ArtCraft Holiday Sale

It's that time of year again–time for my favorite show. Of course I'm still madly creating new work... and I'm really looking forward to meeting new people and seeing old friends, fellow artists, and the wonderful customers who return every year. Join me on December 3 & 4 for great shopping in a festive atmosphere–hope to see you there!

PMC Sterling!

So it's finally happened - you may have heard that Mitsubishi will release PMC Sterling in December. I was hoping that a little more info might start to appear so I could pass it along, but guess we'll have to wait. 

If it has the greenware strength and flexibility of PMC Pro, I'll live with the carbon firing just to be able to use a little less material for the same effect and greater strength. The price is estimated to be less than PMC 3 so it will be great to save a little on the price of the clay. It will be well suited to making stronger clasps and bails and we will able to say a piece is sterling silver and not have to explain the fine silver difference... here's the info on the package insert.

If you just can't wait to try sterling metal clay, you can read Metal Clay Artist Magazine's' article by Lisa Cain (in Vol. 2, Issue 2) on making your own sterling metal clay, or watch Lisa's video. I have a bit of Pro on hand, so I think I'm going to mix up a little sterling clay just to see what happens...

Fibula Workshop at La Ruche Davis

Seems like the weeks are flying by this fall. This August I had a great time teaching a class on PMC Pro - we made lots of rings! My classes at the Valley Art Center are in the 3rd week already and I'm preparing for a fun workshop next month in DC.

Ever want to try your hand at water etching and enameling? This could be your chance...

I'm excited to be teaching a water etched and enameled fibula workshop at La Ruche Davis - an extension of Ann Davis Studio (just outside of Washington DC) on October 15-16. But don't wait too long - there are only a few spots left - contact Ann for more information.

And if this isn't your cup of tea, Ann is offering several other classes so you can see what else she has scheduled!

If you haven't seen any of my water etched and enameled fibula pins, here are a few examples... 

Yes, but what have you done lately?

It's been a while since I've posted... life has been very busy. Some of you may have seen Tonya Davidson's blog where I had the honor of being featured as a "Muse Personality" a couple of weeks ago. I enjoyed Tonya's great interview questions - I love reading the Muse interviews. Ask yourself the questions. It's fun to think about the answers.

So what have I done lately? When I've had a chance to do anything jewelry related, I've been playing with PMC Pro again. This is a ring made with Pro. I've worked on pieces designed to test the strength of the fired material and the handling in the greenware state. If you haven't tried Pro, you'd be amazed at the strength and flexibility of this metal clay as greenware.

Now, the hinge for this ring is made entirely of Pro... and while I worked on the ring I opened and closed the hinge at least a few dozen times. I shared the process of construction with my students and they couldn't believe how much handling the ring could withstand without breaking. The sections are pretty thin (about 3+ cards) and stayed firmly attached to the hinge knuckles throughout construction and clean up.

There are 3 white topaz faceted stones fired in place. One is on the top of the hinge, the other two are on either side of the center section.

And speaking of firing, I recently tried a Square HeadTM pot for firing the Pro and loved it. I'd been using soup cans but had been too busy to spray them with high heat paint so they quickly disintegrated. This ceramic pot was great - fired perfectly the first time with NO MESS!!!

And finally, what I've really been doing lately is this: surviving puppyhood. I've been absent from blog posting, Facebook, crafthaus, etc for a while.... and this little guy is the reason why. He's a four-legged-fur-covered creature that we adopted (at 7 weeks old) from a local rescue organization. He's FULL of puppy-ness and recently found his "big dog" bark (he's gonna be a big guy... and is already a great watch dog!). I'm exhausted (and sleep deprived), but he's worth it!

What's a "Mentorial?"

It's a clever idea developed by Lora Hart. She took "mentor" and "tutorial" and put them together into one concept. The purpose is to help creative entrepreneurs "discover, re-imagine and refine their artistic voices; develop a conscious intention for their business; and fine tune their working practice."

