Last Day of November

I cant believe I have been blogging for 11 months. So here's my last post for November. CDC was Thanksgiving weekend, and now 2 more shows to go. Ziabird this Saturday and Boylan art walk this Sunday. Though it is exhausting, the process of this life as a craftsperson is very gratifying.. I really enjoy the camaraderie of so many friends and the relationships Ive formed being part of these shows. The lifestyle choice of making jewelry and presenting it for sale at craftshows is a great way to get feed back on new designs and see if your hunches and ideas are working for wear ability. Anyway Christmas doesn't really begin for me until after the first weekend of December. Just hoping for warm weather but don't think that's going to happen. Cold front heading this way. Welcome December.










Carolina Designer Craftsmen

Day two of the Carolina Designer Craftsmen show. This is the biggest show I do each year. The traffic has been good . This year I changed my display and I am pretty pleased with the new "corner" configuration. One of the things I really like about doing the show is the exposure and reaction you get to new designs and pieces. I always try to have a new series, and of course, plenty of the tried and true and their variations. This year I had a few of the enamel pieces, a series of gold plated hydraulic press pillow shapes complimented with oxidized silver and red coral, and the new dots and doilies complimented with garnets which were my most recent addition to the collection. It seems I sold some from each of these categories, as well as some of my older experimental pieces.











Cup Spoon & Saucer

It always feels good to meet a deadline. The whole process of making something, getting it photographed, filling out the paperwork and submitting electronically can be daunting. And so Im quite pleased I actually got it done. This was actually quite fun to make I may try some smaller teaspoon size silver spoons next, or maybe it time to think about a teapot or larger vessel.

collaborative "best buds" pieces

Detail shots of spoon. Oxidized copper. Elements, spoon and leaf like shapes formed in hydraulic press. Stem /handle forged and textured. Accented with yellow citrines. Parts tube riveted together. Idea started with a sketch and the notion of collaborating with potter friend Jennifer Mecca Lawler. She made cup and saucer.

OCTOBER


I cant believe October is almost over, and this is my first post. It has been a busy fall with work and getting ready for shows. Of course the change of weather has been awesome. Lets see, we have had a fantastic hydraulic press workshop with Erica Stankwytch Bailey at Pullen Art Center. She also had a show at Pullen of some of the work inspired from her Grand Canyon residency. Below are some pictures of her work. The necklace is recycled junk mail and the images are reflections of her shadow on the wall of the Grand Canyon.



































We hosted a Drawing workshop by Michael Voors who teaches drawing at East Carolina University. That was great fun, I particularly enjoyed drawing pears.

















I got to spend a little time visiting my pottery friend Jennifer Mecca at her home in South Carolina, and at the Cedar Creek Kiln opening. We are actually collaborating on a project that is due Nov 6. and I'm almost done. Had a surprise visit from Marlene True. She has an exciting thing going on at the Pocossin Art Center. Stay tuned for updates on the metals studio renovation that is being spearheaded by Marlene True. I got to spend a short time with Elizabeth Brim and Jayne Redman to discuss a future jewelry workshop at Pullen. Kathyryn Osgood came to Raleigh and we went to the spark.com fashion show. My friend Susan Cannons' daughters were models. Don't want to forget my fifty and fabulous interview with Boom magazine, courtesy of Sandra McEwen.
Somehow I've managed to get some work done, I actually finished and photographed 11 pieces. I've also been working with Julie Price one of our new instructors. We have been doing some enamelling. It has been a crazy Fall. I think I have been running around in circles a good bit. Here are a few of my new pieces, I hope to have them on my website soon. The photography was done by Jason Dowdle.




































































Got the pumpkin and mums on the porch, snuck in a couple of home improvements/landscaping repairs/modifications. Whew! I am really hoping to find some more focused undistracted time pretty soon. I 'd prefer to be a little more frequent with blog post as things get a little jumbled when cramming them all together like this. I recently got on face book so that has been a slight distraction. I'm really amazed at the energy involved in maintaining all the this social networking. I plan on curating a show at Pullen about artists that blog, not till 2011 sometime. Here's a few awesome pictures just for the heck of it.Add Image



























George is tired of "bloggin' Miss Betty", so that's it for now.



Boutique Jewelry Line

This is one of Adrienne M. Graftons ' pieces from her boutique jewelry line. Check out her website. Im looking forward to her coming again next year. She is full of energy and teaches a great workshop. Her jewelry can also be found at Ziabird in Lumina Station at Wrightsville Beach.

Enamelling Workshop at Pullen

Adrienne brought lots of samples of colors, techniques and applications for enamelling. I found the bold opaque colors easier to work with as they are more straightforward than the transparent ones. I did some samples I will post soon, as I am still working on them. Adrienne and Sharon Massey share a studio in Pittsburg Pa. called the Studio Situation. Both are ECU, MFA graduates, extremely creative and a joy to be around.

Enamelling Workshop with Adrienne Grafton


This is a piece I am preparing for the upcoming workshop. I am sticking with the familiar rosette pattern, color selection yet to be determined. First step is the piercing, next fusing. I plan on doming, and making a setting. The workshop is at pullen art center this weekend. Be sure to check out adriennes website and blog. www.adriennemgrafton.com I finally figured out how to get my friend Lillian Jones' y tube so enjoy. Any one who knows me knows George actually put the you tube on.




New Earring Designs












Here are some of my new earring designs.These will be heading to Wrightsville Beach. The shop they will be sold at is in Lumina Station, at a boutique named Ziabird. They have a nice selection of designer clothing, jewelry and accessories. If your down that way this summer check it out. The tear drop dangle moves freely, sometimes changing the direction of the teardrop. It is oxidized and the surface is treated with rich texture. The hoops have tube set 3mm gemstones, garnet, citrine or white saphire. Of course special orders with specific stones are welcome. The long circle drop with dots comes in three styles (finishes) oxidized or satin finish, and can include flush set 2mm stones randomly set in some of the dots. All three of these earrings are very wearable, and I am excited about adding them to my line of jewelry.











Larkspur aftermath thoughts.


These are a couple of shots taken at Larkspur with my sons new point and shoot macro lens camera ..not bad, my arm with dot bracelets and an unusual shot of one of my necklaces. As always a nice show , hot.. but all the while a good turn out and great fun. Some of my favorite pieces sold Rosemary earrings, rosette bracelet, dot ring and happy flower necklace with garnet. Thanks to everyone who came out for the show.






Bird house posts



The birds flocked to the first house George put up so fast that he thought he would wait till we got to larkspur to put the houses on. George did a great job with the cedar dwelling. It has a hinged side that opens for cleaning.