2026 before January ends First post

Silver prices outrageous! First time in 50 years of making jewelry I have wondered should I make this in silver? A real buzz kill for spontaneity,and experimentation. In the past I have felt comfortable looking at something I’ve made and knowing what the price should be. Now, I’m compelled to seriously calculate the cost of the materials. Since they are literally 4 times what they were a year ago. I’m speaking of silver, as it has started to feel like working in gold. I’ll figure it out, and my first show will tell me what direction to take. Should I be selective and make exclusive one of a kind pieces, or try to figure out a way to use less silver, more wire, open backs and cords instead of chains and let gemstone or enamel piece be the focus? Really what happens here, if you strive to keep things “affordable”, is your sale pays mostly for supplies, and you get less for your labor and design. At least that’s the way I see it. Having to reinvent the balance. My jewelry challenge for 2026.

Our January visit with both sons. Nice hike, It is so nostalgic and sentimental to have your family together. Due to working schedules, we always miss our foursome at Thanksgiving and Christmas. Maybe next year. Weather and flight delays changed our travel plans this time, but we enjoyed being together and did a lot of decluttering and sorting thru attic treasures. I’m on a mission to finally let go of things I/we don’t use.

all the memories , sorted thru stuffed animals, sports gear, books and even found our family photo from Christ Church.Hope to be done with this cleanup project by spring. All those random coins from the attic( took all day to sort and roll) will go to our travel fund for 2026, hopefully a trip out west and a trip to Europe.

Lots of testing and experimenting , every January I enamel, my transition back to the bench. Color and working with transparencies are challenging. Pretty pleased with the result, all of these are on copper, my last piece will be on fine silver. Sandra and Lillian are my enameling mentors. Enamel Ar Jam, “Strawberries and Cream”, rocks on. Finished set pieces to be complete by the end of January, piece 4 (final piece) will be done in February.

update from 2025

Trying to catch up and reignite my blog .As much as anything this blog is kinda like a diary for me. It reminds me of all I am grateful for . So wanted to add some of my highlights of 2025 I will try and get more regular for 2026.

Florence and Tuscany a trip Ill never forget.

North shore , tattered but still standing, what a year! Loved visiting Robin and Frank and seeing Patty Smith in Boston.

fruits of my gardening, bring me joy. heirloom mums and Meyer lemons

Cape Fear Community College student work.

Student work above, really good students, look forward to teaching and sharing the joy of jewelry making with more classes and a few workshops at Pullen and Sertoma Art Centers in Raleigh. I can’t believe silver is 91.$ an ounce today .Jan. 15 2026. Not sure how to navigate this. I had a great year with craft shows and commissions, and gallery sales. I like keeping my jewelry affordable. This year material prices will definitely be an unwelcome factor.

Sweet pendant commission

Last of the celestial series. Special commission with Alexanderite and aquamarine.

Sand dollars for Cissy, commission

The sky was on fire as we said goodbye to a favorite aunt.

taking it all in

try to get all four of us together once or twice a year.

George and I are doing great despite all the problems of our country right now. Hope to get to Raleigh to see those monks walking for peace. Gosh, I keep thinking things are going to turn around. One day at a time. This is us at 71 and 72. My friend Betsy visited and made me aware that this year, the class of 72, that’s me, will turn 72. How cool is that..We love keeping up with friends . Several have visited and I was lucky to spend time at John Campbell reconnecting with jewelry friends.George enjoyed a week at a photo workshop in NYC.

