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…)
Carol here! I am holding three Studio Open Houses this month (and have six other venues for your consideration too!).
Convergent Series Studio Shows (Upstairs, Room 204) Wilkins School Community Center 7604 Charleston Ave, Pitttsburgh, PA 15218 [412-244-8458]
1. Days and times that coincide with WSCC’s Holiday Market (that will be downstairs when I’ll be in my studio upstairs!) Saturday, December 2, 9 am – 5 pm Sunday, December 3, 12 Noon – 5 pm
2. Carol’s Second Chance Show, in my regular (mostly) Second (mostly) Sunday slot: Sunday, December 10, 1 – 5 pm Just come and shop then, or come back to see if you can still get something you passed on last week, or send someone who is shopping for a gift for you to pick up that piece you really wanted!
3. Other days & times by appointment! (Afternoons or early evenings tend to be best.)
I should, of course, be at all of the above myself. Here are some other places where you can find (and buy!) my creations. (These are basically listed in order. if you were to drive from south to north.)
First, note the dates on these limited-time, fairly-local, art shows and holiday markets:
North Hills Art Center Holiday Artisan Market: November 18 – December 9, 2023 3432 Babcock Blvd, Pittsburgh, PA 15237 [412-364-3622] Mondays thru Saturdays, 10 am – 3 pm’ Tuesday evenings, 7-9 pm
Mars Area Public Library Regional Art Show: mid-September 2023 – mid-March 2024 107 Grand Avenue, Mars, PA 16046 [724-625-9048] Mon-Thurs: 10am-7pm Friday: 10am-3pm Saturday: 9am-4pm
Cranberry Artists Network Holiday Show: November 17 – December 21, 2023 at the Bottlebrush: A Gallery for the Arts 539 Main Street, Harmony, Pa. 16037 [724.452.0539] Tue, Wed, Thu: 11 am – 4 pm Fri: 11 a m – 7 pm Sat: 11 am – 5 pm Sun: 12 noon – 4 pm
And, farther north, some shops that regularly carry my work!
Hoyt Art Center Gift Shop 124 East Leasure Ave., New Castle, PA 16101 [724-652-2882] Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday: 11 am – 8 pm Friday & Saturday: 11 am – 4 pm Closed Sunday & Monday
Glass Growers Gallery 10 E. 5th St. Erie, PA 16507 Holiday Season Hours Monday thru Saturday: 9 am – 6 pm Sunday: 11 am – 4 pm
Portage Hill Gallery 6439 South Portage Road, Westfield, NY 14787 [716-326-4478] Winter Hours Saturdays: 11 am – 5 pm other times by chance or appointment: call to check or to schedule
Whether in person or simply via this post, whether you’re actualIy shopping or simply browsing, I look forward to being able to offer you best wishes for the season and for the year to come!
Merry Christmas to you, or Happy whatever-other Holidays you may be celebrating this season! I’ve shifted to Second Sunday events this year, and it’s finally time for my Second Sunday Holiday Open House!
If you’re looking to shop for some art jewelry or other small adornments this month, whether to give as gifts or as a treat for yourself, come on over to my studio this Sunday, December 11, from 1 to 5 pm.
If you’re not one of my studio regulars, know that you can come find me upstairs, over the front door, at the Wilkins School Community Center (in Regent Square), 7604 Charleston Avenue, 15218.
Even farther “behind” that usual as I write this on Thursday, I haven’t even begun to turn my workspace into a sales venue, but somehow I’ll get that done by this Sunday…
If your schedule is crazy too now, and you can’t get there on Sunday afternoon, reach out to discuss what days / times after that would work for you. Alternatively, I’ve still got pieces in my usual retail shops: find those (with addresses and open hours) on my website.
For now, here’s a little peek at one of the many pieces I’ll have available in my studio. (This is the “other side” of the piece that was in the recent Pittsburgh Society of Artists Show.)
The Wilkins School Community Center in Regent Square, where I have my studio, is still closed to the public. But the big paved area in front is open, outside, and this Saturday, May 15, from 8 am to around 1 pm, will be the site of WSCC’s annual Plant Sale and more! No book sale inside, and I can’t do a show up in my studio, but I will set up a simple sales spot outside among the gardeners and various information tables. I think they’re putting me on the driveway side, but can’t be sure until we set up.
Also at the same time is the annual Regent Square Community Yard Sale. If you’re not familiar with that, it’s typically a big event, with folks coming in from all over to stroll around the whole lovely neighborhood on that special morning seeking good deals. Street parking is first come first served, and please watch out for pedestrians!
Because yard-sale customers don’t come expecting to buy high-end jewelry, my spread this time will feature a lot of my most affordable pieces. Because I don’t do the thing where I mark my pieces up just so I can offer big sale-price discounts, the best I can do (for this show only) is to offer a bit of a deal for multiple purchases: 10% off second and subsequent items (after the first, highest price, one). If you want something I haven’t brought down, at the end of the show (once I’ve taken things back inside), I’ll be happy stay a bit longer so I can bring out some of my very special pieces for your consideration. (I sure look forward to the day when I can welcome visitors inside my studio again!)
Students, fellow artists, and others: If I have something of yours and we haven’t been able to connect while the building has been closed, do let me know. I have sone fired pieces, books, a stool, and more that I’ve saved for various folks! It’s probably worth letting me know in advance, so I can be sure to pull it out of whatever corner I stashed it into and set it someplace where it will be easy to grab and bring downstairs.
One final note: I rarely do outdoor shows, just indoor ones. I don’t have all the regular display materials and such for outdoors, so if the weather turns windy or rainy, I’ll have to bail out and haul everything back inside as fast as I can. Cool is fine, just not a lot of wind and/or rain! But predictions are for a lovely spring day, so I’m sure hoping that holds…
Like so many of us over the last year, I have missed getting together in person with a lot of my usual people although, except for the worst of winter, I have been able to share outside activities with many of the local ones. In another way though, I have missed even more all the different, random people I would interact with at the Wilkins School Community Center (WSCC) where I have my studio.
