Northern Lehigh Arts Fest

My friend Anne and I did our first show on October 3rd in Slatington, PA. We had a great time, some really funny moments ,and made some decent money. Here are some pictures of our booth set up and our stuff.

I thought this was a great way to display my earrings.

My Baum Box

I finally got the photos taken and uploaded of my metal box project from Baum's Summer session. It was such a revelation to work with metal this way. I can honestly say that this is my new love. All I want to do is create in the studio. Rob was nice enough to set me up with my own little corner in his fabrication shop. It is so cool that he has all of the equipment I could possibly need to persue this as a hobby. I forged some simple bangle bracelets this past week and I'll try and get those photos up asap.

Custom Order for Flooferjen

These photos are of a custom order guitar wire bracelet for Flooferjen.

Why I am Negligent

Well my class at Baum is almost over...I can honestly say I learned a lot. My intention was to post pictures of my creations at each step, but I lost my camera. I was just about to bite the bullet and buy another, when I found it again...now it just needs batteries. So, I have lots of photos to post in the next few days and some new listings for Etsy. I've had some success with the viking weave but have yet to make one to sell online...they seem to disappear as fast as I make them. I just started at multicolored, six petal, triple weave. Reenie it can be done ;).

I finished my dragonfly bracelet and hate the way I attached the bead. Sometimes things don't work out in reality the way the look on paper...so back to the drawing board, literally. I'll post the picture of it now, and maybe you'll have some suggestions for me??

I also took some additional commissioned pieces. I've finished several...all except the first piece I ever agreed to. I broke the focal stone. Can anyone recommend a good adhesive? It's a clean brake and does not show when the pieces are fit together. I've tried super glue...not so super; lock-tite didn't; and my gem glue which just made a gummy mess.

I learned to crochet this week and immediately began to try it with wire. The resulting bracelets are Lacy and beautiful...although not perfect. That will come with practice. I can't sell them either because of the time/cost ratio...I have about 6 hours into the first one..lol.

Finally, with the start of school only a month away, I graded my last final exam (I KNOW!!!). I also updated my class wiki and started a new wiki for the Mahoning Elementary PTO. I've got to commend PBworks for an easy to use, excellent product. I now just need to get together with my co-teacher for English 11 and finish my Moodles. I also need to prep a new syllabus for English 12 and start to put together my first month's worth of lesson plans. Soooo much stuff so little time.

Sharing my craft

As part of my weekend in MD, I taught my sister how to do viking weave so she could help me prep. It wasn't a surprise that she LOVED the zen of weaving wire. She wanted to make herself a necklace of very fine copper weave and worked all weekend to finish it. Ultimately, we had no clue how long the piece would end up being after drawing, since I have never finished a piece in this gage before. So, when we pulled it through the last hole in the draw plate, she was a bit disappointed that it was not long enough to wear even as a choker. I offered to finish it off with some of the beads I purchased earlier in the day at the Bead Bungalow in Annapolis (awesome selection and class schedule if you live in the area). It was an absolutely wonderful collaboration and will be a treasured heirloom piece I'm sure.

Wire in the Wilderness update

The wire in the wilderness was a success!! I had a great day with the 2009 Camp Egret kids from Adkins Arboretum. We started off the day making beaded spiders. The kids were totally focused on choosing the "right" beads for their creations. After about an hour we had 8 ferrousious spiders marching across the tabletop.

After a break for lunch, we wire wrapped some polished stones and strung them on leather cords. The kids chose their stones carefully, picked just the right colored wire, and got busy with their tools. We worked with basic wire wrapping techniques and caged their treasures. They were so proud! I know one lucky mom who is getting an extra special birthday present this year.
















Finally, the Egrets tried their hand at Viking weaving wire. It is a bit tricky to get started, so my sister and I set them up with dowels that had the rough beginning done. One camper finished a bracelet, and three others managed to weave enough for key chains...the coolest one incorporated the spider they finished earlier in the day.

Wire in the Wilderness

I'm off with the kids today to my sister's place in MD. Rob is, as usual, opting to stay home with the dogs and cats. I will be helping Reenie with her camp tomorrow, and conducting a wire working class in the middle of the woods...I promise I'll post pictures when I get back. The group is part of her camp series at Adkin's Arboritum and we will be wire wraping found objects to make pendants, creating our own viking knit bracelets in copper, stainless steel or brass, and finally making beaded spider ornaments/jewelry. Very cool! I'm so excited to see her and pass on some good jewelry Karma. My class last night was awesome! As soon as I have some time I'll post details and a link to Bill Leth's (my instructor) website.