Thought I was going to pick an art jewelry magazine, didn't you?
Monday, November 26 6pm to 8:00pm $45
Welcome to the craze! Stamping on metal is a wildly popular technique. It is fun, it is easy and the design possibilities are endless! From letter stamps to design stamps this class will introduce you to the world of stamping on metal for creating simple and fun jewelry.Class fee covers use of tools and materials for completing at least two projects in this two hour class. Tool kits will be available for purchase.
Thursday, November 29 6pm to 9pm $55
No experience necessary! Learn to use a jeweler's saw, files and hammers to create a set of earrings and matching pendant to give as a gift (or keep for yourself) this holiday season! Each student will create a pair of nature inspired earrings and a matching pendant. No previous metal working experience needed!Class fee covers use of tools and materials for completed a pair of earrings and a pendant with chain in this three hour class. Tool kits will be available for purchase.
Wednesdays January 2, 9, 16, 23 6pm to 8pm $135
This 4 week series will introduce the beginner to the wonderful world of metal working. Learn to use a jeweler's saw, hammers, design stamps, the rolling mill and more in this 4 week class. Each student will create several pieces of jewelry over the course of the series. Beginning techniques and studio safety will be covered. No previous experience necessary. Class space is limited to four students as I want to be able to give each student plenty of attention throughout the class series.Class fee covers the use of tools and materials to use in class over the 4 week class series. Tool kits will be available for purchase.
Please visit the Class Registration Form page to sign up for classes or for more information on current or upcoming classes.
If you would like to receive information about current and upcoming studio classes, please enter your email below.
If you have any questions or have an idea for a class you would like to see on our schedule, please leave a comment below (please include a good email address for me to reply to). Thanks!
Think hard! Dig deep.
One would think this would be a no brainer for me to answer. And actually, it is.
I make jewelry because I want to.
Simple enough, right? Yeah, maybe too simple.
Perhaps the question should be "Why do you WANT to make jewelry?" Sure, we are going to go with that.
Let's go back about 20 years, plus or minus a year. My Mom was a dedicated member of an art group in Las Vegas, NV, called the Desert Sculptors and she was also the director of a local art museum as well. She met lots of really creative folks. To this day, even 1000's of miles away from the SW desert, she still calls several of those people great friends. And for good reasons. One of those reasons being, they let nothing get in the way of their creativity. It is people like that, who artist types like me, really want in their corner. Driven creative types help drive others to get and to stay creative.
One of these creative types is a man by the name of Don Trippy. He is a sculptor, a painter, an artist in every sense of the word. One of the things he did way back when was create a foundry for doing bronze pours in Lorenzi Park in North Las Vegas. He set everything up in the bottom of a long empty public swimming pool. The deep concrete walls of the empty pool would contain any "spills" as well as protect anyone nearby from the heat of the 1000+ degree foundry heat. Paul and I along with my Mom went to watch one of his first bronze pours. With Don all geared up a HUGE silver asbestos suit and a large flame throwing torch, he melted the bronze in a large, black graphite crucible. We all sat in rapt by the fire and the glowing bronze melting beneath the heat of that torch. Once the metal was ready to pour, the crucible was lifted and the molten metal was poured to the awaiting sculpture mold. Hot, fiery liquid bronze splashed and sizzled. There was lots of steam and so much heat. But I sat there watching that metal flow thinking it looked like hot pink lemonade and I was HOOKED. I could not stop talking about that molten bronze and how I wanted to be able touch it. Play with it. Create with it.
Several months ago, my Mom got in touch with Don after several years of little communication which brought him the the forefront of one of our conversations one afternoon. During this talk it dawned on me that it was Don Trippy who told me about the beginning jewelry class being offered through the City of LV Parks and Rec department. I realized at that moment that I really owe him a debt of gratitude for that bit of creative direction. For that night, when I first walked into that classroom I knew that I had found what I wanted to do with my life.
And here I am, 20 plus (or minus) years later. Creating small works of art in copper and silver. And sometimes gold. Each piece I create I pour a bit of my soul into. No matter if it is a simple silver band or a graceful copper flower blossom. That first cut with my saw or the last buff with the polishing cloth. It all started for me, back then, in the bottom of an abandoned swimming pool one sunny Vegas day.
Fall has arrived, are you taking any classes or workshops? Metal/jewelry related or other? Is there a new technique you've learned recently? Do you have children that are in school, what grade, what kind of school and how does it affect your routine/schedule?
MONTHS.
In Washington state.
I KNOW!
It is pure craziness.
