btw

I'm at it again ... another trunk show is in the works.

Once again with Cara, but this time we're joining forces with fellow jewelry designer, Stephanie Onel.  It'll be right before Valentine's Day, February 12.  It's all coming together in splendid synchronistic fashion ... I've been following Stephanie's jewelry since we've been in Asheville.  We've been Etsy and FB friends and I'd seen pictures of her but we'd never met in person.  The other day at the gem show, I saw this woman that looked familiar and then realized it was Stephanie. 

I went up and introduced myself - kind of strange meeting someone face to face when you've known about each other for a while.  Anyway, we got to talking and I was going on about trunk shows and she allowed as how she knows a couple of women who've recently opened Working Girls Studio & Gallery and they just mentioned they'd like to host some events, you know like trunk shows and maybe Valentines Day would be a good time to try one out.  So, me being me, I immediately said, "yeah buddy, we gots to get on that one" and of course volunteered Cara.  I'm incorrigible. 

Stephanie contacted the Gallery and the three of us have been working on all the specifics.  Then Dave and I were downtown on Monday and cruised over to Battery Park and and the gate to the studio/gallery was open and we went on up and got to meet Lynne Harty, a really excellent photographer.  Also got to meet her gallery partner, Eli Corbin, a painter (haven't perused her work yet).  So, mission accomplished there ... it's a great space and has a very nice vibe, we've got a date and time nailed down and may even get a bit of TV coverage via the gallery ... we'll see.

Like I was saying, it's all coming together. 

I'm the computer/graphics expert of this trio and I've spent the better part of today working on the show card.  Thing is, I didn't have anything sparkly or Valentine's inspired, so I started the day putting together a new piece ...

I got to use some of my new gemstones, the sanded quartz nugget and a tourmaline slice, with a lush Basha bead.  Thankfully, I had all the steel and bronze components on hand. 

The show card is out for a vote, so when I get the okay, I'll share it.  Right now, I'm going to stop and give my eyes a rest and maybe get and early start on dinner 'cause I've got a big night ahead.  The other crazy thing that happened on Monday - I got stopped on the street by a woman that works at a local chi-chi salon.  She was headhunting for volunteers.  I debated a bit, but decided, what the heck - a free haircut at one of the better salons in town!  I'm scheduled at 7:30 tonight to get an "edgy bob" haircut.  I'm going to shoot for something that resembles an "art project" - that's Cara's descriptive term and it's perfect.  I'll let you know about that as well.

Grand experiments happening all around!
ciao for now .......

l i g a - kvk 

glorious New Year's greetings!

Well, it's been a year, hasn't it?  And, in our house, it's ending on such a glorious high ............
So much to be thankful for, so much to look forward to - feeling very blessed and very inspired and ready to move forward with a ginormous great leap. 

The year's also ending with a couple of really exceptional radar sightings.  Thanks to Clara for telling me about Bill Cunningham New York ... if you love fashion and New York, you have GOT to see this documentary - it is an absolute delight!

And then Cara told me about Urban Style Emporium ... the home page makes me want to swoon!  A favorite is BNG - Design from Istanbul ... so bloody cool!

And then Current-Obsession is looking pretty interesting - here's a couple of very cool necklaces.  One by Nick Mullins .....

One by Philip Sajet ...

And thanks to my family who's been very generous with gift cards, I'm over the top excited about a couple of new book purchases ... both of India Flint's books, Second Skin and Eco Colour.  I'm hoping to dive into some fiber experiments this year and these are going to be hugely inspirational!

I'm thinking that's it for now.  We're not big party-ers, but we are heading out to an early dinner at our favorite Indian restaurant, then back home before all the crazies hit the streets.

I am so enormously grateful to everyone who follows this little blog and my amazing clientele that supports my work ... I am one fortunate woman.

So here's wishing you all a safe and blessed New Year.  

l i g a - kvk

TRUNK SHOW!!!!!

.........round two.  Cara and I are joining forces with mutual friend and fellow jewelry artist, Tamela Wells, for a second installment of our Urban Primitive Trunk Show.  And we're' going to the birthplace of our creative collaboration - Niche.  We're keeping it pretty simple - champagne and truffles, grapes for the non-sugar types and spiced nuts - well that's the plan as of this morning.  Join us if you can.  The last one was hugely inspirational and such good fun.  I know this one will be as good or better.

 

Lots to do, so back to work for this little peep!

l i g a - kvk

p.s.  the QR code takes you to our FB event page - aren't I just au courant?

the day after

Well, our Trunk Show was a resounding success.  The ladies of Moda have a luxurious and ever so elegant shop to complement our wares and put out a lovely spread of munchies.  And so very cool that blog buddies and Etsy friends came and, even more wonderful, bought some treasures - heartfelt thanks to Diane and Jen and Anne and Vanessa and Pam and Catherine and everyone else that came to chat and braved the crazy parking and support our work.

