ArtCraft Holiday Sale

This is probably my favorite show of the year. I'm happy to be one of the guest artists again this year at the ArtCraft Building Open Studio Holiday Sale. This popular show features over 20 ArtCraft Building artists, along with more than 30 other regional artists–now in it's 22nd year (though I've only been a part of it for the past several years). It's a wonderful community of artists, a great atmosphere filled with positive energy–not to mention amazing artwork for sale. If you're in the Cleveland area, put this on your list of must-see Holiday shows.

December 5 & 6 2009. For more information and a list of participating artists, please visit the show's website: http://artcraftstudio.wordpress.com/

Fall Kaleidoscopes

I just couldn't resist a little creative procrastination yesterday. When I looked out the window, the trees just seemed aglow with color. So, I grabbed my camera, went outside, and shot a few pictures. Then I wondered how the images would look in a kaleidoscope program I like to use. If you've been reading this blog, you know I love Mandalas. Watch out, it's rather addictive to create these amazing images. You can try it with your own images by following the instructions and links below.

Enjoy!

(Note that some of these were cropped into circles with Photoshop and background color fill was added - matching the image)

To make your own kaleidoscopes:

For the Mac, there's a "hidden" program in the development tools on Tiger's install disc called Core Image Fun House (and it does a lot more that kaleidoscopes). This link will tell you how to install it.

For the PC, you can download a filter that works in Paint or Photoshop. You do have to put it in the folder with your other plug-ins.

Smooshing it all into one post...

So this could probably be about 4 blog posts, but since I'm so busy trying to keep up (is that still, or again?), I'm gonna smoosh 'em all into one... (for my students - yes, that's a reference to my favorite "smooshy" tool*).

I got a little grief from friends for not blogging about my recent article in November's Art Jewelry Magazine (I admit I'm not very good about self-promotion). The article is about inlaying BRONZclay and COPPRclay. It was fun to write and I hope people enjoy trying the technique. AJ did a great job laying it out - there was a lot of info and many pictures to fit into the layout. I couldn't believe it was 7 pages!

Zipping around the state... the weekend before last, I had the opportunity to teach two workshops for the Columbus, OH Chapter of the PMC Guild. One day was on water etching (my favorite technique and the subject of my previous Art Jewelry article), and the other was on the inlay process from the current article. What fun - and such a great group!

My blog post "Showing up and playing..." has touched several people who appreciated the encouragement and who have shared their stories about facing rejection. I was recently contacted about reprinting it, so I'm pleased to be able to share the post with a wider audience. I had the happy experience of seeing that advice in action this past week... someone whose piece had been rejected from a book just submitted the very same piece to a juried show and was accepted. Congratulations!

I recently listened to a couple of blogtalkradio.com interviews. One was with Michael David Sturlin and the other with Tim McCreight. Definitely worth a listen. Both are talented metalsmiths, excellent teachers, and thoughtful about process and art-making. Both had many interesting experiences to share. I liked Tim's suggestion for metalsmiths to consider using metal clay as a design tool. Many of them are hesitant about (or averse to) the possibilities of metal clay. It doesn't have to replace traditional techniques, but might prove to be the right material for a certain design. And Michael said something that resonated with my philosophy of jewelry making - about how we get to make things that bring happiness to people - be it the gift giver, recipient/wearer, or the viewer. He said "we're pretty much in the happiness business." I think that's true of the teaching part as well... and from what Michael said in the interview, I suspect he'd agree.

COPPRclay and enamel update... because I don't have enough other things to do, I'm teaming up on some research with COPPRclay and enamel that will be presented at a later date. For now, I decided to put the other enamel data I was working on aside, as this new study should produce new and up-to-date information. More on this as I am able to share it.

I'd better get back to "the happiness business" - making some jewelry for upcoming shows and gallery events... I don't know how some of you who blog regularly manage to do it along with everything else you do, but I'm very impressed!

*a "smooshy tool" is known to some as a Colour Shaper =) and despite the Urban Dictionary's definition of "smooshy" as crappy and messy (and worse), WE use a "smooshy tool" to make things neater and better...

It's Show Time...