Summing it up, personally I had a great year. love my animals. The country had it rough, hoping liberty, freedomand democracy prevail. I hope to see those monks and do attend the protests. Gotta keep the faith that things will get better. Started my annual enamel art jam every January I love to enamel, this years theme for me is strawberries and cream. Any way off to the new year with new jewelry designs , the year of the horse, I hope to do an enamel of one. Lots of flowers and trying to stay positive. Cheers xox

been a while

So much new work, since retiring jewelry and doing shows are my focus.

sterling oxidized ring, I continue to teach and this was actually a class sample

getting geared up for enamel challenge, doing test strips for my subject which is joyful luminosity.

summer 2020

lots of walks and time spent outside

parks museum, yard and beach

2025

Jan

Joshua Tree, Go if you get the chance, an American treasure. I had no idea how beautiful this place would be. Palm Springs is also worth the visit, I started a birthstone challenge, January garnet being the first. The 6 garnet XOX band was popular with men and woman. I’m happy to do this as a custom order in any gemstone.I got busy and only got through April ,diamond, in the challenge. That being said I will start again in 2026 with May, emeralds. I like setting goals and challenges for myself. Right now updating my website is no.1 . I find the blog to be like a personal diary and am skipping thru 2025 and hoping to be more regular with posts in 2026.

2024 Paris

Such a fabulous 9 days. My first trip and it was so nice seeing so much art I had only seen in arthisory books. I was fascinated by the history of France and found the entire trip a visual delight.

New York

France

Such a fantastic trip. Began in Avignon, a charming medieval town within a wall. From there to explore a Roman aqueduct and see a 2000 year old tree.

First hike to the Abby, By way of olive trees, fields of lavender and a village of hand built borrows.Our fearless leader Emma from Van Gogh tours lead the way.

Our hike led us through villages and countryside with churches and remnants of farm equipment, and we did make it to the top of that ridge.

The trip to St. Remy and the Asylum where Van Gogh spent his last year painting was moving and interesting. We had watched the movie “At Eternity’s Gate “ by Julian Schnabel, which had been filmed at the Asylum which gave us some reference to the area and buildings. One of my favorite things was finding the spot where Van Gogh painted the painting “The Olive Trees”. The day before we had hiked to the mountain with the eye like openings. Another village we hiked to, through the mistral winds, housed the luminaries of Van Gogh’s retrospective of paintings projected on the walls of a huge Bauzite cave. The music playing during the last part of his life was a song by The Animals, “Don’t let me be misunderstood”. We both got a little choked up.

So many memories, the colors, the smells, the tastes, the air. Honestly this journey satisfied me on all levels, it was physically challenging, educational, cultural, social ,spiritual and entertaining . Looking forward to a return visit .

whew, that's all I can say.

This little cartoon became very important to me this year.  George suffered a very serious cardiac situation that forced us into future planning decision making, he retired, and suddenly our lives were supported with necessary medical intervention. You realize very quickly though your life as you know it has paused, life around you keeps on moving. Raleigh is growing like crazy, every where you look there is a construction site.
Finally getting home, from the hospital, the winter was cold and wet . Spring finally got here. Things became more normal. Work kept me grounded and it seemed like the little things were truly enough.
All the changes at home and work have been difficult for me to navigate.

I decided to set some goals for the year, a jewelry challenge helps me regroup, and the accountability keeps me focused. My goal was to make a body of work using my favorite tin. 5 months in and I'm trying new shapes and putting together some ideas I will be able to develop and replicate in other materials. I hope to see these colors and shapes in enameled pieces . There will be an exhibit of these pieces along with the other 5 Artists that are doing this challenge with me. 6x12=72




So all in all, I know how lucky George and I both are to have gotten through the first part of 2019. We are moving forward with things we weren't sure we would be able to do. He paints at Artspace daily, walks everywhere and started biking again..Im figuring out and finally settled in at Sertoma Art Center. Enjoyed a nice trip to the beach with family and pup. Baxter opted not to go.

Jojo's first swim in the sound, she is a natural, Dog walking in the neighborhood and on the many trails in the area remain a favorite activity.
Yep, taking charge and making decisions to enjoy the the ride.
Strut Show, my current obsession, probably the most involved event, I have done lately, started as an idea and grew into a reality, lots of team effort on this one.
Front yard reflecting , someone from Pullen gave me these Red Irises right before we closed, made me happy to see this bloom. Peering out through our maple tree. Grass is plenty green right here in my own front yard.

