Cleaning the studio and cleaning the mind....

by Barbara Bechtel

Since mid-February, I've been on a purging binge in my studio. Being a mixed media artist with a tiny studio space, my collections and hoardings have become way out of hand in the last couple years. It's all fine and well to amass many things as a mixed media artist, but the reality comes when I realize I don't use most of it. Even if I'm keeping it around for when inspiration strikes, usually breaking it all out and making a colossal mess, generally results in a feeling of personal overwhelm. Then I clean it all up because my space is small. I like a tidy workspace. Don't get me wrong, in the throes of creativity, I'm super messy, as it should be for me....but my habits are to clean it all up when I mess up every surface and then find myself working on the floor in a tiny 2 ft. space.

I have great plans of renovating and sprucing up this space in the fall when we return from our summer time in North Carolina....so I've been taking time each week to sort, to sell on ebay and privately, to carry "treasures" to the flea market, but I want things to be very clean and trim and lean and mean. I've passed the point in my life where I need to keep collecting things, and I'm happy to work with what I have in the moment.

It's taken me several days of each week for the last 3+ months, but now I'm seeing some headway and it's looking good!

How do you work? Do you like to hoard things? Do you like a sparse creative space? What makes you personally feel most creative?

Show it Off

by Staci L. Smith
Have you been following the latest Boot Camp:  Hold your Fire- Cold Connections?  It's a good one, a tool for your tool box with limitless possibilities!  You can check for new posts each Monday on cold connections, and throughout the week as well!!

Whether you are already an expert at cold connections, or you are trying them for the first time, you can join with us, and show off your what you are making with them in our flickr group. 

If you have been doing them for years, show it off!  It's a great way to inspire those new to them. 

 

If you are trying them out for the first time, show it off- your hard work and creative ideas are what we want to see !

 

Lynnea of Designs by Lynnea gave rivets a shot, and she nailed it! 

 

You can visit Lynnea's facebook page here.

 

I must admit, her cuff, is exactly the sort of thing I hoped you guys would try out with rivets.  Layering metal and mixed media has endless possibilities!  And using photo's make it so much more personal. 

 

Stay tuned for tomorrow, on how you can make a project with a picture and rivets (or micro-screws or tube rivets).

 

 



embracing change

mary jane dodd

 

'release' mjd 2013

releasing can be critical to your ability to rebound. 

metal work is shelved for me right now - 

so i decided to focus a bit

upon my use of fibers. 

a basket for wearing mjd 2013

to allow myself to explore things more fully

that i had wished to try before. 

soft summer whites mjd 2013

finding ways to make the knotting, weaving and threading 

from my youth

a bit more grown up.

grow mjd 2013

thinking of ways to make bits of this and that into something

a designer might like to work with. 

if you are attracted to using fibers in your work,

i encourage you to always think about the strength of your material

and how it will wear over time as it rubs against metal.

how it can support the weight of your pendant or other components.

i personally love using waxed irish linen thread 

for its strength and knotting abilities. 

if you're new to fibers and are looking for some inspiration, 

take a look at 

bohemian-inspired jewelry

a book created around the use of fibers in jewelry. 

i think i speak for most of us when i say 

that making/creating/exploring is not just something 

we like to do, 

but something 

we have to do.

if you find your life turned upside down, 

be open to new ways

of expressing yourself.

then give yourself permission

to sink into them. 

not only will you be learning

a new skill,

but you will begin to heal

in ways

that modern medicine cannot fix you.

it will be the balm 

that soothes your spirit. 

-----------------------------------

for the winner of the giveaway please check the sidebar!

guest post - seth apter

Community Rules

 Contexture - Seth Apter, Bridgette Gurzon Mills,  Jen Worden

For me, art has always been about community.  I do not aspire to be the type of artist that is alone in the studio, working away in isolation.  I find that my connections with other people are fuel for the creative fire.  Of course, there are times when I lose myself completely when making art and wouldn't even notice if somebody were standing right next to me.  But in between my creative projects, I find myself once again seeking inspiration from and through others.  