Still, I am very happy to have two pieces in WSCC’s current exhibit, Artists Choice IV, even though is yet another virtual show. It looks as though I have the only 3D entries in this one! There are two pendants and, once again, I was able to make both of them reversible!
I Will Always Hold a Piece of Your Heart in Mine has two golden-bronze (“brilliant bronze”) hearts, one nestled inside the other, and hangs on a gold-plated chain. It is fully reversible: you can wear it with the pairing facing forward, or you can turn the chain around to keep the little one snuggled in, closer to your own heart. To me, the difference in the size of the hearts indicates a visual illusion, a sort of perspective, where the smaller one represents the heart of someone at a distance, for the moment at least, but the two are still firmly anchored together.
What do you see in it?
Spring is Peeking Out at Last! is another reversible bead, this time a hollow one made from fine silver (.999). One side is textured with an array of cute little spring blossoms. The other side shows a different flower eagerly peeking out through an opening in the ground. Like so many of us, all of the flowers are ready to get out into the sunshine and to get on with their lives!
What are your plans for this spring, and beyond?!
~~~~~~~~ Both pieces are available for purchase, so do let us know if you’re interested! There’s info on the show page, or you can simply get in touch with me directly and I can process it for you.
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!
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.
If you haven’t been over to The Arsmiths of Pittsburgh to see their great Instructors Show yet, you still have two more chances, this Saturday or Sunday (July 7 or 8). Not only does the show include a range of different styles from the various artists who teach there, but Artsmith’s proceeds from this show will be targeted specifically to support their great education programs!
If you’d like to talk with me in person, I’ll be over later in the afternoon on Sunday. (I should get there at or very soon after 2 pm, and I’ll stay until the closing, at 4.)
Whether or not we manage to connect in person this weekend, we’ll have another chance next weekend! You’ll be able to shop some of my creations and / or talk with me about any of my upcoming classes (at four separate venues), when I’ll hold another Second Saturday Open House session in my studio. That’ll be Saturday, July 14, and I should be there from about 1 to 5 pm. Stop by any time!
Next weekend’s bonus for one or two of my students: If you’d like to come over and use the tools & equipment in my studio during the Open House, I can have part of one table set up for that on the 14th too. Because I’ll have a few of my own projects going too, for students it’s really best if you reach out in advance to be sure I’ll have a spot for you.
(Since I’m still getting questions about these sessions, let me repeat that they are not the same as my private lessons or small group classes: I’m not saying I won’t speak to you at all, because I’ll help as I can. But they’re meant as an opportunity for students, working pretty much on their own, to continue or follow up on projects they’ve already learned how to do … but without having to invest in the great range of tools and supplies I bring to my workshops!)
This Saturday, June 9, is a “Second Saturday”! So I am, once again, planning a little Studio Open House. For more reasons than it’s worth listing here, this month I’m shifting the time a bit later than usual: 2 to 6 pm. I’ll have pieces for sale, along with information about the various workshops I have scheduled for this summer or might still add to the calendar.
The main reason for the slightly-later time is that the Regent Square Civic Association’s Second Saturday event will be at my building, and that’s scheduled for 4 to 7 pm. So I tried to plan my Open House to overlap: you can visit me from 2 to 6, if you’re able to come later in that range you can check RSCA out too, and I can still join them from about 6 until 7.
Follow either link above for a little more information on what each event offers. Stop by for the full effect!
Some people call these “lentil” beads, because their underlying shape is similar to a very oversized lentil. Others call them “saucer” beads, though I never imagined flying saucers that looked quite like these. Long-time readers of this blog will know, however, that I love making lentil beads, and I think they make a great class projet too. The photos with this post are meant to show that even a complete beginner can master the making of a relatively simple one that is still impressive! Those with some prior metal clay experience can work a few more advanced techniques into their designs, but you’ll have to come to class to see some samples of those!
At Artsmiths, we will cover ways to make yours so it can be worn all by itself as a pendant. Or, if you’re into beading, we’ll cover ways that are ideal for stringing it with a bead selection of your choice. Hint: the pieces in the photos here are designed for beading, but can be worn alone as pendants, as shown. Follow the class link, above, to see some more basic samples and to find out how to register for this session.
~~~~~~~~~~
And one miscellaneous musing…
Again, I’m really sorry I haven’t been posting much here lately. (I’m apologizing both to myself and to you!) Facebook is such a thought-sink! I’m not talking about how it can be a general time-sink; I miss all sorts of posts because I don’t spend much time browsing there. But I do spend some participating in a few relevant groups (on specific techniques and on art and jewelry in general; not all the possible ones, but a few!) where I oten find myself anwering questions or making comments there that, pre-Fb, I would have written up as posts here or on public blogs by others.
This bothers me: the class-link above goes to a public page I’ve written, while the two event-links above go to publicly-available Facebook-page events (perhaps with an annoying banner asking you to sign in / up to Facebook, but at least visible). But there’s no way for me to link here to something I’ve written in a “closed” art / jewelry group. I do understand the use of “closed” groups to help reduce the risk of spam, trolls, etc., but I’m still struggling with the idea of spending my time writing up useful information that is then limited in how far it can be shared.
If I’m going to write it up, I want it to be available to anyone who’s interested! Well, of course, I could copy my comments and post them here, but they’re often part of a thread, and I wouldn’t feel comfortable copying all that from a private to a public space; so that would mean re-writing everything to build up my own context. And that’s just more effort than seems worth it when I’d rather be making than writing in the first place!
Have you solved this dilemma? Do you know anyone else who has? Your thoughts (comments, links, pointers, whatever) would be much appreciated!
It’s Second Saturday time again! My studio will be open for last-minute Mother’s Day shopping, and more, on Saturday, May 12, from approximately 9 am through 1 pm.
