Nancy Worden Workshop

This weekend I went to a cold connections workshop in Tucson, hosted by Arizona Desiger Craftsmen. It was taught by Nancy Worden and was super fun. She taught how to incorporate tube rivets and commercial rivets into jewelry, mostly for bead making. I really enjoyed going to the lecture she gave about her work and hearing the stories behind each of her pieces. I took a million pictures at the workshop, head on over to my flickr to see what everybody in the workshop made. It was really fun and I met some really wonderful people! Nancy was great and gave me some much needed life advice. It was really nice to meet her and it will be fun to see her at the Yuma Symposium at the end of this week!

This was one of the necklaces Nancy brought with her, made from dried oranges.

Two other necklaces Nancy brought, one made from pelligrino caps, and the other from wine bottle trash.

This was just a really funny sign they had at the Pima Community College studio where the workshop was located.

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!

Dave

When I started my undergraduate classes at ASU as a metals major, the metals professor there was Dave Pimentel. Dave started the metals program at ASU sometime in the 70's and was the department head until he passed away in 2004. When he was there the TA office was full of his work. I took these pictures after he passed away but before his things were taken from the studio. I remember walking into the office all the time and just being so awe struck by all of his amazing bowls. These were all raised, meaning they were worked from a single flat disc of copper, slowly hammered into a 3 dimensional form. He was amazing. There were stacks of them, and this was only a portion of his work. He also made really beautiful jewelry which I dont have pictures of, and really large wall sculptures as well. I think about Dave a lot. When I had my first class with him I was terrified of him, I never made eye contact and I tried very hard not to talk to him. Then one day he walked into the studio and threw a bottle of frizz ease shampoo at me and said, "Here, I thought you may need this." He was totally teasing me (I have really curly hair) and after that I was't scared of him anymore. I like people that give me a hard time:) He talked me into going to the Yuma Symposium and I've gone every year since (this year will be my 6th yuma!) He was a big factor in my decision to go to grad school. I remember he sat us down one day in class and gave us a big long lecture about the importance of getting your MFA. I also remember him saying that you aren't a true metalsmith until you've made a teapot. Thats on my list of things to do. He also talked a lot about "that little touch of gold." He told us that if we added just even the smallest amount of gold that it made the work so much more precious and would totally change the feel of a piece. He taught me a lot in the short time that I had him as a professor and I will always remember what he taught me. I hope someday to acquire even half of his knowledge. I wish I had better images of his bowls for you, but I just had to share these photos. The lamps are my favorite, but I have a lot of other favorites in here too:) I am very glad that I had the opportunity to be taught by such a great metalsmith.

Giveaway Announcement and a Funny Picture!

So, about a month ago I promised a giveaway of one of my sewn necklaces. My husband randomized the list and then I picked a number (8 is my fav#). And the winner is....(drumroll please)...

Sara!

So, Sara email me with the color you want (any color they make embroidery thread into is fine).

And, hopefully you will get your necklace sometime before Christmas:)

And, I also had to post THIS...

This picture really needs no explanation, but I will give you one anyway.

She is totally going to kill me for this...but I HAD to post it. This is me and my good buddy Victoria Altepeter. Vic is a year ahead of me in the grad metals program at ASU. We made these anvil t-shirts last semester after taking a printed textiles class. We showed up at school matching the other day (totally unplanned!). Go team metals!! (thats what we call ourselves)

I love her! She is an amazing source of inspiration, support, guidance, knowledge etc. to me. She helps me everyday by giving me advice, sharing her talents and being my friend. Her thesis show will be in March and it is going to be amazing! If you come to the opening tomorrow (see below) you can see some of her awesome work!

Third Annual Intercollegiate Metals Exhibition

Announcing... 3rd Annual Intercollegiate Metals Exhibition
Dates: Oct. 6-17
Hours: Monday-Thursday, noon-5:00 p.m.; Friday, noon-3:00 p.m.
Opening Reception: Monday, October 6, 7:00-9:00 p.m.
Tickets: Free
MAP

A national juried exhibition of jewelry and metalwork, selected and organized by Herberger College faculty member Becky McDonah and the Metals program in the School of Art. Participating schools include:
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

We set up most of the show today, and I promise it is full of AWESOME work! Come out and see the show!

