Way More Photos of My Work
(on Picasa, which Google took over, and broke the links; I’m still trying to figure out how to link to the album collection there…)
I’ve been reorganizing a lot of “behind the scenes” parts of my studio, which doesn’t seem to lend itself to interesting blog posts. But I’ve got work in three shows, so I ought to at least let folks know that much. I’ve included the address for each location, plus a link to a web page where you can verify the current information on hours.
Plumes and Celtic / Waves -plus- Dahlia / Fern and Paisleys North Hills Art Center Traveling Gallery Show Northland Public Library, 300 Cumberland Road, Pittsburgh, PA 15237 January 6 – April 7, 2023
If you go up the stairs and turn right towards the non-fiction section, then go to the far wall and you’ll find my four pieces in two shadow boxes at the far-right of the show that wraps around two whole walls. Each piece is a reversible fine silver pendant (with a cubic zirconia on one side), hung on an 18″ sterling silver chain.
The first box, at the very start of the show, includes Plumes and Celtic / Waves. The second box is a mere two spaces over to the left, and holds Dahlia / Fern and Paisleys. An interesting fact about the second display box (shown here) is that the North Hills Art Center folks hung it just above an entry by LarryBrandstetter.
Larry and I are scheduled to have “solo” shows in adjoining locations in October, up in the Cranberry Township Municipal Center. He’ll have works in the Back Hall Gallery at the same time as I’ll have some in the central Glass Case. I am delighted to be paired with him: I think his doodles and my textures complement each other well. Stay tuned for news of at least one public event (and maybe even more) that we’ll hold together during that month!
Flower Play and Fern Botany Cranberry Artists Network Simply Spring Show Cranberry Township Municipal Center. 2525 Rochester Road , Cranberry Township, PA 16066 March 3 – April 20, 2023 Opening Reception: 6 to 8 pm on Wednesday, March 8
My pieces are among those in the big glass case in the lobby of the building, across from the library. The building hours don’t seem to be listed anywhere, but they match those of the library.
Fern Botany (both sides)
Each of my entries is a reversible, fine silver pendant (hung on an 18″ sterling silver chain). Because, in a display case, you can see only one of each piece’s two sides, I’ve displayed a QR code on the stands to an image showing both sides of each piece. (I’m not including that here because, while it now contains information specific to this show, I reuse it in different ways for different shows. Instead, I’ve just duplicated one of the images here!)
River Rocks, At a Bend in the River, and Ribbon Candy Community Art Show Mars Area Public Library 107 Grand Avenue, Mars, PA 16046 (approximate dates) March 15 – September 15, 2023
(I’ll try to update this with more specifics on dates and location once I get back up to see the whole show myself. But this library is much smaller than Northland, so I’m sure you can find them easily enough!)
River Rocks
River Rocks (shown) is a pendant with three fine silver hollow “rock” shapes hung between small snowflake obsidian beads (using Argentium silver wire, and then suspended from an 18″ sterling silver chain). There is no front or back to this piece: instead, all of the elements can rotate around the wire that connects them to the chain.
At a Bend in the River is a yellow bronze pendant with a green cubic zirconia on one side, and a simple texture on the other (hung on an 18″ brass chain).
Ribbon Candy is a reversible, iron bronze pendant with a brilliant bronze embellishment on one of its sides (hung on an 18″ steel chain).
Update, April 10: As two of these shows close, I finally found time to replace here a couple of my first-pass images (used just to get the post up at all) with at least slightly better ones. While doing that, I also added a “tag” to the post itself to include Larry Brandstetter, because the in-line one I’d tried the first time didn’t seem to be working…
I’m hoping to get up to Mars so I can confirm more about that show shortly, but no promises as to when…
I am honored that two of my pieces are included in the Cranberry Artists Network’s annual Holiday Show, Give a Gift of Art, that runs from November 15 through December 15, 2022!
Flower Party Fine Silver Pendant (with cubic zirconia) on Sterling Silver Chain
Stream Shield Fine Silver Pendant (with lab-created pink sapphire) on Sterling Silver Chain
As with most CAN shows, it’s in the Cranberry Township Municipal Building at 2525 Rochester Road in Cranberry Township, PA.
There will be an Opening Reception on Tuesday, November 15, from 7-9 pm. (Correction! The time apparently is 6-8 pm, so I’m not sure I’ll make it to that. The application had said it’d be 7-9, and I’d thought I could get there by 7:30 or so and it’d still be ok. But since it’s 6-8, folks will be leaving by 7:30. With an almost two hour round trip for me, that drive gets hard to justify. I’m sorry I’ll miss the people! I hope you can still go!)
Update: Thanks to CAN member Jim Tobin, I found this photo of the glass case with the 3D entries, including my two, on black stands, third and second from the bottom right, respectively. There are many, many more 2D entries down the hallway: you’ll just have to go to see those yourself.
I’m delighted that my reversible, silver “lentil bead” necklace, Acanthus, was selected to be included in the Pittsburgh Society of Artists Guild‘s 56th Annual Exhibit!
What was most stunning to me was that, of the 71 artists who submitted pieces, I was one of only 22 whose work was selected, and this was the only 3D piece chosen! What an honor!
Oh, and if you know me, you probably expect that piece to be reversible … and it is! The other side is a similar sort of leaf design, with a somewhat subtle difference: more of an “outie” than this “innie” pattern in the center. I had originally made them separately, intending to do two different things with their respective “other” sides. But once these components were ready, they just sort of told me that they belonged together instead!
In addition to the two receptions for this show that are noted in the “postcard” photo, above, there are two additional events related to this show that seem worth mentioning:
Saturday evening, October 28, an Ekphrastic Reading. Free and open to the public. (I’ve been holding off making this post, awaiting time and other details (poet, artistic inspiration) for this event, but so far only the evening date has been made available. Do let me know if you want to attend that evening but don’t see details anywhere else and I forget to update this.)
