All right Mr. De Mille, I'm ready for my close-up....

Me...23 lbs. lighter and a new do!!

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Beads and brass and bronze and bone.....

Oh My!!

Plugging away in the studio.  I'll break on Saturday to pull out all of my show supplies and figure out if I have everything I need to set up my booth.  Last year I was determined to make fabric side walls for my booth.  How could a year go by and I not get this done?  So the tent walls will go back up this year.  I'm going to look at getting sheers to hang up over them to give the booth a softer look....then maybe in 2011 I will find the time to make the fabric side walls....Yeah...Right. 

Then it will be back to production.  Why do I never think I have enough jewelry for a show?  There is always that little voice saying....make more...make more. 

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17 days to the show....

and I'm spending most my free time in the studio.  This weekend was no exception.  I never get as much done as I imagine I can.  There's always other things to take care of...cleaning, cooking, laundry...that get in the way.

Plus I have a short attention span.  I can work for 4-5 hours and then I have to go do something else.  I'm even like that when I take classes.  If it lasts too long or doesn't have enough variety....I loose focus.  l'm surprised I can do my day job since it's pretty much the same thing everyday.  I have to admit there are times when I want to let out a blood-curdling scream.  But I digress...

Here are a few pics of the weekend's work....

Coin Necklaces

Organic beads, bone, brass, and bronze

I have about 12 of these with all different focal beads

Battle shield with bone, brass, glass and an African coin

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Class Pic...

I lifted this from Jen Cabic's blog.  I never have pics of me in the classes that I take.  So here is one....with my typical eye's wide shut look...LOL

Mary Ann, Cathy, and me.  Noreen in the background

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Organics

Great organic beads...again from Joanne Zekowski

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Cuniform Necklaces

Our Day with Robert

My piece....I just finished watching The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency filmed in Botswana.

Yesterday was spent with Robert Dancik. There were 12 of us in class. A fun bunch to be sure!! This was the third class I've taken with Robert. Working with the Faux Bone was fun and I did tube rivets for the first time. Funny to think of some of the common techniques that I've never tried. Robert had me use an eyelet setter to start the flaring of the rivet. It worked really well.

 From front to back...Cathy, Mary Ann, Jen, and Robert in the background...all enjoying the day.

Robert demoing for the group 

Jen

Cathy sawing with such a big smile...I told her she looked much to serious and she started laughing. 

 Another demo.  Using a tin can as a bracelet mandrel for the faux bone.

The group and below is some of the work

 One of the coolest pieces is this bracelet made by Pat.  It is Faux Bone with alcohol inks used for the colors.

New necklaces

I threw in bone and glass and bronze and more glass to make necklaces.  The real genius of these necklaces are Joanne Zerkowski's beads. 
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All shined up....

The pics don't show all the detail (I need a better camera) but you get the idea.  I still like to cut gashes in the shields.  I will mend them with leather lacing.  I think of these as battle shields for the warrior in all of us.
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Primitive Bead Pendants

Beads by Joanne Zerkowski of Z Beads.  She is not on-line.  She can only be found at bead shows.  I ran into twice this year...in Santa Fe at Beadfest and Milwaukee at Bead and Button.  She makes these fabulous organic primitive looking beads.  These fall into my "lickable" category. 
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Bronze...I just can't quit you

I haven't worked in silver in over a year.  I'm just to synced into the bronze.  I'm still working in the original too.  The colors keep me working in original.  Yesterday as I worked in the studio there were a lot of thoughts going through my head about the things I've heard about metal clay's other than silver. 

I've heard people complain about the bronze...it's messy, it takes to long to fire, blah, blah, blah.  Some have even gone as far as to say it isn't really a metal like a sheet bronze, it's not strong, you can't forge it. 

Well...it's not sheet metal.  Neither is silver PMC.  It's different.  Just like acrylics aren't oils aren't watercolors.  They are all different forms of paint.  And strength....I've been wacking the crap out of it all weekend long and it's forging beautifully.  Messy....yes it's messy.  The fast fire bronze is cleaner...but still messy. 

I was enjoying myself yersterday working at the bench.  I was thinking about various other art forms and the inherent messes that are associated with each one.  My only conclusion was.....put your Big Girl panties on and deal....or go do something else. 

That had me laughing all afternoon.

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I was about to conquer the world but got distracted by something shiny....

I missed class tonight because I had to work late but the upside was that Lou and I went to the Moosehead Saloon for a late dinner.  He's travelling off and on so we have to catch time together when we can. 

It also gave me a chance to finish hand polishing the pieces in the picture.  I kept thinking that I should just throw this stuff in the tumbler but I don't want to lose the color....especially in the cuniform pieces.

 I'll be busy in the studio again this weekend....which is fine by me.  I still have at least 2 loads to prep for the kiln...more pieces parts and some medallions and shields.  Plus I have an idea for incorporating some leather into the pieces that I want to try out.  Too many ideas and not enough time.

Ahhh...if only I didn't have to work the day job....the jewelry that I could make.   Hey...Bill Gates, Warren Buffet...don't you have a spare million I could have.  I mean you can only do so much with your 50 billion dollars.  Really....you wouldn't even miss a million.  I'd give you free jewlery...LOL.
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Studio Weekend

This weekend was the best kind of weekend.....no plans except to spend time in the studio.  I put some necklaces together.  Carved some bronze connectors that are now in the kiln and worked through another 200 grams of bronze with some new tear-aways.

The November show will be here soon so I wll be spending a lot of time in the studio between now and then. 
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