Flea Market

We had a blast the other day at a flea market in Sevierville. Weird stuff! I did score some silver platters to take home with me though, so thats good!Lots of old rusty tools.This pup wasn't for sale, but she was flashing some rather bright hot pink toenail polish, which was something I had never seen before...Crib full of creepy dolls (especially the one in the upper left corner) with my friend Ellie who I am sure will kill me for posting this picture!Hair in a box ?! (Also my friend Ellie.)

This was by FAR the weirdest thing I saw. Two women stuffing a life size rag doll into a van. Something not right about that...

Anyway, it was a great day. Flea Markets are always fun, and even more fun with friends in Tennessee!

Holy Smokies

My first week at Arrowmont went soooooooooooo fast!!! I got here last Friday and it has been a whirlwind ever since.

Okay, maybe I should back up:) This summer I am spending 4 weeks in Gatlinburg, Tennessee at the Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts. I applied and was given the opportunity to come and work as a studio assistant. For every week I work, I am able to take a class here. That means I get to take two classes! Arrowmonts work study and studio assitant program is a wonderful opportunity for artists of any age in any stage of life, see more here. On the weeks that I work I am responsible (along with other studio assistants) for making sure all the studios here run smoothly, as well as various other duties. I had an Artists Books class last week with Dan Mayer...it was a blast! This week I am working, but next week I will be in a metals class with Jim Meyer! So excited!

Check out some pics from the first week here:

Flew into Knoxville, TN...a very different landscape than the 115 degree desert that I left!

The first night I was here, Arrowmont had their Art Auction, which raises money for programs like the one that allowed me to come here! I'm so grateful to all the generous artists who gave work for the auction, and also to all the buyers who spent their money so that I could be here!

Left-Jacob Meders, Right-Dan Mayer. Dan taught the artists books class that I took last week, and Jacob was his assistant. They are both from ASU as well, Dan a professor and Jacob a printmaking grad.

Our class hard at work!

This was some Vanderbuilt mansion we drove to one day...it was crazy huge.

View from the porch.Filled with Arts and Crafts revival furniture and decor. SOOOooo gorgeous!This fireplace was ginormous!One day we went into Ashville, North Carolina and hit up all the art galleries. My favorites were The Blue Spiral, and Ariel Gallery. More on those later! Every night there are slide presentations by the instructors here, and also the residents and the studio assistants. So, I've been getting to hear lots of amazing people talk about their work! And I've also gotten more practice myself, even though its pretty much my least favorite thing to do!

Well, thats all I have time for at the moment. Tons more to blog soon.

Thank You! And what Im up to for the next month...

Thanks go out to everyone who participated in my Birthday Sale yesterday! My shop will now be closed until mid August. If you live in the Phoenix area you can still get my work at the Mesa Art Center Store.

During the next month I will be a studio assistant at Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts. While I am there I also get to take a bookmaking class from Dan Mayer and a metals class from C. James Meyer, which I am very excuted about! I will be blogging while I am there so come back to see what is going on at Arrowmont!

Let the SALE begin!

TODAY ONLY! Today is my 25th birthday so I am having a 25% off sale in my shop. Help me pay my tuition in the fall by purchasing something for yourelf or for a friend! I just listed tons of new items! Get it while you can because after today my shop will be closed for a month while I am at Arrowmont in Tennessee!!
If you purchase something in my shop today your paypal account will be automatically refunded 25% of your purchase total.

Thanks for looking!

Your Opinion Wanted

Hi! Im trying to come up with a header design for my new website (which will be up and running shortly!). These are the designs I have so far. Feedback greatly appreciated...I added a poll (see right sidebar) please vote on which header you like best! I'd really appreciate your opinion! Thanks:)Header 1

Header 2

Header 3

Header 4

P.S. Dont forget the 25% off sale in my etsy shop on Wednesday!

Birthday Sale One Day Only 25% Off

On July 8th I will be turning 25! That seems like a milestone age for me...not sure why. Anyway, I decided to have a ONE DAY ONLY sale to celebrate my birthday!! One week from today, everything in my shop will be 25% off that day only. Don't worry, I will be listing lots of new items from now until then, so there will be lots to choose from! ALSO, I got a studio assistantship at Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts this summer, so I will be in Tennessee from July10-August9. This means my shop will be closing down for that entire month and I will most likely be delivering all of my inventory to my local retailer.

Moral of the story: Get it while you can!

Thanks!

Pine

A couple of weekends ago I went to my husbands family's cabin in Pine, AZ. My favorite thing to do in Pine is go to all the little antique shops. It's so fun! We passed this road while exploring the town....how cool would it be to live on Anvil Rd?!I scored a bunch of old blacksmith tools for practically nothing!The hammers just needed a little refinishing and they were good as new! Two of them were even handmade hammers which is totally awesome.

I also got this little note holder which I hung in my studio for to do lists. I like it! Hopefully we will get to go back to the cabin sometime this summer before school starts again!

Work for Portrait Show

Just mailed these pieces off to the Portrait Show at Shaw Gallery. (I don't have access to a nice camera this summer so these pictures are the best I have.)

Other Artists in the show include,
Margaux Lange
Robert Ebendorf
Tom Mann
Susan Hoge
If you are in or near Northeast Harbor, Maine on July 9th, head on over to the opening reception from 5-7, or be sure to check out the show, it runs until July 22nd. Dean's Gone Fishin'
Necklace
Sterling Silver, Ebony, Paint
(lazer engraved photo of my dad as a child)
Bowtie (Brooch)
Sterling silver, ebony, paint
(lazer engraved photo of my dad as a child)Moms Wrinkles
Brooch
Sterling Silver, Ebony, Paint
(lazer engraved photo of my mom laughing)

Eye Ring

Sterling Silver, Ebony, Paint

(lazer engraved photo of my eye)

Mementos (brooches)

sterling silver, brass

I hate Buffing.

I really do.

Today, I turned this really pretty chain:

Into this deformed mess of scrap metal:

I was buffing it and it got caught in the wheel. The chain whipped around, shattered the light bulb, sliced open my hand and yeah...got totally mangled. Poo. That means this piece will not be making it to the Portrait show at Shaw Gallery.:( Stay tuned for the pieces that did survive:)

New Photos

A couple of weeks ago I applied for the MJSA (Manufacturing Jewelers and Suppliers of America) Scholarship. Part of the application was to submit photographs of your jewelry on a model. I have never had to submit photos like that before, so I didn't have any. Luckily I have a very talented friend who is an amazing photographer. Janalee Acereto took these gorgeous shots of my jewelry and I am soooo happy with how they turned out! (see more photos here) The model is my other friend Breanne Johnson...isn't she beautiful?!

Cross your fingers that I get the scholarship!

Many thanks go out to Jana for the photos and Breanne for being such a beautiful model! Im lucky to have friends who are willing to help me so last minute with my crazy requests:)

Earrings Galore

My friend Jill was able to go to the opening for the Earrings show at Heidi Lowe Gallery in Rehoboth, Delaware this weekend. She took some pictures, and I loved how Heidi set up the show so much that I wanted to share with you. What a fantastic way to display earrings!!! And thanks to Jill for the photos!