Metals and Jewelry Invitational at West Kentucky Community and Technical College: Paducah School of Art

 I am participating in the upcoming "Metals and Jewelry Invitational" at West Kentucky Community and Technical College: Paducah School of Art.  The Show opens September 21st and is a way for the school to boost interest in their new Metals and Jewelry program.  See more info in the news article (Paducah Sun) below.  I am honored to be a part of this exhibition and have several friends participating as well whose work I really admire.  I wish I could see the show in person but unfortunately will not be making the trip to Kentucky.  If you are in the area, be sure to check it out!

Portrait/Self Portrait Show at Shaw Gallery

This week I am finishing up my work for the Portrait/Self Portrait show at Shaw Gallery. These brooches will go to the show along with some new work. Here is the postcard, my image made the cover (or at least I think its the cover!)

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.

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/

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!

"Students’ metal art takes unusual form"

Our Intercollegiate Metals Exhibition made it into the school Newspaper, the State Press, yesterday. Although the article has lots of slight errors, we are happy for any press about the show! I was interviewed for the article and one of my quotes actually has me saying something is really "cool". I now need to eliminate that word from my vocabulary! Thats so bad! Anyway, see the article online HERE.

Off to Mobilia

I finished one more piece for the show at Mobilia Gallery (read more here). They asked for 2-5 pieces and 2 is all I was able to get done. I am a little sad about that, but sometimes you just can't do everything. Here are some shots of the piece and the pair. I have to send them off tomorrow (the opening is on Saturday)! It's always hard to part with things...especially when they were so much work and are so new! I like to give myself time to warm up to the idea of my work leaving me...its just so much a part of myself. You invest so much time, work, and emotion into something, you can't help but get attached. Anyway, I hope they find good homes:)

If you are in the Boston/Cambridge area you should drop by the opening on Saturday (or anytime) and let me know how the show looks! If I didn't have my 15 hour review coming up so soon I would totally be there!

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

Craftsmanship

I have work in the upcoming show, Craftsmanship 2008: 2nd Annual Arizona Designer Craftsmen Juried Exhibition.

The show will run September 22 - October 3 at Arizona State University's Gallery 100. It will feature juried work from many artists in mediums including metals, ceramics, fibers, glass etc.

Join me at the Opening Reception on September 22 from 7-9pm.

Here is a map to the gallery.

Opening at the Night Gallery

Come see another great show (and my new piece in the post below) at the Night Gallery! The gallery puts up a new show with all new work in lots of different mediums every month. All work is created by ASU Graduate Students, Faculty and Alumni.

The opening reception is Thursday, August 7th from 6-9 pm. There will even be delicious catering. Oh, and some of the artwork had to be brought in with a forklift...just trying to get you excited. It should be another awesome show!

The Night Gallery is located at 2000 E Rio Salado Parkway in Tempe. Crossroads are McClintock and Rio Salado. The gallery is located next to Aeropostale.

Don't Forget

On Thursday I worked at the Night Gallery. In a three hour period we had over 500 people walk through the doors. Last Thursday there were over 900. To me, that is so exciting! Because the gallery is located in a mall (an outdoor mall) you get such a different demographic of people coming through than you would at a gallery located somewhere else. Also, just the sheer number of people coming through is amazing to me.

Don't forget to go and check out the awesome artwork there. I have a piece in the show, and many of my friends do as well. This show will only be up for about 2 more weeks, so check it out!

The gallery is open Tuesday - Saturday from 6-9pm. It is located in Tempe Marketplace right next to Aeropostale. More details Here.

Night Gallery Grand Opening

Last night was the grand opening reception for the new Night Gallery in Tempe. The space was layed out beautifully and the work in the show was amazing. I know I am biased, but it was one of the best shows I have seen in the valley in a long time. It was a great mix of contemporary artwork from both veteran and emerging artists, and if you missed the opening you should head on over to the gallery another time to check out the show. Info can be found HERE. The show stays up for a month, so go check it out! Some gallery shots...Me and my piece...This piece is by ASU sculpture grad, Ryan Lamfers.This piece is called Urban Sprawl by Damien Johnson, and is real cactus with neon!This skull and portrait of Britney Spears created with swimming pool lane lines, was made by ASU painting grad, Ryan Miller.This is the work (below) of Photographer, Christoper Colville.This ceramic installation by ASU ceramics grad, Jesse Armstrong was really interesting.I was completely captivated by this motorized rotating piece by sculptor Al Price. It spun slowly in a circle, chaging your view from spheres, to circles, to flat planes and casting beautiful shadows on the wall.There is so much great work in the show, I can't share all of it, and you need to see it in person. Take a walk in the Tempe Marketplace, get some sushi at Kabuki (delicious by the way!), go see some great art, and make a night of it!

I want to thank all my friends that came to the opening. It really means a lot to me to have so many people that support me in all my endeavors. Thanks guys!

Come See Some of My New Work at the...

I just finished a new piece! I have started in a very new direction, and am excited to see where it leads me. I will be exhibiting my first entirely non-functional piece of artwork since I started grad school. Its a big step for me:) So, if you want to see it, you have to come to the show. Otherwise you will just have to wait until I post a photo of it after the opening:)

"Be a night owl! Come to the opening reception of the ASU Herberger College School of Art Night Gallery at Tempe Marketplace.

When: Thursday, June 26, 20086-9 p.m.

View the exciting kinetic work of David Young, International Sculpture Center’s (ISC) 2007 Outstanding Student Achievement Award winner. Night Gallery also features a group exhibition of other ASU Herberger College School of Art graduate students, faculty and alumni.
Tempe Marketplace, east of Barnes & Noble, 2000 E. Rio Salado Pkwy., Tempe."

Night Gallery is a community project of the ASU Herberger College School of Art and the ASU Office for Community Engagement in partnership with the Tempe Marketplace.