Friday, November 4, from 4 to 8 pm. This is the shift during which I will be staffing the gallery! (It’d sure be great to have some folks I know stop by to see the show and visit with me a bit during that.)
And, since I’m writing, I just realized that while I mentioned this earlier event on Convergent Series’ Facebook page, I didn’t note here that I’d had two pieces accepted in July for the Cranberry Artists Network‘s annual Martinis with Monet show, that one of them (shown on the left in this picture) had won an award, and that both of them were purchased by one of my collectors!
What with all that from Martinis with Monet, my solo “glass-case” show for the month of September, and now getting into the PSA annual show, it really feels great to have hit the ground running (and not falling!) again, at last. (Though I still have to remember about posting such things!)
Here’s hoping that we all have a great autumn. And, as noted in my last post, I have two classes scheduled and filling (as I write this, a few seats do still remain) at Artsmiths soon too: might I see you there?
If you subscribe to my very-occasional newsletter, you have a clue as to why I’ve been quiet for a while. Overall, the reason isn’t important. What matters is that, beyond simple pandemic issues, I’m slowly getting back to business, with some new, upcoming events!
My First-Ever Solo Show!
Throughout September, 2022, I am so honored to be Cranberry Artists Network’s “Glass Case Artist”!
Cranberry Twp Municipal Center, 2525 Rochester Road, Cranberry Twp, PA.
While the show is running all month, I encourage local folks to join me for my Artist’s Reception. While you are welcome to just show up, it’d help me to have a clue if you’re planning to attend (since I’m trying to figure out how many light refreshment treats to bring!).
Tuesday, September 20, from 6:30 – 8:30 pm
Studio Sessions Return Next Month!
At the moment, I’m planning them as mostly-Second, now-mostly-Sunday events in my studio in the Wilkins School Community Center in Regent Square. These are times when I set up a little mini-show – I have only a handful of things on display but if there’s something in particular you’d like to see, let me know a day or two in advance and I can be sure to have that sort of thing to show you. I have one table set up so I can work on some chores, and students from my previous classes are welcome to come by and use my tools to do something of their own (as long as I have a couple days notice!). These are the dates I have set up so far:
Second Sunday, October 9, 1 to 5 pm (I’ll likely be cleaning up pieces I’ve brought back from the display case in Cranberry.)
Third Sunday, November 20, 1 to 5 pm (Can’t be the second one: see classes, below)
Second Sunday, December 11, 1 to 5 pm (I may well extend the time for this one as we get closer to the holidays!)
New Classes Coming!
Regular readers here will know I’ve been involved with The Artsmiths of Pittsburgh for years now. They sell a good share of my pieces for me, and I teach classes there on how to make pieces along the lines of many of the ones I offer. They moved from Mt Lebanon to Carnegie early in 2020 (what timing!) and if you haven’t made it over to check out the new facility, you should! Here are the workshops I have set up there for this fall:
Sunday, October 23, Noon to 3:30 pm Textured Reversible Silver (pendant or earrings) Register Here
Sunday, November 13, Noon to 3:30 pm Tiny Silver Pendants (make several: pendants-earring pieces-charms, for yourself and/or as gifts!) Register Here
Beyond These?
Who knows?! Let’s enjoy all of these for now, and see what happens next!
So here we are at the first Wednesday in April of 2021 and this evening I’m not going to be able to meet with other members of the Penn State Master Gardener of Allegheny County at the first regular Wednesday work-night at the lovely Edible Teaching Garden, and not because I’ll be at the opening of always-interesting Quantum Theatre‘s latest story-walk, 10 for 21 (10: based on the Decameron; 21: another year, still in pandemic…)
At the same time, instead, I’ll be at the (virtual) opening of the Cranberry Artists Network‘s spring show, Reawaken, Rejoin, Rejoice, where two of my pieces have been accepted for display!
Yes, while the reception will be virtual, this will be my first, actual, in-person show in a year!
Exit from the Vault is a fine silver (.999) pendant (hung on a sterling silver chain, not shown here) from my Doorways series. What can I say: I just hope it’s an appropriate metaphor for much of the world right now…
Leaves and Tendrils–As Spring Returns! is a fine silver (.999) reversible hollow bead (the other side has a similar but less-deep texture) suspended from Argentium silver (.930) round and square wire “tendrils,” with all of that hung on a sterling silver (.925) chain. This one just seemed highly appropriate for the season.
The reception tonight is from 6-8 pm. You can view the show at the Cranberry Township Municipal Center, 2525 Rochester Road, Cranberry Township, PA 16066. It runs during regular Municipal Center hours through May 6, 2021.
~~~~~~~~ If you would like to purchase any of my pieces but are unable to get to the show itself, please just let me know and I’ll be happy to review your (all very easy!) options.
Merry Christmas to you, or Happy whatever-other Holidays you may be celebrating this season! If you’re looking to shop for some art jewelry, colorful glass ornaments, or miniature pottery this month, whether to give as gifts or as a treat for yourself, this post will list the times and places where you can find items I’ve created!
All of these events are have for a while been on my public events page, and on the “blogroll” down the right side of this blog (when viewed on a computer). But I thought I should also list them all together here, just in case you (or your mobile device) didn’t catch them in either of those places…
You should be able to find me in person with many of my creations on these three Saturdays:
Dec 7 from 9 am to 6 pm: Arts & Crafts Fair, C.C. Mellor Memorial Library, 1 Pennwood Avenue, 15218.
Dec 21 from (probably) 1 to 4 pm: Third Saturday Holiday-Extra Open House, WSCC, 7604 Charleston Avenue, 15218. (Note: If, at either of the first two events above, I get requests to change the time for this day, then I will. You can confirm any modifications to that schedule on my public events list a few days ahead of this one.)
