I found a few more and decided to add some I already mentioned - I'm going for that comprehensive list sooner or later...
Lark Craft and Jewelry Forums: http://www.larkcrafts.com/
Art Jewelry Forum: http://www.artjewelryforum.org/blog
Bead and Button Forums: http://cs.beadandbutton.com/bnbcs/forums/
Enjoy!
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Internet Resource Heaven
Not much to post since I'm heading to the studio to get some torching done but I thought I'd list a few resources for everyone who'd rather just spend the day browsing and catching up on some inspiration. You just can never have to many resources for that!
Lampwork, Etc. Forum: http://www.lampworketc.com/forums/
The Storque on Etsy: http://www.etsy.com/storque/
Ganoskin: http://www.ganoksin.com/
The Bead Nerd: http://beadnerd.com/
Glassline Forums: http://www.glassline.net/forums/
The International Society of Glass Beadmakers: http://www.isgb.org/
Bead Style Magazine: http://www.beadstylemag.com/
Art Metal: http://www.artmetal.com/brambush/
Jewelry Artists Network: http://www.jewelryartistsnetwork.com/
Glass Art: http://www.glassart.org/
Metal Casting Zone: http://www.metalcastingzone.com/
Warm Glass: http://www.warmglass.com/
Art Jewelry Magazine: http://www.artjewelrymag.com/
This is by no means a comprehensive list (I think I've already mentioned one I don't have listed here) - I was working on that list; and this was the beginning, but for now I'll post it and I'll add to it later. Enjoy! And, if you have any others please add them to your comments and I'll add them to the list.
Lampwork, Etc. Forum: http://www.lampworketc.com/forums/
The Storque on Etsy: http://www.etsy.com/storque/
Ganoskin: http://www.ganoksin.com/
The Bead Nerd: http://beadnerd.com/
Glassline Forums: http://www.glassline.net/forums/
The International Society of Glass Beadmakers: http://www.isgb.org/
Bead Style Magazine: http://www.beadstylemag.com/
Art Metal: http://www.artmetal.com/brambush/
Jewelry Artists Network: http://www.jewelryartistsnetwork.com/
Glass Art: http://www.glassart.org/
Metal Casting Zone: http://www.metalcastingzone.com/
Warm Glass: http://www.warmglass.com/
Art Jewelry Magazine: http://www.artjewelrymag.com/
This is by no means a comprehensive list (I think I've already mentioned one I don't have listed here) - I was working on that list; and this was the beginning, but for now I'll post it and I'll add to it later. Enjoy! And, if you have any others please add them to your comments and I'll add them to the list.
When is it going to be Friday?
I"ve been doing entirely to much swirling around and it's time for a rest. A nice long an peaceful sleep. Tomorrow some beads. If you're wondering what've been up to - well, I'm working on some classes to submit to Beadfest. We (Susan and I) have co-facilitated classes there before and we think it's time to usher in some tutorials and renew relationship with Kalmbach publishing.Monday, September 27, 2010
Faces with Character
Old faces show lots of character - traces of life are written in the lines. If someone has smiled all their life you see the little twinkles and lines formed from the facial muscles. Part of my old job was reading the expressions and body language of the children we took care of. To me it's like a puzzle but more interesting. Maybe it's why I took so many semesters of life drawing so long ago. The human condition is fascinating.
Another of the things that fascinated me while I was working was the symbols (tattoos) that the kids bore. Symbols are incredible and we use them every day. Who doesn't understand the universal hand-shake, or a wave, how about the man/woman bathroom symbol? Think about it for a moment and you find you deal with them continually. You have to be able to read and understand the symbols to move about yoiur everyday life. The kids wore gang signs, name tags, histories, and such on their skin. It gave me many conversations as they explained the meanings and symbolism and it also took me to one of my favorite books, African Adorned as we delved into African ancestory and tattoos of a cultural nature.
Historical costuming is fun. Each country seems to have something that symbolizes their culture. Maybe it's why I enjoy the magazine Art Dolls, all the creativity and symbolism. From Art Dolls I happened upon the extraordinary doll maker, Christopher Malone. His dolls are so rich in symbolism you can't help but love them. And as one spark begets another I've interpreted one of Malone's doll faces into one of my own. I'm hoping to expand on the idea and create a felted hat and stand. It will never be a Malone - but the spark of the idea was inspired by him and my well loved book.
I thought you might enjoy seeing the page of my sketchbook and the bead head. When will this be finished? - who knows - it often takes me a while to gather the components. I never rush and could use a good boot in the fanny or a maybe a lion chasing me once in awhile.