Here's my set-up ...

I had the copper pipe already, then a blitz trip to AC Moore for pre-stretched canvas and plate stands, then the plumbing isle at Home Depot... I love the pluming and electrical isles ... a pipe cutter and some on-hand copper connections, some florists tape, a few layers of paint, some on-hand davey board stapled to the canvas backs and, voila', necklace and earring displays.  The flat pieces are from my craft show days - copper mesh over plywood.  I had several people complement me on my creative displays and it reminded me of a plan I had a while back to develop a display consulting side-line.  I love designing and making unusual props for jewelry and clothing ... may have to give that some more thought.  Feedback most welcome!

Cara and I sold exactly the same dollar amount of work, had time to chat with lots of wonderful women and a couple of interesting guys and even better, got to talk to each other and find out the common ground between is pretty astonishing.  The pic is kinda blurry, but this is Cara ....

So now, I've got to unpack and get to work on a wholesale order to ship on Monday, then clean house and get ready for our housesitter to move in and take care of little Zoe so's we can head to Nashville to pick up my brother and then head south to Baton Rouge for Thanksgiving with my whole family.  Lots to do!

Have a safe and wonderful Thanksgiving.  I, for one, have so very much to be thankful for this year.

with deep gratitude and heartfelt blessings .........
l i g a - kvk

mark you calendars!

Going to pull this together in a hurry ... November 18th - yikes! ... Cara and I are doing trunk shows!  We're very excited to be showcasing our artistic visions and forging a new friendship along the way. 

Our first one will be at a women's boutique at Biltmore Park in Asheville, Moda ... I'll have my new steel and bronze jewels and maybe some fine silver and Cara will have scarves, wraps and sweaters.  We're doing another trunk show December 3rd and details will follow for that one.  I just finished the announcement for the first one ... me likey very much! 

I'll post a reminder closer to the event, but if you're in town please stop by and say HI!

l i g a - kvk

uncertainty and the evolution of a new collection

These last days have been something of a roller coaster ride.  I've been alternating between wonderful creative bursts during the day and nights that have bordered on "dark night of the soul" depression.

I go from feeling terribly uncertain about where I'm headed, what I'm doing, why I'm doing it, wandering around the house trying to do something productive, to sitting back down at my worktable, pulling out components, remembering bits and tucked away fragments, assembling prototypes and experiments, seeing potential and direction and focus and then realizing I've come around to something that feels like hope.

Here's where I am right now ...

As I sit here trying not to get lost in my feelings of uncertainty and inner confusion, trying to stay positive and know that it always works out, one thing I'm really looking forward to is the release of Jonathan Fields new book, UNCERTAINTY, Turning Fear & Doubt Into Fuel For Brilliance.  Here's the exceptionally well done and really inspiring trailer.



Could the timing be any more perfect ... I don't think so.  I had an advance digital copy that I only got part of the way through, so I know what's in store and I'm excited.  The timing is, well ... timely.

So while I'm still wafting around in my own uncertainty, I have been making some headway in putting together the new jewelry collection.  I thought I'd share some of my process and the unfolding evolution of this collection ...

You may remember, the gathering of inspiration started with the purchase of Cara May's sweater from Niche.  While chatting with the artist, ideas for jewelry started to flow fast and furious.  I got to thinking about that bag of fossilized bone I'd been hoarding and decided I needed more!  That led to putting in a request to my in-laws to see if they'd like to part with some of their stash.  Here's my massive haul of fossilized treasure.  The starting place for my new jewelry collection ...

The sweater is knitted in part with wool coated steel wire from Habu Textiles.  That led me to ordering Hadar's steel metal clay.  Okay, so the jury's still out on steel metal clay.  It's a total pain to fire and, while almost everything has survived, it's not a for sure guarantee that everything will fire properly.  Just when I was ready to hate it and chalk my $50 investment up to experience, I decided I actually like the look of the pieces.  I'm still figuring it all out and it's a pain, but I'm going to use the 150 grams I bought, turning it into a very limited collection.

The progression so far ...

One thing I had read but forgot, the steel tends to warp and curl, a very nice thing in my book.  Only thing, these pieces curled the wrong way.  So I wet them down and put some card stock over them to flatten them back out.  I really do love this shape - long, thin, curved and slightly textured.

This is my first batch of components ready to fire.  I've got some experiments happening here.  I've embedded raw rubies and sapphires in a couple of pieces and wrapped a bit of the clay around a couple of forged bailing wiring rings  ... all of which should survive the 1700 degree firing.  The pain part of the firing is that you have to fire in two stages, one to burn out the binder and the higher, sintering phase and then you can only fire a few pieces at a time ... these pieces took two firings.