Here are other places where you can find some of my creations, listed in order by end date.
Dec 6 – 8. Stop #41 on the Lawrenceville Joy of Cookies Tour, 3100 Penn Ave through 5600 Butler Street, Pittsburgh (10-5 Fri-Sa; 10-4 Su — the Steel City Craft Emporium* is the tour-stop closest to downtown!)
Dec 6 – 8: Portage Hill Gallery*Open House, 6439 Portage Rd, Westfield, NY 14787 (10 am – 5 pm on those days).
Nov 23 – Dec 14: Holiday Artisan Market at the North Hills Art Center, 3432 Babcock Blvd, 15237 (10-3 Mon-Sat plus 7-9 Tues).
Nov 8 – Dec 20: Season of Joy Show in the Cranberry Township Municipal Center, 2525 Rochester Road, 16066 (10-8 M-Th; at least 1-4 Fri-Sun). One enamel on copper show piece with bronze accent: It’s in the Middle of … Where?!!
Nov 23 – Dec 22: jewelry plus ornaments in the extended Holiday Collection at the Hoyt Center for the Arts*, 124 E Leasure Ave, New Castle, 16101 (11-8 Tu-Th; 11-4 Fri-Sat).
Nov 11 – Dec 23: Pop-up Shop of The Artsmiths** of Pittsburgh, 329 E Main St, Carnegie, 15106 (Fri-Sun, 11-4).
and through Dec 24: The Artsmiths of Pittsburgh, 1635 McFarland Road, Mt. Lebanon, 15216 (Mo-Sa 10-6; Su 12-4).
* My works will be available in the sites marked with this asterisk even after the “special event” noted in this list, although the open days and hours may vary at other times of the year. ** Artsmiths will be moving from Mt Lebanon to Carnegie early in 2020, and my creations will continue to be available there (daily!) after the move.
I hope I’ll get to see you in person at one or more of these events. (And while I’d be thrilled if you chose to make a purchase, there’s no pressure to do so. I’m always happy just to see familiar faces and catch up a bit!). But, even if I don’t see you, please know that I wish you all the best for 2020!
A&C was the “presenter” at the semi-annual CAN membership meeting this month. Instead of a presentation, however, two folks from A&C spread out a wide range of paints, brushes, and papers across a line of tables, just encouraged participants to try them out, and were happy to discuss the results and suggest other things to try. There was technical information too if you wanted it, but mostly it was just a chance to explore and play for yourself!
They also provided us a with small sample-size tube or jar of a few items we were most curious about. I left with two different texturing media I’d never tried before. Well, to be honest here, I work mostly in 3D. I’ve done much less painting, so there are a lot of things I haven’t (yet) tried! But I love samples because, obviously, they give me a chance to explore a little bit in order to decide if I like that product enough to spend my own money on a full-size supply. Thus the evening ended quite happily.
There’d been a bit of confusion about the time of CAN’s meeting. I arrived for the earlier time, and enjoyed the chance to mingle with others who did the same. But that meant I’d thought it would end sooner, and had said that I could stop at a friend’s house to offer a quick extra hand on a little project there. So I had to leave a bit before the end. I said to the A&C folks that, should I happen to win the door prize, please don’t leave it with anyone in Cranberry (30 miles away) because I could easily stop by their store (where I do shop: it’s maybe 3 miles from my studio, at a corner I pass regularly). But it was just an off-hand remark, because I really did not expect to win.
But I did win it! What a great collection! Thank you so much!
I was delighted to have two of my pieces accepted for the Cranberry Artists Network‘s Spring Show, Seeing in a New Light, that will be on display in the Cranberry Township Municipal Center at 2525 Rochester Road in Cranberry Twp, PA 16066 from March 4 through April 15, 2019.
The photo with this post shows CAN’s postcard announcing this show, annotated with little images of my two pieces:
Left: Seeing the Spirit in a Cube.Could a flat-sided cube hold the spirit of a few curves deep in its heart?!! This 18 x 22 x 23 mm sterling silver pendant with “puffy cube” black onyx bead (displayed here and in the show on an 18″ sterling silver snake chain) was made in August, 2016.
I’ll have to dig back through unfinished drafts: I really thought I’d at least started a post about it at the time, but can’t find it right now. I faced a number of serious challenges with that piece! If I can’t find a draft post to finish and publish here, I’ll try to recreate that story from my archived “troubleshooting notes” so I can tell that story here … eventually.
I did exhibit this Cube in one other show, the 2017 Annual Exhibition of the Pittsburgh Society of Artists. It did not find a new home at that show, and has been tucked away for safe-keeping ever since. And that’s not right: this cube with it’s puffy little center bead deserves to be out and about, decorating a new owner!
Right: What Is Behind Door #3 ?!!The answer to the question, shown in this little snapshot, is that you can find a moonstone back there, and it will be the owner’s choice whether to keep or to reveal that little secret when it’s worn! This 26 x 27 x 8 mm fine silver pendant with a 6 mm white moonstone cabochon (displayed in the show on an 18″ sterling silver rolo chain) was made in February, 2019, specifically to submit to be considered for this show.
This is yet another piece in my Doorways series, which I‘ve mentioned before. I made this one out of PMC Flex which in some ways is not the ideal silver metal clay formula to use for this specific layered construction. But I wanted to make a couple more of these, I had some “Flex” I’d opened for another project, and the amount left seemed like just about the right amount, so I went with it! And with a lot of wet-finishing, supplemented by some heat-fixing so the Flex would harden up enough to do just a bit of sanding in a few places, I’m happy with how it turned out.
Adding the moonstone on the back was not part of my original design but, as I worked on it, propping its little door open, the question “and what is behind that door?” kept popping into my head. I may have to explore other ways to “answer” that question in my next few Doorway pieces. But whoever ends up taking this one home will have the piece that sparked that exploration!