Thursday, September 23, 2010
New Road Trip
Now this has the makings of a great road trip this Saturday when the skys clear. The Chilhuly's are still at the Meijer Gardens and ArtPrize is all over Grand Rapids, Michigan
Description of work: My work, a portrait, "Grace", measuring 66" by 96" is made from 9217 used wine corks.Grace Karekezi Mwemere, the subject of this piece is a friend from Rwanda. During the 1994 Rwandan genocide Grace was 16 years old. She was captured, separated from her family, tortured, beat and miraculously escaped death. Grace lost her smile and in the ensuing years she experienced anger, acceptance and ultimately forgiveness for her captors. Out of her horrific experience something beautiful happened as Grace came to fully embody her name, shared her story and regained her smile. Her story is a story of transformation. Out of chaos came order and then beauty. My work seeks to do the same. Transforming the ordinary into something more, uncovering the unexpected potential in unexpected things.
About ArtPrize®
Designed as a very different art competition, the goal is for the general public and artists to collide, exchange ideas and come away changed.
2010 in brief:
- Grand Rapids, MI USA
- September 22 - October 10
$449,000 prize ($250,000 to 1st place) - Top 10 entries receive a prize
- Artists can submit one entry
- Property in downtown Grand Rapids can be a venue
- Venues choose the artists they exhibit
- Anyone attending the event can vote
- Winner is determined by public vote
This is one of the works that is being shown and with prizes like this the sculptures are from all over the world. This work was created by Scott Gundersen, who is a Grand Rapid's native.
About the work
Title: Grace
Art form: 2-D
Medium: Recycled Wine Corks
Year created: 2010
Title: Grace
Art form: 2-D
Medium: Recycled Wine Corks
Year created: 2010
Description of work: My work, a portrait, "Grace", measuring 66" by 96" is made from 9217 used wine corks.Grace Karekezi Mwemere, the subject of this piece is a friend from Rwanda. During the 1994 Rwandan genocide Grace was 16 years old. She was captured, separated from her family, tortured, beat and miraculously escaped death. Grace lost her smile and in the ensuing years she experienced anger, acceptance and ultimately forgiveness for her captors. Out of her horrific experience something beautiful happened as Grace came to fully embody her name, shared her story and regained her smile. Her story is a story of transformation. Out of chaos came order and then beauty. My work seeks to do the same. Transforming the ordinary into something more, uncovering the unexpected potential in unexpected things.
Learn more at:
See a time-lapse video of "Grace" being made at:
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Road Trip
It was storming here yesterday - it will be storming late tonight and for the next couple of days. Fall weather in the Great Lakes region is full of unpredictability. Today was great! A day sandwiched between thunderstorms that was bright and warm so we decided to skip the daily routine and take a road trip. You know, I think clearer in the car...and if someone knows why this works for me then feel free to chirp in.
The drive took me further North to some resort areas via two lane roads. It's just a little early here for a Fall color tour but the leaves are turning quickly so it won't be long. I stopped to take a few photos along the way and enjoyed some sights.
I love bottle trees and found a new one on our journey so I stopped and took the photo to share. It would have been a great day to be in plane because we ran across this field that was covered in grass graffiti. There were smiley faces, peace signs, USA, and others. To bad I was in a car and not a plane. One of the last stops was Charlevoix, Michigan. Oh my, they are so full of themselves! Man hole covers (especially the fancy ones you see in various cities - they had some really artistic ones in Minneapolis) are generally manufactured here in Michigan at the East Jordon Ironworks. East Jordon isn't far from Charlevoix and now they have this theme around town, "Charlevoix the beautiful." Yup, full of themselves and yes - it is a beautiful area. The harbor is full during the summer, newly renovated, and user friendly. It was nice to walk around the town.
Was I inspired? Absolutely. I had an art teacher once who used to tell us to breathe every experience in. He wanted us to fill our eyes - touch and smell things. I often thought he was instructing us on how to live life. When life is busy beyond reason (usually self -imposed) I often think it's time for a road trip with a vague destination. The city of Petosky was the original goal but on a road trip it doesn't matter if you "arrive" - it's what you experience along the way. Petosky and it's namesake "stones" will still be there next week.
See ya tomorrow!
The drive took me further North to some resort areas via two lane roads. It's just a little early here for a Fall color tour but the leaves are turning quickly so it won't be long. I stopped to take a few photos along the way and enjoyed some sights.
