off. I gotten nearly everything accomplished that I wanted to. I finished two thesis pieces, did some cleaning and laundry, some cooking and baking and some hard core bookmaking. The only things I haven't done that I really wanted to were spend some time down in printmaking, finish reading the Upanishads and make some brooches. All on the slate for today, as classes start again tomorrow. *Sad Face*

Here's some shots of Gray Grief: Potato/Rock being strung up yesterday. Only because Mike Moore asked for them.

Saturday, October 9, 2010

Process Shots




I know what I said about process shots, but these were just too sexy not to post.

Happy Weekend!

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Quote of the Week

"The 'turn', the moving meditation done by Mevlevi dervishes, originated with Rumi. The story goes that he was walking in the goldsmithing section of Konya when he heard a beautiful music in their hammering. He began turning in harmony with it, an ecstatic dance of surrender and yet with great centered discipline. He arrived at a place where ego dissolves and a resonance with universal soul comes in."

~Coleman Barks

Monday, October 4, 2010

Progress Report

So I think my "Process Shots of the Week" are morphing into "Progress Reports of the Week." Or maybe every other week, depending on how much I have to report.

So, I'm getting close to finishing my first thesis piece, Sacra Sancta. Like I mentioned before, one of the original rocks I made for this piece was too small, and I had to make another. The smaller rock has found a home in a different piece. The second rock came out of the bath this morning, and oh my god, it's surface is PERFECT. I'm a little sad that it's going to get covered up with enamel.

I've got another little detail of the piece to nail down, and then I'll be ready to string it up. I'm not sure exactly how I'm going to do this yet, since even my longest needle is too short and I'm almost positive I'm going to have to splice threads together. This is one of those pieces that's going to be trickier to pull off than the final product will look.

I made ten more wall brooches last night, and added the "Brooch Counter" off to the right this morning. This is just a rough estimate, I need to go through and nail down my exact numbers.

Have I mentioned that my thesis title is Lithic Fragments?

Thursday, September 30, 2010

Rainy Day Sketches

One thing Charon and I talked about was the use of wrapping in my work, and how that could maybe be improved. So here's a set of sketches I did, thinking about different ways to use or push the wrapping for my wall brooches

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Thesis Pieces

So I realized yesterday, as I was looking at my DISASTER of a bench, that I have about four neckpieces started (barely) for my thesis and an idea for a fifth. Plus the 250 wall brooches I'm planning on making. I've gotten myself into that uncomfortable place where the ideas are coming faster than the work is getting made.

I mean, I was making forms just to make forms, maybe for this piece I designed over a year ago, and all of the sudden, there they are on my bench and a little sketching/thinking and a title later, this piece totally needs to be in the show. I also realized that one of my rocks for Sacra Sancta is too small. Poop.

I'm not going to be posting many pictures of the thesis work, partially because I want it to be a surprise at my show, and partially because my landlords switched my Internet provider so it kinda sucks now, and I'm pretty sure it would take forever to load photos. And I never remember to bring my camera cord to school.

But the ultimate goal is 10-14 neckpieces, and 250-500 wall brooches (depending on the size of the wall). Here are my titles so far, just to give you a taste:

Sacra Sancta
Flow Like Water
Gray Grief (Potato/Rock)
Inner Growth: Salt in the Soul
All the Stones at Your Feet

Happy Tuesday.

Monday, September 27, 2010

Pencil Post





Love these pencil sculptures by Dalton Getty.

Sunday, September 26, 2010

Quote of the Week

"Either this deep desire of mine
will be found on this journey,
or when I get back home!

It may be that the satisfaction I need
depends on my going away, so that when I've gone
and come back, I'll find it at home.

I will search for the Friend with all my passion
and all my energy, until I learn
that I don't need to search.

The real truth of existence is sealed,
until many twists and turns of the road."

~Rumi
from In Baghdad, Dreaming of Cairo: In Cairo, Dreaming of Baghdad

Charon Kransen Seminar


As I mentioned on Wednesday, we had Charon Kransen come as a visiting artist. We had an intense two day seminar on what we really want (the BIG dream), what's holding us back from what we want, how we define success for our selves, listening to our inner voice and what is our work is really about.