Even though I haven’t been able to post much here lately, these are the major events I have planned for December!
Where you can find me in person:
Arts & Crafts Fair, Saturday, December 8, 9 am to 6 pm, curated by the C. C. Mellor Library in Edgewood, PA. Find me and dozens of other local artists in the festive Edgewood Community House adjacent to the library.
Studio Open House: Saturday & Sunday, December 15 & 16, Noon to 6 pm on Saturday (probably more like 1 to 5:30 on Sunday), in my studio at the Wilkins School Community Center (WSCC) in Regent Square. Since this is where I make my creations, this is the place to see the widest selection of my offerings! Please note that my Saturday event runs right up until WSCC’s Sustainable Neighborhood Holiday Potluck, and you’re welcome to stay and join in on that too!
UPDATE — A (very rare) SALE! In my studio (Dec 15-16 only), select class-demo pieces will be 10% off! I don’t mark my prices up just so I can later offer them at a discount… But in classes, I often make smaller, simpler pieces to illustrate a technique or concept, or to answer a question, ones that I later finish and offer for sale. This will be your chance to purchase a few of those at a discount!
Second-round Studio Shopping, by appointment only, again in my studio at WSCC. For those who come at one of the above times, and someone you’re with expresses interest in something, and you’d like to come back without them to see if it’s still available for you to purchase as a gift, but can’t get there at another official event-time … I’m still happy to try to help you out! Schedule an appointment for Dec 17, 18, or 19 at a time that will work for both of us!
Other places where my art jewelry, colorful ornaments, and more are currently available for purchase:
The Holiday Artisan Market at the North Hills Art Center in Ross Township (Nov 17 – Dec 8).
The Gift Shop at the Hoyt Center for the Arts in New Castle, PA, ongoing. (Consider combining that with a trip for their 7 pm Holiday Concert with the Pittsburgh Cello Quartet on Dec 6.)
Private / Semi-private lessons. If you want to make something special yourself, the only times I still have open for the remainder of this year are the afternoons of Dec 17, 18, or 19 (Mon thru Weds). Contact me for details.
(mostly) Second (mostly) Saturday Studio Sessions will resume on Saturday, January 12, 2019. These are for students who want to come and use my tools and equipement while I hold my monthly mini open house and / or work on my own projects. (I’ll answer questions but don’t hold formal lessons during these times.) It’s first-come / first-served, so just let me know if you want me to hold a space for you (or put you on my waiting list) for that date.
My next workshops will be in 2019. The first one I have scheduled for next year will be on Friday, January 18, from 6 to 9 pm, at the North Hills Art Center. Petite on Posts will involve a fine silver project where you’ll learn how to make a pair of post earrings (or, if you prefer, small lapel pins). Registration should open on their website by the start of January (maybe late December) and I’ll (try to remember to) update the above link then. I’ll post news about other 2019 classes early in the new year too.
I wrote about Kepler’s Dream on Thursday. On Friday, I learned that Spring Thoughts on a Gray Day had been accepted into a second Cranberry Artists Network event, their 2018 Spring Show this year with the theme of Drip, Drizzle & Splash (DDS).
Now, to be honest, I’d wanted to submit both these pieces for consideration for DDS. Except I was in California for the second half of February. How is that relevant? The invitation to submit one piece for the International Womens Show arrived while I was in the air on my way there: ’twas the first message I saw when I turned off “airplane mode” on my phone upon landing. And that is when I saw that the deadline for submission would be the day before I’d return. So, um, I was going to have to submit for that something I’d have ready before heading home! So, as I described in my March 8 post, I decided to enter Kepler’s Dream for that show.
I could still hold onto Spring Thoughts on a Gray Day for Drip, Drizzle & Splash! (And another big “thanks!” to Hadar Jacobson for the recent workshop and also for this photo.)
The prospectus for Drip, Drizzle & Splash, which allowed us to submit two pieces for consideration, had encouraged us to consider “the emergence of new beginnings and the way our weather and environment makes this happen.” While I didn’t have another piece ready that complemented Spring Thoughts, I did have a shamrock piece from my Urban Flowers series that I’d just made in December that seemed to fit the theme. So that was my second entry. And I was delighted to learn that my Metropolitan Shamrock has also been accepted! That show will be hung on the night of March 12 and officially open on March 13.
Metropolitan Shamrock
Both shows will be on display through April 5, 2018. There will be a public reception for both of them from 6 to 8 pm on the evening of March 22. If you’re in the area, I’d love to see you there!
I call this piece Kepler’s Dream, and it’s the one I chose to enter when I was invited to participate in the Cranberry Artists Network‘s show in honor of International Women’s Day.
Now, IWD is March 8, and the show is only being “hung” that evening. The official dates of the show are March 9 through April 5. It looks like there could be as many as 33 pieces in the show.
There will be a Public Reception from 6 to 8 pm on Thursday, March 22.
Question: Why enter a piece named after Johannes Kepler for Women’s Day?
Discussion: Well, I was in high school when I first learned of his discovery that planets moved in elliptical orbits around the sun (not the earth!) and the sun itself was not even at the center but at one of the two focal points of that ellipse.
That was also when I first heard about his conjecture from the early 17th century on the efficiency of packing spheres. That was not really proven until early in the 21st! I actually worked for a few years late in the 20th century with some folks who were involved in trying to find the proof!
Anyway, the readings I had been inspired to devour back in high school were key to opening my mind to being able to “think big” about the seemingly-mundane topics we were covering in school. Did you know, for example, that Kepler also published the first description of the hexagonal symmetry of snowflakes?! And he looked at the efficiency of hexagonal packing: think beehives! There’s more: go do some explorations of him yourself!