I love bottle trees and found a new one on our journey so I stopped and took the photo to share. It would have been a great day to be in plane because we ran across this field that was covered in grass graffiti. There were smiley faces, peace signs, USA, and others. To bad I was in a car and not a plane. One of the last stops was Charlevoix, Michigan. Oh my, they are so full of themselves! Man hole covers (especially the fancy ones you see in various cities - they had some really artistic ones in Minneapolis) are generally manufactured here in Michigan at the East Jordon Ironworks. East Jordon isn't far from Charlevoix and now they have this theme around town, "Charlevoix the beautiful." Yup, full of themselves and yes - it is a beautiful area. The harbor is full during the summer, newly renovated, and user friendly. It was nice to walk around the town. Was I inspired? Absolutely. I had an art teacher once who used to tell us to breathe every experience in. He wanted us to fill our eyes - touch and smell things. I often thought he was instructing us on how to live life. When life is busy beyond reason (usually self -imposed) I often think it's time for a road trip with a vague destination. The city of Petosky was the original goal but on a road trip it doesn't matter if you "arrive" - it's what you experience along the way. Petosky and it's namesake "stones" will still be there next week.
See ya tomorrow!
Saturday, September 18, 2010
Art Jewelry
I just thought I'd pop in today and leave the link to Art Jewelry blog. It's an interesting blog and if you like Ornament, Metalsmith, and magazines like that you'll love this blog.
Friday, September 17, 2010
Who Makes That Color Glass?
Help! - I can't keep up anymore. There are SO many colors of glass.
When I first started lampworking there were not as many glass options. Isn’t that true with just about everything? You had to cut strips off of glass sheets (Bullseye did not make rods then) or use Moretti. When I ordered Moretti it came to me in yard long pieces. What a shipping nightmare that must have been but it was easy storage on this end. Usually five or six of these rods made up a pound. I still have a few of these rods. Nah, I don’t hoard glass but the color palette exploded and they were probably replaced with other similar colors.
It also used to be easier to keep track of the colors – there simply weren’t as many. It wasn’t to awfully difficult to remember that the white was soupy and which colors reacted with others. It’s not that I’m lamenting “the good old days” but it can be hard to keep track of today’s glass companies and colors. And, that doesn’t even speak to the issues of compatibility (and ranges of compatibility within a single COE).
But, I figure it eventually comes down to something like what clothing you wear. Really, don’t we all have a tendency to pull the same couple items out of the closet to wear? Or, we grab pretty much our favorite frying pan to cook in? It’s like that with the colors too. I always gravitate back to the same ones and fight a constant battle to expand my horizons.
So, if you want to add a slightly redder orange to your preferred palette where do go to find that in the right color (and COE) now that there are so many companies? You can check the manufacturer’s sites – way to much work. One of the places you can get a good look at how the different colors look is on Miriam Steger’s Blog (when you click on her name you’re going to get the CIM chart/there are many others.) Yeah, I know most of the glass retailers have color charts but these are some of the nicest.
She's made lentils of each color and you can order posters if you’d rather have them for reference. They would actually make very good studio decoration. How nice to be able to compare the manufacturer's palettes before you place your order.
When I first started lampworking there were not as many glass options. Isn’t that true with just about everything? You had to cut strips off of glass sheets (Bullseye did not make rods then) or use Moretti. When I ordered Moretti it came to me in yard long pieces. What a shipping nightmare that must have been but it was easy storage on this end. Usually five or six of these rods made up a pound. I still have a few of these rods. Nah, I don’t hoard glass but the color palette exploded and they were probably replaced with other similar colors.
It also used to be easier to keep track of the colors – there simply weren’t as many. It wasn’t to awfully difficult to remember that the white was soupy and which colors reacted with others. It’s not that I’m lamenting “the good old days” but it can be hard to keep track of today’s glass companies and colors. And, that doesn’t even speak to the issues of compatibility (and ranges of compatibility within a single COE).
But, I figure it eventually comes down to something like what clothing you wear. Really, don’t we all have a tendency to pull the same couple items out of the closet to wear? Or, we grab pretty much our favorite frying pan to cook in? It’s like that with the colors too. I always gravitate back to the same ones and fight a constant battle to expand my horizons.
So, if you want to add a slightly redder orange to your preferred palette where do go to find that in the right color (and COE) now that there are so many companies? You can check the manufacturer’s sites – way to much work. One of the places you can get a good look at how the different colors look is on Miriam Steger’s Blog (when you click on her name you’re going to get the CIM chart/there are many others.) Yeah, I know most of the glass retailers have color charts but these are some of the nicest.
She's made lentils of each color and you can order posters if you’d rather have them for reference. They would actually make very good studio decoration. How nice to be able to compare the manufacturer's palettes before you place your order.
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Traverse City
Shopping doesn't happen much around where I live. We are rural/ recreational. Shopping Malls are not a happening item and progressive health care doesn't necessarily happen close to home. It's beautiful here, peaceful, and IMHO isolated from hub bub. Ah, but what if you like hub bub, crowds, shopping, and all the acumen's you can get in an urban setting? You drive...a lot. It's okay. It's a trade off I made to have my children grow up in this environment. That wasn't necessarily better or worse - only different.
