Holiday

Spent another Christmas in Tucson. It was lovely! Actually, it was pretty cold (for Arizona anyway). It even snowed the day after Christmas! But then two days later it was 70 degrees again. I love Arizona! My little brother came to visit from Boston. I always love hanging out with him! I'm hoping to be able to visit him in Boston over spring break. Anyway, he was home for the holidays and we got to spend lots of quality time together. He even talked me into going on a hike:) The mountains in Tucson are so pretty. My parents live near the base of this mountain, on the other side of that large hill in the middle of the picture. Aww...me and little bro! The picture doesn't show that the ground he is standing on is a good foot below where I am standing. I think he has been bigger than me since he was born, and he is two years younger than me! See all that water behind us in the picture? That wash is usually dry, but we got a lot of rain and a lot of the water is snowmelt. He wanted to cross it and keep hiking. I refused. I was not about to ford a river and freeze to death! So, we found another trail:) I've always been the dramatic one... This picture illustrates just how much I love AZ!! Enough to kiss a saguaro cactus...almost:)
I even got to meet up with some really old friends. We make a point to get together every year at Christmas. We have all been friends since elementary school. My best friend Kristin (tall one in blue) and I have known eachother since we were 2 years old and are still best friends. I know I am lucky to have such great friends!
It was so nice being in Tucson for almost a whole week. Now, its back to work. I have to figure out what the heck I am going to make for the Love Letters show I have coming up in like two weeks and I was hoping to get my etsy shop filled over the break.

Happy New Years Eve!

Third Annual Intercollegiate Metals Exhibition Catalog is FINALLY here!

Something I have been working on for a few months now is the Third Annual Intercollegiate Metals Exhibition Catalog. We wanted to publish a full color catalog to go with the exhibition we hosted at asu in October. Well it took me FOREVER, but it is finally here! Every piece in the show is included in this full color catalog. This book is a great way to see what other students and faculty are producing at institutions around the country. It was a lot of work, but it looks great and will be something I reference long into the future.

Make sure to get yours now!

Third Annual I...

Catalog of the Exhi...

By ASU Metals

Book Preview

Here is a little sneak preview, you can preview more here.

This book is a complete full color catalog of the Third Annual Intercollegiate Metals Exhibition hosted by Arizona State University in 2008.

The ASU Metalworking Department was proud to host the 3rd Annual Intercollegiate Metals Exhibition, held October 6th-16th, 2008. The Exhibition consisted of eight universities from across the nation, incorporating work from undergraduate and graduate students, as well as faculty members from the participating departments. Each institution was responsible for jurying the work to represent their program. The exhibition was a great opportunity to educate, inspire and develop public and academic awareness in the field of metalworking as well as encourage interaction among metalworking departments on a national scale. It showcased a wonderfully diverse cross-section of what is happening in metals studios across the country.

Participating institutions included:

Arizona State University

Bowling Green State University

Cranbrook Academy of Art

Indiana University at Bloomington

Kent State University

Rhode Island School of Design

San Diego State University

University of North Texas

Gift Certificates

Now available in my etsy shop. Better late than never:)

Officially Done

I just finished grading all my student work and uploading it to flickr (ok, almost got it all on flickr). I am SO proud of my students this semester. They seriously rocked it. I am hard to please (and I know it). I pushed them hard and they delivered. Its a great feeling!

Go check out their work and leave them a comment!

Pearl and Fingerprint Silver Etched Earrings

I was asked to make these earrings to match a necklace I sold in my etsy shop. I love how they turned out and definetly need to make some more!

A Little Help

My pet rabbit, Coppersmith, helped me study for my History of the Decorative Arts in Interiors final exam. Isn't he cute? He ate all of my page markers...

Love Letters

I just finished up all my finals...this semester is finally over! I don't know what it was, but this semester killed me. Dead.

Anyway, I am really glad the break is here. I get almost a month off school. Plenty of time to visit the family for the holidays and get some serious work in the studio done with NO distractions. I am really looking forward to it.