I had to shift my usual Second Saturday time earlier for a variety of reasons:
To coincide with (1), the Wilkins School Community Center will hold its annual spring fundraiser, this year called Books, Beer, Plants, and Dogs with
WSCC will offer used book ($1 each) sale from 8 am to 3 pm,
Coffee and sweets will be there from 8 to 10 am, then
The offerings will switch to raft beer and hot dogs from 11 am to 1 pm.
Local farmers will offer veggies, herbs, and flowering plants, also from 8 am to 3 pm,
As soon as I’ve done a bit of shopping at (1) and (2) I will head up to Room #25 and open up my own art/jewelry show!
But I’ll have to leave by about 1 pm, so I can dash over for the opening of the Artsmiths of Pittsburgh’s Instructors Exhibit! There are a dozen of us in that show, which will run through July 8. I’ve got (count them!) sixteen different pieces in it, illustrations of the kinds of things I have taught or will soon be teaching there! They’re all for sale, and all of Artsmiths’ proceeds from the sale will go towards support of their instructional programming!
With all the to-ing and fro-ing, I’m sad that I’m going to have to miss the Pittsburgh Center for Creative ReUse’s annual spring ReClaim! event! That runs from 11 am to 6 pm. (Why sad: because at previous Reclaim! events I’ve picked up hundreds of little bits of design samples that I’m able to use in the process of making my jewelry creations! It’s not like I need more: it’s what treasures might I be missing out on!!)
I am going to try to also get off to the opening of another show that will feature two of my art-jewelry pieces, one each in steel (with enamel) and silver (with a cubic zirconia). They are in the the North Hills Art Center’s Spring Regional Show. The opening reception is from 7 to 9 pm on Saturday and then the show will continue whenever the Center is open, for the rest of this month and then through June 8.
Finally, please accept my apologies for not yet having gotten around to posting my upcoming teaching schedule! Well, I did post it: there’s a printed copy of my next six classes hanging just outside my studio door, and I will be delighted to discuss them there! And the Artsmiths Instructors’ Show is set up so that all of us there will have the chance to talk about those upcoming classes. If I make it up to North Hills, I can talk about my offerings there too. And I will try to post more information online in the next few days….
I do hope that lots of folks will be able to join me, at one or more of these events!
Sorry for the last-minute confirmation, but I will be in my studio this afternoon! The section of my work-area nearest the door is still set up for shopping! Stop by and see what’s available at a whole range of prices. I should get there by 2:30, and should stay until about 6:30.
Since I didn’t go in either Thursday or Friday (instead doing late-season yard-work!) with today’s rain I’ll be back in the studio working on a few pieces I need to have finished by the end of next week. (Pretty much everything I make takes several cycles of activity, often spread over several days, with time in between for drying or re-hydrating or kiln-firing or …) I’ll be wearing grubby work-clothes, sitting at my other work-table, so you’ll get more of a clue of what my typical working environment is like than usually happens when I open up for a show!
I don’t know if I’ll go back on Sunday, Christmas Eve: I’ll have to see how things go today before I decide that. I am holding a couple hours open tomorrow just in case, so if you can’t make it today but would like to schedule a time to meet me there tomorrow, please let me know!
And, whether you come by today or if you’ve already made a purchase from any of my collections earlier this year, please know how very much I appreciate your interest and support!
I couldn’t do this without YOU!
Thank you … Merry Christmas … Happy Holidays … and Best Wishes for the New Year!
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!
And the first one is a birthday party this Saturday!
What with a lot of travel, gardening, garden-related travel, and more this summer, it’s been way too long since I’ve invited folks over to my studio at the Wilkins School Community Center (WSCC) in Regent Square. But I’m eager to make up for that: I already have three free events lined up there in the next few weeks.
Lots of groups and instructors are offering demos and free lessons in all the various rooms, rotating each hour, starting at 9 am, and ending at 1 pm.
In my studio, I plan to offer a mix of brief demos and explanations of how I created various pieces, also from 9 to 1. (My very tentative schedule is at the "celebrating" link above.)
I’ll also have lots of items for sale.
At 1 pm, we’ll gather downstairs to offer a toast to the building, celebrate with cake, and explore its new mural!
After that party, I’ll head back upstairs for about another hour, to try to get my demo table back to a space I can work on next week. If you can’t get here before 1, this will be another time for you to come and shop. As long as folks are around and interested, I can stay open until about 3.
Saturday, Oct 14, 4 to 6:30 pm
The Regent Square Civic Association’s (RSCA) inaugural Second Saturday in the Square kicks of at WSCC that afternoon!
Food trucks, craft beer, live music, children’s activities, and more!
So of course, I’ll open my studio for another show then!
The RSCA’s event actually runs from 4 to 7 pm. Due to prior commitments both before and after that time, it’s going to be a challenge for me to fit this in. But I will!!! I’ll likely arrive right at 4, and will have to leave no later than 6:30. So please be sure to catch me while I am there that day.
I’m not an official IKS vendor: my studio just happens to be right in the middle of their wonderful show, so I’ll have my “shop” open then too.
Sometimes, but not always, I offer button-making workshops at IKS. I’m not doing that with this one, but I will offer two (one each in silver and bronze) at the North Hills Art Center in October. If you’re interested, please sign up for one or both of those!
If you can’t make it to one of the above three events, just get in touch and let’s arrange another time that will work for both of us!
(I just realized the photo I added to this post
shows my studio from over three years ago:
I need to get a more up-to-date one!)
Well, I managed to get three posts up last month as I traipsed up and down the west coast, even though I got little jewelry made and did very little teaching. (The few exceptions will get their own posts eventually!)
