Most Precious Jewelry

It is Carnival Time Again!

We are a group of jewelry artists working in various mediums who have chosen different topics to write on as a group.This event takes place about the same time each month. Why not visit the other artists listed below the following blog.

This months topic is:
Out of all the pieces I've created, which one means the most to me and why? (i.e., technical achievement, most beautiful, personal/emotional significance, etc.)

Well this one is, hands down, easy. First of all, I have the BEST sister in the entire universe. Lelana is, and always has been, the wind beneath my wings. Always supporting me in every creative endeavor, emotional highs and lows, taking care of our dear mother and just plain loving me. What more can one ask in a sibling? She has always treated me as a dear friend .... even had me go to Hawaii with her and her best friend, Patty, just after I graduated from high school. She had a year of teaching under her belt and took a very naive 17 year old on a major vacation... moi. That is my sweet sis.

That said. A while back she was diagnosed with breast cancer..... it shocked us all. Nowhere is that nasty, horrible disease in our family lines. We were blown away! She had surgery and radiation and the docs said they got it all and that it was a slow grower. She must have had it for years. What a blessed relief that she is cured. I don't know what I'd do without her in my life.

So, the first thing I did was to create 'SISTERS' pendants. It was an emotional and loving process that consumed me for days. I had just learned how to fuse glass several months before and decided to use the very same glass in each of our pendants. I took the glass and cut it and layered the pieces and then fused them . Then I ground the glass into shapes I liked and then fire polished them both. The next step was to make pure fine silver pendants for the glass.

And so.....

Wouldn't you know that they are the same but different.... just like us. GRIN

Do visit these very talented artist's blogs to fine what they wrote on this topic.

Tonya Davidson
Angela Baduel-Crispin

Vickie Hallmark

Andes Cruz
Lora Hart
Tamra Gentry
Elaine Luther
Marco Fleseri

Tod Pardon

Jewel Carnival again!

We are a group of jewelry artists working in various mediums who have chosen different topics to write on as a group.This event takes place about the same time each month. Why not visit the other artists listed below the following blog.





So just what is it that inspires me to be designing and working with jewelry? What excites me about it to create a new item?

Well, I do like working with small sculptures. Really small sculptures.....

What is that saying that seems to always work in many circumstances?
It Is What It Is....

How can I actually say what motivates me? Is it the ache to be creative? Is it the joy of working in a craft that I love? How about the passion of being a maker of art?

How about all of the above...? How about just MakingDoingGetting the Hands Moving?

When I am inspired by a new technique, sketch, vision, person, color, shape or form.. or whatever it is that tickles that spot in my essence that says, "Go Forth And Make!!!"

Well, yup! That too.

In spite of the verbage above, I have to admit that all I have to do is sit down around my art materials and the designs pop out on the drawing pad. Since I work mainly in my two clay mediums of choice: Polymer and metal clay, the working design will 'tell' me which material to use.

Then I make ...
.

Do visit these other, incredibly talented artists and read what they have to say on this subject.

Tonya Davidson
Angela Baduel-Crispin
Lora Hart
Tamra Gentry
Elaine Luther
Marco Fleseri

Tops In Blue - Extraordinary Performance

Tops in Entertainment on Labor Day!

My friend Chris and I went to the California State Fair last night to look at the fine art exhibit and to watch a concert by the Air Forces' amazing entertainers, Tops in Blue. They are active service members who auditioned and got accepted into what the Force calls their Expeditionary Entertainers. They put on shows for service members and their families, Coalition partners and audiences around the globe.

This has been going on for 56 years and it is the first time I have ever heard of them or seen them. Amazing.

This high impact, high energy event kept me smiling and my toes tapping. The discipline and training of their rehearsals show in every hand movement, dance numbers and vocalization. I was astounded at the talent and precision of very person on and off the stage. They also liked to come into the audience to flirt with and engage everyone watching the show. And the spectators loved every minute of it.

Yes I did.

Normally I am put off a bit by too much choreography: too much hands, arms and feet. But, these entertainers were consistent throughout the show. Their vigor and enthusiasm was engaging and so it worked in this venue. This group never let up for a moment. Always in sync.... Always. If you'd like to hear a bit more about them click here. There is also a great documentary to watch here.

There are a lot of YouTube, Tops In Blue, videos available on line. Most of them are pretty fuzzy and have poor sound quality. But, I spent a bit of time on this today to share with you. I lucked out and found a bit from the 2009 tour. Click here for clear video and good sound. We got to see this number last night.

Enjoy!

Now, back to making jewelry for the Art Tour.

Jewel Carnival again! Inspiration: design to completion

Welcome to the August edition
of Jewelry Blog Carnival.

We are a group of jewelry artists working in various mediums who have chosen different topics to write on as a group.This event takes place about the same time each month. Why not visit the other artists listed below the following blog.

August: Inspiration from the design
to the finished work.

"Where do I begin?

Hmmm? Isn't that what a lot of us makers think just before we start? Or, are a lot of you so visual that you can just jump right in and flow from A to Z in your work without a left-brained moment? Does it just flow through you as a river:bending and unresisting yet becoming a force that moves rather than is moved? Or are you sketching and erasing and putting tracing paper down over old designs and using the base design to create new, with more and more tracing paper and more designs. And, of course never throwing any of the rough copies away? Then listing the pieces and parts, ordering what you don't have, finding what you do have and having it all in front of you as a, say, one-of-a-kind production set up.

Do you do that?