He took us through his personal history, so that we could understand better where he's coming from, which I found fascinating. It just really reinforced my belief that we're all just products of our unique set of experiences, and how we choose to handle those experiences. Also, that you never really know where life will take you, and the only thing you can really expect is the unplanned and the unexpected. One example that blew my mind was how at one point early in his career, he got offered a teaching position, from people who he didn't even know were following his work. It all felt a bit spy movieish, but he said never to underestimate that people aren't doing their research on you. Makes me wonder if there's anyone out there following MY work, that I don't even know about.

We also got some insights from Charon on choosing a gallery or galleries to represent you and what kind of relationship that should ideally be. I sometimes forget, and I'm sure I'm not the only one, that the galleries need the artist as much as the artist needs the galleries. A gallery needs good work if it's going to survive. He gave us an idea about how much it costs to do a show like SOFA Chicago. He said that maybe the artist doesn't need to know that kind of information, but it helps. I think it makes absolute sense that an artist knows how much, or about how much it's going to cost the gallery to do a show, because that affects how much work the artist needs to produce to make it worth it for the gallery to take to the show.

For me, the whole experience underscored or meshed really well with all of the things I've been thinking about the past several months. I almost wish I would have had this sooner. But life is what it is, and I feel like I was able to speak from an honest and stable place. I could totally empathize with the new grads though, and the things they're feeling now, were the exact same things I felt when I started grad school.

The seminar was open to both grads and undergrads, though most of the undergrads wound up leaving during the first day, whether due to class, or work, or just not being ready for what Charon had to say. The second day though, the grads got to crit with Charon, which made for a really long day, but it was still absolutely worth it. I felt like I had the most useful critique that I've had in a long time.

I've had a little time to digest and while most of what Charon talked about wasn't brand new to me, I keep coming back to a couple things. One is, that every time I think I'm dreaming a dream that's big enough for me, I realize that maybe I'm not. Maybe this thing that I thought I wanted isn't the best thing for me. Maybe there's something bigger and better out there. Also, that the majority of people live life out of fear, and also, I think, desire. You can live out of fear, or out of love, and I'm working very much on the latter. I want to learn how to be fearless.

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Update

I know, I know, I've been terrible with the blogging lately. I really have no idea what I did last week except freak out a bunch and drink a lot of beer. I had to make an emergency trip home a few weeks ago, and I finally feel as if I'm getting caught up. I actually got in some studio time this weekend and the past few days. Here are a few things I've gotten accomplished:

-last four forms for Sacra Sancta in the electroformer.
-Beach Cycles I: Atlantic shipped to Kent State for the Alumni Show (so sad I can't make it!!!)
-brooches finished up and sent to Loring
-molds made
-wax fiasco
-wax victories
-7 wall brooches
-a few hours in the print studio
-am half way through The Upanishads
-got new china paints to play with
-finished up a white pearl rosary with vintage jewelry parts and a green gemstone rosary
-installed my Italy rosaries
-installed some other work in one of the display cases because. . .

Charon Kransen is coming as a visiting artist tomorrow!!!! I'm super psyched and more than a little nervous. He's been here before, and from what I've heard it's going to be an intense two days. Wish me luck!

Happy hump day!

Saturday, September 18, 2010

Quote

"Who could abide such a barren land?
Why the lizard, the owl and the drifting sand.
Who could yearn for this glistening space?
You and I who have seen it's face."

~Valerie A. Reiche The Desert (found on a vintage postcard)

Process Shots of the Week

Electroforming guide wire annealed, cleaned and put through the rolling mill.


Rocks, in various state of undress, for Sacra Sancta.

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Quote of the Week

"Let him give no thought to transient things, but absorbed in meditation, let him renounce the world."

~The Upanishads

Monday, September 13, 2010

Reading Update


The reading for my geology class is down right oppressive, but I'm trying (and failing) to keep up with the readings for my thesis. Especially since I keep acquiring books quicker than I can read them! I picked up The Sufi Book of Life last week, along with a book of prayers by Ghandi. Still working on the Upanishads and another translation of the Tao Te Ching. I've got another translation of the Bhagavad Gita, a book of meditations/quotes from St. Francis, a scary looking translation of the Upanishads, another book on the Tao, AND a book of Vedic hymns on my "to read stack".