Right now, I’m putting together my fall teaching and show (sales) schedules for September through December. I’ll post full details once I’m sure of all the dates various but, since several folks have asked for updates, the general plan goes something like this:
Multi-Session Classes: one series using precious metals (four meetings using either sterling or fine silver; Sept – Oct) and another series using base metals (five meetings using mostly bronzes, possibly accented with some copper or steel; Oct – Nov) at the North Hills Art Center;
An Open House (with both demos and pieces for sale) in my studio during the community center‘s big fall open house day, and another Open House to coincide with Indie Knit & Spin (aka IKS).
Because of the IKS-day Open House, I don’t plan to hold either type of button-making class at that event this year. But for those wishing to make buttons, I will be offering two separate classes on that at NHAC this fall.
There will, of course, be pieces out for sale at all my “usual” locations, Artsmiths, the Hoyt, and Portage Hill.
And I’m hoping to have pieces out for sale at various other market-places, though most of that may be more in the Thanksgiving to Christmas range … with details to follow!
Then in the new year, I may try to tweak the plan a bit for winter into spring, swapping some multi-session classes into Artsmiths and my studio; and then offering some single session ones at NHAC.
But in addition to just offering a heads-up about what’s to come, there’s another reason for this post. I have a one-day Easy Earring Extravaganza project scheduled for next week, on August 16, and the deadline for you to register is looming!
Although I promote it as being a chance to make several pairs of earrings, what is an earring but an charm or a small pendant or other such element, where the maker may have just put the hole in a different place! Most of my other sessions go into depth on a particular technique applied to one specific design, but the Earring Extravaganza is different: with that one the goal is to help you go a bit more free-form for quantity, where you produce a number of simple pieces, whether that’d be to give yourself a little treat or to grab a chance to get started on holiday-season gifts.
Now, officially, the deadline is a week before the start of the first class, which is a week from the day I’m posting this! So if you want to join in on that one, please register right away!!! Technically, registration should close at the end of the day on Wednesday, August 9, but I think they’ll hold off closing it until early on Thursday morning. As long as I have the count by 10 am on Thursday, I can still get my order for materials in by that vendor’s 11 am cut-off for shipping, and we’ll be fine. Should you happen to try to register later today, or very early tomorrow, before I have to place the order, and for some reason you can’t get the form to work, please just call or email me on Thursday morning (best time would be between 9 and 10 am), and I’ll be glad to help you!
May 20: Once again, it’s the great, big Regent Square Community Yard Sale … so that’s the day Wilkins School Community Center will have its annual fund-raiser, which this year features “Books, Beer, Plants, and Dogs” … and I’ll have my studio open from around 10 am until at least 2 pm.
Jewelry will be available (at regular prices) plus I’ll be featuring lots of little, potted aloe plants too, and those will be available at yard-sale prices.
I’m at WSCC, upstairs, in Room #25. Please come on over!
Yes, we have a whole month left! The title of this post contains a bad pun … but I’m hoping you’ll wrap up some of my creations as gifts, or receive one wrapped up for you!
Here are places where you can find my art jewelry this December (and you can find me—in person, with extra treats—at those with an asterisk):
Holiday Sparkle Art & Craft Market at the North Hills Art Center, now through December 10
Studio Open House *, in my studio at the Wilkins School Community Center, December 2 (6-9 pm) and December 3-4 (10 am – 5 pm) I’m not promising to be back in my studio all day the following weekend (Dec 10-11) but I’m likely to be there for a few hours at some point. If that’s the only time you can make it, please let me know so we can agree on a time to meet there!
Trunk Show *, The Artsmiths of Pittsburgh, December 17 (Officially I’ll be there myself just that day, but check with me if you’d like to come out on either Friday (16th) or Sunday (18th) as I may be there part of those days too. And I have a smaller, but still great, selection in the ‘Smiths Shop year-round!)
And, finally, I’m honored that, as a member of the Pittsburgh Society of Artists, I was able to have one of my pieces selected for display (and for sale) in The New Collective show at the Pittsburgh Center for the Arts. The show runs from November 18, 2016, through February 26, 2017, and I sure hope you’ll be able to get over to see all the wonderful artwork that’s been included. To find my entry, first head upstairs and then turn right, and right again, and then head down the last gallery on the right. My Bronze Bead Shelf is at the end of that, on the left. Since it’s framed for display in the show, so you can see only one side there, here’s what it looks like on both sides:
I hope to see you, or to at least have you see my work, at one or another of those events. If I don’t see you in person, there or somewhere, please know how much I appreciate your interest and support, and that I’m wishing you all the best!
Spring is trying to spring and, once again, this Saturday is the annual community-wide Yard Sale organized by the Regent Square Civic Association.
Because there will be all sorts of folks wandering around the neighborhood that day, it’s also the first day of the Wilkins School Community Center’s Spring fundraiser, the Plant, Herb and Used Book Sale, from 8 am to 3 pm. There are tons of books available for $1 each (including lots of children’s- and cook-books) but, if you want any of their plants, it’s usually wise to arrive early.
And, because there will be all sorts of folks wandering around WSCC, at the same time as the Plant & Used Book Sale I’ll hold an Open House in my studio too. If you haven’t been there before, come upstairs and find me in Room #25!
The yard sales start early; the Herb, Plant, and Used Book Sale is advertized in different places at starting at either 8 or 9 am; but I have had a verrry long week, and I’m not promising to get over to Regent Square before 9 am. And, since everything will be in full swing by then, I can’t be sure just when or where I’ll be able to park, so I can’t even promise to have the doors open exactly at 9. I’ve been telling folks that on Saturday my show will start around 9 am, and run until 3 pm.
I’ll have my usual Art Jewelry selections and a small number of Aloe Vera plants for sale too. I see those as consistent with my art because a bit of goo from their leaves is great to put on burns … as in those (hopefully little) mistakes with torch or kiln!