Life is good, lots of kind and supportive friends and family. A house full of animals and plenty of dreams and adventures to realize one day at a time.

Look Book

Look Book for 2019
Model Kendal Draper, Images Brian Sappie
New Year off to a good start with images using model. Necklaces, every day, casual and evening. Silver, Gemstones,Tin and enamel. One of my favorite aspects of making jewelry is completing the piece by seeing someone wearing it. Id like to think my jewelry is versatile and appeals to multiple generations.



December 2018 Reflections of spring summer fall and winter

So much fun meeting Great Niece Kora
Baxter and Baby JoJo



    Exhibition in Motion SNAG Inspiration for upcoming Strut  Runway Show of Extreme  Ornament
                                                      Japanese Garden Portland Oregon

Wrightsville Beach Summer Fun
Garnet and Eudialyte Pendant
Ilseboro Maine


Baxter on the Ball field


Ipswhich Salt Marshes

Lots of Cherry Tomatoes, Outsmarted the Squirrels
Maine Beauty
JoJo all grown up
Wildeness Weed in Glacier National Park
Fields of amber grains





December Snow
Happy Holidays
    New Work Looking Forward to what 2019 will bring








    winter-spring 2018 old news on to new


    Safe to say we have a full house ... Finally spring has sprung. New things happening, settling into all the changes 2018 has ushered in. Bean and Mitsie seem to get along little better. Baxter and JoJo are BFF. George and I keep on plucking away at painting and jewelry.


    said goodbye to my Subaro of 13 years got another one charcoal grey this time.


    Planted 50 tulip bulbs they were striking, First time with Bearded Iris.



    Visited Gregg Museum for some interesting art shows



    Seems a lot of things got broke and had to get fixed, teeth, appliances, cars... Did a good bit of decluttering, more to do. 

    Sertoma is finally starting to gel for me, semi retirement agrees with George.
    Because  my blog is a way for me to document these images I will put it up. Since Im picking up in December there is quite a gap. All in all 2018 has been a good year. Made some nice jewelry, traveled, saw old friends, tried to keep up with current friends and family.



    I 

    dec 2017, trying to start the ole blog up again. Last post of 2017.

    Central Park near Strawberry Fields.
    What a great trip. Saw so much art, jewelry, ate delicious food and walked, navigated subways. saw a play, enjoyed the Christmas store windows, decorations and the Rockerfeller
    Plaza Christmas tree.

     3 of my favorite pieces done this year. New Years Eve always a good time to reflect. Mostly looking forward. New ideas and directions for my work and my everyday life.
    That's about all that's left in my office. Starting 2018, I will be going to Sertoma Art Center everyday running a much smaller jewelry program. Mostly enameling, cold joining and alternative materials. I welcome the challenge, it will definitely be different. I have been working at Pullen for 20 years. I will miss being there but am excited about the new jewelry studio that will be the result of the renovation. I have been trying to teach myself enameling since that will be a focus of the new program.
    This was hard to do,
    a step up from sifting on a disc. Not sure what direction the enameling will go but I enjoy the process, the drawing, the color selecting, mostly the enamels are treated like gemstones set in my favorite design formats.



    This painting by David Hockney is such a great color pallet. Always looking around for ideas and inspirations in this department.
     this was summer : Wrightsville Beach

    fall : Shenandoah Valley
    spring : New Orleans




    Winter :NYC

    update.almost spring ,tho i started this in the fall of 2016

    Clearly November-Feb was a blur, if you erase politics. This blog never got posted. And since this blog is about jewelry and the things that inspire me,  I will blame the political distraction for my remiss. Finally trying to get back on track. Actually this old post reminded me of my attempts to stage my jewelry for the shop section of my website. Within the next few days I will have posted the  pieces I have left as I am aiming for a new collection this year.


