I am honored to have TWO pieces in PSA’s 57th Annual Exhibition

I was eligible to submit up to two pieces to the Pittsburgh Society of Artists’ Annual show, so why not offer two and maybe get at least one in! So I was truly delighted when I got word that both of them had made it in. Here’s a little (perspective-distorted) panorama of the show at the 3rd Street Gallery in Carnegie, PA. You can locate (not actually see…) my two pieces, displayed in long white shadow boxes on the orange part of the wall to the left here, and then I’ll tell you a little about my entries.

I started thinking about making the pendant I’ve titled Enjoying Nature during a few local political discussions about proposed zoning variances to allow for a huge condominium building on a parcel that, while not officially in the large city park that surrounds it on three sides, is still zoned as a park area. Those who treasure the greenery and wildlife (well, except perhaps for the massive overabundance of just a few, select species…) have been trying to emphasize the value of that oasis amidst the urban neighborhoods that surround it. And I simply wanted to try to illustrate it.

Click this image to see it rotate in my hand!

I started the piece I’ve titled Circling Into Control way back last year, in 2022. But I kept debating with myself about how actually to finish up the mechanism that would allow it to hang so that the wearer would be able to spin it around if s/he wished to play with it that way. I had one main idea, and a handful of spin-offs from that. But, finally, I decided there was enough going on with the piece so I should keep the spin-mechanism under control (as shown here): I let the piece have the little black onyx trillion I’d set into it from he start, plus all its textures and loops and other embellishments. Then I just kept the top lightly decorated but otherwise as simple as possible.

All of that making and finishing happened while I was in the depths of this summer’s covid-exhaustion. I had to work in much shorter spurts than usual. I held myself together pretty well while doing that — because I like doing that kind of work — but I did simply run out of functional time for a real photography session. I did manage to catch these quick shots in the last few minutes before I had to head out the door to deliver them, set into their display boxes, for the show.

Does either of them inspire you in any way? If so, please let me know!

Come to WSCC on Sunday to see what Carol has been doing!

Well, in my last post, back in the spring, I said I was experimenting with new silver clays. Which I was doing. I can successfully make pieces out of any of them, but my questions have been:

• which one(s) do I have the most fun working with myself and
• which one(s) seem most appropriate for even first-time students to use.

There is no reason the same clay needs to fit both roles.

And then several good friends had personal crises, and it seemed worth taking a bit of time off to try to help where I could. Then I headed off to the west coast to spend time with one of those friends out there. (For example, I devoted a little over two whole days to making calls on her behalf about a few “customer service” issues, and was surprised to discover how much easier it is to deal with ridiculous complications, mis-directions, dis-connections, and more when it’s not about any of your own services!)

While I was in that time zone anyway, I also went to see another friend and join a dear cousin in celebrating her birthday and to connect with other x-removed cousins in her part of our clan that I hadn’t seen in years. So far, not a whole lot to post, but I was enjoying fitting in a few trips to art fairs and museums, generally doing ok myself while feeling thankful for friends & family. I was planning, as soon as I got home, to get back to exploring clays and posting online about both my trips and my latest explorations.

It must have been taking my mask off to eat while traveling back east from there where I picked up the darn covid bug. I spent my first day back just doing laundry and catching up on mail. The next day I felt what I thought was more jet-lag. That night I started to feel awful and did a covid test. (Is it just me, or do others who work with silver read the “Ag” on the test piece as “silver” at first, and have to re-think, no, it means it’s an “antigen” test?!!) For the first time, I got a reading of positive! I perked up again after only a couple of days and began testing negative (though I was still isolating and feeling just a little bit tired) for a week. And then, bam!, the “rebound” hit and totally wiped me out! For what seemed like forever (it was “just” about two months, meaning most of the summer). I’m no longer sleeping 18 hours / day (and coughing my guts out for half of my time awake), but I still tire easily as I try to catch up on everything that got postponed or ignored during that covid-stretch, as well as keep up with all the new activities that come with autumn.

To include an image here, I’ll post an older one with two shamrock pendants from my ongoing Urban Flowers series! They’ve both been sold but you can come by my studio to see some new pieces that I have made but not yet photographed! I am trying to revive my (mostly) Second (mostly) Sunday Open House sessions starting this Sunday, October 8. I’m hoping to get to my studio in the Wilkins School Community Center by 1 pm, and plan to stay until 5. I may not fully convert my workspace into a shopping space this month but, at worst, I’ll go get my bins out of storage and let you dig through those.

I know this is relatively short notice! If you can’t get there this month, I’m planning to hold Open Houses again in both November and December. And you can always get in touch via comments or email. I’m really looking forward to seeing visitors again! Though I’m sure you’ll understand if I continue to wear an N95 mask as I greet you.