Fabulous Fabrications show

My Metals Mistress friend Candace Steppes has been taking enameling classes at the Creative Arts Group in Sierra Madre and told me about their jewelry show Fabulous Fabrications.

We both juried in to the show and when the postcards arrived, we were pleasantly surprised to see my stitched heart pendant and Candace's corrugated bracelet on the front!

Friday June 17, 2011 7-9pm and Saturday June 18 10am-5pm
Creative Arts Group
108 N. Baldwin Ave.
Sierra Madre, CA 91024
www.creativeartsgroup.org

Well, blog break is over - still have lots to do before next Saturday, gotta get back to construction!

Updates, Calamari & Caviar

This past week or two has been a bit of a crunch with looming deadlines, but gotta plan if one wants to have summer plans I suppose!

Quick update on RAW projects, as I've fallen behind I've decided that my goal is now to complete 52 rings this year. Continuing to plug away at the rings slowly will at least give me the satisfaction of being able to work on pet projects along with other obligations. Better late than never :)

RAW 6/52 Calamari & Cavier

I've been intrigued how to drape clay into an anticlastic curve before firing. The shape of the extruded ring band made me think of a fried calamari ring. Of course, where there are fried calamari rings, there are tentacle bits. & really, if you were an octopus, where else would be a good hiding place than inside a calamari ring? Made the week ACS took a price jump, going for the good stuff - fine silver & a diamond.

Diamond from my "rockhound fairy godmother" to experiment on.

RAW7/52 Leaf Wrap

The curved leafy focal was textured with paste and fired in its curve. The open band was attached to the focal but fired flat and shaped after firing. The band had a curved side and wavy side resulting in a slightly tapered band. Slightly adjustable, it is also comfortable to wear.

Still experimenting with photography, both rings were set on glazed black ceramic tiles and shot outside in full sunlight.

On a side note, other RAW rings not posted here are are on Flikr.

Must be Related

Week 3's rings for Ring(s) A Week were inspired by my youngest brother and all his teenage glory over the weekend. The rings are made of paper & an internet picture of one of my brother's favorite characters when he was younger.

Week 3 RAW: Comic Rings
(Angry Pikachu image by Beebarb)

If I was a webcomic artist I would draw the panels, but as I'm not here's the back story of gory details. Mostly for me to use as blackmail when he's older, I will say there is a RAW work in progress update at the end of this post.

Me: Hi! How's the homew...interweb chat...?
Bro: (types on compy) Hi, eh..
Me: (looks at blank page) What are you doing for Japanese class?
Bro: (types) ...brb..
Me: uh, is BRB enough time to finish this page? Is your page upside down?
Bro: You're worse than mom
Me: ouch

TV room, sometime after everyone is in bed, almost.

Bro: (walks in) Are done being Mom-ish yet?
Me: (?!!!) Are you wearing a blanket??
leaves, comes back to play video games
Me: So...are you going to be able to get up tomorrow?
Bro: well, technically...(insert speech here)

Finale:

Me: I'm going to bed..(need to walk between tv and bro)
Bro: My concentration can't be broken right now! You don't understand, I've been working on this for 3 weeks!!

*sigh*

As mom said, "Don't you remember being a teenager? I remember too well!"

*ahem* yes...see my desk?

This week friends at work who are doing Ring/Thing A Week have decided to coordinate and make Wednesday our Show and Tell day. As it is almost Wednesday, here is my update as I don't quite have rings made yet!

After debating for the longest time (hey, look at the cool shapes! :D but the cleaning, nooo!) I now have an extruder for my clay. After a lot of fiddling, cleaning, and opening additional packets clay (really? how many ways can 2 caps be screwed onto a pipe for this to work?!) things look promising for the moment. The extruder hasn't quite squeezed its way into the fave tool box...yet, it does have potential.

RAW 2 & 2.5? S'not bad for a week!

For week 2 I ended up playing with the idea of rings. There are rings for fingers, ears, noses, and other places! This is a nose ring can be worn on a finger and has its own nose ring. What I like the most is that it makes people chuckle.

Some people have also said the nose looks like an elephant or a tooth...

This little guy is # 2.5/52. Playing with a ribbon motif, this little guy may end up in a class soon.

Ring A Week - RAW Intention

2010 mini "party animals"

A New Year means time to start a new sketchbook! Though my digital sketchbook has been rather sparse on entries, the intention for more updates on activities this year is here.

Ever get so wrapped up in thinking about the logistics of how something would work, that it feels like all the energy needed to physically make the project has already been spent? Hearing about challenges makes me head straight for my sketchbook, trying to figure things out until suddenly time's up. I think a week is a manageable time frame for me to focus on completing a project. Something more "fun" to feed my inner artist and keep momentum going.

Started last year as Ring A Day, a group of artists on Flikr have a Ring A Week (RAW) photo pool going for this year. The goal is to make a ring every week from materials of your choice & share it with others.


The finished ring turned out a bit more raw than expected. I wanted to showcase the raw materials or unpolished look of silver clay right after firing. As much as seeing them bothered my sense of craftsmanship, the cracks and bumps were left as they were to show some of the metal's previous state of a clay form. The front of the letters were brushed with a brass brush and the edges of the letters burnished to show a bit of the evolution of finishing. The band is made of sterling silver wire.

This ring is my Intention for 2011. To participate more in the metal clay/ jewelry community, teach, and refine my skills as an artist. Other than that, I can't wait to see what other people create!

Blind Faith and the Prodigal Bat

Blind Faith
Star sapphire and laboradorite cabochons set in fine silver with gold accents. The bat's eyes are cubic zirconia.

Batty the bat may be legally blind, but there's a light in him that he can't hide. His "blind" faith keeps him going as explores the unknown with a mischievous grin of his face.

It started out as a competition entry, just to really try and "go for it." The stones themselves are breathtaking. The Challenge was to understand how different types of clay work, and I really wanted build a moving piece. Somewhere along the way, I started relating to Batty the Bat. Or more likely, he started to reflect me.


"There's something that burns within you that attracts people to you, that will take you far."


A friend told me this a couple months ago, along with a couple other observations, and I haven't really been able to let that go. Maybe because I'm more open to listening, putting some faith in myself, and more willing to acknowledge the faith others have in me now then before.


The Prodigal part of the story? Some how Batty & partially completed frame disappeared in the depths of my room for a month. Only my critters would rebel and come back, but I'm glad he did!