"Charming" for Charity

I am really proud to be working with such a great group of talented and generous artists in the Metal Clay Artisan Guild in CT.  We ended the year with a challenge for each of us to design and create a series of charms that represented our own unique artistic voices.  The charms were swapped at our year end celebration, with each person making an extra to donate to a bracelet we will be auctioning off for charity in the coming months.  My "Silver Bell" charm (which I shared the making of in my last post) is featured to the left of the bottom center charm.  The charms are set on a hand-wrought sterling silver bracelet created and donated by Bevlynn Gallant.   Proceeds for this piece will be going to Cystic Fibrosis which has recently impacted members of the guild.  

Auction information will be posted once finalized.

Silver Bells

This month's challenge for the Metal Clay Artisan Guild in CT was to create a unique charm that represents our personal work for our end of the year meeting.  The charms will be swapped with those participating with one extra created for a bracelet the Guild will be auctioning off for charity.  I created a set of "Silver Bells" based on these small dried blossoms I picked from my yard earlier this fall.  The delicate nature and size of these pieces made them a real challenge for me as I had to taylor my process to a more production-like level.  Each piece features a fine silver wire bail to hang from and a liver of sulfur patina that left behind these wonderful hues of red and green - which may have been my favorite part.  I approach my silver work as a sculptor, making unique organic forms, but this was a really good opportunity for me to problem solve from the jewelry end of the spectrum.  I think these monthly group challenges will lead to a lot more individual growth for members than I had anticipated.  Can't wait to see what everyone else creates!

Silver Accessories 2013

I was really excited to be included in this year's Silver Accessories Contest sponsored by Art Clay World.  The juried show took place in Tokyo, Japan this past October and the catalogue features really incredible artists from around the world.  What a great way to end the year!

MJSA Confab

Creating Your Own Niche:
Alex Woo,  Jessica Kagen Cushman, Andrea Hill & Lisa Jenks

This month began with a great day to get out of the studio for a road trip with a fellow artist.  We headed to New York City for the ConFab Event at F.I.T. hosted by MJSA (Manufacturing Jewelry & Silversmiths Association) on Sunday November 3rd.  The inspiring event was designed for jewelry artists to examine their business practices while learning from field experts and networking with fellow designers.  Andrea Hill set the tone of the day by leading the panel discussion: Creating Your Own Niche.  She began the discussion with the statement that "…you do not need all the clients, you just need the right clients…"as she had Alex Woo,  Jessica Kagen Cushman, and Lisa Jenks share their personal journeys and perspectives.  Andrea challenged those in the audience to really examine who we are as designers, to consider what is both unique and sustainable with in our design language and to really focus on who it matters to.  The take away message was that we must be constantly evolving within the framework of who we are as designers for longterm success.  The day went on to include sessions on:  Subcontracting Made Simple, Sales for the Selling Challenged and Developing a Digital Marketing Plan.  One of my favorite quotes of the day came from the Digital Marketing session.  As examining data was being covered, it was stressed that data analysis must be balanced with judgement calls as Henry Ford was quoted "If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses."  It was great to end an uplifting and information filled day on a note of common sense.  I would highly recommend this series of events and MJSA's online resources for designers of all levels.

A Day of Demos...

The MetalClay Artisan Guild in Connecticut kicked off the month with our Annual Fall Show and Sale.  The Friday night reception was a great time, but what was really exciting was filling Saturday with demos for all levels of artists.  From a basic introduction to metal clay techniques to more advanced processes, there really was something for anyone interested or even just passing by.  I shared my organic pasting techniques, from selection of organic materials to preparing metal clay slip to layering and drying techniques.  Lis-el Crowley (lower left image) demonstrated how the new art clay formula lends itself to working with delicate coils and Alexis Crowley (right image) demonstrated how traditional carving techniques for printmaking can be applied to create texture plates for working with metal clay.  The day also included demos in working with base metals, carving in metal clay, working with textures and getting started in metal clay.  A special thanks to Susan Dunne for including us in her Art Smart Blog that week which helped us reach a broader audience for this show!

Annual Guild Show

This week in the studio has been a bit of a frenzy getting ready for our Metal Clay Artisan Guild in Connecticut's Annual Show and Sale.  If you find yourself in CT next weekend, come out and join us!  Friday evening will kick with a reception to meet the artists and Saturday will bring hourly technical demonstrations for those who are interested in learning more about metal clay.  My ring featured on the front of the show card will be part of the guild display and we will all have collections of work for sale. Its a great time to meet local artists, learn more about metal clay and get started on your holiday shopping.

Demonstrations:

10:30am - Creating Textures directly in Metal Clay

11:30am - Carving Metal Clay Forms

12:30pm - Using Two-Part Molds with Metal Clay

  1:30pm - Working with Mixed Metals in Metal Clay

  2:30pm - Working with Metal Clay Coils

  3:30pm - Working with Metal Clay in Paste Form

  4:30pm - Carving Texture Plates for use with Metal Clay

Don't Forget!  Bring a non-perishable food donation to receive a raffle ticket for door prizes created by the participating artists. 

Repairs in (fired) Metal Clay

"The best laid plans..." don't mean a thing when you open the kiln and realize you've changed your design in your head.  In this case, I decided I wanted to remove the bail I had been unhappy with all along for a coil based design.  This meant taking the torch to the piece, which took just long enough to cut the old bail off to put a small hole in its side.  Sigh.  Not to worry though, I am a big fan of Art Clay Silver's Oil Paste which was the solution to both these problems.  There are a lot of DIY metal clay oil paste recipes, but I am a big fan of a sure thing when I am already investing a fair amount of time and money.  A jar of it is a great investment to keep on hand and seems to go a very long way.  It actually has two parts - the oil (a thinning agent) and the paste (a thick, dry consistency) - you mix the two together as you go to use it.  In the case of the hole in the side, I painted it on, allowed it to dry and pasted a patch over the area.  The side view above is the same as the side view to the left with a hole in it.  I then wanted to add my new bail and coated the contact areas of the fired piece with the oil paste, allowed it to dry and attached the fresh coil.  I then re-fired it according to directions. The oil paste is able to bond with the fine silver so you can make repairs, add fine silver findings to fired pieces or even torch fire fine silver bezel wire seams.  It's one of those great materials that I wouldn't go without in the studio because that would be the very moment you needed it!