Trunk Show this Friday!

Come to Heir in Providence this Friday for an awesome time! 8-11pm. Click on the poster below for details!

Louis Exposure this weekend!

This weekend I'll be participating in Louis Exposure, a pop-up shop/open market sort of event for selected local businesses. Make a trip to the ICA and stop by Louis Boston for a visit! I'll be selling Alaska jewelry as well as one-of-a-kind pieces.

I'll be there Saturday Dec. 4th from 12-7, and Sunday Dec. 5th from 12-5.

Goldesberry Gallery Metal Arts Invitational

Opening this weekend:

Tapered Roman Chain

I knew how time consuming making a tapered Roman chain would be when I started this project, but I REALLY wanted to use one in a piece I was making. I spent more money than I intended on different gauges of fine silver wire; there was nothing I could do but dig in!


Divided sections of fused loops, ranging from 22g-18g wire, using dowels of varied sizes.


A close up of the tiniest loops.


The tiniest loops compared to a penny. I thought these would be the most difficult to weave, but I soon found that the thicker the gauge, the more difficult it was to weave. It hurt my arm and killed my fingers!


A month later, the finished product! 24" long! Yessss!


When I was finished, I realized the piece I had originally intended to use the Roman Chain for was too small for such a bulky chain! I have yet to make something that will not be overpowered by the chain.

The Hideout Opens Tonight!

These guys are f-ing fantastic. That's all I have to say.

Oh Nancy take one from VAI GARFO on Vimeo.

Oh Nancy take two from VAI GARFO on Vimeo.

Baby Spoon! Grrrrr!

Black Pillow

MT WASHINGTON

On Colombus Day, some buddies and I hiked Mt. Washington! I hate to say it, but thank god there was shelter on the top!

To Bead or not to Bead?

Here is a piece I had been working on for most of the summer. The coral I bought at Shell World in Key West, the quartz from Santa Fe. The beads, well, at a gem show, but I questioned whether to use beads or not. Most of the summer I spent contemplating these mother of pearl beads- would it take the attention away from the gems? Would it de-value my work? Would it make my work looks cheesy? I'm still wondering....

Another Show About Plastic:

The Plastic Show opens tomorrow at Velvet da Vinci in San Francisco. There is an artist reception from 6-8 pm.
Here are some of my favorite pieces in the show (actually, a lot of them are pretty amazing- check out the show page to see them all):


Jantje Fleischhut



Ela Bauer



Josephine Winther



Iris Bodemer

Brookline Arts Center Jewelry Show

Currently on view at the Brookline Arts Center is work by the jewelry teachers: Karenna Maraj, Heather Wang, and myself! Stop by to see some of my brand new work, and the work of other great teachers at BAC. The Brookline Arts Center is a small, community arts center that was once a firehouse! They offer a wide range of classes; pottery, kids classes, metalsmithing, batik, painting, etc.


There are still openings in my metalsmithing classes! It's not too late to sign up! I'll be teaching Mondays, Tuesdays, and Fridays, 6:30-9:30pm. I'll also be teaching kids metalsmithing classes from 3:30-5:30 on Mondays and Tuesdays.
Just visit http://www.brooklineartscenter.com, or call 617-566-5715 to sign up. Classes start next week.

Openings Can Be Fun.

They've always made me feel a little uncomfortable...
But at Gallery Loupe and Michele Mercaldo Jewelry I had a nice time!


Transmutations at Gallery Loupe.


Gallery Loupe



Linked at Michele Mercaldo Jewelry

Opening at Michele Mercaldo!

Tomorrow night, from 6-8pm:

Transmutations at Gallery Loupe

Transmutations opens at Gallery Loupe in Montclair, New Jersey next week. I'll be attending the opening (I hope!) on June 26.

Here is the ad from this month's Metalsmith Magazine:


page 9

Salt Medal and Off-White Gems

A few more new pieces:

Diamond Pillow

This is a new brooch I made with copper, enamel, acrylic, and silver. Ashley and I took the picture, and we think we've got that "glow" downpat!

Jewelry Pics with Ashley Vick

A few weekends ago, I tagged along with Ashley Vick to the gem show in Marlboro. We waded through crowds of middle aged, bead frenzied women, and Ash was able to find these raw gems that were cut into cabichons. A week later, she came up with this beautiful jewelry. Since she wanted pictures of the jewelry before her craft show at Worcester Center for Crafts, and didn't have the time and money to blow on a professional photographer, I told her I'd give her a hand. We were pretty pleased with the outcome- It's amazing what you can do with rice paper, lots of tape, black plexiglass, a blue light, and a Canon Powershot point and shoot (and beautiful jewelry, of course!!!!!). You can visit her website and purchase her jewelry online at: www.filomenademarcojewelry.com, or you can see her in person at the Sowa Open Market on June 20. Check her website for upcoming shows, stores, and news.

Here are the pics:

Transmutations

Transmutations opens today at Facere Jewelry Art Gallery in Seattle! The lecture is today at 4pm, and the reception is at 5pm. To see the show and buy pieces online, click here.

Elissa Paquette

Calico at Heir


Elissa


Heir

Elissa Paquette- fashion extraordinaire in New Bedford, and now in Providence! Elissa's fabulous shop, Calico, which carries hand-picked vintage and designer goods, is located at 173 Union st. in New Bedford. If you can't make it to New Bedford, try Providence! She has just aquired a space in the antique store Heir, calling it a "micro-boutique". I can't wait to see it next time I visit Providence! Heir is located at 231 Westminster st. in Providence, RI. Oooo, and for some fashion insight, visit Elissa's blog.

EXTREME BEAUTY

"Extreme Beauty," a show curated by Kim Cridler, will be opening on March 5 for the 2010 SNAG conference, "Going to Extremes". I am so excited to be a part of this show- the artists participating are some of my all-time favorite metalsmiths. I nearly died when I saw the artist list. Kim Cridler did a fabulous job choosing metalsmiths whose work I wholly admire. The show represents 23 artists from 8 countries, showcasing work that questions and interprets beauty. Here are some of my favorite artists participating:



Lauren Kalman



Karl Fritsch



Andrea Wagner



Anya Kivarkis



Exhibition blurb by Kim Cridler:
Extreme Beauty features contemporary makers who pursue beauty and adornment through metalsmithing, jewelry and site-specific body works. The quest for beauty involves complimentary and contradictory approaches: dogged compulsion, alchemic-like processes, curiosity, joyfulness, and the simple desire to honor. But beauty is also at times bizarre, shrouded in our anxieties about the deceitful, and at times so longed for that it mutates into the grotesque. Works included in this exhibition engage a range of approaches from the devotional act of replication, to works that assume a critical or historical assessment of the problematic nature of beauty.

TRANSMUTATIONS: Material Reborn

This week, Transmutations: Material Reborn, curated by Susan Kasson-Sloan, opens at the Houston Center for Contemporary Craft. The opening is January 15, and the show will be on view until March 21. I am really excited to be a part of this show, and I hope to catch it when it comes to Gallery Loupe.
Here are a few images from some of my favorite artists participating:


Jantje Fleischhut (please check out her website- her work and the photography is incredible)


Masumi Kataoka


Rebecca Hannon.

After Houston, Transmutations will travel to Facere Jewelry Art Gallery in Seattle, WA. Dates: May 5-May 24.
After Facere, the show will travel to Gallery Loupe, in Montclair, NJ.