I've got a SNAG, and it's a good thing

Okay, cheesy title yes but it got your attention right?

I'll never forget that day I was working at the Golds Gym when I lived in Arlington, Virginia.  I found a copy of Metalsmith and flipped through.  It was the spark that got me moving towards taking metals and jewelry classes.  There were ads for several schools and places to take classes and I thought, I need to do this.

Shortly after I joined the Society of North American Goldsmiths, an organization (one of the founding members was my former professor Bob Ebendorf) to further the advancement of the metals/jewelry community and foster growth and provide cohesion to the field.

Then as I further delved into this new field, and began to consider studying professionally and earning my second degree I decided to attend the conference, this was back in 2008 and it was held in Savannah, Ga.  And this was also my first trip by myself, meaning no friends and no family - I knew no one at this event! It was a bit scary but I make friends easily, a by product of being an Army brat.

When I arrived at the airport I made friends with the Kansas State people, Elliot Pujol was so friendly and we chatted waiting for the shuttle bus to take us to the conference hotel.  I was incredibly grateful to have made friends and since I was born in Kansas, hanging out with the Kansas crew seemed very appropriate.  Thus at the conference I gathered brochures and 'interviewed' other students about their schools and what they liked about them.

I was very much interested in going to Savannah College of Art and Design, plus I loved the city.  However the pricey tuition kept me from seriously considering it an option, back then it was $32,000 a year (very near the salary I was making at the time!).  In the end, East Carolina University offered the most for my money - four amazing and diverse professors and the tuition was very affordable.

Okay sorry for the long winded story but SNAG took me on the journey from the beginning of where I am today and that's why, if you're a jeweler or a metalsmith or both you should JOIN - there are fantastic resources - job opportunities, grant offers, exhibition announcements and many more.  I'm super excited to attend the upcoming SNAGneXt Conference in Asheville this coming May.

 
For me as a studio jeweler that doesn't often get a chance to commiserate and share the trials and journey of a jeweler I LOVE getting to catch up with my friends at the SNAG events and geek out over jewelry and objects.

I hope you join and understand that it feeds and fosters the community.
As always thank you for reading!
xo,
Lisette
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The Laurel of Asheville Big Crafty event review

It's almost the holiday weekend and I couldn't be more excited as I've got some great events coming up and I just got this news that Eilisain Jewelry was featured in local magazine, The Laurel of Asheville reviewing the Big Crafty event next weekend at the Asheville Art Museum.

I'm super excited for The Big Crafty show for a number of reasons, I love Asheville and the people there AND I get to spend time with my Mom as she is going to be helping me at my booth.  Pretty great combo if you ask me. 

 If you live in the Western NC area I hope to see you at the show, and as always thank you for reading!
xoxo
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In the studio with blacksmith Zack Noble

Continuing on with my Penland studio visit posts, after meeting with Hoss Haley we mosied on over to Zack Noble's studio.  

Zack is a warm and welcoming artist, and his shop is just the same with an extensive amount of tools and space.  Similar to Hoss Haley, Zack also worked and taught at Penland and does commission based work.  

It seems that within the blacksmithing world as in the jewelry world, you can do commissions which aren't always what the artist would like or run your own body of work but bust your ass trying to sell it!

Zack shared with us some tricks of the trade, how he acquired some of his machinery and his future projects.  It was a real treat!  Zack's shop is located in the River Arts District of Asheville, a little farther from downtown but in a great location.  

Amir and Zack sharing stories.  Shana on the right. 

A large expansive studio, so jealous!

One of Zacks assistant.  I forget his name, but he's an amazing artist!

Loved these candle holders!

Imagine these pieces first as a long thick piece of iron and then forged in opposing directions. 

Gorgeous!

All the work in the photos above are in Zack's gallery in front of the studio. 

Thanks for reading!

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Studio visit with Hoss Haley

My Penland adventure continues with the studio visit of Hoss Haley, sculptor and overall badass guy.  Hoss was very gracious and informative of his experience working with basic tools and his ingenious engineering skills.

Hoss told of us his childhood growing up in Kansas, being around farm tools and machinery that provided him with the understanding and basics of making his own tools.  Hoss began as a blacksmith but over time realized the toll it would take on his body so he moved towards larger scale sculpture, utilizing scrapyard material to form his pieces.  Hoss is often commissioned to create city sculptures and installations.  

All of the students in the session 5 Kinetic Adornments course were in awe of Hoss and his studio.  His tool collection is impressive, as are his model pieces. 

Below are the photos I snapped of his studio and office.  Hope you enjoy them!

Hoss showing us some car parts he plans on forming into pieces.

This machine was like a giant dapping tool.  Loud but awesome!

A piece still in the early phases.

like water rippling from the center.

Neela (an architect) was enraptured by Hoss's samples

I really loved this white steel anvil.

Perfect place to hang your studio glasses.

A giant c clamp.

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Studio visit with Joanna Gollberg

Two days ago, our Kinetic Adornments class took a field trip into Asheville to visit several artists' studios and also check out galleries. 

We were so lucky to have Shana Loconsole in our class; she knows and works for several artists in Asheville and she was able to use her connections to get us a special tour of these artists.  I'll be posting photos of the visits over the next several days.  

Our first stop was Mora Jewelry, and Joanna Gollberg's amazing studio.  Joanna was so gracious, knowledgeable and forthcoming with her struggles and success' as a jeweler and co-gallery owner with Marthe Le Van (Mora Collection Jewelry).  Joanna has such a great studio space and methods for working with a wide variety of stones. 

Below are photos I snapped, hope you enjoy!

Bench of Jeff, who co-rents the studio with Joanna.

Shana and her brother looking over Joanna's bench, as well as Shana's bench.

An ingenious system for drawing down wire!

Joanna being her funny, smart and generous with her time! 

SO envious of her stone collection, was like being in a candy store!!

laid out pieces and jewelry ready for stones to be set.

Our class (minus 3 students).  We've become a little family over the past two weeks.

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My prrrrrecious

Yes I am a nerd like that, I'd refer to this ring as my prrrecious (reference Lord of the Rings).  Purple is my favorite color and I've always loved the amethyst stone.  I want to keep this ring SO bad but I will set it free on my Eilisain Etsy shop. 

Black and purple go so well together and in this ring, it is a match made in heaven.  I bought the small amethyst at Points of Light in Asheville while I was at Penland. I bought quite a few stones there so you can bet on seeing more of them in the future.

A perfect size 6.

The stone sits just right in the claws!

By the way, did you hear the Hobbit got extended to three movies??! I can't wait to see the first one this winter.

Thanks for reading!

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Points of Light

This past weekend I went to Asheville with my boyfriend, and it was SO nice to get out of town!

On our way to our friends house I spotted out of the corner of my eye this gem and mineral store, Points of Light, and of course, we had to stop. I ended up buying some pretty, shiny things...and plan on making some new pieces with them.

Points of Light has some amazing geods and rocks from all over the world. I wanted everything!

I'm so serious in front of this giant geod.

My boyfriend, Bobby summoning predictions of the future.

Fresh copper!

Pretty amethyst.

Display cases full of stones begging to be made into beautiful jewelry!

Thanks for reading!

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