Big News! Contemporary Visions in Metal Show at Mobilia Gallery!

About three weeks ago I was invited to participate in the upcoming Contemporary Visions in Metal exhibition at Mobilia Gallery. Mobilia is putting up the show in conjunction with The “Imperishable Beauty: Art Nouveau Jewelry” exhibition at the Museum of Fine Arts Boston. The art nouveau show "includes about 120 works by the leading designers and fabricators of late nineteenth- to early twentieth-century Art Nouveau jewelry. Although many of these artists acquired their skills in traditional, high-style jewelry houses, they found inspiration in the work of the Pre-Raphaelites, the philosophy of John Ruskin (1819–1900), the paintings and poetry of the symbolists, and the arts of Japan. For motifs, they looked to the flora (orchids, lilies) and fauna (dragonflies, butterflies) of the natural world and the sensuality of the female form. This new aesthetic was, in large measure, a reaction against nineteenth century historicism, industrialization, and the “tyranny of the diamond,” and these Art Nouveau artists chose to interpret nature rather than imitate it.

René Lalique (1860–1945) was the most renowned Art Nouveau artist, whose one-of-a-kind pieces were often large and made of unusual and inexpensive materials such as horn, enamel, and glass. Art Nouveau designers/jewelers also employed a pastel color palette much like the Impressionists. Color was, for the most part, achieved through the use of enamel, and plique à jour (open to light) enameling added a delicacy and level of technical sophistication not previously seen in jewelry. In addition to works by Lalique, jewelry by Georges Fouquet (1862–1957), Eugène Feuillâtre (1870–1916), and Lucien Gaillard (1861–1933) is shown, as are paintings, sculpture, prints, posters, textiles, and decorative arts from the period. "

Mobilia Gallery is hosting the "3rd Annual Conference on Jewelry and Related Arts: Ahead of Its Time: Jewelry in the Milieu of 1900", which the show will be a part of.

The exhibition will open Saturday, October 4th and run through the end of the month. I have been asked to send 2-5 pieces for the show, so I have been frantically trying to make time to make work for the show while also teaching, focusing on school (upcoming metals intercollegiate show, and printmaking critique), studying for art history midterm, and getting ready for my 15 hour review (and trying to sleep at least a little bit in there somewhere). I don't have any idea how I will get it all done, but somehow I will make it work! This is an image of the first piece I have completed for the show. I really am so excited about this opportunity and just hope that I can get some nice work done. I wish I had more time!!

Now, back to work!

Sterling silver, 14K gold, pearl, embroidery

Etched, fabricated, sewn

Etching

I will be teaching an etching class at Phoenix Center for the Arts this fall. We will cover all the basic resits and PNP transfer paper. The dates are November 22-December 13th on Saturdays from 12-3pm. More details here.

New Piece: Linked

So, I know I already posted this, but I had some issues with Blogger and accidentally deleted the post (and all the comments, sorry to those of you that commented) so, I am posting it again. This piece is in the Night Gallery show for a month, so go check it out. See here for details. The professor in charge of the Gallery changed my title from "Linked" to "Chain of Evidence". Apparently he sees something very different in the piece than I do, but isn't that part of the beauty of art? A million interpretations. I enjoyed reading some of your interpretations on this piece and I'm sorry they were lost.

Altered silver platter, embroidery, hand fabricated chain

Summer Experience

This summer I taught two 4 week classes at Phoenix Center for the Arts. The class was an intro to metals for 8-12 year olds the first session, and 11-14 year olds the second session. It was only 2 hours once a week (8 hours total).

The thing with kids is, I always dread it at first. I hate the discipline part of it. When you teach adults you don't have to worry about telling them to stop hitting each other with hammers, stop pinching each other with pliers, or to stop winding wire around each others necks. With kids, you almost always have to teach and discipline. I just like to teach. So, because of this, I always stress out when I teach kids classes. But, the kids classes are always the most rewarding. The second group I had this summer was really awesome. Maybe it was because it was mostly girls, or maybe it was because they were older, but I had SO much fun with them. They even had me laughing so hard one day I was crying. Anyway, the classes are over now but the Phoenix Center put on a little art show at the end to show off their work.