One thing I have to work on is a piece for a show called "Love Letters." The show is an invitational exhibition of work by ASU graduate students and recent grads. Each artist is assigned a letter of the alphabet and asked to respond to that letter. 26 letters in the alphabet, 26 pieces in the show. I was given the letter "L". I am really excited to make the piece, but need some serious inspiration. Maybe I will have an epiphany while consuming massive amounts of sugary sweets and holiday treats in the next week or so. Cross your fingers for me and send warm wishes of artfully inspired "L's".

The show will be at Modified Arts .

407 E. Roosevelt, Phoenix, Arizona 85004

Third Friday, January 16th – Artists’ Reception
First Friday, February 6th – Closing Reception
Sunday, February 15th – Show officially closes

30th Annual Contemporary Crafts Exhibition

I just found out that some of my work was accepted into the:

30TH ANNUAL CONTEMPORARY CRAFTS EXHIBITION

"Highlighting the finest in contemporary crafts from around the country, Mesa Contemporary Art’s Annual Contemporary Crafts exhibition has become a benchmark for innovation and quality. This year represents a milestone for the museum as it celebrates the 30th anniversary of this popular juried exhibition. Representative of traditional craft mediums including ceramics, fibers, basketry, metals, wood, glass, jewelry, papermaking and book arts, this exhibition showcases 58 artworks by 39 artists from 14 states."

I am sooooooo excited to be a part of this amazing show and would like to invite you all to come and see it!

The opening is January 23rd from 6-8pm. The show runs Jan 23-Mar 15, 2009. Mesa Arts Center is located on the corner of Main Street and Center Street in Downtown Mesa. For more info: http://www.mesaartscenter.com/

New Student Work

Just posted lots of new student work on my flickr. More to come soon...I am SO behind! Go check it out!

Metalworking Merit Badge

On Saturday, we at ASU Metals hosted a metalworking merit badge workshop for a local boy scout troop. It was super fun. The boys learned how to harden and temper steel and then fabricated their very own belt buckles. I made a mold for the hydraulic press so that we could make multiples and buckles with some volume, and then I made up this little sample for them so they could get an idea of what they were making...very boyscoutish don't you think? It was a one day deal, so we only had time to teach them very basic piercing and soldering. It felt so weird making something so simple and with no texture! Anyway, I think its funny.

And then, I had to make a simple little buckle that I would actually wear, so I made this one...The craftsmanship is not great but it was like a 2 hour project so I just did the essentials. It was super fun! If you want to read more about it, head on over to the ASU Metals blog!

Craft:

Yesterday my work was blogged on Craft Magazine's blog. If you haven't been to their website you should definetly check it out, its a great resource for all things crafty! Thanks so much Rachel for writing about my work! Check it out here.

Bragging Rights

Just thought you may like to know that it is still in the 70's here in sunny AZ. So, while I will NOT be enjoying final exams and critiques for the next two weeks, I will be enjoying the weather. And...this is the ONLY place on earth you get sunsets like this...in December! I love it. I took this picture yesterday right outside the studio when I stepped out for dinner. Gorgeous!

Procrastination

Today I cleaned my bench and soldered some earrings that I made out of my sample etchings for the class I am teaching at Phx Art Center. I was putting off writing my paper for my Art History class. AND THEN, when I went to class today my teacher gave us an extension. Just think of all the things I will accomplish with the extra time I now have to put off my paper!

Maybe I will even get some of these earrings listed in my etsy shop soon...

Tagged!

I have been tagged by Chris Parry, a fellow etsy metal member! I have to tell you seven random facts about myself.

Here goes:

1. I hate light pollution. Very few things make me happier than being able to look up into the sky and see it sprinkled with beautiful, amazing, twinkling stars.

2. I love the desert. I love the cactus, the rock covered mountains, the dry warm air, the intense sunlight, the super hot weather...everything about it.

3. I love old trucks and in my dreams I drive a 1951 Chevy truck with stepsides, painted fire engine red.

4. I am hopeless when it comes direction...I can get lost anywhere...even if I've been somewhere a hundred times, I usually get lost. My parents didn't let me get my drivers license until I was 17 because they were afraid I would get lost and never come home.

5. I love to swim. I think that swimming is the most relaxing thing in the world because you just focus on the water...you can only hear your own breathing...there are no distractions and you are free to just think.

6. I love school. I love learning and if I could stay in school forever I probably would.

7. When I get stressed out about something, instead of doing whatever I need to do, I clean. I start scrubbing my tile grout with a toothbrush just so I don't have to face the stress. Dumb, I know.

