Yuma Art Symposium Pin Swap

So, I know it is taking me forever to post about the Yuma Syposium that I attended last weekend, but there are just so many photos, and there is so much to tell! I am going to first post just about the pin swap, and then I will post about the rest of the symposium.

Well, the weekend kicks off with a crazy PIN SWAP! All symposium attendees are encouraged to make trade pins to bring and swap. Its a great way to meet people and come home with awesome accessories!

These were my pins this year (bad castings of hands, ah well)...

These are some of my favorite pins that I traded for...

This one above has to be my absolute favorite. Traded by Doug Macdonald, who has at times been a foe, but I think has now passed to friend:) (Joking by the way)

Its fabulous...there aren't even words... This is a kiln cast glass moon by friend and fellow grad student Victoria Altepeter. I think it looks like a goldfish in a fish bowl.
This one above is by Betsy Douglas. She made 130 pins to trade this year and was at the first ever Yuma Symposium (29 years ago!). Thats old school! One of the sweetest ladies you will ever meet in the world by the way, and also an ASU alum!
Tedd McDonah, asu professor, was trading his fishing lures...SWEET!

I really liked this one because it remined me of my hometown (Tucson)! Actually, now that I think about it, so does this one below...

This little ant was made especially for me (no one else got one exactly the same) by Lauren Diggs, thanks Lauren!

This one above was made by ASU alum John Hayes.
I love my new baby anvil!!!
Someone was also passing out old costume jewlery at the swap. I can't believe I got this little beauty. It goes perfectly with my current work. You will see this again for sure!
And last but not least, this pin made by my professor Becky McDonah because there is always something else to do. Like how I am blogging when I need to finish a scholarship application, AND photograph student work, AND grade, AND go to the studio, AND prepare for teaching this week AND....

Check back soon for my post on the rest of the symposium!

New Piece

I just finished this piece at 2 am this morning! I started it last weekend when I took a workshop with Andy Cooperman. It is a belt buckle and will contain a lock of hair. I finished it just in the nick of time as I am leaving in about two hours for the Yuma Symposium (a weekend full of mostly metalsmithing artist lectures and workshops) and I needed a piece to exhibit in the student show. I will have a full report on the Symposium when I return!

The Seattle Report!

On Wednesday, I left for a quick trip to Seattle. I went for the opening reception and lecture for the Animales Show, at the Facere Gallery.

The flight took about 2.5 hours.

As soon as we landed we could see how cold it was going to be!

We headed off to The Moore hotel, which was in a really old building downtown. It was super old complete with tiny elevator, all oak doors, and old style bathtubs with claw feet!

We headed off to the Facere Gallery fo check things out and get ready for the lecture! The gallery was located in this large building right downtown. The gallery space was super tiny, but everything was layed out so nicely! My work even had it's own case:)

The lecture went really well. Six of the nine participating artists spoke for about 10 minutes a piece. The opening was really fun and I got to meet lots of other jewelry artists and collectors.

The next day we were off to sightsee...

There were so many hills I felt like I was in San Francisco, but it was so much more cold! It never got over 40 degrees the whole time we were there.

Pike Place Market was one of the first stops we made. Lots of shopping and fish...

Friends told us that we just had to take the "underground tour." New Seattle was built on top of old Seattle, so there are all these tunnels underneath the city.

Under ground we went...

When they put in the new sidewalks over the old ones, they built skylights right into the concrete. Over time the glass turned a really pretty purple color. This is what the skylights look from the street.

This is how they look below in the tunnel.

The glass was prism cut in order to refract more light. The tour was tons of fun and we learned a lot about the history of Seattle.

We found this cute little Italian Restaraunt called La Vita Bella. The food was delicious, and they even had an accordian player!

Then it was off to the space needle.
The next day we hit the Seattle Art Museum. I loved the Hammering Man in front. I am pretending it is a woman. At the museum shop I picked up some Boris Bally Keychains. I love his use of color!We saw China Town on the map and walked like 2 miles to get there. When we got there, this was all we found. Dragons on streetlights. Bummer.

So, we headed off to Pioneer Square to check out the art galleries.

There was so much to see! I loved all the old buildings, and how every detail was covered in decoration. Check out the walrus! Even the grates around the trees in the sidewalks were beautiful!
There was also a lot of Native American Art that was really interesting to look at.

Everything was covered in moss. Very different from the green cactus we have here in Arizona!

I also thought it was really cool that most of the bus system ran underneath the city in tunnels.

They also had all these clear covers over the sidewalks. I guess to let the sunlight in. Just another way Seattle was very different from AZ! We try to stay out of the sun here:)

So, it was a great trip. Someday maybe we will go back, but for now, we are glad to be back in warm, sunny, AZ!

Be sure to check out my work, and the work of the other artists in the show here.