The kids did 2 projects. The first project was etched pendants. I just had them use nail polish and paint pens as a resist. I didn't mess around with asphaltum or anything like that. Too messy. The second project was a wire wrapped beaded mobile.

The girl who made this one was hilarious. She said her dad went through a mid life crisis and bought a hot air balloon, so her family always goes on hot air balloon rides. She made a mobile of all different shaped hot air balloons. I thought it was pretty neat.

I also liked this one a lot. You can't tell, but she made wire letters that spelled her name...

I really liked the superheroes that they did in the drawing class though. The one on the right is "The Flower Spreader" and he "spreads flowers throughout the town and creates flower gardens wherever he goes." We need more superheroes like that!

It was a great experience, and I think I just may do it again!

Commission

A few months ago I was asked to do a commission for a 25th wedding anniversary (the silver anniversary) present from a husband to his wife. Although a bit intimidated, I was really excited about it. Through lots of brainstorming with other family members and friends of the family, I was able to come up with an idea for the gift. I had started collecting old silverplated platters a number of months ago with vague ideas for them in mind, and this opportunity seemed perfect for some of my ideas. So I pitched the idea of creating silhouetted portraits on antique silver platters to the family and they were excited about the idea. Then I got to work! I collected photos of all the family members and turned them into silhouettes. Then I made hardware for the platters to hang from. I think that was my favorite part...not sure why. I also made these little fluer shapes that have the anniversary date stamped into them.

It took me forever to get 5 platters that were the same basic oval shape. They are all different, and I like that they look old. I want to make more! After weeks of work and worry, I finished the platters and was really happy with how they turned out! I delivered them to the family this weekend and got a great response. I was glad they asked me to do the project and that they gave me so much freedom to work. I had a lot of fun and know it was a great experience for me!

Some Press: Craftershock

The other day, some of my embroidered work was featured on the Craftershock Blog!

"Craftershock is your source of all things crafty." They seek out and showcase the work of crafters of all types. They also offer tutorials and project ideas. Check it out HERE.

Arrowmont: The Class

I went to Arrowmont as an assistant to my professor Becky McDonah for her class, "Pressure and the Hydraulic Press." It was so fun to meet everyone in the class and spend many hours a day working along side such great people.Becky covered SO much material including, creating surface textures and volume using the hydraulic press, creating and using dies, embossing to deeper forming, anticlastic and synclastic forming, how to create hollow forms using the press, and even more!

(These bracelets are the work of Chris Legaux)

Mostly, people in the class created small samples of all the various different techniques. Not everyone left with a completed piece, but all left with a huge new library of techniques! These are some of the pieces created by class members...Becky also asked me to give an etching demonstration, so that people could learn how to use etched surfaces in conjunction with the hydraulic press. I taught various resists such as asphaltum, paint pen, nailpolish, and the PNP photo transfer technique. I think people had a lot of fun experimenting with etching for the first time!

(Annette Leeuw created this piece above.)

I like how people creatively combined techniques to create really interesting forms. This piece was etched, fold formed, and then a matrix die was used to form it in the press.

(This bracelet the work of Chris Legaux.)

This nickel bracelet was created by etching, forming, and then nickel rings were added for decoration.

(Annette Leeuw)

This was one of my favorite etchings that came out of the class!

I didn't have as much time to work as I thought, but I decided that I wanted to make something small to give to a few of the people that made my experience at Arrowmont so great. I wish I could have made something for everyone that I met, but there just wasn't time! I made a die for these small copper scalloped forms, and then embroidered differently on each one. On the last day of class, after the studio cleanup, we had a little critique. I really think everyone got a TON out of this class, and I very much enjoyed working with everyone.Most of all I am grateful to Becky and everyone at Arrowmont for giving me this opportunity. It was one of the most amazing experiences of my life. It was so hard for me to leave arrowmont when the week was over. I met so many amazing people and had such a great time! I will go back someday, there is no doubt. I hope it will be soon.