And so after decades of doing formal mathematics using accurate visual representations of what IS, here I am now doing artistic explorations of what COULD BE. I had no thought of Kepler as I began this piece: it would look rather different if I had! (And such a piece in this line will likely come to exist eventually.) But as I finished it, and looked at the combination of shapes I’d created (sort of oval and round), and thought about the colors I’d chosen (with their references to the skies above), and talked about it with some friends I was visiting at the time, I just began to wonder if Kepler might ever have dreamt anything like this.
Answer: So I named it Kepler’s Dream to honor him for being one of the influences (indirectly and centuries later) on this woman’s life!
Also, re technique: If you’re a regular reader of this blog, you may think that this piece doesn’t look typical of my work. And you’d be right! This piece was made using Hadar’s Low Shrinkage Steel (metal clay powder). The back is plain, with just the bail for hanging it. (I do have ideas for other designs, with my usual make-it-reversible approach, but this one was part of the experience of simply perfecting this technique, so I kept it simple!)
After firing so it would sinter, the steel was treated to help it resist rust. Then I applied three different enamel colors into the openings of the embellishments. (Yeah, the mathematician / geometer in me had fun figuring out how to space out three colors among ten spaces, when ten is not an even multiple of three.) Because of the way I applied the enamels, it was easy enough to fire several different colors at the same time; to get good coverage, on the other hand, it took multiple applications of the enamel powders, and re-firing each round, until it came to look like this. As a final step, I applied a light coat of wax which helped to even out the color of the steel and should also help to further protect its finish. I made several others at the same time which I’ll try to remember to discuss in a later post. But I am including a tag with each one warning a buyer that, because steel can rust, I recommend some common-sense precautions: don’t wear it while bathing, showering, or swimming and, if it does get wet, try to dry it thoroughly as soon as possible.
Finally, a big “thanks!” to Hadar Jacobson for the recent workshop and especially for the photo, so I’d have it in time for the show!
Folks on my mailing list should know about all this already, but here’s what I have happening the rest of this month:
Where you can find me in person:
Studio Open House: Saturday & Sunday, December 9 & 10, 10 am to 4 pm, in my studio at the WSCC in Regent Square. Please come upstairs and let me know what you think of my new designs! I will, of course, also have plenty of old favorites too! (Also in WSCC that day, downstairs from me, La Dolce Vita Boutique will have all sorts of Italian imports for sale. And just up the street, the Environmental Charter School will be holding their Fair Trade Market!)
Guest Artists Show, Saturday, December 16, 10 am to 6 pm, at The Artsmiths of Pittsburgh in Mt. Lebanon. (I’m thrilled to be one of several Artsmiths Artists invited to bring a larger variety of items than we normally have in the shop. If you know me only from there, do come see what else I’ll bring! Or, if you’ve not yet been to Artsmiths, use this as a reason to check out the whole shop + gallery + classroom facility!)
My last workshop of 2017 will be at a new location for me! In my class on Tuesday, December 12, at the Appalachian Rock Shop & Jewelry Emporium up in Harmony, PA, we will be making reversible, hollow, “lentil” style fine silver pendants or beads! (If it’s too late for you to sign up for that aone, I’ll be back there again in March of 2018 with a Woven Silver workshop!)
Other places where my art jewelry, colorful ornaments, and more are currently available:
The Pittsburgh Society of Artists 52nd Annual Exhibition, in the underground gallery at the Artsmiths of Pittsburgh through January 12, 2018. (Rounding out this list back at Artsmiths, I’m thrilled to be one of the artists to have had a piece juried into this show, PSA’s first time showing work here.)
I hope I’ll see local folks at one or more of those! If I don’t see you, no matter where you’re from, please know that I’m wishing you all the best for this holiday season and beyond!
~~~~~
p.s., Sorry for the big gap in posting! I have a slew of articles started, in draft form, but for one reason or another (e.g., I may not have photos to illustrate what I’m trying to say; or I have photos but haven’t written the words yet…) I just haven’t managed to get any of them finished and posted. Most of them should still appear eventually!
Now the Community Days outdoor festivities will be on July 13, 14, and 15.
But that all kicks off with a special evening on Wednesday, July 12, with the opening reception for the art show, Martinis with Monet. From July 13 through August 10, admission to the show will be free. But the opening reception serves as a fund-raiser for CCTC, and a limited number of tickets are available in advance for $10 through their web site or at the Municipal Building Service Center (with just under a week now left), or for $15 at the door that evening.
And I’m thrilled to have had two pieces accepted for this year’s show!
One of them is another piece from my latest round of Three Rivers pendants. I didn’t make this one specifically for this show but I had been thinking what I might enter during a discussion of the movement and light in Monet’s art. My original design for this piece did include the movement of rivers with the sparkly light of the faceted ruby. But it was the surprising gift from my kiln, of the dappled surface-coloring hinting at sunshine and passing clouds on the ruby-side, that made this piece seem an obvious choice for this show! Because of this side, I’ve titled it, When the Sun Breaks Through the Clouds.
More colors from that kiln-gift are shown in the small, plain photo of the “other” side of that piece. Bronze firings can yield a wide range of surprises: sometimes the results cry out to be polished to a gorgeous, high shine everywhere, while other times they yield a stunning range of colors in random patterns (like this, with an upside-down rainbow in the midst of a crimson field). Though some people report that they find that unpredictability to be off-putting, for me it is part of what makes bronzes so addictive to work with!
The colors in the other piece I had accepted for this show come not so much from the firing, but from the underlying colors of various metals, stones, and glass of the piece.
I made the focal bead, the one that generated The Artist’s Impression of Warm Blankets as the title of this necklace (Monet –> impressionism: get it?!), several years ago. It’s a large, hollow bead, with layers of copper wrapped around rose bronze wrapped around yellow bronze, all with various woven textures. It was originally made as part of a series of exercises exploring the various shrinkage rates of different metal formulas in the construction of hollow structures. As I built it, I was thinking far more about those issues that about its actual design but, as soon as I pulled it out of the kiln, I saw myself pulling a (tiny…) bundle of freshly-washed blankets out of the dryer!
