Process Shot of the Week

I'm finding that working in the studio is getting a bit easier, now that I've gotten started. I'm beginning to feel a bit better about this work, though I'm still terribly uncomfortable with the idea of taking it to Amsterdam for Sieraad. But the only solution I can see is to just keep making. . . .

Between the metalwork and several note card sets I've made since coming to Pocosin, I seem to be on track with my 100 pieces so far. What I am NOT on track with, is my 10 big pieces. Which I'm thinking might just be too much for my short time here. Maybe 10 large pieces by the end of the summer????

 Hope you have a happy a safe Memorial Day weekend. Thanks for reading.

Etsy Adds

A few of the recent adds to the shops! Check 'em out!

Jewelry Shop

Paper Shop

Shop and Mingle

This holiday season, I'll be selling work at Shop and Mingle at Emerge Gallery, located in downtown Greenville. The event starts Thursday, December 1st with a preview sale from 5-9pm, and includes heavy appatizers, beer, wine, door prizes, live music and a silent auction. The sale will be open to the public Friday, December 2nd, 5-9 pm and Saturday, December 3rd, 9am-4pm.

I'll be taking the majority of my Etsy inventory for this sale, so if you've had your eye on a piece, I recommend you snag it sooner rather than later. I'll be making so new inventory for this sale as well, and hope to have several sets of Mica Earrings and a few Mica Necklaces for sale.

If you're in the Greenville area on these dates, stop by and say hi! The Holiday Sale will also be going on at the ECU School of Art and Design so come on out and buy handmade!

My Etsy Jewelry Shop
My Etsy Paper Shop

Process Shot of the Week

I'm super excited about all the paint enamel techniques I learned this summer with Jessica Caulderwood. I had purchased myself a set of acrylic painting enamels from Thompson. We didn't cover acrylics in Jessica's class, focusing instead on underglazes and overglazes, and I didn't get a chance to try these out until just last week.

I had a specific idea in mind when I bought these. I'd played around with them before a little and discovered they are similar to gouache. As an undergrad I learned traditional jewelry rendering with gouache, which I enjoy and would like to become more proficient at. So I decided I wanted to to some traditional rendering in enamel. I know the whole "jewelry as jewelry" has been done, and I don't really intend for these to make any kind of statement. I see them as just a way for me to pick up a new technique, and experiment with something other than rocks. (No worries though, I've got more rock works in the works!)

The paint is a little hard to control and rendering is something I feel like I have to do a dozen times before I get it right. The firing on these is a little tricky also; they burn out really easily. Plus, even though I got the soft flux, I still had problems with the white base coat coming up through. I deliberately overfired the example on the far right, to see if I could get a more "sketchy" quality.

I'm not super happy with these, but it's a start.

Awesome Jewelry that I Own!

I'm really very fortunate that I know so many talented and giving people who are willing to gift or trade me their fantastic work. Here are a few recent adds to my personal collection I've aquired over the past few months. (This is just a start, I've got some more awesome pieces to add to this later, including my "Wonder Triplet Power Ring".)

Spray painted costume jewelry and silver earrings by Tara Locklear.

Steel and silver earrings by Leia Zumbro.

Silver with steel and enamel "balls" by Jennifer Wells.

Copper and enamel heart brooch by Ken Bova, and cast silver and enamel brooch by Sarah West.

I'm excited because I've got other trades in the works with Laura Wood, Marlene True, Autumn Brown, Jennifer Wells and even Bob Ebendorf!

Etsy Update

Two new adds to the Etsy shop!

Dialogue

Laura Deakin
Necklaces
Polyester filler, silk, plastic mother-of-pearl
2006-07

Over on Facebook, the graduate students from SUNY New Paltz have started "A Dialogue Regarding Beauty and Jewelry", and have asked a great many people from the field to participate. They ask that you respond to these two questions:

Identify a piece of jewelry made in the last two decades that you found to be profoundly beautiful. Explain why, and/or relate the experience.


Is it your intent that skillfulness is clearly demonstrated in your work? Why or why not?

I knew almost immediatly which piece I wanted to use to answer the first question, these "pearl" necklaces by Laura Deakin. Out of all the wonderful pieces in "The Fat Booty of Madness", these are the ones that have stuck with me.

I knew the answer to the second question too, but crafting something that so many top players in the field were going to see was a bit nerve wracking. It's been a bit of a stuggle for me, because I'm not a super personal person, but I've chosen to make this super personal and private work, while I'm still in the position where I have to talk about it. How do you share, without sharing too much?

Anyways, I think I managed to come up with something that was short, to the point and doesn't make me sound like a complete idiot:

The pieces in this series strike me because of their minimalism, use of unconventional materials and, most importantly for me, their subtly.

Demonstrating skill used to be part of my intent when I was making a very different type of work. This is no longer my desire, partially because I don’t feel like it takes a whole lot of technical skill to make my work. My work is about myself and my spiritual journey and my love of these things. My intent has shifted to let this voice, my voice be heard over any overt show of skill.

New in the Shop

Added this and a few others to the shop today.

My Jewelry on Etsy

So, I finally set up an Etsy site for my jewelry. I've been dragging my feet on this for one reason or another, but I'm trying to figure out how I'm going to pay for my Italy trip this summer, plus my trip to Houston for SNAG. Also, I've been in grad school for a long time, and will probably still be in grad school for another year. I'm not expecting to make a million, but any little bit helps.

So far I'm working on posting left overs from our sales here at ECU. It's not super representative of my work, but I do enjoy making it and the price points are relatively low. These are a few pieces from what I call my "Sweet and Simple" line. (Let's be serious, it's not really a line. I just like to buy gemstone beads.) These are really simple and pretty and, priced at $22, are really affordable.

Now that the electroformer is fixed, I can try and really develop a more wearable, production version of my art pieces. I have some ideas, so look for those pieces soon. Also, I made a great pair of mica earrings that I love and have gotten some positive response to, so look for those soon also.

Thanks for reading!

18k

My work from undergrad was featured on the blog 18k today! How neat! Thanks Marta!