Yuma Art Symposium 2012

A couple of weeks ago I went to the Yuma Art Symposium with the ASU crew, and it was a lot of fun! I saw some great speakers, hung out with some fun people, and saw some great art!

This year the ASU grad students and our professor Becky McDonah collaborated on trophies for the National Saw, File and Solder Relay Race. This is what we made! Jackalopes! Totally awesome! We also made one for the auction.

The ASU team won 3rd place in the Saw, File and Solder Relay Race! And we won our trophies, so the jackalopes were able to come back home with us!

The ASU gang

At a gorilla art show that Bob Ebendorf and Kat Cole put together! This was so much fun to see! They both do found object work, and they created an impromptu art show in someone's backyard with all of their findings from the area.

Here are all the trophies that were made by different schools (including ours). Everyone did an amazing job. 

Marlene True giving a demo on making a tin box.

Marlene True drinking a beer while giving a demo. Hilarious!

There were great metalsmiths who spoke this year including Bob Ebendorf, Helen Shirk and Marlene True. It was really interesting to hear Bob Ebendorf talk about his work, since I had never heard him speak about it before. We also went to some antique stores, and ate great Mexican food while we were there! Can't wait to go again next year!

Wedding rings

My sister got married over the weekend, and I made the wedding rings for her and her new husband! They are both made of sterling silver, and the bride's band has three flush set blue sapphires. I'm happy to say that they both love their rings! 

Mokume brooch

New piece! Mokume game with copper and nickel, copper, enamel and decal.

I also wanted to announce that the Metals Club at ASU will be having a jewelry sale next week! Come by  and support the Metals Club! We'll have great gifts for Valentine's Day!

This weekend there will also be a trunk show at the ASU Art Museum that Katie Poterala will be participating in. Go and check it out! February 4, 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

Paulette Werger Workshop

So, I'm really late in writing about this, but a couple of weeks ago I had the opportunity to participate in a workshop by Paulette Werger in Tucson, through Arizona Designer Craftsmen. The workshop was titled "Making Your Mark" and we learned a number of ways to to make your own mark on metal. It was a pleasure meeting Paulette. She is very friendly, knowledgable and helpful. Most of the techniques were ones that I've done, but it was interesting to see the different ways in which she does them, so I still learned a lot.

On the first day we did etching. Something I hadn't really thought about before was etching on brass plates to use for texturing metal in the rolling mill. As long as you don't apply too much pressure, you can use the plates 50-60 times. Another interesting thing was the way in which she sets up her etching bath. The metal turned out to have a much cleaner etch than the way that I had been doing it. Instead of laying the metal upside down, suspend with tape, she had the metal sitting vertically, and had a bubbler from a fish tank agitating the acid.

Paulette giving a demo on different ways to apply a resist for etching

Container for acid

Etching outside

Paulette also talked a lot about using argentium silver, which I had never used, but will definitely be trying out. She fuses all of her argentium, so there's almost no cleanup! That's always something to aspire for!

The keum boo was what I was most excited about learning during Paulette's workshop! I had tried it once before, but wasn't entirely successful with it, so it was great to see her process. For those of you who don't know, keum boo is a Korean technique in which 24k gold foil is fused onto fine silver, or the other way around. The gold is applied to the silver through heat and friction, by burnishing the gold onto the silver over a hot plate. Paulette makes her own keum boo foil, which is thicker than commercial foil, and you can certainly see the difference. I managed to roll down my gold to the right thickness during the workshop, but now I need to finish the rest of the process. 

Upcoming Exhibitions

There are a couple of exhibitions coming up that I want to share. The first is the 33rd Annual Contemporary Crafts show. The opening will be this Friday from 6-8 p.m., and it is at Mesa Contemporary Arts. I have a piece in the show, and I'm looking forward to seeing all the exciting work that will be there! The show will be up until March 30.

Another exhibition coming up is at the Sky Harbor International Airport. The exhibition is titled Metals and More and will be in Terminal 3 in cases on Level 3, West Mezzanine (near the Starbucks), before you have to get through security. This show will be up from February 3 through October 12. I will have two pieces in the show, which I'm thrilled about!

I also wanted to announce that there will be a trunk show at the ASU Art Museum, in which my friend Katie Poterala will be participating. It will be on Saturday February 4 from 11:00 a.m to 3:00 p.m. Go and support local artists at this first time event!

Torch Fire Enameling Workshop

Last weekend I taught a workshop at Harold Studio on torch fire enameling. It was a lot of fun, and the students were picking up the techniques really quickly! They were full of creative energy and they made some great sample pieces during the two days we had! Here are some of the enamel pieces that were made during the workshop.

Knoxville Museum of Art

My work is being sold in the Knoxville Museum of Art Gift Shop! They are now carrying some of my enamel pendants and earrings. The museum also is currently showing Alchemy, the traveling exhibition by the Enamelist Society.

I also wanted to show a commission piece I did recently, which was inspired by the brooches I had recently made. It's made with copper, nickel and silver, and has a magnifying camera lens with layers of pierced metal, enamel and garnets on the inside.

Happy New Year to everyone!