A new Collection is Born

While traveling to a show in Coquina Beach earlier this month, I had a thought of how cool it would be to sculpt a dragon using PMC.  I wanted a dragon that looked friendly, not mean or nasty.  According to my research, Chinese Dragons are friendly, smart, helpful, protective and all others are cunning, mean, egotistical so my dragon is definitely a Chinese Dragon. While hubby was driving I pulled out my sketch pad and was rewarded with a dragon that I would want to call a friend.

As I was sketching my dragon I thought it would be cool to do a collection of mystical creatures like more dragons, Fairies, etc.  So here is the first of my collection I am calling "Marvels of Mythology"

I sculpted my dragon in PMC3 Fine Silver and spent many hours carving in the detail.  The "stone" he is holding is covered with 22K gold and I achieved the rest of the color using a patina that was a combination of liver of sulfur & ammonia.  He measures 1.5 inches wide by 1.75 tall.

 Here is my original sketch.  I dreamed of him on 1/12/13 and I finished him on 1/26/13.  What's next?  I see a Fairy in my future.

My Mobile Studio in the middle of Nature

Hubby and I decided that since there was just one week in between the Coquina Beach show & the show in Venice, to stay in a campground rather than driving home and then coming back.  Of course the challenge would be if I could be productive and create pieces without my home studio.  After very careful planning, making many lists, & buying some duplicate tools, I loaded my Kiln, 4 "tool" boxes, my PMC silver & Bronze/Copper clay kits and hoped for the best.

When we pulled into the campsite and saw we had a riverfront site, my fisherman's blood started pumping and I thought to myself the heck with making jewelry.  I'm gonna fish!!  I promptly told my husband to go to WalMart and buy me a fishing rod.  Fortunately he ignored me (after 25 years he has learned when and when not to do that).  I decided to set up my mobile studio and came to my senses and realized what I should be doing.  Luckily, creating my jewelry is as much fun as fishing so I don't feel deprived.  Yesterday I made 6 pairs of earring and right now I have a beautiful pendant and two more pair of earrings in the Kiln.

I couldn't ask for a more beautiful spot to be creating.  The mullet jump now & then, there is a Dove family that coos in the morning, and some amazing Hawks nesting on the other side of the river.  Hubby is doing the cooking, dishes & laundry so I am feeling pretty spoiled at the moment.

The Coquina Beach show was great and one I will definitely plan on doing next year.  Hopefully the Venice show will be just as good.  Now it's time to go back to my mobile work bench and start working on a Seahorse pendant & earrings.  Till next time...

Being where I love to be

I had to include a picture of me in my work space and at work as part of a show application so I decided to share it with my friends.  Ahhhhh, I so very much love all these toys & tools!

Defying Logic

How do I describe the month of November & December.  Stressful?  Exciting?  Stress-free?  Fun?  Challenging?  Unpredictable?  Predictable?  All of those things.

Despite the fact that I had three shows in November and two in December with travel involved, despite the fact that I lost two weeks in December with a root canal gone bad, despite the fact that I lost another week and a half with a nasty cold that popped up the night before a show, despite the fact that we hadn't really cleaned our house for 6 months but we had family coming from Washington State for a week over Thanksgiving, despite the fact that the two BIGGEST holidays over the year occur over 4 very short weeks, despite the fact that I didn't start my Christmas shopping until December 20th & with no idea of what to get anyone, & despite the fact that I was decorating my Christmas tree on Christmas EVE with a cap on my head because I finally had the time to color my hair, this holiday season was one of the better ones in my life.

I asked myself with all of the above, how can that be?  Thanksgiving and Christmas were actually stress free and sooooo much fun....how is that possible?

And then it dawned on me.  Family.  I spent an amazing week with my older son, daughter-in-law, and granddaughter over Thanksgiving and I got to celebrate my granddaughter's 16th birthday WITH her.  For Christmas my younger son flew in from Louisiana and despite the fact that he arrived a day late due to flight issues and that I only got 3 days with him, it was wonderful.  Being with my children & grandchild, who live so far away, over the holidays made all that "Murphy's Law Stuff" disappear as if none of it had happened.

I know that 2013 will be a great year because 2012 ended beyond my hopes and better than I could have ever expected.

Fantastic Birthday Gift - Best of Show!!!

I couldn't believe it when I was given the top award at the Winter Garden Art Festival.  There was only 3 awards for the entire show....First, Second & Third.  I never even thought I would get an award since jewelry is not always recognized by judges as art and when they came to present the award I was excited thinking is was third place.  But when they handed me First place I thought I was going to cry because this is the equivalent of Best of Show.  There was so much beautiful art there in pottery, oil paintings, wood working, etc etc.  I will continue to tingle for a long time every time I relive being handed an award like this.

The two judges and myself.

What a pretty ribbon!!!

Tucker - Bull Duram's Great x3 Grandson

At the Historic Cocoa Village show, I had a lovely lady commission me to make a horse pendant for her daughter.  The story behind why she wanted this piece is a wonderful one.  Her daughter rescued "Tucker" who was the famous Bull Durham's many times Great Grandson.  Remember the movie Secretariat.  Apparently when her daughter acquired Tucker, he was close to death because the people who owned him were elderly and could no longer care for him.  Over time her daughter has nursed Tucker back to health and although he still needs to gain another 70 pounds, he now has a loving home.

With a story like that, how could I not take great pleasure in creating this piece.  There were challenges, however.  Because I wanted some 3-D effect (the horse's mane & the grass were individual pieces), I had to take the torch to it 10 times with each time the risk of undoing a previous join or melting the piece a possibility.  But the metalsmithing "angels" were with me the whole time.  Below is a copy of my sketches & planning and then a copy of the finished piece.

I was so happy that Patti said the piece was exactly how she envisioned it and I so hope that her daughter will be pleased with it when she opens it on Christmas day.  Having someone get joy from my work is one of the top pleasures of doing what I do.

What an Honor

I feel very honored to have received First Place in the Jewelry category at the November 2012 Clermont Art Festival.