Inner Works - Seth Apter, Supria Karmakar, Jill Zaheer, Roxanne Evans Stout,

Veronica Funk, Rita Vindedzis

My entrance into the world of art was initially social, in 2000 I met an artist quite serendipitously and we began a mail art relationship, although it wasn't until several years later that I even became aware of that label.  Before that time, I had no interest in making art.  After that time, art making became a part of my life.

Lost and Found - Seth Apter, Julie Prichard, Lynne Hoppe

The social aspect of being an artist continued as I began to explore the opportunities available on the computer.  Initially, I joined a number of online art groups, where art was made collaboratively.  I then discovered blogs, which are all about connecting, commenting and community.  If I had discovered the world of art at an earlier time, I truly believe that my path would have been completely different.

The Winds of Change - Seth Apter, Roxanne Evans Stout

It seemed natural when I set out to create my own blog in 2007 that my focus would be social in nature.  Within just a few months I began an online collaborative project called The Pulse, a survey of the online artistic community that sought to connect artists and art lovers.  Five years later there have been 5 online versions of The Pulse, with the current edition made up of nearly 150 artists.

Nature Journal - Seth Apter, Sarah Whitmire

During those years, I also have worked collaboratively on quite a large number of projects with small groups of artists.  The images of art accompanying this post were all created as part of collaborations.  I have also developed and hosted a number of large-scale, international collaborations as well, including Disintegration Collaboration (DisCo).

Self Contained - Seth Apter, Vivian Paans, Stephanie McAtee

All of these experiences led me to the opportunity to publish my first book The Pulse of Mixed Media: Secrets and Passions of 100 Artists Revealed.  Released in March 2012 by North Light Books, The Pulse of Mixed Media presents the words and artworks of more than 130 artists in a format that allows the reader to truly get in touch with the heart and soul of the artistic community. 

I know I am not alone in the inspiration I find from my connections with others.  Whether it is through emails, blog hopping, website watching, book reading, or art making, I am the artist I am today because of the bigger group of artists that I am a part of.  So, fellow artists... what do you get from being a member of our community?

The Gift - Seth Apter, Jill Zaheer

------------------------------------------

you can find Seth here:

blog

facebook

twitter
etsy

if you are interested in learning how to create mixed media surface techniques, seth has video tutorials coming out - you can see the preview here

The Pulse of Mixed Media is available at Amazon

Handmade....from start to the very FINISH!

 by Barbara Bechtel

About 6-8 months ago, while looking around at all my unused craft supplies, I decided to make a concerted effort to start using up all the bits and scraps of paper, wood, craft supplies, etc. and try to make a 100% effort not to purchase anything that was absolutely non essential.....ahh, the sweet horde of a mixed media artist....I'm sure many of you can relate.....

Specifically, I'm talking packaging. Although, I've always waffled between buying boxes, business and jewelry cards, packing supplies, etc. I've always used the excuse, "I don't have enough time to do ALL those things." For myself, though, I realized that in the time I spent researching, comparing prices, doing graphic design, layout, and printing, I really could make the time with a little extra effort to make these supplies to truly make my jewelry and designs unique from start to finish AND use up my extra paper supplies at the same time.

Instead of using bubble wrap, I've been shredding beautiful catalogs after I'm through perusing them and shredding vintage clothing patterns that I've been hoarding! Almost anything can be shredded to use as filler! So much more fun than shredding old bills and receipts, eh?

A selection of completely handmade business cards. All have their own unique personality. Clockwise from top: Beth Schaible ( letterpress by the artist), Second Surf (designed, printed, and handcut myself), Canoo (stamped and screenprinted on recycled household paperboard), Dacey Hunter (scrap watercolor paper, then inkjet printed with contact info), Sara Lee Parker Textiles (screenprinted)

The back of Canoo's card....she recycles all the paperboard from their home into business cards! This fits in nicely with her upcycled sweater goodies!