But it still means back to school for my one and only, Cody. He is in 9th grade which means, in these parts, he started high school this year.
I am a Mom to a high schooler. Am I stressed out about it? Not in the least.
This kid of mine (okay, ours...) is amazing. And luckily he is attending a real amazing school that is ideal for independent learners, like himself. We consider ourselves damn lucky to be able to send him to this school. Had Paul not got the job working for the Olympia School District several years back we would have had no idea about the school. But he does work there and that means we did learn about the school. And now Code goes there. Awesome.
With him back at school, I find myself at the studio each morning Monday thru Thursday. I get to spend about 4 hours of uninterrupted time designing and creating. Lately I have been pouring lots of thought into what types of classes I want to offer this Fall/Winter out of my studio. I plan on getting my act together and getting my first classes posted and ready for sign ups in the next few weeks with the classes beginning near the end of October, beginning of November.
Fall is not my favorite season. There. I said it. I dread the short, gray days and nonstop rain. I dread the trees losing all of their leaves. By setting up my studio away from my house and teaching classes, I am hoping that it will make these next several months go by a bit smoother for me. Give me something great to focus on instead of what is going on outside my window.
Hey, I am a born dreamer.
It is never to early to start your holiday shopping and handmade jewelry is a GREAT gift idea!
For more information on Make Olympia please visit: MakeOlympia.com
Hope to see you there.
If you are going to wear a sexy cocktail dress you HAVE to have a cocktail ring to go with it!
Created with sterling silver and a smashing gold plated druzy cabochon, this ring is sure to get people's attention! Ring has been oxidized then brushed carefully with steel wool to soften the steel grey finish of the sterling silver. Artist's initials are stamped on a raised charm on the underside of ring.
See it in my Etsy store here: Can I Buy You a Cocktail ring?
Project Runway
Season 10, Episode 7: Oh My Lord and Taylor
Air 8/30/12
My Lifetime, Thursdays 9pmPST
To celebrate the 10th season, the designers get a chance to be part of the 10 piece Project Runway Capsule Collection at Lord & Taylor that will be sold in stores and online. They had to design a cocktail or evening dress for Lord & Taylor customers that will retail in the $200 to $300 price range. A designer from each of the other nine seasons has also created a look and the dress must fit in with the collection. The winning look will be manufactured by Lord & Taylor along with the others and sold online and at the flagship store. The dress will also be displayed in the window.
For our EtsyMetal Translation:
Design a sophisticated piece of jewelry for evening wear. Something that could go into production. You can choose one of the PR Lord and Taylor designs to complement or for inspiration, check them out here www.lordandtaylor.com/eng/CMS/PRDress_Dress.cfm
If you do use one of these dresses, please post a picture of it also.
Make it work!!
Deadline: Thursday, September 6 by midnight, your time.
To see all of the kick ass pieces created by EtsyMetal members for our Project Runway challenges, visit the EtsyMetal blog!
Much to my Mother's (and husband's) chagrin I am a animal lover through and through. I think I got it from my Dad. We are both a bit animal crazy.
So I am going to narrow it down to the here and now. For the most part anyway...
Okay, moving ahead to present day and the love of my dog life: Samson.
Samson is a Boston Terror. I mean, Boston Terrier. After a life of having BIG dogs, Paul and I decided that maybe, just maybe we would try a small dog this go 'round. After spending some time with a Boston Terrier one day at Paul's office picnic, we decided THAT would be the next breed we would welcome into our home. When my brother caught wind of the fact we were considering a BT he said to me... "a terrier? Are you sure you want a terrier?" Pashaw! Of COURSE! What does HE know? Boston Terriers are the GREATEST DOG IN THE WORLD, don't you know?? We spent a WHOLE day with one. We KNOW what we are talking about...
Obviously he KNEW what he was talking about. Terriers are just another word for Terrors. But we LOVE this Terror:
But we do have an overload of videos of him. Here are two of my faves:
The beginning of this one is a little stomach churning due to the Blair Witch style camera handling ... but the under-the-cabinet dive near the end makes it worth it (well, at least I think so).
Paul is trying to get Samson's leash on so he can take him outside. Sammy wants NOTHING to do with it...
He is quite a handful. His personality is larger than life. He isn't your typical Boston Terrier. He weighs in at nearly 30 pounds. That is about 10 pounds over a typical BT. His ears insist on bending over at the tips. They should stand straight up. But. Samson has NEVER been one to play by the rules. EVER.