    Since I'm getting ready to update my website, I wanted to also get my blog in sinc with what I'm doing. The date for closing Pullen for renovation has changed to November 2017.  My first co-curated exhibit is hanging now at Pullen, "My Precious: an Exploration of Materiality in Contemporary Jewelry."
    Fun trips to NYC, Vermont and Philadelphia, DC & Richmond , all art related. I will be teaching a class at the NC Museum of Art, Simple Metal, Cold Joined, Silhouette Brooch using The current Venetian Renaissance Art Show as a point of reference.








    Fall 2016 post
    Unique, wearable, timeless the new three words I'm using to describe my jewelry. Summers gone, Fall is here. Had the last Larkspur last summer I will miss that show. Went to the beach several times and really lucked out on good weather. Though it was such a hot summer, my grass is finally growing and I've completed my fence. This was a summer of organizing and purging and dealing with rearranging households to accommodate extra furniture and new living situations. I just participated in the Bluegrass Art Market in downtown Raleigh, Very well attended, next up CDC, Concord and Boylan Art Walk. Work at Pullen full steam with preparations for renovating. Still have a great lineup of workshops and shows before the April 30, 2017 closing. The new building and jewelry studio will be fabulous. So now to try and sum up the time that's gone by in pictures.
    And so the cycle continues

    May Post

    back of pin wheel brooch
    Halstead Challenge Brooch
    This show will be at the Blue Spiral Gallery during the SNAG conference in Asheville
    swap pins in the making
    New work for Larkspur

    belated fall and chritmas post. Today it feels like Winter.

    Haven't been keeping up with blog lately, mostly because I switched websites and need to be doing blog there instead. Using Square space now, slowly getting that all together www.bettymckim.com This blog is more like a journal for me I think I have been keeping it for about 5 years now. It allows me to keep track of events and things as they happen. October, Nov and December all ran together. Full of workshops at Pullen, a hurricane that altered my show season. New photography, new work and new galleries. Home show in Charlotte,  kitchen renovation, baby shower, trip to Boston, Brevard and Asheville. All fun and so nice to reunite with old friends.

    George and I cooked this Christmas, mostly warmed up but none the less spent alot of time in the  kitchen
    Added a snow owl to our christmas tree

    My favorite pictures from the fall
    the warm wet fall created alot of this on downed branches
    more fungi
    little gem like leaves

    The shows were good I appreciate all the support, from customers, friends and family. Thank you !
    Christmas eve walk on beach
    New display idea

    I truly enjoyed watching this tree this fall it is a Ginko Tree at Pullen being protected during the construction that is going on right now.

    Jennifer's maple tree, We went to Asheville during leaf season. Raleigh had a pretty spectacular show going on here. I heard a Bob Dylan line today that said "Don't keep looking at the house across the street and thinking its paradise".

    Decided to bring back the "sexy earring" this winter Jennifer wears it well
    all grown up 2 now
    necklace to match coming

    Still blooming
    Christmas full moon
    Edward
    Star Wars
    Devin graduates mfa this spring
    Mitsie portrait

    We actually stayed up past midnight... here's to a Happy New Year, hopefully healthy and mixed with adventure and meaningful good times. Peace to you in 2016




    More Bliss shots for "look book"

    Sticks n' Stones
    Rosemary
    Spokes and Ring
    Classic Pearl Drop
    This is my first time working with a model. I chose work that is wearable and can easily be worn by any age person. The work is classic not trendy somewhat organic with an industrial rugged touch. Most of my work includes patterns and or texture. I have elaborated on the sticks and stones line. New colors and new designs, incorporating bigger stones, and I plan to rename this collection the "Bliss " collection, These pieces will be at Carolina Designer Crafts Fair which will be held at the convention center  in downtown Raleigh this Fri, Saturday and Sunday. Come see me in booth D-3 This will be my first year with a corner booth. I have new work and always enjoy the response these pieces get :)