This is the packaging I did for Lori Anderson's upcoming Cup of Bead Soup. I've been painting tiny paper doilies from my estate sale stash to use in my paintings. Torn and taped to the pillow boxes (whose supplies are ever so slowly dwindling) with washi tape and tied with some pretty string and a little tag from leftover watercolor paper scraps.

 Vintage postcards that have been tea stained and with quick sketches and collage elements make great earring cards for more involved earrings and the buyer gets a cute little piece of art to keep!

Here are some other great ideas for using upcycled or handmade supplies:

~Patty from My Life Under The Bus takes those ugly bubble mailers that we always mean to reuse and don't and makes them PRETTY! 

~From the Love My Art Jewelry archives: Make an origami box to hold your jewels....This would look great with a little of that shredded tissue inside...hmmmmm......

guest post - riki schumacher

Whom teaches who?

By Riki Schumacher

When asked by one of the amazingly talented contributors to Love My Art Jewelry blog, to write a post

as a guest artist, it was kind of a struggle to think about to say. What inspires me, what story might be

interesting to you about my life as an artist?

A journey, or an opportunity, or maybe a process, were fabulous suggestions. And after this recent

weekend’s experience of teaching, it flashed on me that I could write about all those things, and hopefully

you will find it useful.

I would like to share little insight about the “journey“of going from student…to instructor, and what I

learned from it.

Here are some pictures from this weekend’s class I taught with another instructor.

I hope the pictures speak a thousand words. Teaching is amazing!

Here’s a mom and daughter team.

Already friends.

Making new friends.

How have any of these students gained by taking this workshop?

I don’t know what each one did for sure. But from these smiles, they were having a ball. I can share what

I took away. Each and every time I teach, I am reminded of how important it is to “pay it forward”. After

about 12 years of traveling, taking workshops, and soaking up every blessed word I could from endless

instructors, it is finally a wonderful time to give back to this amazing industry. Making Art Jewelry is my

passion and teaching it is incredibly rewarding.

After taking classes with lots of instructors, you start to have your favorites, and your not so favorites.

From each class you have taken, did you walk away feeling the teacher was impartial? Did you learn

what you hoped to, in numerous ways? Did you have a blast? Were you disappointed for some reason?

Or were there too many students so you never got the attention and help you needed after traveling and

laying out much money?

I have had all of these things happen to me. And now, since teaching a couple years now, I try to reflect

on how my instructors shared, and how giving they were/are. I’m trying to learn from what I think were

their mistakes, which didn’t happen often. We are in an interesting and opportune period I think, this

day and age. There are thousands of baby boomers retiring every day, and given an opportunity to seek

out what they want to do in their leisure. I understand many students are not retired, and have limited

time to access classes. But, there are a lot of women, and men, following their passion from their youth,

whether they are retired or not. That means there are more opportunities to teach. That’s why it is really

important, to me, to get it right. After retiring from my profession of 20 years, I ran to the nearest jewelry

workshop I could find! I felt like a little sponge, soaking up every word that was fed in, and wanted to

master every technique I could wrap my little brain around.

So if you are a teacher now, or considering a career in instructing to the craft world, the main thing I

would like to stress is how rewarding it is. I learn so much from each class I teach. I gain as much, or

more, than the students. I am so grateful that each student has put their trust in me for one or two days,

and I know that they expect me to deliver as advertised. Each person in a class, paid good hard-earned

money to learn what techniques I promised to share. And not only learn techniques, but be made to feel

welcome and have fun. How can you possibly live up to all the expectations of each student?

After all the classes I’ve taken, and all the instructors I have learned from, as well as my history as an

instructor, here is my two cents on a little recipe for success in teaching. A little dash of each, leads to a

fabulous gourmet class!

listen

laugh

say it

show it

be passionate

you can’t be perfect, stop trying

If you listen as much as you talk, you will answer all their questions. I often tell my grand

daughter, open your ears and shut your mouth. She doesn’t but that’s okay, she hears it!