Then, on Sunday from 12 – 3 pm, WSCC will continue their Book Sale: a whole bag for just $5! I have to miss most of that (the very long week continues…), but I should get there a little after 2 pm and plan to stay at least until 5 pm, maybe even until 7 pm. If you can’t get to Regent Square on Saturday, you’d be welcome to stop by on Sunday instead. I led a workshop on Wednesday (another really great evening at The Artsmiths of Pittsburgh!) and will spend time on Saturday making sample pieces for a June workshop there, so my plan is to run the kiln this Sunday. Firing and cooling of students’ pieces and my samples will take until around 5 pm and, if I think I can hold on until 7, I will also tumble-polish them then. (I really hope I can finish both those tasks on Sunday!) I have to be there while all of that happens, but I can do other things, so that’s when I’ll pack up my display materials, and put the majority of my pieces back into their storage bins. But it’d be great to have company, even folks just stopping by to say “Hi!” while I do that. And if you want to shop, you’d be welcome to dig around in my storage bins while they’re all there on Sunday. (Not as nice as when they’re on displays, but they stay clean and safe if I stash most of them and just rotate a few on display while I work…)
And here’s a final note about the aloes especially for my blog-readers: I keep a few because I like having them. They make babies. I drive to stores, buy nice terra cotta pots and potting soil marketed for succulents, and try to recover the costs of my own activities by selling the potted offshoots. But I’m not trying to make money on the plants themselves: I can’t bear to just throw them into the compost bin (and I refuse to put them into trash!); the extras don’t get quite enough light and nowhere near enough winter warmth off to the side im my studio; and I just want them to go to good homes! For years I grew them just fine in whatever plastic pot and soil I had on hand. Soooo, if you want to bring a medium-size pot with some soil in it, I’ll be happy to let you repot one of my aloes into your container for free! (And that’s the case year-round, not just this weekend, as long as I have aloe-offshoots in my studio…)
The five reversible domed-heart fine silver pendants shown above have all been delivered to The Artsmiths of Pittsburgh in Mt. Lebanon and are now available for purchase there. I was thinking about making a few more to have on hand during the studio sale I’ll be holding when Indie Knit and Spin returns to the building where I have my studio.
But they are fun and easy to make so I’m also proposing a class: you can make one as a gift for someone dear to your heart; or come with a partner and make them for each other; or ask your sweetheart to buy you this class as a gift; there are lots of options, even if you’re a complete beginner!
That price includes both the class and enough silver to make one pendant (approximately 1 inch long). Extra material will be available for purchase if you’d like to make more than one pendant (or, say, a pair of earrings too). Several different styles of chain will also be available for purchase.
You have two days to decide! I know this is short notice, but I need to have at least four (4) people sign up by 10 pm on Thursday, January 28, in order to run this class. (And the maximum number is seven (7) so I can give everyone enough attention.) To sign up, please either send me an email or leave a comment with this post. I will accept people in the order in which they respond! By around noon on Friday, I will send an email to everyone I’ve heard from with: (a) whether enough people signed up to run the class and (b) whether your request was received before the class filled.
I sure hope that a few of you will be able to join me this weekend!
~~~~~
Update (8 pm on Thursday): Yes! Thanks so much to everyone who emailed me: this class WILL run on Sunday, as indicated. I’ll email everyone (either later tonight or else tomorrow morning, as noted above) with a few little details.
Did you miss the button-making class at Indie Knit and Spin last November? If so, you’re in luck: I’m offering it again at the February 6 session, from 10 am to 12:30 pm!
We had a great time last year! A number of folks wandering along the hallway, checking the vendors and classes in other rooms, stopped in to see what we were doing and said they wished they’d signed up. There aren’t going to be many (if any) other classes at the February event but, since I’ll be using my own studio (i.e., Cosy doesn’t need to pay to rent another whole room for the class, and WSCC doesn’t need to schedule other events around IKS’s use of yet another of the by-the-hour classrooms), I said I’d be happy to offer this one again.
Please note: You don’t have to make actual buttons in this workshop! If you’d prefer to make a focal piece to serve as an embellishment on your fiber work, or just want to make some other type of decoration, that’s OK too. Unlike most of my workshops, where I make a point of showing how to make two-sided pieces, for buttons which are typically sewn down onto some fabric, we will just be texturing the “front” side of our pieces. But all it takes is a shift in the placement and/or size of the holes we’ll make in our pieces, and you can have another form of decoration for your work or even a few charms, earrings, or a pendant. It’s up to you!
As described there, to sign up for the class, send an email to cosymakes@gmail.com
Please sign up by 8 am on Monday, February 1, so I can have time to place an order that morning for enough material to use in the class. Seating is limited but, if spaces remain after that deadline, I’ll allow others in if but only if I have enough material for late-comers to use.
Once again, I forgot to tell Cosy to change the write-up but, as I discussed last fall, I’m planning to use .960 Sterling Silver for the class. If anyone has problems with that alloy, I will have on hand the .999 Fine Silver mentioned in the class description for you to use. The techniques used are the same either way.
(What problems, you may wonder? .999 means it’s 99.9% silver, and only silver; it’s not certified at 100% simply because no manufacturer is going to swear that not even an atom or two of something else managed to sneak in there somehow, but it’s as pure as reasonably possible. Whereas .960 means it’s only 96% silver and 4% copper has deliberately been added, so if you are someone who reacts badly to copper (or to traditional .925 sterling silver, which contains up to 7.5% copper), then you may want to stick to fine silver. It is extremely rare for anyone to have a bad skin-contact reaction to silver alone; most people who say they’re allergic to silver are actually reacting to the copper in sterling (not the silver element itself), or else to some patina chemical or polishing compound applied to their silver (which I am happy to omit for anyone with a sensitivity–there are several products I’ve learned to avoid myself!).)
Here’s looking forward to another fun class with more great participants: it’s only a little over three weeks away now, so please sign up soon.