Most of the focal beads I made remain just that, the focus of attention, with little to nothing else to distract the viewer’s eye from them. I strung this one on some beading wire, added a clasp, and wore it myself a few times, thinking it needed something else and waiting for it to tell me what it wanted. At a recent bead show, I saw both the stones and the chain, and they immediately reminded me of the features at a cabin I shared years ago with friends on a series of late-autumn trips, where warm blankets were much appreciated as the temperatures dropped at night, and that was it: I’d found what I needed to complete this piece.
I sure hope that one or both of these pieces will find someone else’s heart to warm now too!
As I mentioned last October, I’ve been experimenting with different ways of incorporating glass into some of my pendants, while also trying to ensure that the process I use for converting (sintering) the clay-like substance I work with into a proper all-metal construction will yield results that are as strong as possible.
I’ve been having a lot of fun doing that: designing pieces, redesigning them when tests don’t work out as planned, and coming up with more ideas for continued explorations. And, now that spring is approaching, I’m delighted to be able to report that two of my experimental blooms will be allowed to sprout (i.e., have been accepted for display in) two upcoming art shows.
The Cranberry Artist Network’s late-winter show actually opened last week, but the meet-the-artists reception will be tomorrow, March 8, from 6 to 8 pm. If you’re in the neighborhood, do stop by to see my five-petal flower (along the lines of a “cinquefoil”) with a silvery-blue glittery dicrhoic glass cabochon in the center.
On this particular piece, I decided to not try to emphasize the texures on the petals by adding a darker patina. They will darken with age slowly over time but, for this From Dark to Light show, I thought I’d let viewers consider the strong contrast between the darkness of the glass in the center and the bright-light color of the metal that surrounds it. The presentation of any sort of flower also fits the theme, as plants of various sorts begin to emerge in reaction to the increasing duration of light each day. Finally, the addition of a few little silver balls represent a flower’s pollen to remind us of the importance of pollinators for so much of what we appreciate being grown, whether for sustenance or simply for beauty.
A sort of companion to that is my “double shamrock” piece. It will be on display in a sort of companion show, called One Night Stand (take note: it runs for one night only!), at the Mars Area Public Library on (no joke!) April 1 at a special evening event that will run from 6 to 9 pm. They had in mind that their “art show” would include paintings, but I’m not the only one who submitted other media that was accepted so I’ll be interested to see what all makes it into the displays. I am a big believer in local libraries, so I really hope this show will be a success for them!
I chose to try to enter this piece because of the “companionships” I mentioned above. As with all my Urban Flowers, I know that this one does not accurately represent a shamrock. But when I looked at that lovely green and gold glass, I wanted to make something appropirately green for it. And, having just finished the “cinquefoil” I wanted to try a different mechanism for holding the glass in place … without making yet another cinquefoil. I was fairly happy with how it turned out. (Actually, I was very happy, except that I had to add a four-leaf clover design to the back to get everything as secure as I wanted, which looks great but increased the materials cost, and thus the price, a little more than I’d wanted.) I did add a bit of patina to this one, to help bring out the veining in the petals.
Given what I learned with these two, I’ve got several more in the works now. The latest ones have long, thin petals. Maybe I can get them out on display over the summer…!
I had a great time last night at the opening of the Cranberry Artists Network’s (CAN) latest event, the $100 Show. Just in time to jump start your holiday shopping, it’s a Hundred-Dollar Show: everything in the show is priced at an even $100! (Well, to be entirely honest, that’ll be $106 once the tax has been added…)
I have two entries in this show and both pendants are thrilled to be in such good company! (Mine are displayed in the big glass case to the left of the door into the library.) The bronze on copper one already knows who it will be going home with at the end of the show! The all-silver one is still hoping to soon be chosen too … whether it will go off with its new owner or be on its way to becoming a very special gift for someone dear.
Whether you’re buying, or just browsing, if you’re in the area, do take a little break to stop in and explore the many wonderful paintings, photography, ceramics, glass art, and more, all made by artists in south-western Pennsylvania!
[Late November, post-show, update: It seems this was the most successful show that CAN has run! In the end I sold only one of my two entries (the other one will be available for purchase in my studio in December), but a higher proportion of artists had at least one sale than in any previous CAN show! Whether you bought one of my pieces, or that of another artist, I want to offer my sincere Thank You to everyone who found something that they liked enough to purchase it (whether it was made by me or one of my colleagues) and who thereby helped to support your local artists!]
What’s this mythical concept of “lazy days” of summer? Summers just seem so busy, with all sorts of events and happenings and things to do that one really does not want to miss. That’s not a complaint: it’s just a puzzle to me, where the lazy-days idea came from!
Anyway, amidst all the many things to do all summer, this is a super-busy weekend. Since I post here mostly about art & jewelry / teaching & learning types of activities, I’m going to skip over the truly “personal” events this weekend. I can fill a long post with places my jewelry and other art-creations are going themselves this weekend.