'Tis the season for Holiday Shows to begin. It means a lot of art-making and the fun of all the associated cataloging and organizing (can I say "ugh" about that part?). At least I know I have a lot of company in the "very busy" department.

And to kick things off, I'm thrilled to be a part of a show of Cleveland artists in Cincinnati called "north/south" that opened just yesterday at "indigenous, a handcrafted gallery." It was curated and organized by the energetic and talented Cleveland artist Mark Yasenchack. Mark is also the gallery manager at River Gallery.

Mark is really wonderful about encouraging and promoting local artists. He's a big part of the driving force behind the ArtCraft Building Open Studio Holiday Sale that will take place the first weekend in December, with over 50 studio and guest artists (more about that as is approaches). I know that he, and some of the artists in the "north/south" show, along with many others, join me in busily working towards the ArtCraft show. Then, there are the local galleries with their own events, in which many of us also take part. Heights Arts has a wonderful Holiday Sale at their gallery featuring the work of local artists from November 7th through December 30th.

There are many, many wonderful artists in the Cleveland, Ohio area... I thought you might enjoy seeing the work of just a few of them.

Michael Romanik

Stephanie Craig

Lynne Lofton

Kris Barnes

Brandon Holschuh

Catherine Butler

Mark Yasenchack

Pursing Happiness... by way of a slap on the forehead.

This morning I was mentally running through my exceptionally long to-do list. It was scary. I was thinking about how I really need to get myself onto a schedule with more discipline into my routine so I can accomplish more every day. We already know I'm overcommitted... I've given up on magically being granted more hours in the day. Oh yeah, and I was looking at the dust bunnies in the corner and thinking (only thinking) "I need to sweep..."

All of a sudden two sayings came into my head. Sayings that reminded me that there's more to life than meeting deadlines and living in a constant state of craziness. Talk about your V-8 moment... I felt that slap on my forehead - that slap came from my wise grandparents, who have been gone for many years, but still influence my life.

Years ago I got an autograph book and began collecting autographs. I think it was the summer before 7th grade - about 1971... I gathered them joyfully, all sorts of notes written in various colors of ink from friends and family... I had one of those "cool" pens that had about 12 colors of ink with those little sliders all the way around the top to choose the color. Two of those pages contained advice along with the signature - words of wisdom that stuck with me - that I think of fondly from time to time. Today those words hit me like a ton of bricks. "Listen up" they said to me.

The first saying I was reminded of came from my grandfather - he didn't originate it, but he wrote it down in my book. "Take time to smell the roses." Yep. Stop spinning in circles. Stick your nose in a flower. Appreciate what's around you. SLOW DOWN. Got it Grandpa T.

The the second one was from my grandmother. It was a Chinese proverb. "If you have two loaves, sell one and buy a lily." Who needs two loaves? One is enough. If your belly is full, you should feed your soul. Enjoy something beautiful. It also implies (to me anyway) "slow down." You could also take "live for today" from that one. Actually, I see many ways to analyze it... (and I won't go down the "stimulating the economy" road). My grandmother was among those responsible for encouraging my artistic side. Thanks Nona M.

So, today I'm taking a deep breath. Now all I have to do is inform the people whose deadlines I'll be delaying that I'm busy smelling roses and looking at lilies. Piece of cake. Well, I'll do it with a smile - that'll help ;-)

Where did THAT come from? The more unusual sources of inspiration...

Maybe this post should really be titled "Creative or Crazy?" or "Aliens Live in My Rug... " (I bet that got your attention). I've been busy with a million things - I still promise that Enamel PDF, but life is full of distractions (who, me?)... plus, it's taken more time than I expected to complete it.

I'm overcommitted for one thing. Many of them are artistic commitments, which is good. Inspiration for them (or something entirely new and different) can strike at any time and from anywhere. It struck this morning... and so I was inspired to share an example of that experience (which also illustrates how inspiration can function as a distraction).

One of those commitments is participating in a group that's doing creative exercises with jewelry making. We've had an assignment a week for the past 7 weeks (1 week to go). It's a cool concept... but I'm behind. This morning, I was taking a shower, thinking about assignment 6 (which should have been finished the day before yesterday), when suddenly....

