Cat Eyes

An homage to my fur babies, Squints and Stevie, I present my Cat Eye brooch.  Lately, over the past three years since finding Stevie, I've become cat crazy.  I love my cats and anything with cats on it...yes I'm sure one day I'll be an old cat lady. 

I made this brooch over the summer in an independent study course with Bob Ebendorf.  I was so excited about making this brooch because I got to use several techniques I love - enamel decals, powder coating and stone setting.  However it was challenging and definitely out of my comfort zone.

I will openly admit, I'm not the best at layering pieces nor blind rivets but I think that's the beauty of it, tackling new approaches and techniques.

Can you guess what kind of paint the black is?? I'm not telling...

Oh and I decided to submit this brooch to the ECU Metals Symposium Tongue in Cheek Exhibition. Only 4 more days to apply...

2012, Cat Eye Brooch, front. Squints is the cat on the left
and Stevie is the cat on the right, though not caramel colored.

Cat Eye brooch, back.  I used a tin that had a cute kitty on it!

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Making my mark

I finally got around to ordering my very own makers mark, I'm very excited about using it.  I ordered mine through a small company called Microstamp I heard about them through my good friends over at Lawrence Miller and Co. who've ordered stamps from them before.

It just made no sense to have my jewelry floating out in the world and not have my stamp on it, literally.  In addition to getting my makers mark, I also got a .925 so that my customers would be ensured their jewelry is sterling silver.

Slowly I'm getting it all together! Thanks for reading.

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some lil' charms...

Will be on sale tomorrow at the ECU Metals Guild charm sale!
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Finishing my cube

Hallelujah!
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Penland Update Part 2

Leslie with her Giving Tree model.

The Giving Tree model - be careful it's hot!

Adrian Lesoing, Leslie Tharp and my dorky self.
We had fun being silly.

Leslie Tharp (aka badass sculptor)

One of the things I really loved about being at Penland was visiting the other workshops and meeting artists in different mediums and from diverse backgrounds.

It's no surprise that there were more women than men at Penland - we dominate the craft field! And I met so many amazing, talented and driven women. Leslie Tharp is one of them. She is a sculptor from Gainesville, Florida (an alumni of University of Florida - a fellow Gator!). Leslie has this infectious and happy spirit, I really enjoyed hanging out with her - especially watching her in sculptor action.

Leslie has a commission for the city of Gainesville to create a sculpture for the Senior Recreation Center. Her sculpture is called the Giving Tree. It is quite beautiful and elegant. I was really excited to see her model and designs for the bench.

Not only is Leslie busy working on her commissions she also has a brilliant side project called The After School Project. It's a group of emerging artists, recently graduated from fine art schools, from all kinds of mediums that meet to help each other develop in the field, share practices and create a community that fosters growth and knowledge. The concept and idea is wonderful because when you graduate you lose a bit of that community that art school provides. Hopefully I can find a group like hers when I graduate - or maybe even form my own!

I have a feeling I'll be seeing Leslie soon, the group of women I bonded with at Penland made a pack to have a reunion, at Penland or inbetween states.

Hope you enjoyed this post and thanks for reading!
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Life Anniversary

Is today - someone wished me that - for my Birthday!

I feel so much love and happiness (as dorky as that sounds) today from my closest friends and family, feels good to be loved.

I'm indulging myself with all the things that make me happy, like shopping for new tools. My parents gave me a gift certificate to Rio Grande.
So I'm getting a steel mittering jig and a steel block and some other things I need...it's amazing how quickly money goes when you're buying tools. But I'm grateful just to have what I have.

I thought about getting a Fretz chasing hammer but after talking with my teacher, Tim Lazure, he recommended I get a custom made hammer from one of his friends...I think that's even better.

When investing in tools, I've found that even though some tools are expensive - they're expensive for a reason because they're good; so I always consider how often I'll use it and whether I'm willing to deal with a cheaper quality tool (which I rarely do). Anywho, it's been fun doing my shopping - now back to the real world.

Thank you for reading!
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hot cars

For Memorial Day weekend I flew to Louisville, KY for my cousins wedding. Several hours before the big event, my family and I drove around the hip Highlands neighborhood. And lucky for us there was a vintage car/motorbike show!

It was fun, not only were there hot rods but also cute and sexy pin-up fifties style clothing on sale.

Just one of the colorful cars at the show.

The car above was so badass - it literally was on the ground, tires were removed.
And this pretty pink car had dice on top of radio antenna!

It was so nice to get out of town and visit a new city and catch up with all my cousins and family.

I hope you had a good Memorial Day weekend!

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Ring 70.6 (2008, IT) Public Treasure Poison Ring

Ring 70.6 (2008, IT) Public Treasure Poison Ring
Originally uploaded by Blind Spot Jewellery

Blind Spot Jewelry is....AMAZING! When I checked out Janos Gabor Vargas website, my jaw dropped. His steel rings are incredible, twisting steel and bending them backwards is just amazing. His series of poison rings are fascinating and intriguing.

You can view more of his work here.

Blind spot is also on flickr.

And something I really appreciate on his website, is inviting the viewer to see the process of how he makes his rings.

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