Another Month

another month goes by and i've just had my head down working away. my fall show is on november 22nd and i'm not done yet, aaaaaaaaaa! the show at the triangle gallery is all ready and opens tomorrow night. will try to take some pictures to post. i'm taking my kids for the first time. even though they are only 6 and 8, i thought it might be nice to show them what mommy does outside of the studio! should be a great show.

i am almost done with a bracelet to match the 'mongo necklace'. just have to devise a unique clasp to go with it and then i'll post a photo. hope everyone is having a great fall!

l-r: nicole, allison, me, veronica

WHOA! has it really been over a month since i last posted? the group show on the 13th was a huge success. thank you so much to veronica, allison and nicole for making it so great! and of course to all the wonderful customers and friends that came out to support us!



now i'm gearing up for 3 fall shows. the first is a 3 day show and sale at the triangle gallery here in calgary, called the 2008 Studio Art Sale & Bohemian Extravaganza. if you are in the area, check it out from November 6-8 with the opening being the 6th from 7-11pm. the second is my annual fall solo show on november 22nd. check the website for exact times and address. and third, on the 23rd i'll also be participating in the Ramsay Arts and Crafts Sale from 12-4. again if you in the area, stop on by! hope to post more new works soon, inbetween slaving in the studio :) cheers!

Recycled Gift Card Earrings

here are the aforementioned earrings using recycled gift and credit cards. the 3 layers are riveted together, but the rivets are very small. hard to see, but makes for a simple, clean surface. have a great weekend!

Recycled Gift Cards

some of you have probably seen my little dangly bracelets using old gift and credit cards. but have you seen my new pendants with the cards sandwiched between 2 sheets of silver and riveted? WELL, here are a few.....

p.s. check back tomorrow for some earrings in the same line!

Happy Dance!

finished the mongo necklace! arm pump, high fives, happy dance! this still isn't the greatest picture on the planet, but i haven't had a chance to set up a really professional photobox. next week! this necklace will be for sale at the group show i'm hosting on september 13th. if you'd like details, price etc. email me here.

Locket

this custom locket was on order for michelle k. for waaaaaaaay too long. i FINALLY finished it this morning! sorry 'chelle! glad she liked it though :) it was designed in memory of her beloved cat, samantha. these aren't on the website yet, but if you want one, just fire me an email and we can chat.

i finished the mongo necklace today too (happy dance!), but it was too late in the day to photograph it well. hopefully tomorrow!

WIP #7

here is the progress on the mongo necklace so far. i still have to make the links to go the rest of the way around the neck, but it's close.

i've also been designing some new earrings. these pair sterling silver rods with coin pearls. have a great long weekend!

WIP #6

the wedding ring is done and delivered and the clients were happy! yea, always a good thing :) here is a picture of the finished product. the client's ring is the one on top. it begged to be propped against something and so i used my own symbols ring. in the photo, i noticed mine is a little worse for wear after 5 years! to order a custom symbols ring of your very own, go to my website.

tomorrow's post....back to the mongo necklace!

WIP #5

above you can see the shiny bits of the necklace are currently tumbling away :) it is spinning, you just can't see it and i didn't feel like filming it. tres boring.

and here are the ones to be darkened. they've been filed and flattened and just await a dip in the liver of sulphur.

and finally this is what i've been working on when i was suppose to be working on the mongo necklace. it's a rose gold symbols wedding ring for my friend james p. the symbols haven't been darkened yet and as usual i've posted a crappy photo, but you get the idea! you can see lovely, more professional photos of other symbols rings on my website (see at right).
have a great weekend!

On Hold

wips and other sundries have been put on temporary hold while i work on a wedding ring for a friend leaving for his wedding on sept 1 (hurry, hurry!). and use my olympic willpower to not watch too much t.v. :) have a great night!

WIP #4

this hardly qualifies as a work in progress shot, but after much deliberation, i think this the way the links will play out. the white will be the high polished, shiny ones and the gray will be the distressed, darkened ones. this may change as i progress and start putting the pieces together, but right now this is the configuration.

not a super productive day, but it was 95F/34C here today and i spent it wandering the zoo with the kids. am i nuts?! i think a glass of iced tea is in order :)

WIP #3

so i've finished all the torch work on the disks, took a little while! i have them all laid out and now have to decide which ones will be darkened for contrast and which ones will get tumble for a high shine. after those decisions are made, it'll be filing time. bleh, the most boring of jobs, but has to be done :)

someone asked to see a pic of my work space. it's way too messy to show you the whole thing, so here's just a wee shot. when (if ever) i get it cleaned up, i'll post more!

Working Away

okay, i didn't take any wips of these new pieces, but here's proof that i HAVE been working! the top photo is of 3 pieces that will eventually be pendants. they still require rivets to hold the layers together and a back piece to hang off the chain. okay, so maybe they are a bit of a wip :)

they are made with sterling silver and recycled gift cards. can you guess where each card comes from? the bottom photo will be earrings in the same vein. have a great weekend!

Nada

nothing new to share tonight in the way of wips....i'm been shlepping kidlets to swim lessons, running errands, arranging play dates and cranking out production lines during the inbetween times...of which there are few. so no new work on the mongo necklace, but its next in line. so stay tuned!