Yesterday we drove to Traverse City. It's where my dentist is located - an hour and a half away. I know, it's a constant whine for me on this topic. Yes, there are dentists around here. Don't forget, I said progressive health care - I like health practitioners who know what the newest "things" are. My dental hygienist is top notch and uses a laser to clean teeth. Gone is scraping and grinding. Okay, well, that is to much information on that topic. What we did have was great time while we were there getting the bi-annual cleaning.
Traverse City is an "arty" and progressive community. Lots of things to see and do. Mario Batali keeps a summer home there on Grand Traverse Bay. Michael Moore is a frequent guest and started the Traverse City Film Festival. The downtown is vibrant and interesting. It's safe, trendy, and walkable. There is an opera house downtown - you'd never know it was there by the look of the buildings but inside it's fabulous and has been restored.
Yesterday we drove to Traverse City. It's where my dentist is located - an hour and a half away. I know, it's a constant whine for me on this topic. Yes, there are dentists around here. Don't forget, I said progressive health care - I like health practitioners who know what the newest "things" are. My dental hygienist is top notch and uses a laser to clean teeth. Gone is scraping and grinding. Okay, well, that is to much information on that topic. What we did have was great time while we were there getting the bi-annual cleaning.
Traverse City is an "arty" and progressive community. Lots of things to see and do. Mario Batali keeps a summer home there on Grand Traverse Bay. Michael Moore is a frequent guest and started the Traverse City Film Festival. The downtown is vibrant and interesting. It's safe, trendy, and walkable. There is an opera house downtown - you'd never know it was there by the look of the buildings but inside it's fabulous and has been restored.We did the "medical thing" and then took a homemade lunch to a park by Logan's Landing. It's a wonderful park that has evolved over the years and there is path that runs in and around the water for the bikers and walkers. After the lunch it was into downtown (like a five minute drive around the corner). We puttered, window shopped, and I took a few photos. Buildings are always intriguing and I'd really like to go inside and investigate all of them - maybe a better job for me would have been a building inspector. Don't you just love the colors and the blocking on some of these?
Tomorrow it's back to the beads. Maybe with a new color blocking influence. Where did I put those enamels I just bought from Bronwen Heilman at the Gathering!
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Art Blogs
I adore the Internet. Everything is so at your finger tips. What I’d really like to try; to see if I’d like them, is a computer drawing tablet. From what I can pick up, Wacom makes a pretty good one. Doodling is kind of second nature to me and I do it all the time – I’m pretty sure I’ve mentioned that before. And, the really weird part of that is that I have this surge of inspiration when I am in the car going somewhere (although that doesn’t have a whole lot to do with post). There must be some wild scientific reason for that but I’m pretty unsure of what that might be.
I go through rolling ball pens continually and have never met one I didn’t just love to pieces. The rolling balls help with arthritis issues. A pencil requires pressure to express yourself – not so with a roller ball or felt pen. Nice invention! So, while surfing art blogs on the Internet I found a list of the most visited “art” sites. Among that list was The Art Bead Scene, no surprise on that one. It’s always a favorite of mine.
As I scrolled down the list I also found this site on doodling. It’s called Doodler’s Anonymous, great site with lots of eye candy. They rock; actually, and I’ll be going back there often.
Another outstanding person with a drawing is Armin Mersmann. He teaches drawing at the Midland Center for the Arts here in Michigan. If you want a comprehensive studio class on drawing this is your guy. I’ve seen very few of his caliber. Go to his site and take a good look – what you’re seeing are drawings – not photographs. They remind of paintings by Chuck Close and are beyond realistic. I wish my drawing tablets looked like that.
I know where I get inspiration and have posted on the topic often. What I’m wondering is where do you get yours? What’s turning your crank lately? Where are you when inspiration strikes?
I go through rolling ball pens continually and have never met one I didn’t just love to pieces. The rolling balls help with arthritis issues. A pencil requires pressure to express yourself – not so with a roller ball or felt pen. Nice invention! So, while surfing art blogs on the Internet I found a list of the most visited “art” sites. Among that list was The Art Bead Scene, no surprise on that one. It’s always a favorite of mine.
As I scrolled down the list I also found this site on doodling. It’s called Doodler’s Anonymous, great site with lots of eye candy. They rock; actually, and I’ll be going back there often.
Another outstanding person with a drawing is Armin Mersmann. He teaches drawing at the Midland Center for the Arts here in Michigan. If you want a comprehensive studio class on drawing this is your guy. I’ve seen very few of his caliber. Go to his site and take a good look – what you’re seeing are drawings – not photographs. They remind of paintings by Chuck Close and are beyond realistic. I wish my drawing tablets looked like that.
I know where I get inspiration and have posted on the topic often. What I’m wondering is where do you get yours? What’s turning your crank lately? Where are you when inspiration strikes?
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