The Enamelist Society Conference

I just returned from The Enamelist Society Conference at Arrowmont in Tennessee. What a wonderful experience it was! I will tell a little bit about it now, but will have to share more later in the week since I have tons of pictures to go through, and need time to gather my thoughts.

I was pleased and honored to be included in the Alchemy exhibition which opened during the conference, and will also be showing at the Metals Museum in Memphis and the Knoxville Museum of Art. I recieved a travel grant through ASU and a scholarship from the Enamelist Society to attend the conference, which was also a real honor. The exhibition was amazing to see, with so many incredible pieces from many different artists! It was so nice to see so many enamel pieces in one show together, and how everyone approaches enamel work in different ways.

Before going to the conference, I was a little nervous about going somewhere I had never been for a week where I didn't know anyone. But I'm really glad I did! Everone was really friendly and approachable, and I met many wonderful people who I enjoyed talking to, and hope to keep in contact with and see the work they produce in the future!

The week was packed with presentations, breakout sessions, auctions, workshops, and incredibly delicious food. My stay at Arrowmont began with a workshop with the incredible Ricky Frank, who taught me so much in 3 days! His work is amazing! I especially love his abstract landscapes, and the mermaids he does! (I'm a sucker for mermaids)

I had a great time, and will share more in the next few days. Another bit of exciting news is that I will be teaching torch fired enameling this week and next week at Harold Studio. It will be great, especially since I'm all hyped up about enameling after the conference!

New production pieces

It's been awhile since I've posted anything, so I just wanted to give a quick view of the newest production pieces that I posted in my etsy shop. These will probably be the last etsy pieces I will post for awhile, since school is starting up again, and my schedule is going to be crazy! I am very excited to start teaching this fall though! I will be teaching a Beginning Metals class at ASU. It should be a lot of fun!

Here are some of the pieces I posted (or will be posting later today) on etsy!

Summer Work

The summer is quickly passing by! Here are a couple of things I have been working on this summer. I'm hoping to have at least two more finished before the new semester starts (if everything goes as planned). This has been my first summer in grad school, and it's been a great time to work in a quiet studio with little distractions and reflect on what I'm doing. Lets hope these next few weeks are productive!



Brooch - Copper, silver, garnets, plexi glass, patina

Series of brooches - Copper, reticulated brass, silver,

enamel (transparent enamel undernearth liquid enamel), garnets

Terrain

This piece is titled "Terrain" and is a neckpiece I finished awhile ago, but finally photographed. The layers and line work in the piece are inspired by geological sediment layers, while the shapes and colors in the enamel are reminicent of microscopic organisms. A lot of my work lately has been about miscroscopic images, with the idea of taking a closer look at the world around us.

The neckpiece is made of copper, brass, silver, cloisonne enamel and peridots.

I also have a bit of exciting news! One of my enamel pieces was accepted into the International Juried Student Exhibition in conjuction with The Enamelist Society Conference. It is a traveling exhibition that will show on the following schedule:

September 9 - October 29, 2011 at the Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, Gatlinburg, TN

November 14, 2011 to January 13, 2012 at the Knoxville Museum of Art, Knoxville, TN

February 6 to March 23, 2012 at the Metals Museum, Memphis, TN

Here is the brooch that will be exhibited in the show:

And......

I recieved a scholarship to attend the conference and a workhop at Arrowmont!!! I am so excited!

I Am

Yesterday I watched the documentary film I Am at The Loft Cinema in Tucson. It is a very uplifting and inspiring film about the truth of human nature and the fact that we all connected to one another and to the world. It is directed by Tom Shadyac, director of comedy films such as Ace Ventura, Bruce Almighty, Liar Liar and The Nutty Professor.

In I Am, Shadyac speaks with thinkers in science, academia, philosphy and theology to find the truth about what is wrong with the world and what we can do to fix it. What he presents in the film turns out to be much more positive than I had expected from these questions. I highly recommend seeing this film if you have the chance!

Model shots of my work

I am applying for the MJSA scholarship, so I needed images of some of my work on a model. The model is Stephanie Passantino, and the photographer is Tiffiney Yazzie. They both did an excellent job! I'm very happy with the images!

Earrings and Fossils

Here are my latest pieces that will soon be listed on Etsy! They are all post earrings, made with sterling silver and enamel over a textured surface.

Two fossil pendants:

I love fossils! I got these fossils a while ago and finally had the time to make something with them! The first one is an agatized dinosuar bone that I bought from a woman selling stones at our school. The design in the stone is amazing. I have another red one that hopefully I'll be able to make something with soon.

The second pendant shown below is a fossil that I bought from the Geology Club at ASU. They were not able to tell me the fossil is called, but told me that it is some sort of ocean creature. If anyone knows, I would love to find out what it is!

Dinosuar bone fossil

Ocean fossil (not sure what it's called)