So, thats 7 facts about me. Heres who I tag in no particular order:

Corey Ackelmire

Shannon Duffy

Valerie Heck

Danielle Embry

Mindy Sue Meyers

Emily Barletta

Sophie Wiggins

Lauren McAdams

Here's how this works:

THE RULES:**Link to your tagger and list these rules on your blog.*Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.* Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their name as well as links to their blog.* Let them know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

Whirlwind Day

Saturday was absolutley crazy. Wonderful, but crazy. I had to be at Mesa Art Center at 8:00 am to set up my booth for the Holiday Art and Music Festival. The fair has been going on for 3 years now, and my friend and studio mate Victoria Altepeter and I have shared a booth together all 3 years. So we got all set up, and then I had to drive all the way to downtown Phoenix to teach my etching class at Phoenix Center for the Arts (more on that later). It was fun, but then after the 3 hour class I had to rush back over to Mesa to watch my booth for the last 2 hours of the show before takedown. We got all cleaned up, I drove home and unloaded the truck really quick and then dashed to the movie theater to go see Twilight. Besides the fact that I got virtually NO sleep for a week before the show because I was frantically trying to get jewelry made, that was a really exhausting day! It was super fun though. Oh, and can I just point out that it was a beautiful, sunny 78 degrees?! I know you are all jealous!!!

My husband sat at the booth with Victoria while I was teaching. I was so happy that he was willing to help me out. I am a lucky girl! I think he may have even had fun:)

Victoria won 1st place jurors award for the show because her jewelry is AMAZING and she gets her booth for free next year! I will be sad that we won't be sharing the booth, but we decided that we will just have to have our booths right next to eachother so we can still be together! This is some of the jewelry (below) she had at the show, isn't it amazing?! She has opened an etsy shop and is working on getting things listed. You should check it out. If she doesn't have much listed, check back later as she is just getting started!

These are her married metal belt buckles. She uses lots of different patinas in her work. Aren't they gorgeous?

These are some of her cast organic brooches.

Sky map rings in brass and sterling silver.
Galaxy brooches.
Anyway, it was really a fun day and we both did really well. There was so much traffic! Our booth was busy all day. One thing that was so great was that we had so many friends come to support us. So many of our customers were return customers from last year, which is such a compliment. We were so glad to have so many friends, family members and supporters come and stop by our booth. Thank you so much. You make all of our hard work worth it!

ASU Metals Club Jewelry Sale

ASU Metals Club Jewelry Sale

"Red Hot and Riveting!"

Come support our metals club and buy awesome jewelry for yourself or gifts! We will be having our bi-annual sale, Monday the 24th-Wednesday the 26th of next week. The table will be located in front of the Art Building from 10am-5pm. Lots of handmade work by students!

Tons of New Jewelry and a Reminder

Guess what?! I have TONS of new jewelry in stock and it will all be at the:

HOLIDAY ART & MUSIC FESTIVAL

When: THIS SATURDAY! Nov 22, 2008
Start time: 10:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Where: Mesa Arts Center

"The annual Holiday Art & Musical Festival will feature original works of art for sale by several local and regional artists, live entertainment showcasing local talent on two stages, artist demonstrations in Glassblowing, Metals and Ceramics, children’s activities, and a variety of food from featured local restaurants. Come to Mesa Arts Center to kick off the holiday season at this fun-filled community festival! Admission is free to the public.
For more information about this event, visit our Interactive Brochure"

Come, buy handmade gifts and support local artists!

Here is just a sampling of some of the jewelry I will have. I still have tons in progress and lots of fabricated work in the finishing process. Come check it out!

Unfortunately I have to teach at Phoenix Center for the Arts that day, so I have to leave my booth for a stretch in the middle of the show. My husband Scott will be there to watch my booth and he is a much better salesman than I so watch out! I should be around at the beginning of the day, and also for the last few hours so be sure to stop by and say hello.

New Work

I just finished some new work (sorry the image is so dark). I did a sketch of this image over the summer and am just finally done with the piece!

I am pretty happy with how it turned out and can't wait to make more like this!

The materials are a found silver platter, copper and embroidery. Measures about 14" across and about 5" wide.