Monday, April 30, 2012

Process Shot of the Week



It's amazing what you can finish up in one day in the studio.  I had a lot of things lying around half done, and spent a good portion of yesterday finishing them up. Although I did make that mica brooch from start to finish, as well as three more SNAG pins. I'm up to about 53, and I think I'm going to stop soon.

Maybe I'll have some work for this Trunk Show after all. . .

Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Process Shot of the Week



Despite leaving my job at the museum, I seem to still be incredibly busy. Last week was spent teaching, interviewing my summer assistants and cleaning the house. Thursday, my Hot Under the Collar postcards were delivered, and I spent several hours sorting and addressing a bunch of them. I've still got plenty left, so if you'd like one, just send me your address! To top it all off, it's graduation season, which means there's no shortage of exhibition openings to go to.

Meanwhile, I's still plugging away on work for the trunk show and my pins for the swap. I'm working on some pendants, since all I have now are earrings and brooches.

Thanks for reading!

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Winner!


And the winner is #12, Laine! Congrats Laine! Shoot me an email and I'll give you all the details on your gift code! Thanks to everyone who participated! I wish I could give each of you a gift code.

Note: I used the quantity 14 because someone left a comment on my FB page that didn't make it to the blog. There were some issues with posting comments on blog which was totally my fault. Just trying my best to keep things fair. Thanks again!

Monday, April 16, 2012

Announcments! Announcments!



I am so confused. How did it get to be the middle of April already? Yikes! Here's just a few updates on what's coming up in my world:

Things are rolling along with the show. I ordered postcards (fantastically designed by Steve Steiner) which should be here by the end of the week. And speaking of the conference, I finally got my information packet for the Trunk Show which makes it feel so much more real and scary. The conference is coming up quick and if Hot Under the Collar and the Trunk Show weren't enough, I'll also be blogging the Conference over on Crafthaus, with none other than Jillian Moore! I'm going to be all OVER this conference!

May is also shaping up to be jam packed since I'll be heading back to Peter's Valley for the summer, this time as their Artist Fellow in Fine Metals! I'm super excited to return to PV, and the list of instructors looks steller! So the next few weeks will be spent finishing up my class (so much to cover!) putting in my last few days at the museum (so sad to leave so many great people!) and packing (again!). Hopefully I'll have ample studio time once I get to PV to bust out more work for that Trunk Show!

Thanks for reading! Stay tuned!

Saturday, April 14, 2012

Quote of the Week

"God was a wild god,
into the most mindless rock,
but graceful,
looking- this excited me-
like no one I could love, "

~ Stephen Dunn, Dancing with God

Monday, April 9, 2012

Novica Product Review and Giveaway

Some months ago, I was asked to do a product review for the website Novica. Product reviews are not the primary focus of my blog, but after some thought I decided to give it a try. For those of you not familiar with Novica, it's a company affiliated with National Geographic (and we all know I love me some National Geographic), specializing in handmade goods from wallets to wearables, from artists around the world, particularly South America, Mexico, and Southeast Asia. You can purchase a variety of items from a variety of artisans, or you can support individual artists with micro loans.

There's a certain kind of import feel to the site, and the items are so perfectly crafted as to look manufactured, but each item is paired with the story of its maker. I was given $50 to spend, and after some time poking around, using the site's Gift Finder and Under $50 search terms I was able to compile a wishlist, where I was able to look at all my favorite items and compare. I knew I didn't want any jewelry, but I looked at it anyway, and didn't care for much of it. It all felt like stuff I've seen before and can get just about anywhere. I looked at some home decor stuff, but, lacking a home at the moment, and not eager for more stuff to haul around I decided against that. In the end, I opted for a handmade teak cutting board from Guatemala, because, well, I've been needing a new cutting board, and I'm willing to invest in my future kitchen. And it didn't look that cumbersome to have to move.
The site is pretty user friendly and it was easy to place my order. About 10 days later, I received a beautifully packaged cutting board complete with fancy paper, worry doll and Guatemalan thank you postcard from the artist. The only problem was the worry doll was hot glued to the ribbon and difficult to remove without damaging it. I also received a brief bio about the artist.

And here it is! My lovely new cutting board, which I still have yet to use!

All in all, it was pleasurable shopping experience, although I don't for a second believe I'm changing the world one artist at a time. I'm certainly open to using this site again, but a very large part of me feels strongly in supporting struggling artists in my own country first. Probably because I am one. But is nice to support a fellow world citizen on occasion.

The good people at Novica were generous to not only give me a $50 gift code to use on the site, but also one to offer to my readers. You can use it to purchase an item $50 or under (including shipping), or you can put it towards a more expensive purchase. To enter, please check out the Novica site, and leave a comment with a link to an item you'd consider purchasing. I'll select a comment at random as the winner one week from today. Just to make it interesting, I'll allow up to two entries per person.

Please take a minute to check out these items that Novica is currently promoting:
Men's Sweaters
Silk Jackets
Men's Accessories from India
Scarves
Women's Shawls from Peru

As always, thanks for reading!

Sunday, April 8, 2012

Happy Rabbit Day!

Hope everyone has a fantastic spring Sunday, no matter what you celebrate!