HAPPY BIRTHDAY BLOG!

Nothing says party like Homer Simpson in his underpants!

Today my blog is a year old. I can't believe that it's been a year already. I've tried to post regularly (sorry about this week, I'm feeling under the weather). I've really enjoyed it. Thanks to everyone who reads it and comments or lurks or whatever, for letting me get it all out of my system!

BEAD DREAMS 2009

Karen Elmquist's Pod Vessels.

This is Karen's amazing necklace made from many of her wonderful lamp work beads. It wasn't part of the show, but I had to include it because it because it's just so darn cool!

Every year at the Bead and Button Show in Milwaukee, there is an exhibit called Bead Dreams. Bead Dreams is a juried competition sponsored by Bead and Button magazine. This year, my friend Karen Elmquist's beautiful and unique Pod Vessels were accepted into the show. This was great for Karen, as she is one of the sweetest and most humble people I know. Not to mention talented! Usually, Bead and Button has a special issue dedicated to the competition. This year, I suppose due to economic constraints, they have created an online version of the special issue. It's free to subscribers and $5.95 for non-subscribers. If you're in the mood for some great inspiration go have a look see here.

KEUM BOO CLASS

These are some examples of the Keum Boo technique in my own work. Photos by Jonathan Sabin.

I will be teaching a Keum Boo class at Bead Haven on Thursday. In case you've never heard of this technique before, it's a method of fusing gold to silver. Keum boo in Korean translates literally as 'attached gold'. It is a very ancient technique that originated in Korea (probably other places at the same time as well) that takes advantage of silver and gold's similar atomic structure. Gold is layered on either fine silver or copper depleted sterling (in the case of my class, we'll be using fine silver PMC pieces that we'll make). When heat and pressure are applied the gold is permanently bonded on a molecular level to the silver. It's a relatively cost effective way to add gold to your work, plus it's a lot of fun too. The results are beautiful and immediate. Come join us if you can.

THE TOOL TRIANGLE

My new bench from Rio Grande.

My studio. Deceptively clean!

I finally got my new jeweler's bench the other day and Paul put it together for me over the weekend. I'm so excited! I've been waiting for it for a long time. I'm always interested in how other people arrange their work spaces. Of course, the arrangement depends on the kind of work you're doing and how much space you have. I'm lucky enough to have plenty of space (if there is such a thing!) but I'm little limited due to the pitch of the walls because it used to be an attic. It's taken me a while to get the space how I like and how it works best for me. I intend to use the new bench mostly for soldering so I can keep my propane/oxygen torch set up all the time. It will also be great for filing, forging, and sawing as it has slots built in for a bench pin and mandrels. I have a lab table that I've been using for everything that I do. Now I can use that just for metal clay, assembly, resin and other things where I need to spread out as well as classes that I teach in the studio. I have a small table behind my lab table where I will keep my tumbler and can do patinas and other finishing tasks. Next to that, directly behind my chair is a mechanics type tool chest where I keep most of my tools. This is great, but from now on I'll be keeping most of the hammers and other tools that I use most in a holder that hangs off of the side of the bench. This will really free up space in the tool chest, which is bursting at the seams. I think the new bench will sit next to the tool chest at an angle. This way I can reach almost everything I need from my chair. I have kind of a tool triangle now! As long as it's not like the Bermuda triangle and I disappear! I already sort of do that anyway.

RAIN

Cris, pleez to turn back on the sun?

Pretty drops of water on my plants.

Doesn't my new tree look good? I like the sunflower below the tree that sprouted from my bird feeder. I didn't have the heart to pull it. I'll probably be sorry when there are sunflowers growing everywhere next spring!

It was rainy today, in fact we had some pretty strong thunderstorms move through this morning. I think it's so pretty outside after a rain don't you? Sophie, however was unimpressed and wanted me to turn the sun back on. She gets her wish this weekend as the temperatures will be close to 100 degrees. Yikes. I hope the air conditioning holds out.

THE CALLA LILIES ARE IN BLOOM AGAIN.........

Here's a cute little Calla Lily pendant that I will be teaching at Bead Haven in September. It's about 2 inches long and maybe 1/2 inch wide. It's a cute little project that I think should be a lot of fun. Wanna come pick flowers with me?

PLAY DAY

Jamie's first resin pieces came out very well. She's too much like me though, she spent a long time getting them just right.

A close up of Jamie's ring.

I think this is my favorite of Jamie's.

Jamie's bottle caps.

Some of the thing's that I made.

More of my resin.

Last Friday my sister Jamie took a day off from work and came over to make things with me in my studio. This is a rare occurrence because Jamie has a hard and stressful job. She's really good at it, but she works way too hard. She has a grown up job, unlike me! We planned to work in the morning and have lunch and then go shopping. We ended up working all day and we didn't even stop for lunch. She spent a lot of time figuring out what she was going to embed in the resin. She picked out some pretty papers and over painted them with acrylic paints and a little sparkly glue. I think they came out great. I hope she'll come again soon. Maybe next time we'll do some acid etching.