Arts on the Riverwalk, in New Castle, PA: The art show that the Hoyt Art Center is running at The Confluence, in conjunction with this event, has its opening tonight, 4 to 6 pm. The show itself will run through August 26. I’ve had two pieces accepted for this, one of which is shown below. Although I was thinking of all the ocean-shore walking I’ve done in my life as I created it, I do enjoy walking along any sort of waterfront, so this still seemed to be an appropriate choice for this show:
Community Days in Cranberry Township, PA: The Cranberry Township Community Chest and the Cranberry Artists Network are partnering (for the first time this year) on a show in the Cranberry Municipal Building in conjunction with this annual celebration. The opening reception for the show, Martinis with Monet, held on Wednesday night (for which I managed a post on Facebook, but not here…) was the kick-off event for the weekend-long celebration. The show itself will run through August 3. I’m thrilled to have had two pieces accepted for this show, one of which is shown below. I created Flowers Burst Even Through the Garden Paths for several reasons: primarily to honor Monet’s Gardens in line with the theme of the show, but also as one I could use as demonstration pieces for classes (layering, on the title side, and basic stone setting, on the other side) until it took off for Cranberry and, one hopes, a new home:
At the Panza Gallery, in Millvale, PA: The Pittsburgh Society of Artists is having a Members Choice show there this summer. The opening reception is tonight, from 6 to 8:30 pm, and then the exhibit will run through July 29, and be open Wednesdays through Fridays 10-5 and Saturdays 10-3. Silly me, I didn’t take photos of my entry before I dropped it off (because I thought I already had several) but now I can’t find any of them. What’s in the show is the latest piece in my Three Rivers series; an early piece from that is shown below. Both of them have bronze rivers (with “expansion joints” designating the major bridges) flowing through copper neighborhoods, with a cubic zirconia noting the location of Point State Park and its fountain. The one in the show has flowery-garden neighborhoods (not the metropolitan geometry of this one), and by the time I made it I was much better at getting the rivers to work as an inlay in the copper, like actual rivers (as compared to the onlay shown here). And it’s on a fancier chain. But anyone seeing one should recognize the other as different but similar / familiar…
ArtBrew at the Sweetwater Center for the Arts in Sewickley, PA: Last but certainly not least, from 7 to 10 pm tonight and tonight only (for this year) we have ArtBrew, the Arts & Crafts Fair where the “crafts” are the beers on tap. I was one of just thirty local artists who were invited to provide pieces for sale in the “arts” arena. Some worked in very beer-specific art forms, while others simply created works that the organizers found interesting. I’m in the latter category, and I’ve no clue how my pieces will do, but figured it was worth a shot. Sweetwater is a great place, and I’m happy to support this summer-fundraiser of theirs through commissions on sales of my work. Most of what I submitted are my earrings and pendants. Some were made using typical “metal clay” techniques, while some reflect other directions I’ve also been exploring. There are, for example, some enamel-on-copper pieces that I made on a whim in the spring. And some pendants and earrings, like the silver earring-elements shown below, that were cut out of clay in the “dry but still flexible” state using an electronic cutting machine on a design I created to fit the amount of material I happened to have on hand at the moment:
I also had a dozen pottery items accepted for this event! I don’t often post about my clay-clay work here, but you can get a glimpse of the twelve I sent to Sweetwater below. Note:you really should click on this photo! I hope everyone who does will let me know (e.g., via a comment, either on this blog or at the photo-sharing site the click will take you to) whether you were surprised at what you found there, or whether, especially if you feel you know me and my interests, it was what you imagined as soon as you saw this photo.
Here’s wishing everyone a pleasant summer weekend, full of kindness and friendship.
And Happy 200th Birthday to Pittsburgh, PA, today too!
Winter has arrived and the Cranberry Artists Network has an appropriately-named “Membrrrs Show” opening today! The prospectus for the show was covered in images of snow and icicles and more that made one go “Brrr!” just thinking about them. What might I decide to enter?!!
Well, from fine silver, I’d made a small collection of long pieces, sort of a tube shape, but not all neat and even ones. I’d been playing around with them: I had sort of an idea what i wanted to do (i.e., I really had made them with a vague design in mind), and at one point I’d assembled them into the first necklace shown here (photo at left).
Except, that still wasn’t quite what I wanted. When I got the invitation to apply for the “Membrrrs” show, however, it came to me: ice cubes and cracked crystal, and a few bits to acknowledge that snow does get blackened after a while, and I ended up with the necklace and earring set Warmth & Hugs Ease Icy Days, made from fine silver, crystal, clear and black glass, black onyx, and copper, all hung from an antiqued copper chain with a copper clasp, shown in the larger image to the right.
OK, but I could submit a second entry too. What else? Had my brain, my creativity, frozen? No, I just had a number of other deadlines looming, and multiple experiments with the silver “hugs” had eaten up a lot of my “spare” time to think about this. But, wait, I had a few “spare parts” I’d made “just in case” I needed them for the Love & Commitment bracelet last fall, which evolved into the Love Warms Our Hearts necklace (bronze hearts with copper and glass bead coils, hung from a bronze chain with a bronze clasp; the last photo, left).
I took them up yesterday, and both entries were accepted into the show! It will be running at the Cranberry Township Municipal Building from January 26 through March 3, 2016. Although, technically, it does open today, the “opening reception” will be on Wednesday, February 3, from 6 to 8 pm. I hope I’ll see some of my friends there!
It’s time for another show sponsored by the Cranberry Artists Network, and I’m very thankful to report that I’ve had two pieces accepted!
The theme of this show is Let’s be Thankful, and I’m displaying my pieces along with the thankful / gratitude quotations that inspired me as I was making them. I chose to use silver this time, because I wanted its preciousness to help represent the value of thankfulness. Having done that, however, I deliberately tried to keep them fairly simple, with just a few special embellishments, to keep the prices as manageable as I could. Much as I love making more elaborate pieces, I really do want to offer items that are reasonably affordable.
Joyful Gratitude is in a domed triangle shape. It contains a carnelian on its concave side, said to represent joyfulness, as one form of the depth and range of feelings associated with gratitude. Its convex side exhibits the heart where such gratitude is felt, and held. It is offered on a sterling silver chain cut and attached to gratefully “hug” the top of the triangle.
The slightly heftier Grateful Gardeners is a highly textured oval piece. Like much of my work, this piece is reversible. In this case, however, there is one side that feels like the front to me: it exhibits yet another heart-shaped texture accented by a nephrite jade, a stone of the heart signifying friendship, and also considered to be a water-stone and thus appropriate for a garden-theme. The side I think of as the back (though it could well be worn to the front!) contains a sort of secret garden of textured embellishments: a heart, a leaf, a flower, and a butterfly.