I don’t care what stores may or many not be open on Thanksgiving, brick & mortar or online ones, I don’t intend to do any shopping that day! There are just a few small things I may head out and try to pick up on Black Friday. For me, Small Business Saturday is the important day, both as someone who believes in supporting local businesses (both the shops and the local producers of their wares) and as someone who is really, really hoping to sell some of her art in order to earn income towards next year’s looming expenses. (I do love my studio, but I also need to pay for it … and lots more!)
So here are some of the places where you can find my jewelry and/or ornaments! They are listed in roughly chronological order from their special-event start times.
November 27 – December 24: Ornament Extravaganza (in addition to all the regular ‘Smiths Shop items) at The Artsmiths of Pittsburgh (Mt. Lebanon, PA)
I also have jewelry items (no new ornaments) up at the Portage Hill Gallery (Westfield, NY). Their hours are much longer during the summer season at Chautauqua; but Audrey will likely have a few events over the coming weekends too, so if you’re in the area, do check that out.
All of these pieces, and lots more, will be available at one or another of those venues. Please stop by if you can and/or tell others from this area where to find them.
(Be sure to note that the Parkway East will be closed December 4-5-6! To get to the events in Swissvale / Regent Square, you’ll have to detour around that. While I understand the necessity, all us vendors impacted by that sure wish they’d announced that closing sooner, so we could have at least tried to plan around it! Please find the detour routes, or try to come out at another time! Thank you!)
Because there will be all sorts of folks wandering around the neighborhood that day, it’s also the first day of the Wilkins School Community Center‘s Spring fundraiser, the Herb and Used Book Sale from 9 am to 3 pm. There are tons of books available for $1 each (including lots of children’s- and cook-books) but, if you want any of their plants, it’s usually wise to arrive early. (The hanging baskets, in particular, are looking gorgeous again this year!)
And, because there will be all sorts of folks wandering around WSCC, at the same time as the Herb and Used Book Sale I’ll hold an Open House in my studio too. I’m upstairs, over the front door, in room #25. I only have a few of my Three Rivers pieces left (and none with something sparkly to indicate the Pittsburgh Point Fountain, as shown in the photo here), but I’ll be making more next month and will be happy to take pre-orders at the Open House. And not to worry, I do have a lot of other inventory, mostly my usual pendants and earrings, but also a few other items too.
In addition to my usual Art Jewelry selections, again this year I’ll have a collection of Aloe Vera plants for sale too. They are off-shoots of the ones I keep for burns, as in those little mistakes with torch or kiln…! They’re in good “cactus” potting soil in nice clay pots and I’m basically giving the plants away, asking just enough to cover the cost of the pots and the potting mix and the gas it took me to go get those.
I’m later than I’d planned in getting this post up so, if you just can’t get there on Saturday, let me know and we can arrange a time on Sunday if that could work for you. I’m going to the Western PA Orienteering Club‘s meet in Frick Park on Sunday afternoon, roughly 12 to 3, but luckily that’s the one event they hold right in my neighborhood, so I’d be close and happy to meet you in my studio before or after that. (Oh, and the book sale will continue, with even lower prices, during that 12 to 3 span on Sunday, so you could go check that out before or after we meet!) That’d be easy for me to arrange: I won’t pack up most of my pieces and turn the display space back into a work-room until Monday or maybe even Tuesday of next week.
My one disappointment is that there’s another event on Saturday that I’m going to have to miss: I schedule my Open House to coincide with all the Regent Square events, and this one just happens to be the same day, up the street into Point Breeze at the Edible Teaching Garden where I volunteer some time each week. One of our other volunteers applied for a Love Your Block grant from the city, and got accepted! The idea is that they’ll support the cost of some necessary materials if you can get a community group together to volunteer the time needed to work on some neighborhood improvement project. We needed some “hardscape” features for the garden, things like steps at the entrance (several people have already fallen on the slope there, so we have to do something!) and some critter-deterrent fencing. If you’re in the area and able to go lend a hand any time from 9 am to 1 pm, it’d be much appreciated! It’s a great little group working on a delightful urban edible garden project. I’m including the flyer for it here: click to see it full-size.
Life tends to get crazy-busy this time of year, for multiple reasons, some of which I’m sure you can imagine and others would take too long to explain. So I’m just going to list a few events you may want to know about should you be interested in seeing some of my work in person:
November 30 – December 7: H*liday mART at Sweetwater Center for the Arts, Sewickley, PA
December 5-6-7: Holiday Gift Shop at the Wilkins School Community Center, Swissvale, PA
December 5-6-7: Open House in my Studio, to coincide with WSCC’s Holiday Gift Shop
December 13: Open House at the Hoyt Center for the Arts, New Castle, PA
December 13-14: Open House in my Studio, to coincide with an Art Studio tour in Regent Square (Swissvale, Pittsburgh, Edgewood, Wilkinsburg), PA
For other venues, please see the list of Ongoing locations down the right side of this blog.
If you find yourself missing any of those, no problem. Just get in touch with me: leave a comment on this post, or message me via Convergent Series page on Facebook (and, while you’re at it, a Like there would be very much appreciated…). We’ll find a way for you to explore my creations!
I’m not sure how much else I’ll manage to post this month. But I have new designs in the works, new workshop pieces I’m testing out plus, of course, new variations of ongoing favorites in both those categories … and lots more for 2015! I look forward to posting about all of those in the New Year, and I hope you’ll enjoy reading about them too.
Yes, the room has evolved a bit over the years! This is what it looked like at the beginning of October, four years ago:
And this is what it looked like at the start of October this year, set up the way I tend to have it when I’m working there on my own:
The table in the middle, to the right with a bright blue tablecloth on it is where I work with base metal clays (i.e., bronze, copper, steel), while the one to the left with a white tablecloth is where I work on precious metals (e.g., fine silver or gold). I spent my early metal clay years (back when the only options were among the precious metal varieties) working on a single “TV tray table” in my family room, but now I just love having the space to work that way: it just seems practical to me, as a way to help me remember which clay I’m working on and whether I have to clean off a tool if it’s coming from the “other” table, to avoid cross-contamination. (There’s nothing special about the colors, just that they differ. When I teach a workshop using all one kind of clay, both tables get covered in the same color, and tools can move across without giving it a second thought….) The “CD cabinets” with all the little cubbies behind those work-tables are segregated by metal-type: when I put things away, they go on the side where they were last used. Or, if I’ve already cleaned them up and they can go anywhere next, there’s space designated for that too….