We here at the Clark household are pretty smitten with him. Even Paul, who has forever and always put up with my love affair of animals. He knew going into it how I was (that is what I tell him whenever we see a "free kitten" sign...). Gotta love him. He has put up with a lot of animals in our 20 plus years.
Been a very busy summer for me. Made a big move to Olympia WA to do away with Paul's 2 hour commute. That meant putting our house we still own up for rent in Port Orchard, finding a house for us to rent in Olympia AND finding a studio space for me to work and teach out of. Luckily I LOVE change so I have been able to enjoy the ride and take all of the upheaval in stride.
I have been in my studio now for about a month. Sure didn't take much time to settle in and ask myself why I didn't do this sooner! Well, I know why I didn't... studio space was non-existant in Port Orchard (and the surrounding areas). Olympia is a quite a little artist mecca. So I was pretty certain I would be able to find somewhere that would work for me and Silentgoddess Art Jewelry. Granted studio space wasn't waiting to be found on every street corner but luckily a few months before the move I had been in contact with a guy who was advertising space for lease on Craigslist (let me count the ways I LOVE Craigslist!). I looked him up once we got moved into Oly and lo and behold, he still had some vacant spaces.
Didn't take me much time to fall in love with the largest space he had available. It is actually two spaces with a great big walk thru doorway. One space for my bench and one space for teaching. A perfect fit!
Here is the new home of Silentgoddess Art Jewelry:
And here is what the main space looks like right after I moved the majority of my stuff in. Yes, I have a rug under my bench. Practical? Perhaps not but I don't like dropping things and creating a bunch of noise for the tenants below me (a children's theater). Honestly, when I had my studio in my house, I had a rug under my chair to protect the carpet (YES... I KNOW... CARPET) below. We do what we gotta do (or want to do, in my case ;).
If you are in the Olympia area and are interested in my upcoming classes, contact me via laney (at) silentgoddess (dot) com or thru Etsy. I will get you hooked up with my class schedule. If you have something you want to learn, drop me a line. I am working on what classes to offer and would love your input!
You know how change always sounds like such a GREAT idea at the time? And then when it comes down to implementing that change you realize how much work it really involves? That is right where I am, right NOW.
The long and the short of it is this... commuting sucks. And my husband Paul has been doing a long one for many years. And we all got really sick of it. Not only due to the time it took out of each day but also because of the $$$ that is was costing us. Add to that I was driving our son 15 miles one way to and from a better school in a different district. We were spending way too much of each paycheck to get from point A to point B and to point C.
Cue in the BIG CHANGE.
I like change. So much so that I usually don't like to stay in one place much longer than 5 or so years. Back when the housing market was booming, this was an easy lifestyle. Get sick of the house we own? Sell that sucker and move to something new. Fast forward to THIS housing market and the brakes screech us to a halt. No chance of selling the house we own... time to rent it out and head south. That is just what we did. Or are in the middle of doing.
It is EXHAUSTING.
I am too old for this. And I collect WAY too much stuff when I stay put for 5 years. Note to self: you don't need all of this crap. I promise, you don't. Moving was WAY easier when I was in my 20's. Maybe it was easier back then because I just didn't have that much stuff? Hmmm, I think I am onto something here.
Just a peek into our BIG move.
I had a 5 bedroom house to pack. Why the Hell we thought buying a 5 bedroom house was a good idea when we only have 3 people in our family... it is a question we have asked ourselves for some time now. Don't even get me started on the equity we have lost with the housing market tanking. But I digress. With Paul already living down in Olympia during the week I had the HUGE responsibility of getting the household ready to move.
I offer you but a PEEK into my madness, err, I mean one thing on moving checklist. On the agenda one day last week, my studio.
Before:
During:
After:
That took over 6 hours to complete. 6 hours of precious time. And these pictures only show a glimpse of that room. Madness, I tell you, pure and utter madness.
Mind you that once we have finally moved everything down to Olympia, get the "other" house successfully rented out and I get my studio set back up so I can get back to work (I can HARDLY wait... I miss it. BAD) things will settle down. One can only hope, right?
So THAT is what I have been up to.
For more pictures stories, please visit these EtsyMetal members' blogs:
Cynthia Del Giudice
kate jones
Inbar Bareket
Rebecca Bogan
Cheesecake Escape
2 graham cracker sheets, split in half (gives you four squares)
2-3 tablespoons whipped cream cheese
Baker's or regular sugar
Smear cream cheese onto each graham square. Sprinkle with sugar (as little or as much as your heart desires) and ENJOY.
Sometimes just stepping out of the box frees my creative mind to new ideas and opportunities! Plus it gives me more reason to horde supplies ;)
