Another new avenue on my map

 

I've taught my first jewellery workshop.  Phew!  And Yay!  "Pierced and Soldered Ring Bands" was hosted by Peyton Barrett and her family at their studios in Sandy Point.  What a beautiful setup they have there.  Bright and spacious, with different workrooms for different tasks, as well as a little retail shop.  We were made to feel most welcome there, and she cooked for us too!  Divine! 

In terms of the workshop, I do believe it was a successful experience for everyone.  This was my first experience teaching adults, and I found it far less stressful than teaching kids.  I've only done that in a very limited capacity, but remember feeling utterly drained during and afterwards!  Adults are much better at intuitive self-directed learning.  I think I managed to help everyone in some way, even those who were somewhat familiar with the techniques I was showing them.  So that was rewarding.  You can see the fruits of our labours in the photo at the top.  I will make a few adjustments to my lesson plan if I teach it again, but the aspect I was most concerned about: the pacing, was pretty close to accurate for the time we had allotted for the workshop.   I think the time and planning I put into this first lesson plan were well worth it.   

A huge thank-you to my "guinea pig" class, you were most agreeable and hard-working!  And of course to Pete for getting the ball rolling in so many ways.  

Now I must more thoroughly tackle the lesson plan for my next workshop at the Anna Templeton Centre, "Piercing and Riveting"...  

 

Oh, this must be why I did that MUN certificate.

I started taking distance education courses at Memorial University a few years ago, when I was still working full-time as a welder, to earn my Certificate in Post-Secondary Education.  Jewellery was still a part-time activity for me then, and I had a vague idea that I might teach welding one day.  But my passions shifted over the years, and now jewellery is what keeps my creative juices flowing on a daily basis.  I kept plugging away at my certificate, however, since I'm not one to leave loose ends dangling and I completed it last year.  Now, with people asking on occasion if I could please show them how to do this or that jewellery skill, I've decided to put together a couple of lesson plans for beginning techniques in metalworking for jewellers.

At the top of my blog you'll notice I've added a new tab: Workshops.  So far, I've got three coming up for this spring.  The first is in Sandy Point, and will be a great weekend of ring-making, hosted by the effervescent Pete Barrett.  (Oh, you'll die for her "flummies", so delicious!)  She can arrange billeting if you're not sure where to stay in Central.  The second (already sold out!) and third workshops are being hosted by the Anna Templeton Centre in downtown St. John's.  A wonderfully historic building, bound to get your creativity flowing, as we make pierced and riveted pendants, earrings, and keychains (hint hint, now that's something a fellow might like to make isn't it?).  Click on the Workshop tab to get all the registration details for each. 

As an avid workshop junkie myself, I love seeing the varied results when students are provided with the same skills and materials.  We each bring such personal interpretation to our creative practice, and I'm so excited to be able to provide a bit of a basis for those who want to see what jewellery-making has to offer.

Unplugged

The internet is great.  I love how much inspiration and knowledge is at my fingertips.  However it sucks my time up in an increasingly addictive way.
For me, the morning is my best time for accomplishing creative things.  But too often lately I've let that niggling voice in my head that tells me to just check my email, to see if there's any new messages on Facebook, or to pop in to the discussion forum with my etsy team, win the first part of my day.  And "suddenly" the morning is gone.  The afternoon then coerces me into getting out of the house, and before I know it, the day is gone, and nothing creative has been accomplished.
So last week was a necessary and welcome intervention.  We fled the city and it's conveniences of internet for some cross-country skiing and a bit of ice-fishing, with only the occasional access to internet when we chose to drive into town for other necessary things, like food.  
Aaah, what an elixir.  The plentiful fresh air and the freedom to work on some wire trees, as well as an owl sketch for a piece of jewellery that was, hitherto, stuck in my head, was blissful indeed.

Repurposing the long-gone railroad.

Every 10 yards or so, coyote did the soft-shoe.

In progress.

And now that I'm back in the city, it is my determined goal to not succumb to the Siren call of the computer in the mornings, and get right down to some tangible creative endeavor.

Digging Out!

   We're buried in snow today, but I've been busy doing digging of a different sort.  Tomorrow, myself, Jason Holley, and Alexis Templeton are having a SALE!!!  I just love doing group things like this, it's going to be SO MUCH FUN!  (apologies to those that find CAPITAL letters offensive!)


I've gone through ALL of my jewellery, not just the stuff that stands cohesively-well together in a craft fair setting, and I've found some pieces that maybe are just the only one that's left, or maybe it was the only one that I made in the first place.  Items that I'm really quite pleased with, but they're having trouble finding a home because they look lonely in a craft fair display, where many items of similar style stand together, and these items stand apart.

 SALE at Alexis Templeton's Studio! 75 Quidi Vidi Rd. 11am-6pm



AND, with the excitement of having this event approaching, I've been motivated to work on two new Crystalline Collaborative pieces.  One of which I've been pondering for some time, and the other of which I thought I knew my plans for, and as I tackled it, they changed entirely. 

At right is a stunning example of Alexis' talent with crystalline glazing.  A very gentle blue, with the crystal splashed across the cabochon from one side.  I had planned to incorporate a whale into the design of this piece.  I even crafted a whale tale shaped bail for it.  But after much thought it just didn't feel or look right.  The balance was off somehow, and so the whale bail waits for another pendant.  Instead, I used reticulated silver and where the cabochon cuts into the silver, the outline of the crystal completes the interrupted circle.