Oh, and what is it that inspires you or me in the first place? A sunset, a first dawn flash of light on a mountain just before sunrise, the core of a freshly sawn tree stump, the movement of water during a storm or the incredible light in your mates eyes? The world is our inspiration for our art. It can be beautiful or beastly. From Monet's sweet impressionistic landscapes to Goya's tormented black and whites of war torn bodies. Or maybe a fellow artist taught you a technique that brought out a new passion in your soul to create.... even if only for this moment in time or for many moments if this new fervor becomes your permanent 'voice in art'.

This artist uses ALL of the above. Simply put I am inspired by a vision: be it internal or external. I then sketch it out and begin the process of being a maker of art. I forgive myself if it doesn't turn out exactly as the drawing because art is a moment in time. The time of SKETCHING is gone forever but the PROCESS of being artful is ever changing. When I sing in a musical on stage... my moment changes. The basic story of the song is the same (sketch) but the emotional impact of an evening performance is ethereal to my space and time (process). The art of production in my work below is ever changing..... each earring in a set doesn't match exactly. This is what I am doing now... what could it be tomorrow? I'll just have to wait and see.

Art like love is always in motion and ever changing... and isn't that grand?

August 2009: Batik earring series: Polymer, sterling, niobium, alcohol inks
Gold Country Artists Gallery, Placerville, CA.

Please visit these incredible artist listed below. Click on their names and go see what inspires them from beginning to end.

Tonya Davidson
Angela Baudel-Crispin
Lora Hart
Tamra Gentry
Elaine Luther

July Carnival - DEADLINES: how do I feel about them?

Welcome to the Jewlery Carnival Blog for July





Deadlines:are they a necessary evil or something I left behind in school?

Well this could be a rant, or a rave. Years ago my mother told me never to hate. Good words to live by.... so, okay I STRONGLY dislike deadlines.... But, again, there is the ying yang catch-aroo here. I have to have deadlines or I'd never get anything done. I'd make jewelry, play solitaire on the computer, chat with my friends on-line or on the phone. Oh, and I like to watch the free movies on Comcast or watch the wild finches feast at my feeder... well, you see the picture here, now don't you?

Sometimes even deadlines cannot get me going. I really need to be motivated. Like with jewelry repair... I absolutely do not do repairs anymore... oh, except I DO barter with my hairdresser. Even then, it is so very hard for me to get started. We had to do it all the time when we had our jewelry/gallery business. After eleven years I was/am totally burned out. I'm sorry mom, I hate jewelry repair. Problem is, I am pretty good at it. Sheesh!

Honestly, I LOVE deadlines. My life flows at an even, calm and purposeful pace with them. You see the ying yang thing-y, now don't you. When I have deadlines for ANYTHING, I actually accomplish the deeds I have set out to do.


Like with the two events this month in the Chicago area. The International Polymer Clay Association's (IPCA) Retreat with the Metal Clay World Conference (MCWC) happening at the same hotel on the heels of the first. I have volunteered to help and demonstrate at the IPCA and at the MCWC I will be teaching a pre-conference workshop and then will present a seminar on three days during the conference.

Without deadlines to prepare for these happenings, I would be lost and VERY embarrassed.

Yup, ying - yang, love - hate: deadlines have it all.

Check out these other marvelous artist's blogs on the very same subject:

Tonya Davidson
Angela Baudel-Crispin
Lora Hart
Tamra Gentry
Elaine Luther

Jewel Carnival again! My Most Influential Historical Metalsmith.

Oh, my Gosh.... Ever since I was at the Revere Academy of Jewelry Arts in San Fransisco I have been in love with the art and beauty of Henry Dunay's jewelry designs.

And he is STILL creating.


Not only is his work MAJOR EYE CANDY, it is crafted by his skilled goldsmiths... working to create his designs. While I was learning the basics of becoming a goldsmith, I learned to appreciate the intricacies of the designs.

My work has always had a bent towards the abstract and 'edgy' as a friend says. But that doesn't mean I cannot enjoy and be impressed by the fluidity, grace and feminine essence of his work.

Now, one must wonder, " How are you influenced by his work, it is not at all like yours?"

Easy answer: Finish. Completion. Balance without being static. Love of gemstones, texture on metal and always keeping the wearer in mind.

Henry Dunay, you rock!

Don't forget to visit these other fine artists and see what THEY have to say on the subject.

Tonya Davidson
Angela Baudel-Crispin
Lora Hart
Tod Pardon
Tamra Gentry
Elaine Luther

Jewel Carnival Blog time... Again!

Who was my most influential metal artist or teacher?


Many MANY teachers and artists' have jump-started my art life. Many... far too many.

But far and away it is Carolyn Morris Bach.

I have loved her work since I saw my first Piece of
Art Jewelry in the late 1980's. What impressed me the most was the clean simplicity of her work, the balanced artistry and the whimsy she delectably adds to each piece.


She IS my hero of art jewelry.



Sadly, I have never purchased her work, nor I have ever met her or taken a workshop from her. I just have to clean the drool off of magazines with her work featured or in ads. Ornament is great place to see her artfulness.


Bach's work never ceases to amaze me, delight me and inspire the muse in me to create new work. To be a maker without a thought if it would be 'saleable' or not. Without talking to her or studying her words on her work, I have learned the most valuable lesson in my art life: To make what comes from my spirit without fear of criticism. To be able to show my soul in my work for the pure joy of the process. This is what I have cultured from studying her art. And it IS fine.

Take a walk through her web pages... but start here with a review of her work by the Patina Gallery in Santa Fe, NM. You will be so delighted... Don't be surprised if you to try and purchase one of her works of art.

Then browse through these other blogs on the same subject of teacher/artist. You will love this Carnival Friday and so have I.



Tonya Davidson
Angela Baudel-Crispin
Lora Hart
Tod Pardon
Tamra Gentry
Marco Fleseri