Ahhh, but which side do you think I use when I’m working with sterling silver, since sterling is an alloy of silver and copper? (Leave your guess as a comment on this post!)
Except, right now, I’m not working with metals. I’m trying to clean the room up a bit, put away all the tools (a good excuse to look at the set-up and decide if I need to rearrange few more things), and turn it into my “shop” layout:
Because EcoFest will be happening all over the community center this Saturday, which is an excuse for me to hold an Open House. Here’s an example: two new bronze pieces I’ll have available:
(Sorry for the harsh color of that last photo. In person, they’re still bright but somehow much “softer” in color. Two of my overhead lights are out, one of my photo-station lights went out. (I’d bought a two-pack, so I tried to use the other one, and it’s not working at all either… And, no, it’s not the lamp. I tried the bulbs in a different lamp that I know is working, and they don’t turn on there either.) I’ve been drowning in different deadlines the past few weeks, and I just haven’t had time to deal with specialized light bulbs. And I still have a backlog of PMC Flex pieces to finish, fire, polish, and write about.
If you’re in the SW Pa area on Saturday, October 11, though, do stop by and I’ll be happy to show you what-all I have finished and what-else is in the works. I’ll be there from 10 am to 2 pm. Even if you can’t get to my studio on Saturday, you’d also be welcome to come to the next meeting of the Western PA Metal Clay Guild on Sunday, October 26, from 11:30 am until around 3 pm. I do have to finish off some of the Flex pieces by then, because that’s when I’d promised to do some demos and, if folks want, hold a mini-workshop on Flex. That won’t be in my studio, though; it’ll be in the Art Room at Rodef Shalom (in the Oakland neighborhood, near Carnegie Mellon). One place or another, for those near here I hope to see you; or, for everyone, at least, to hear from you….
Yes, I do have art + jewelry topics in the queue to write about, but my spare-moments-brain is still focused on garden events. Our “Field Day” Celebration at the Edible Teaching Garden is scheduled for tomorrow, Saturday, September 13, from 12 Noon to 2 pm. It’s free, open to the public, and we’re hoping we’ll have a great turn-out. If you’re in the area and able, please do stop by.
The Edible Teaching Garden, maintained by the Penn State Master Gardeners of Allegheny County, is located in the Point Breeze neighborhood of Pittsburgh, at the corner of Thomas and Lexington. Folks around here seem to go by landmarks a lot, so the other way to describe it is this: just one long-block down and around the corner from the East End Food Co-op, sort of across the street from Construction Junction and the Pittsburgh Center for Creative ReUse. (It’s directly across from the Allegheny County Police Headquarters: on our volunteer “work nights” we often see the local TV news folks shooting their “live” reports on “our” sidewalk, with that building behind them. But Construction Junction and PCCR are “more art-related” ways to describe where it is: see, I really am trying here!) The first photo, above / right, just taken on Wednesday, shows our branching sunflowers (they were a donation, and we don’t know the exact variety), our amaranth (that one is called Love Lies Bleeding), and hints of more, along with a few of our volunteers who were finishing up a discussion about some plans for Saturday.
We’ll be working in the garden for a month or two more (the timing will depend, in part, on the weather), but I’ll be shifting back to spending a lot more time on my Art Jewelry and Other Small Adornments, in preparation for the upcoming holiday-sales season. In fact, I just finished the first steps in making a few more dohgu oki (tool rests), my variation on hashi oki (chopstick rests) that I use as holders for small tools (though they would also work for chopsticks if you wanted). I tried a new approach for shaping them that worked really well, so I’m happy about that! I hope to get those finished and fired this weekend too! This particular batch, mostly Friendly Bronze, has a butterfly theme, in honor of the “parsley worm” (the caterpillar form of a Swallowtail Butterfly) that Eric found in our parsley bed. I’m really glad he rushed over to get me so I could capture a quick photograph:
Last fall, I sold a number of dohgu oki in the Open House I held in my studio the day that Indie Knit and Spin was happening in the same building. I’ll be holding another open house to coincide with that again this year (the date is November 15). Even before that, I’ll be having an open house to coincide with Eco Fest (that date is October 11), so I figured I should get a head start in stocking up on those. Lots of good dates in this post: I hope many of you will be able to join me for any or all of those!
Because there will be all sorts of folks wandering around the neighborhood that day, it’s also the first day of the Wilkins School Community Center‘s Spring fundraiser, the Herb and Used Book Sale from 9 am to 3 pm. (See the poster, above-right.) There are tons of books available for $1 each (including lots of children’s- and cook-books) but, if you want any of their plants, it’s usually wise to arrive early. (The hanging baskets, in particular, are looking gorgeous this year!)
And, because there will be all sorts of folks wandering around WSCC, at the same time as the Herb and Used Book Sale I’ll hold an Open House in my studio too. For years I’ve been describing its location as “upstairs, above the front door” at WSCC, but I now have a room number: it’s 25!
In addition to my usual Art Jewelry selections, this year I’ll have a collection of Aloe Vera plants for sale too. I see those as consistent with my art because they are great to put on burns, as in those little mistakes with torch or kiln…! I’ll have a few of the plants outside my room for “early birds” to buy on the “honor system” … and will try to get there by 9 to open up the room for the jewelry. (I’d planned to be there in plenty of time for 10, but just realized the WSCC sale starts at 9 this year….)