The Butterfly Brooch was determined to come about exactly as I pictured it in my mind from the start.  The shape of the crystal on this cabochon could be nothing other, in my mind, than butterfly wings.  Being so set on the design, however, led me on a much longer journey to complete it than I had anticipated!  And it used a lot more silver than I had expected.  But I'm ultimately pleased with the result.  The only alteration I made from my original idea was to leave out the antenna I'd planned to attach to his head.  I felt they were too fragile a component to be practical.


So these two new pieces will make their public debut tomorrow at Alexis' studio as well.  I hope you can make the journey down to have a look and let me know what you think of them.

Resuming normal flight pattern.

 

The holiday season is over, and on the cusp of 2012 I feel a greater sense of the direction that I've been cultivating over this past year.  One year ago, I was diving into my studies in Haliburton, and launching this blog.  Now, as I return home from a festive break with family, I expected the dreaded dead period of winter sales revenues to allow me to tackle some new ideas that have been percolating, as well as catch up on some production of wire trees, but, as it turns out, those will have to wait.  A couple of customers have surfaced, and I haven't even been home a week!  It is very affirming.  I feel grateful to have made this choice to shift my life in such a creative and rewarding direction.  Wishing everyone the best for 2012, onward and upward...

A busy weekend for most

This weekend there are a lot of crafters opening their studios up to the public for some pre-Christmas context to the artistic pieces they create.  I'd thought about having one myself, but I feel far too scattered this year, to do a nice job of it.  I'd like to feel prepared for such an endeavor, and right now I feel like I'm just keeping my head above water, dog-paddling towards the post-Christmas season, when I envision I will start to feel the solid earth beneath my feet again.  Such is the life of a crafter, I suppose, and yet others are organized enough to host open studios on top of all the craft fair commitments, orders, and other festive obligations that crowd our lives.  Next year, I will participate in this weekend of open studios.  There.  I've written it down for the world to see.  (eeek!)  There will be gingersnaps.

SO, if you are about town this weekend, Dec. 3rd & 4th, here are a few places you might choose to poke your head in and see what's happening:

Charlottestreet Clothing  Saturday, 1-5pm, 20 Barnes Rd.
Alexis Templeton Studio 's "Glorious Goblets" Event, Fri 7-9, Sat & Sun 11-6, 75 Quidi Vidi Rd.
Running The Goat Press Saturday & Sunday, 10-4pm, 8 Mullock St.

Other great stops on your studio explorations this December might be:
Blue Moon Pottery Tuesday - Saturday, 10-6 (Saturdays in Dec. are tax-free!), 17 Outer Battery Rd.
Leyton Gallery of Fine Art New Works for Christmas exhibit, Dec 3-24, Tues-Sat 11-5pm, 6 Clift's-Baird's Cove.  Here's a fine example of new work by Philippa Jones, who's work was very poetically reviewed in The Telegram:

"Life's not a walk in the park with you, but I like the wilderness", by Phillipa Jones

These are just a few of my favourite's, but if you look, you'll find talented local artisans tucked into most nooks and cranny's of this fine city. 

Next weekend is the annual Anna Templeton Tea and Sale.  I will have a booth of my jewellery on the second floor.  The fair runs Friday December 9th, 12-9pm, and Saturday the 10th, 10-5pm.  I'm so excited to be participating this year!  There's no better festive atmosphere to get the Christmas spirit singing inside you than this mash-up of talented craftspeople, yummy treats, all in a beautiful historical building.  There are booths on three (!!!) floors this year!  It's stupendous! Here's a sneak peak of the tortoises that will be accompanying me to the fair.  I had thought they were turtles, but they patiently informed me that turtles would have flippers, or at least flipper-like feet with claws, whereas they clearly do not.  So in the company of the tortoises, as well as a new herd of sheep, and a couple new Crystalline Collaboration pieces, you will find me on the second floor of the Anna Templeton Centre December 9th and 10th!

The vigor returns.

The recovery time after a craft fair is shockingly long.  I have slowly come back to my bench in the last few days, and focused my energy on doing something.  But it has felt forced.  Today, however, the tides have turned, and I feel invigorated by new ideas and inspirations.  I happily blame this on the snow that was blanketing the world when I awoke this morning.  (Just yesterday I bought new winter boots!)  The crispness of the wintery air was exhilarating.  After spending the morning working on jewellery, it was out into the world we ventured.  First to The Bookery which was having another 30% off day as it slowly (sadly) fades into nonexistence.  Snapped up a novel and book on owls that I can't wait to settle down to read.  Then on to Devon House to partake of the open house event accompanying the opening of the Comfort and Joy Show.  Very neat Kitchen Party scene in the works of Kevin Coates carvings.  Just a few carvings in the "kitchen" just now, but as we draw nearer to Devon House's 20th anniversary, more carved figures will arrive to share in the celebration.  Drop by between now and then and have a look, and even place a bid on this exquisite silent auction collection.

Home again and back at my bench I got to work making fleece for a new flock of sheep pins, since I sold out of the last (and first!) ones at the Craft Fair.  It's nice to have hit a popular nerve with this idea.  I've got plans for turtles next...  and squirrels and foxes and owls and and and..... !

The excitement of fresh ideas is tempered somewhat by the news of Nova Scotia College of Art & Design's struggles as of late.  Although I've never attended (yet!) it is shocking to think that an institution that offers such a diverse range of professional art and craft skills training could be in jeopardy.  If you value the vitality that a growing community of local craftspeople brings to your community, please take the time to sign this petition to help governments understand that these hands-on programs are valued in our post-secondary educational system.  keep-nscad-university-intact-and-independent