But it's really hard to make any progress when I've got a couple hundred pages of geology to read a week. And this is a class I wanted to take just for fun!

Oh, and have I mentioned how I don't have any actual work done for my thesis either? But I've made a lot of progress on my porfolio exchange brooches and I managed to make myself a pretty sweet Virgin Mary necklace with some super cheap and super kick ass decals from Rynne China Company.

Here's to another week of keeping my head above water!

Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Still Here

Sorry for the complete lack of blogging in the last week. The first week of school is always so crazy, I'm sure you understand. I would like to think that things are going to settle down, but there's so many events going on in the School of Art this semester it's insane, but in a good way.

The first big event is the Print Summit, which is happening next weekend, then a few weeks later is the Making a Living, Making a Life Symposium. We have Charon Kranson coming as a visiting artist the following week. I'm really excited for this, and more than a little nervous. Then two more visiting artists are coming at the end of October to discuss creativity. Oh, and I have two geology field trips, one over night to the Outer Banks. It's a lot, and I'm going to participate in as much as I am able, but I might have to skip a few things in order to keep up with the thesis work.

Speaking of which, I feel like I've barely started my thesis. I've been working on my brooches for the exchange arranged by Loring Taoka, and I spent a lot of time last week playing with all the different painting enamels I have to teach on Thursday. And it's so much harder to keep up with the reading now that school has started. Especially since my geology class is pretty reading heavy. Right now, I'm just trying to make a little progress everyday and taking things one day at a time.

Although today I feel like I had a small breakthrough. I realized that I shouldn't even bother to put "make forms" and "enamel forms" on my to do list, since they will be there for the next seven months.

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Etsy Fav

I totally want these so I can make books out of them.

Brass Lockets from weiwenhaitun.

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

First Day

Well, here we go again. Classes started today. What the hell happened to summer? At any rate, it wasn't too bad. We've got a little bit of faculty crazyness going on in our department right now. We have Ken Bova filling in for Linda while she plans the semester in Italy program and another of our faculty will be out these first few weeks recovering from surgery. But, all the classes are covered, and we're whipping the studio into shape!

I'm assisting the enameling class with Ken this semester and I'm SUPER excited! Linda will be popping in and out too, as needed. We've got a great group of students so I'm looking forward to having some great work to show off. And Ken is way cool, and I'm really looking forward to working with him.

So that was a big part of the day, along with some logistics (the symposuim is happening again!!!), but I did manage to melt some wax out of some forms that have been sitting around for a week or more. I bought myself a heat gun, which is pretty effective with melting most of the wax without setting any fires. I can then torch off the rest of the wax residue with "minimal" fire. Much safer. Although things did get a bit smokey when I was working on one of the bigger forms.

Tomorrow I get to go to my geology class! Whoot!

Saturday, August 21, 2010

Quote

"The essence of the principle of the Uncarved Block is that things in their original simplicity contain their own natural power, power that is easily spoiled and lost when that simplicity is changed."

~Benjamin Hoff The Tao of Pooh

Friday, August 20, 2010

Process Shot of the Week

So this week rigged up some new anodes in the bath and got back to electroforming. Over two days I reduced this:

Down to this:
Happy weekend!

Thursday, August 19, 2010

Quote of the Week

"The images are outward, but their reflection is inward."

~Joseph Campbell The Power of Myth

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Charm Swap

My friend Tara Locklear has organized several charm swaps since past spring, and I finally participated in one about a month ago. The theme of this round was "The Circus", and I had a really hard time with this at first. Then I figured it would be cool to find some kind of vintage circus ephemera, sandwich it between some mica and some metal frames and rivet the whole thing together. It took me a while to find the paper/circus component, but I finally came across a great vintage paper shop on Etsy, that had a bunch of old circus schedules for a buck each. So I bought one, and this is the result:


I know I'm a dork, but I'm really proud of these rivets. I don't do a whole lot of riveting.

The charm I received was from ECU graduate and former studio mate Mara Friedland! I was so excited, since I really enjoy her work, but had yet to acquire a piece. This piece is more indicative of her style of work and not so much the circus, but I absolutely love it.

Anyone can participate in these charm swaps. In fact Tara has done quite well in recruiting people outside of Greenville. If you'd like to participate, feel free to contact Tara or myself. We'd be delighted to include you!