[Ok, this is where the "Creative or Crazy" part comes in. Assignment 6 was to get inspiration from a children's book. So I'mthinking about this, and how I love Dr. Seuss, and how he inspired me as an illustrator and how I might interpret one of his books for this assignment. I love his drawings, his take on "beings" and buildings, and his overall attitude and philosophy. Over the years I've done many different types of illustration, even drawn cartoons–and I love to doodle...]

So I'm letting my mind wander about the assignment and looking out past the curtain at my bathroom rug. The rug is rather plush - but very worn, so there are lots of lines formed by the way the pile lies down... and I start seeing faces. Of course, I'm not wearing my glasses in the shower, which softens the details that say "rug" and only helps increase the plush-pile "line" effect. The

faces/figures ("aliens") I see are just simple lines connecting that create expressions, shapes, etc., we've all seen them in tree branches, clouds and such....

As soon as I was finished, I had to capture some of the many images on paper, then head to the computer to draw them into the very cool program Scribbler (thanks Gail Lannum* for sharing this), and voila! Crazy fun faces... but that's not the end...

This brings us back to the "one thing leads to another concept... or everything happens for a reason..." and reminds us to trust the process - it will lead us somewhere...

I got so lost on scribbler that I dusted off

my USB tablet device and was inspired to draw some other fun stuff that I'll be using in the future. And I don't want you to think I'm not serious about art or inspiration... I am totally serious. I'm just willing to go with the flow and not afraid to admit that sometimes the craziest things get you to that inspired place. The aliens in my rug probably won't lead me anywhere (wink), except onto the next inspiration... Now, about that assignment...

PS.... Gail, I know you did some cool cats in scribbler... but I swear this kitty was there in my rug :)

The start of the fall class session

I'm really looking forward to the start of classes this fall. I teach three metal clay classes every week (ongoing, fall through spring). This summer, I took time off to recharge my creative batteries (and begged forgiveness from the students who objected)... even skipped the show circuit and just did gallery work. Summer's been great for creative time. The school year is very hectic, so it was nice to slow down and have more family time too.

I played with COPPR and BRONZ clays, did a lot of enamel testing on the COPPRclay, wrote an article, and created some new pieces. The best part is that I have some new tricks to share with my students...

It will be great to see returning students and meet eager new ones. I love to watch the progression of skill (and level of work) as people grow more competent and confident. And there's nothing like the enthusiasm of a new student just starting out in metal clay-it's such amazing material. I particularly enjoy addressing the challenges that the advanced students encounter. Problem-solving is great fun. Part of what attracted me to jewelry and metals more than 30 years ago, is that intersection of design and engineering.

Teaching metal clay came to me almost by chance. Many years ago, a friend who manages programs for an organization was looking for more art offerings. I'd been telling her about metal clay and she asked if I'd be willing to teach a class. I agreed, and I was hooked. It wasn't that I hadn't taught art before-in volunteer ways-with Girl Scouting and through the schools. But this time, it was teaching my medium in such a focused way-to eager adult learners, that opened a new door. It's funny, because art education was suggested to me when I was in college, but a bad experience with an opinionated (and probably burned out) high school art teacher scared me away from that.

So why do we teach? I'll make a guess that it's not for the money... in any area of teaching. For me it's the whole lighting a spark thing. I think learning is contagious... and when people get excited about what they're doing and learning, it's just awesome. There's great satisfaction in helping someone find a way to express themselves creatively. Someone did that for me once upon a time :) -which I appreciate. There's also tremendous satisfaction in seeing people succeed and be happy about what they're doing. And teachers like to share-we can't help it. Some days it seems like all I really want to do is tell you about making jewelry with metal clay and truly hope you'll to like it as much as I do. I had lunch today with a couple of metalsmith friends and caught myself enthusiastically touting the merits of metal clay (they've heard this before...).

People sometimes wonder if working artists who teach feel threatened by their students' success. I can't imagine if we were, that we'd be very effective teachers. The whole reason we share our knowledge and help people express themselves, is so they WILL be successful. If a student finds his or her voice and excels, then I've done my job. I wish them well.

I'll post some more enamel results soon, but I had take a break to get organized for classes. And in doing so, I realized how much I was looking forward to the start of the fall session. If you have a minute, it would be fun to hear what motivates other teachers and what students like about taking classes.