Lora is the Artistic Advisor of the PMC Connection and a national PMCC Senior Instructor. Her "historically inspired" work has been featured in many books and magazines and she was one of the Whole Lotta Whimsy Master Muses. We are lucky enough to have her scheduled to come teach a class this summer for our local chapter of the PMC Guild!

Many people are turning to coaching for life and business. It seems that the chance to work with a talented, accomplished, supportive person could be really useful for developing a plan for success. People like Lora and Tonya Davidson are generous and supportive by nature. They love to teach and seem perfectly suited to guide others along the artistic adventure.

P.S. I'm sharing the info on Lora's and Tonya's mentoring programs (previous post) so people can learn more. These posts are not intended as an endorsement or advertisement - I just happen to think they're creative solutions for supporting artists and hope some of you might benefit from their experience.

Helping Artists Soar...

Tonya Davidson is busy helping artists soar. As long as I have known her, she has been very supportive of her fellow artists - as a teacher, nurturer of the creative spirit, and the energetic force behind Whole Lotta Whimsy. I'm always amazed at all the things Tonya does. She's always generous with her energy and ideas and has now developed a program for Artful Success, yet another way of "helping artists soar." My head just spins thinking about what her day must be like, yet she's always so calm and collected. She even started a Facebook page for the Artful Success program!

And speaking of Facebook pages, if you haven't seen this yet - Tonya created the Whole Lotta Whimsy Sunday Social Circle - a group for artists to meet, share ideas, experiences, and help one another. If you want to be a member, you can stop by the Whole Lotta Whimsy Facebook page on a Sunday and join. The group is very active - I can't keep up with all the posts - but I'm pretty sure Tonya is reading them!

Check out these resources... Tonya will gladly help you soar too!

Happy Birthday Metal Clay Artist Magazine!

The metal clay community celebrates the second birthday of our very own magazine. Publisher, editor, and artist, Jeannette Froese Leblanc, had an idea for a magazine to support artists working in metal clay... lucky for us, she pursued that idea and Metal Clay Artist Magazine was born.

Since metal clay appeared on the jewelry scene (more than 15 years ago), it's gradually been gaining ground as a respected material/technique for jewelry making (fellow metalsmiths - listen up... metal clay is here to stay). Over the years, more articles about metal clay began to appear in the jewelry magazines. But was it enough to feed the growing interest in this new material?

Launching a print magazine devoted solely to metal clay at a time when print has been seeing a decline was an act of faith in the metal clay community. Jeannette was not disappointed - this international publication has a large circulation (growing every day), with the magazine available in major bookstores, craft stores, as well as bead/jewelry suppliers. With the help many supporters and contributors, including fellow editor Margaret Schindel (author of many informative Squidoo lenses), the magazine has blossomed into something really special.

And in addition filling the need for a print publication, Jeannette launched an online version for those wishing to read the magazine that way. This set MCAM apart in addressing those of us who like to hold a physical magazine and others who like their reading material delivered via computer. It's both tech and tactile...

For those of you who don't know, I started working with MCAM earlier this year selling advertising. This was a new challenge; I'd worked for a magazine, but on the graphics side - creating some of the ad artwork and working in production for a large local magazine and later art directing a smaller publication. But since I love working with the jewelry world and support the efforts of MCAM to bring information to artists, when Jeannette asked if I'd be interested I jumped at the chance. I've seen my mission as making connections for our readers with advertisers who have products they can use.

I like the idea of helping readers learn more, and many of the advertisers are small companies looking to find more customers - I really like helping them too. It's a win-win. I'm not a high pressure sales person, but one who likes to work with the advertisers to find what's best to fill their needs and budget. And it's a good fit because sometimes I wear my graphic designer hat so I can help with ad creation if someone needs it. If you are interested in advertising for your company, products, or classes, you can contact me at cathy (at) metalclayartistmag.com (ok, you had to see that coming... what kind of salesperson would I be if I didn't say something?).

Happy Birthday MCAM, here's to many more!