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I am honored to be teaching 2 workshops at this fabulous retreat here in Northern California this October! Check out the many wonderful and exciting workshops they are offering .  Last year I was a participant and had a wonderful time learning new skills, meeting fellow artists, and eating wonderful food!
This year the retreat will offer 2 day intensives in the Benecia Armory Studios. I will teach the 2 days there and move back to Petaluma to offer an evening workshop in metal clay.

Special Order, Sentimental Order

Recently a student of mine commisioned me to create a bracelet for her in memory of her parents. We went through her mother's buttons and her father's cufflinks. I made molds of the ones that I thought would work and the ones that she was most sentimental about. As the buttons and cufflinks were all different shapes and sizes I needed to come up with a way to link them together in a cohesive and pleasing way. I decided to attach the various designs to rectangular panels. The finished product came together and she was thrilled; so thrilled that her husband ordered earrings to match for a Cristmas present!
What a wonderful way to remember her parents!

Susy's Bracelet; From the one that got away to the one that went away!

Two images of the latest in the Botanical Series. This is the same bracelet whose panel took a flight off my workbench in a gust of wind. This is heavier than most of the bracelets I make. I loved the way it felt to wear. It is now residing in San Rafael.

The One That Got Away!

After finishing a final panel to a bracelet I am making and giving it the "eagle eye" before firing, I left it on the bench to dry just a bit longer. When I returned I found it had taken flight and was in numerous pieces on the studio floor! Apparently a gust of wind came in and wreaked havoc in my studio. I have heard of mice nibbling on people's work but having the wind give a piece wings.. well, that is a new one on me!
Lesson number 1: When making component parts, I always make more than one just in case...Of course, this time I ignored my basic rule of thumb in the studio.
Lesson number 2:The next time I duplicate that piece, it will take 1/2 the time it did to begin with.
Lesson number 3: Keep good notes. I didn't. I thought I would remember how I did the previous 2. That made a simple duplication take longer than it should have.
So, I remade the flying piece and yes, I made 2. Yes, it did take less time and I am on my way out there to make detailed notes this time!
Oh, and lesson number 4: Close the window!

New Newt, New Box, New Brooch

At long last, I have finished my newest box. This time it is a fine silver brooch that doubles as a lid for the box above. I enameled the interior of the box to look a bit like a rocky stream which just happens to be the very kind of place that Red Bellied Newts come to lay their eggs in the spring.
 This is the same little guy that I posted last in polymer clay. If you look closely you can see a lovely little tourmaline cabochon next to his back right foot ( are they called feet?).
I think that I am ready to tackle other creatures now. I love the idea of making a piece of jewelry that can double as a box when it rests on one's dresser. I have loads of ideas for new and different ones to come.
Life can get very busy with little business. Errands, gardening, walks, talks, cooking, shopping.....you get the idea. It seems that it is so easy to fill my time and neglect my studio lately. And yet, when I am in the middle of a project, I just can't wait to get out there.
Soon..........

Home Again

What a summer! I have just returned from 2 more trips. One was to visit good friends in Bend, Oregon and Florence, Oregon. The second trip was to my long awaited bi-annual PMC Conference at Perdue University in Indiana. Don't you think they should have the conference on the west coast next time? I do!! I had a great time, learned lots of new techniques and learned about new products and, oh, spent lots of money on stones, tools and beads. West Lafayette has the best bead store called...Von's!
At the conference, Mitsubishi announced a new metal clay called...PMC PRO. It will come out for sale in October. It is 90% fine silver as opposed to PMC Standard, PMC+ and PMC 3 which are 99.99% fine silver. This new metal clay is as strong as sterling silver which makes it much better for rings and bracelet cuffs. I am looking forward to using it! It will need to be fired in carbon similar to the base metal clays. Can't wait to get my hands on it!

Back in the Studio again!

Finally made it back into the Studio with an idea in mind! The Newt Boy 2! I know, he does look like the other guy, but they are related after all. Some people say that if you've seen one newt you've seen them all. I don't think so. This guy is smaller and his tail is a whopper. Plus, he is younger and awfully cute.I have an idea that I hope to execute in the next couple of months. My goal is to enter this piece in the Saul Bell Award contest that is coming up in September. Watch for more details.
I have sculpted this guy from Premo Polymer Clay and just finished baking him. The next step is to make a mold and then assemble another box. This one will have a new twist to it. More on that later. Maybe I can even make my earrings from this guy after all!

It was interesting to see just how quickly this boy came together. I have about 3 hours into him. Compare that with the weeks I put into sculpting the first guy. Back when I was working on my Jeweler's Certificate in Linda Weis's SRJC Jewelry Class we had an assignment that she called "multiples". It was a great learning experience. We were to make a piece of jewelry and then make multiples of it. The assignment was designed to show us just how much time the first piece would take and how the following multiples would take just a fraction of that time. This piece really illustrated just that!

Think about that when you've worked so hard on a piece only to drop it or break it. The next piece will be only that much easier to make and the one after that even easier. You can take an idea and improve on it over and over without the initial struggle.