The opening reception will be tonight, from 6 to 8 pm. If you can’t get over to that, I hope my local-folks can get over at some point during the show. It runs through November 2 in the Cranberry Township Municipal Center on Rochester Road.
It’s looking like a busy month. I hope I can remember to post all the various announcements! First of all, there’s the inaugural 2015 Members Show with the Cranberry Artists Network (CAN).
I’ve had two pieces accepted for this show (my first since being selected as a member). I chose to enter two reversible pendants. One is made from fine silver (.999) that I’ve hung on a sterling silver (.925) chain. It’s about an inch across, and composed of three separate layers. The middle layer has a texture pattern that displays concentric circles. A good portion of that is visible through an overlay, a highly polished disk with lines radiating out of its center, where I’ve been able to cut a circle out of it that aligns with the circles on the middle piece. I’ve centered all of that a little above and to the left of the center of the piece: that positioning reminds me of the rising sun, which has always been a part of my vision for this side.
There’s a third overlay, placed on the “back” of the inner-circles piece. It displays a textured pattern of (sun-drenched, perhaps) gingko leaves and is embellished with a lilac-colored corundum stone. I don’t know if there is an “official” name for that pale purple stone, other than simply lilac-colored corundum but, if you’re not familiar with it either, just know that rubies and sapphires are also forms of corundum. I do apologize for the quality of the photo, though: tiny shiny objects are just such a challenge to get right….
My second piece in the show is more of what I’d call an “entry level” piece, deliberately kept relatively simple in order to keep the price down for the beginning collector. This one is made of bronze; it’s a little over an inch across and is another of my reversible creations. One side is a textured and domed disk with a single strip overlay as embellishment, which I see as simple but elegant. The other side is then concave, with a faceted stone set into a hand-formed bezel and nestled down into the curve, to help make that side special too. This stone is in the cubic zirconia (CZ) family, a purple color that the vendor calls “Lavender.” This one is hung on a brass chain, one that’s in a style I seem to have been using fairly frequently lately.
The show runs from June 3 through 25 at the Cranberry Township Municipal Center, 2525 Rochester Rd., Cranberry Township, PA 16066. The Opening Reception will be on Wednesday night, June 3, from 6 to 8 pm, with lots of good refreshments to complement the delightful art. I’m going, and it’d be great to see a few “locals” there! And for several weeks afterwards, you can still check out all the great art in this show any time the municipal center itself is open.
Long-time readers of this blog will know that, if nothing else, I always post a New Years / Blog Anniversary message. The fact that I’ve not posted since before Christmas, without even I clue I was going off-line for a while should be a big clue that something or other had gone awry.
Well, while close friends know the details, I’m just not one to post all sorts of personal stuff everywhere online, but I will say this much: it wasn’t just one thing…. There was this, and that, and then this other thing, and then on top of all that…. No crisis, as such, just no time left for dabbling online. I’ve no clue if or when I’ll manage to catch up with posts, but I did have to take a moment now to share some news about one great recent treat: two of my pieces were accepted for the Isn’t It Romantic show sponsored by the Cranberry Artists Network (from Cranberry Township, which is north of Pittsburgh, PA).
I didn’t manage to make anything completely new for the event, but entrants were allowed to submit two pieces, and I had on hand two that fit the theme perfectly, so in those went!
There’s Love’s Garden in Pinks, a necklace with a fine silver (.999) focal bead and clasp, strung with some really luscious cloisonne, Swarovski crystal, and glass beads. The fine silver pieces are reversible. The bead has little pink CZs on each side. Its Love side (shown) has a heart-shaped texture, and the Garden side has an acanthus-design. Though I made it back in 2011, I’ve only risked putting it up for sale in one quick event because I kept debating with myself whether to sell it or keep this one for myself. But I’m finally ready to let it go, should someone else now want it, for themself or to give as a gift.
And there’s Friends & Lovers, a bracelet in bronze with glass beads, copper wire, and bronze jump rings. The bronze hearts all have a roses-and-swirls pattern, but I curved them so I could nestle little sweetheart-pink, blood-bond red, & romantic-rose colored beads in their hollows. The toggle clasp was made to match, with an arrow for the bar. I submitted this photo for an online challenge in February 2014, but I never really liked how the clasp worked, so I finally got around to remaking the bar at the end of last year (and just realized I don’t have a photo of that … sigh!). But the arrow-head and “feathers” are the same as shown here; the very subtle difference is that, instead of using a loop in the shaft to hold it together, the latest version has a straight shaft with a U-shaped wire embedded into it. Now that I’m satisfied with its design, I can put it out for consideration by others. As far as its title goes, I’ll share the little inside-joke about it: the snuggly-hearts were meant as signs of Love all along, but it’s one of the first pieces I made out of Hadar’s Friendly Bronze metal clay powder after she made it available. I just couldn’t resist the urge to tie the two together in the title.
The Isn’t It Romantic show opens tomorrow, February 4. I’ve seen a number of the other entries, and there’s a lot of really great work in this show. There’s an opening reception from 6 to 8 pm (with, I’m told, lots of wonderful sweet treats planned) and, weather permitting, I plan to attend that. If you’re in the area and would like to join me, it’ll be in the Cranberry Township Municipal Center, on Rochester Road just west of Route 19.
Artsmiths of Pittsburgh
Hoyt Center for the Arts, New Castle, PA
Portage Hill Gallery, Westfield, NY
_Open Houses in my Studio
_Or…contact me about hosting a private party!
It’s time for another show sponsored by the Cranberry Artists Network, and I’m very thankful to report that I’ve had two pieces accepted!
Convergent Series 