Then, on Sunday from 12 – 3 pm, WSCC will continue their Book Sale (a whole bag for just $5!) and I will be there running a workshop from 12 – 5 pm. If you can’t get to Regent Square on Saturday, you’d be welcome to stop by on Sunday instead, as long as you understand that the class is first priority. You’re welcome to look at what’s on display, and I can stop and talk to you for a few minutes during various break-times.
After that, the next chances to purchase some of my creations will be in our Metal Clay Guild’s booth at the Creative Marketplace in Verona on June 1, and then in the Koolkat both down at the Three Rivers Arts Festival, June 6 to 15. More on those shortly! I look forward to seeing and talking in-person with some of my “local” readers at one or more of these events!
Have you heard the buzz? Six sites! All in the Pittsburgh area’s “East End” this weekend: Regent Square, Swissvale, and Squirrel Hill. And my studio is one of the locations on it again this year.
I’ve got lots of jewelry on offer, plus a handful of other small adornments.
I also have aloe vera plants that need a new home, babies that i repotted from some of the big ones I keep around. (I do work with hot metals here!) BONUS: small ones are free with a purchase of $35 or more (or a discount can be applied to the price of any of the larger ones if that’s what you prefer).
Plus you’re welcome to share some of my cookies and hot mulled cider. (I also got the makings for cranberry-orange frosties but, with all the snow that’s falling, I’ll save that until there’s a request or I run out of cider, whichever comes first.)
Once again, it’s time for the Holiday Gift Shop at the Wilkins School Community Center. Do come by this weekend if you get the chance: 7-9 pm on Friday evening (great opening night party, and it’s free!) or 10 am to 7 pm on Saturday and Sunday.
I’m letting WSCC do the selling for me at this event because, with everything else that happens this time of year, I’ll be in and out all weekend. What I have on offer at this venue includes a number of class samples and workshop demonstration pieces. FYI, I recycle earnings from those into buying more materials to use in refreshing my memory on next year’s classes (the samples) and in making pieces as I illustrate the processes during classes (the demo pieces). They’ve expanded the event this year, from two rooms to three on the main floor of the center, so there should be lots of goodies on offer from a number of different vendors, for gifts or for yourself!
And, while I’m writing, I’ll mention another event, next weekend, when I’ll have my studio open (upstairs at WSCC) from 10 am to 4 pm on December 14 & 15, and a little bit of everything will be on sale then (my full range of jewelry and other small adornments, information about workshops and home parties, gift certificates, …). I’ll be one of the six stops on the annual Art Buzz Tour, so you can even just grab a map to all the other great sites.
I hope that my “local” readers will be able to stop by, one weekend or the other. I really do appreciate all your support!!!
Have you heard the buzz? It’s even louder this year! Over forty artists! Seven sites! All in the Pittsburgh area’s “East End” this weekend. And my studio is one of the locations on it again this year.
At WSCC (where I’ll be), the Holiday Gift Shop will still be running downstairs, and I am pretty sure that Daviea Davis will have her glass mosaic studio open too, upstairs across the hall from mine.
If you’re in the area, I sure hope you can stop by. To say, “Hello” and “Happy Holidays” at least. If, for some reason, you can’t get yourself there in person, how about leaving a holiday greeting as a “comment” on this blog post. Even having you say just “Hello” or “Happy Holidays” would be much appreciated!
I look forward to seeing / hearing from you, dear readers, so I can extend my best wishes for this holiday season to you too, in return, in a more personal way.
Earlier this week, I carried 30 pieces (the jeweler’s limit…) downstairs at the Wilkins School Community Center (aka WSCC, where my studio is located) for their annual Holiday Gift Shop (HGS). A much shorter trip than getting over to Sweetwater (whose show, which I mentioned recently, is still going on) but, once again, the commission WSCC will get from my sales is going to benefit another worthwhile organization.
I must say that I am so thankful that, this year, the Friday after Thanksgiving weekend and the First Friday in December are not the same day! For some reason, a number of groups / organizations with which I’m involved all try to “avoid the major holiday crunch” by scheduling major events for that one, super-crowded, day. So I am always torn between them! But, approximately one year out of seven (leap years do tend to confuse the pattern a bit), like this year, those two are not the same day. Whew! So I’m still waaaay to busy, but at least it seems somewhat more manageable. (In fact, I’m hoping to have both the time and the energy to get up and go orienteering on Saturday morning. In another lucky coincidence, that meet will involve less travel for me than any other I’ve ever attended: it’s actually within walking distance of my studio, not a two-hour drive away!) But I digress….
I mention that Friday-thing, in this context, because tonight from 7 to 9 pm is the Opening Night Party for WSCC’s HGS. In addition to several rooms full of a range of art and craft items, there will be food and drink and live entertainment, including the Steel City Ukeleles and Milton Street Carolers. By clicking on the announcement (upper, right) you can get information on the times it will be open each day from now through December 9.
If you’ve never been there before, the building photo (lower, left), taken in the spring, may give you a clue where you’re looking to end up. I’ll be in the building, off and on, throughout the show. If you see my overhead lights on (in the window over the front door) and don’t see me at the HGS, do come upstairs and say hello.
In addition to the pieces I’ll have in the HGS, I’ll also have my entire studio open myself next weekend, December 8 & 9, for a more extensive sale of my own precious metal and art jewelry items as part of the East End Art Buzz Tour. I’ll post a note about that in the next few days.
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!
This Saturday, June 9, is a “Second Saturday”! So I am, once again, planning a little 
Some people call these “lentil” beads, because their underlying shape is similar to a very oversized lentil. Others call them “saucer” beads, though I never imagined flying saucers that looked quite like these. Long-time readers of this blog will know, however, that I love making lentil beads, and I think they make a great class projet too. The photos with this post are meant to show that even a complete beginner can master the making of a relatively simple one that is still impressive! Those with some prior metal clay experience can work a few more advanced techniques into their designs, but you’ll have to come to class to see some samples of those!
And the first one is a birthday party this Saturday!
Convergent Series 