I am very very excited!  I received 3rd place at this past weekend's Lake Ridge Winery Art Show.  There are 80-100 vendors and only 3 awards so I feel very honored.  Apparently they select the winners based on feedback from the visitors so that is really special!

Congratulations to the 22nd Annual
Harvest Festival Arts & Craft Show Winners!

Thank you for making The 22nd Annual Harvest Festival Arts & Craft Show a great success! Despite Mother Nature not cooperating at times, we received a lot of great feedback about the event AND all of you! We usually announce the show winners on Sunday, but because we were washed out, here is the official announcement:
1st Place:
#56/57 Eddie Meyers, Mixed Media Art
2nd Place:
#69 Bill Squires, Copper Art
3rd Place:
#59/60 Debbie Stillman, Silver & Clay Jewelry
Honorable Mention:
#85 Carlos Campusano, Latex Flower Arrangements

Kind of been behind on doing posts but now that the Lake Ridge show is past and I don't have another show until the Caladium Art Festival (click here! http://www.lpfla.com/caladium.htm
I have lots of time to create new pieces so check back often to see what is cooking in my kiln or being carved on my silversmith bench :-)

Courage enough to experiement

Woo Hoo!! My experiment worked! I wanted to sculpt combining copper & bronze clay but the properties & firing are so different that I wasn't sure if it was possible. So I made these cute houses with a copper backplate & then using copper paste that I made I attached the roof, chimney, door & window made from bronze. I waited impatiently for 5 hours as they sat in the Kiln during the firing process.....held my breath as I removed them from the kiln and had a Cheshire cat grin on my face when I realized it worked! Now I can create pieces combining copper & bronze without soldering. Awwww, I so love it when another door opens into the world of creating.

(Sorry the pic is sideways.  For some reason I could not get it to rotate.....dumb computer!)

New Toys!!

My world of what I can create has just exploded!! In addition to bronze clay, silver clay & copper clay, I now have added Rose Bronze clay, Pearl Grey Steel Clay, White Bronze Clay & Steel Clay to my palette.  Best of all, I can fire these clays (under certain conditions) together in addition to soldering.  Can't wait to start experimenting.....stay tuned....

From This....

An idea in my head drawn into my sketch book, then a blob of PMC silver clay that I transformed into an intricate pendant, added a beautiful man-made Opal set into a custom made bezel..then time passing while I wait for the inspiration of how to make it wearable.

To This....

A touch of Blue Sky Jasper, Swarovski Crystals & Silver chain and now my one-of-a-kind piece is born into a wearable work of art.