Graduation Gifts

So, I'm bragging, plain and simple...but its my blog...so I'm allowed...right? I don't know. Anyway, I got some really sweet gifts for graduation and they were just too cool to keep to myself:)My parents bought me this sweet solid wood jewelers bench from Starr Gems in Tucson.Two of my sister in laws gave me this mini jewelers bench, which is working perfectly as a little soldering station for me.My husband bought me this AWESOME hydraulic press (made by Michael Dale Bernard).

My friend Lizeth Garcia, a woods grad at ASU, gave me this carrot spoon she carved from basswood. Check out her etsy shop.

My professor, Tedd McDonah, gave me this fishing lure he made from recycled tin. Get your very own Recyclure in his etsy shop.
My friend Ellie Richards, another woods grad at ASU, made me this beautiful little wood chair from recycled 4x4. I love it! Ellie just opened up an etsy shop and you can get your very own chair here.And my friend Katie Poterala, made me this necklace and earrings, which I totally love. Check out her etsy shop here.

I will miss this place. A lot.

Well, its official. I am done at ASU. I turned all my keys in yesterday. I spent the last 7 years working in this studio. I will miss every single crowded dirty dusty nook and cranny. I will miss always having people around when I am working.I will miss bumping my hips into anvils and always having mystery bruises because we have so much packed into such a tight space:)

I will miss teaching.
I'll miss the Yuma trophies that ASU Metals has won over the years.

I will miss Dave's presence in the studio.

I will miss the tools!
I will miss Sir Sucksalot (our beadblaster).
I will miss the stakes (not that I did a huge amount of forming or raising).
I will miss the big annealing torches.

And I hate to admit it because it drove me crazy most of the time, but I will miss the belt sander!
I'll miss the casting room, even though I almost never used it.
I will definitely miss the draw bench and the stomp shear.
I will miss the enameling/acid etching room a ton!
I will miss my flawless big huge anvil.

And all the pretty hammers.

I will miss the history embedded in that studio. Like this little piece of wood on the underside of my bench that was marked with the initials of grads who were there before me (Becky Chader McDonah, Lauren McAdams, and Eric Burris)

And maybe more than anything I will miss my professor Tedd leaving me notes directly on my bench with a sharpie (instead of just leaving a note on a piece of paper!!!)

Oh man am I going to miss that place.

Farmers Market this Saturday in Tucson

This Saturday I will selling jewelry at the Green Art and Farmers Market in Tucson. Stop by for arts, crafts and great local produce! NW corner of Tanque Verde and Catalina HWY.

The farmers market is FRIDAYS from 4-8PM and SATURDAYS 8 AM - 1 PM (but I'll just be there on Saturday this week).

Earrings Galore

This summer I am participating in the Earrings Galore show again at Heidi Lowe Gallery in Rehoboth Beach Delaware. The show runs June5th-July6th. I really wish I could be there to see it but its just too far for me to go. If any of you get the chance to see it you definitely should, and let me know what you think! My friend Julie Mikelson was kind enough to model for me, isn't she beautiful?!

Here is the group of pieces I sent off to the show, if you are interested in any of them, please contact Heidi Lowe Gallery, as they are all available for purchase!
This is actually the sort of soft debut of some pieces in the new production line I am working on. All the pieces below (and the one directly above) are designs I am thinking about for the new line I will be launching later this summer. Hopefully they will do well at the show!
Oh, and here is what Heidi's website has to say about the exhibition:"The second annual “Earrings Galore” group show at Heidi Lowe Gallery will showcase dozens of artists this year. From 6-9 p.m. Saturday, June 12, the gallery will host an opening reception in conjunction with Rehoboth Beach’s “Mosaic” art walk.

“Last year, ‘Earrings Galore’ was one of our most successful shows,” gallery owner Lowe said. “This year I am finding a new, fun, and unexpected way to display the earrings. The type of earring someone wears can say a lot about the person. So, I am displaying a lot of different styles to appeal to as many women as possible. The display will only enhance the earrings’ ‘cool factor’.”

The show will be on display until July 6 and features artists from across the United States as well as London."

Family Tools

I spent this weekend in Tucson with my family. While I was there my mom gave me this lovely set of old tools that had been passed down in her family. They originally belonged to my great grandfathers sister, who passed away in 1969. She was an artist of many mediums and we still have some of her pieces in metal, jewelry, enamel, glass, mosaics, and painting. I love that there is a jeweler in my family history and that her tools have been passed on to me.Here is a set of chasing tools,

wax carving tools,screwdrivers and an awl,
dividers and a chasing hammer,
pliers, and shears,
some wood carving chisels,

and a tiny little clamp.I am so excited to get this sutff into my studio!