I'm still trying to figure out the finishing of the components.  The pieces emerge black and crusty.  Here's the contrast between straight out of the kiln and sanded with polishing paper.  The rubies survived but the piece broke in half; I'm thinking I'll still be able to use the pieces. 

I tumbled everything in various ways ... steel shot for several hours gets rid of the crusty look, but my usual abrasive media is just not abrasive enough.  My 400 grit polishing paper seems to be the best follow-up to the steel shot, but I really want to try a steel brush and coarser sanding paper.  I've also put a coating of Renaissance Wax on everything ... just in case.

Now I've got the core components - steel and fossils ... what next?  That's been the big question and a contributing factor to my mood swings and ponderous navel gazing.  So I've been taking a few breaks to let the ideas rest, the juices mingle and stew.  Yesterday, after a short burst of cleaning and some de-cluttering, I headed back to my worktable.

I'm thinking it started with pulling out those luscious teal glass beads I bought in July.  Then drilling a big chunk of bone and remembering those other big Ghana glass beads I had stashed here and there and oh man, what about those vintage Venetian glass beads I've had for 15 years and can you believe it, they've got that same teal in them and oh yeah, don't forget those big chunks of Roman glass and doesn't this all look just amazing with the ochre of my sweater and lo and behold ... I have my color palette.

teal Ghana glass and bronze metal clay spacers

vintage Venetian glass, Ghana glass, fossils

 

Roman glass and ochre, rust and ruby bead drawers

figuring out how it's all going to go together ... flourite, Roman glass, fossils, steel

some prototypes against my sweater ... a very promising start

So that's where I am right now. 

Goodness, this has taken a really long time to put together and those beautiful components are calling me back to the worktable.  Plus I want to use up the other 100 grams of steel clay, 'cause it's going to take a couple of days to get it all fired ... still not happy about that, but I'm just going with it for now.

Let me know what you think!

l i g a - kvk

gathering

It started here ...

I couldn't help myself.  It was just too perfect in its crazy really un-perfect way.  I found this amazing sweater at Niche here in Asheville.  I was in need of inspiration and was wondering around downtown, just seeing where my feet would take me.  I got a nice boost of juice from a visit to Origami Ink, perusing their selection of fine papers, gorgeous fountain pens, very cool art with everything exquisitely displayed ... I am such a sucker for good display.

Next, on the owner's recommendation I headed across the street to Cafe Ello for an iced coffee.  Side note - we went there Saturday for breakfast and it was really good.  Thinking this will be our new favorite breakfast spot, especially 'cause they open early before all the tourists are out.  So then I wondered over to the Grove Arcade and headed down to Niche.  Hanging across the front windows were these amazing sweaters and I knew I was in trouble or better yet, in for an enormous treat ... yes, that's much better.

The artist who makes these wonderful creations is named Cara May.  She works part time at the shop and was there as I was going bonkers over her treasures.  The owner of the shop, Cara and I chatted for a good long while - nice for me as I really don't get out much.  Here's the back of my fabulous new sweater ...

Turns out, one of the yarns that Cara uses in these sweaters is fiber coated steel from Habu Textiles.  I saw it last year on my silk quest and was very curious.  The steel yarn got me to thinking about Hadar Jacobson's steel metal clay.  Standing there chatting, my mind started going crazy with ideas for designing a whole group of work based on Cara's sweaters.

Then I got to thinking about those big chunks of fossilized bone from my in-laws in FL.  So when I got home, I ordered steel metal clay and emailed my sister-in-law to see if she had any more big chunky fossils she'd be willing to part with.  And look what I got in the mail today!   OMG - a jumbo treasure trove of fossilized booty!

This was six pounds of fossils and she's putting more in the mail today.  I think that big piece in my hand is turtle shell and then there's all kinds of bone chunks and shards.  She's also going to send a little flyer with descriptions for identifying the different fossils from that beach.  Here's a few more pieces ... they are seriously cool.

And I'm not sure if I'll do anything with this or not, but the recycled sari silk I just got for packaging looks pretty wonderful against a backdrop of ancient bones.

I'm working on how I'm going to connect these pieces into jewelry.  What's going to be a good complement to the steel and bone?  It needs to be very durable and abrasion resistant, so I'm thinking about nylon but also about leather.  Then I had this crazy idea about getting rawhide and dyeing it with walnuts.  I've got lots of walnuts in my yard, remains from that tree we had removed.  I don't know, may be kind of crazy ... may be kind of fun.

Only thing slowing me down is the steel metal clay is coming from California.  But I gotta say, I'm feeling a lot of potential here .... lots and lots.  I'll keep you posted!

l i g a - kvk