(my dog shiraz, bringing in the paper that i don't actually have time to read. actually this is my neighbor's paper. i think she usually reads it :)

WIP #2

here's the newest wip (work in progress) of the necklace i'm working on. it's coming along. i think some of the links, which are still rough and unfinished, will be flattened and darkened for contrast. still trying to decide if i will add any plain disks for additional contrast. your comments and opinions are most welcome. have a great weekend!

Work in Progress - The Very Beginning

in an effort to be better about posting, i thought i'd give you a work in progress shot. now, you're probably looking at this and thinking "what progress?!" its there, i promise! this is the very, very, very baby beginning of what will eventually be a one-of-a-kind necklace probably in my granulation style. not 100% sure of the direction it will take in the end, but i had a dream about it, so i figured i better get started. stay with me, it will progress...and hopefully the photo quality, though i don't make any promises on that point :) cheers!

PMC Guild Conference Report

well, i've actually been back for a couple of weeks now, but as usual, life gets in the way of life. or blogs in this case. i had an AMAZING time at the conference at Purdue University. i came back brimming with ideas and processes i wanted to try. unfortunately i am just getting back into the studio now and its back to work in a serious way since i'm hosting a group show in september and frankly have nothing to show! crunch time! as some of the conference ideas trickle into my show work, i'll post pix. for now here's a picture, just a smattering of the amazing people i met (including tim mccreight who was especially influential on my early metals education). and that's my roomie, nadine, 2nd from the right...thanks nadine! ciao and have a great week!

PMC Guild Conference

tomorrow i leave for indianapolis/purdue university and my first art conference in about 5 years! will no doubt come home with gobs of inspiration, instruction and ideas. the above pic is the pmc charms i made for the charm swap. they may make their way into some new pieces when i return. :) see you all next week and have a great weekend!

Summer is suppose to be slower

it has been a crazy, emotional, busy couple of weeks. who said summer is for slowing down? i spent 5 emotional, family-filled days in austin, texas last week. attending the funeral for my cousin, mike and spending time with his kids, girlfriend, sister and friends. if funerals are allowed to be amazing, his was. there were more than 400 people there who knew and loved him. the eulogies were lovely and moving. in addition to a military burial with flag-folding, the sheriff's department (where he worked for 20 years) shut down 2 freeways in austin to allow the procession to the cemetary. it was quite a sight, in fact i have never seen anything like it. i feel him smiling on us, as he always was in life. mike, we miss you so much.

it is so easy these days to get caught up in the day-to-day rush and forget what is really important in life. today i got slammed back in my chair. yesterday my friend and cousin, Michael Argall, was killed in a bike-meets-car accident in Texas. i think i am still in shock though tears are continuously shed. how does such a beautiful life disappear so suddenly? there are no answers only sorrow. hug your loved ones today and always....mike, we miss you so much already.

Michael Argall

(pictured here with his daughter Sydney in May 2007)

Dedicated, Wet Soccer Mom

just got back from soccer....picture me, sitting in my little collapsible chair in a hoodie, raincoat, 2 little fleece blankets, purse in my lap (along with the kids coats), grasping my cup of hot tea, huddling under a gargantuan umbrella. the kids had a great time, lets leave it at that. :)

Talent Database

woohoo! just found out i am being featured in the art portal over at talentdatabase! quite exciting, especially since i so rarely update my portfolio there. but this got me off my duff and i added 6 new photos. go check it out if you get the chance!

New Spring Works, Part 7

it has been so crazy busy here the last couple of weeks, i completely forgot to add more pix! and here it is june....oh well, time flies....

these necklaces are all from the talisman series. each one has a 3-4 charm assortment of various materials....from enamel, to glass, to antique keys and beads. most are darkened/oxidized using liver of sulphur. a couple of my clients have said they even added some pieces they picked up in their travels like a charm bracelet. love it! i'm thinking of doing some more and incorporating the pendants from the symbols line. will keep you posted, cheers!

New Spring Works, Part 6

another new set that was showcased at the spring show. i do this line in sterling too, but with gold being so popular this season....these are actually gold-filled, less costly, but just as purdy as full gold. gold-fill is 5% gold over a base metal core. unlike gold plate it won't rub off and like gold it is tarnish resistant. bring on the summer bling! this line comes in bracelets, necklaces and earrings of assorted lengths. cheers!

New Spring Works, Part 5

okay, i know, there are ALOT of pictures! but i did alot of new stuff in this line for spring so bear with me :) these are all from the tree series. a couple of the pendants you might have seen earlier this year, but they were crappy photos. the 2nd and 4th pix are bracelets. the sun is shining here, have a great day!

New Spring Works, Part 4

these were also new to the spring show and were a blast to make! they are an extension of my recycled credit and gift card line. the first picture is a pair of cufflinks (can you guess where the card is from?) and the rest are one-of-a-kind pendants. each card is cut to shape and filed then sandwiched between the pieces of metal and riveted together. if you are interested in any of these, contact me directly as about half of them sold at the show.

happy mother's day ladies!!!