If you are having fun, they will. You set the tone of the class.

If you are practiced and honed your craft, you can demonstrate each technique with ease, 

and explain it well.

If you believe in what you are doing, they will share the passion. Be sincere in your intentions.

And don’t act like you are perfect. You are going to make mistakes so embrace them. We all learn

from mistakes, and who needs the added pressure?

And for people taking workshops who are reading this, let your instructor know what they did right, and

where they really kicked it in. Feedback is so important, we will learn from that, hopefully!

This can be a successful recipe for on line and e-workshops workshops as well. As an instructor, you can

bring all these elements to your students on line. You just can’t reach out and touch them. But you can

share equally, and deliver the same quality of teaching as if you were there in person.

Look at yourself; look at the way you instruct.

Would you want to take your class??

Happy instructing. And have fun attending workshops. Have fun doing what ever you do.

You really never know if you’ll be here tomorrow.

Love and hugs,

Riki

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you can learn more about Riki in these places:

blog

etsy shop (where you will also find tutorials)

Growing through the tough places.

"One cannot create an art that speaks to men when one has nothing to say."
Andre Malraux


a tiny pot of herb seedlings in a pretty recycled tomato tin.

Hello, fellow Art Jewelry fans! I'm proud to be the newest member of Love My Art Jewelry! I look forward to sharing lots of information with you all and contributing to building a thriving art jewelry community! I look forward to hearing from you all! I will also be helping man Love My Art Jewelry's Twitter, so be sure to follow our tweets! You never know what will pop up there!

For the better part of the last two months, I've been going through a artistic rut. At first, I blamed it on what I like to refer to as "Craft Show Hangover"...wherein you prepare really hard for a large show and then once it's over, you just sort of don't know what to do with yourself. I felt burnt out and was experiencing the joy that I had previously experience with my beads and jewelry.

a bit of a work in progress journal page inspired by my seedlings...

As a mixed-media artist, I began to feel the pull to return to some of the types of work I have done in the past, namely painting, sketching, and book binding, as well as do a bit of gardening. It felt strange to return to things that have not been a staple of my creativity for some time, but I decided, after some thoughtful soul searching to go with my gut and see where this road would lead.

After several weeks of sifting through the flotsam and jetsam of my mind, I have begun to see creeping rhythms of patterns creeping back in.

new charm pendants in progress inspired by my herb garden...

The best part is that switching up my routine has informed new work, refreshed my spirit, and led to new discoveries!

How do you recharge your batteries when you're in a rut?

How do you work through difficult spots in your work and creativity?

guest post - cat kerr

“Begin”

When I first started selling my artwork on Ebay over 5 years ago I first asked myself… Am I crazy?... I then asked.... “Who in their right mind would buy what I make?”... Sigh... and no one did. And so I stopped and gave up. That is until one night I read the poem that changed my life. “The Journey” by Mary Oliver.  The first lines read “One day you finally knew what you had to do and began, even though the voices around you kept shouting their bad advice.” …and that was it, I knew what I had to do. Sometimes it is not enough to know… sometimes you just have to begin. Or as in my case…begin, Again.

My name is Cat Kerr and I am a mixed media artist. I am on my Creative Journey and I feel huge amounts of gratitude to be able to do what I love everyday. I create with the intention of sharing a piece of myself. I assemble and I glue, I stitch and I paint my love into each and every corner, and with prayers behind it, I set it free.

“Free Bird” Assemblage

This year my creative journey took me down another road. It was a natural sort of transition for me to slip my love into jewelry. At age 13 I had a love for fashion design and fabric, at 20, it was paper and found objects, at 35, metal and wood… Today, it is the thrill of combining them all, creating unique, one of a kind mixed media jewelry.

“Playing with Felt” article in  Autumn 2011 Belle Armoire Jewelry

Created by using felt, wood, paper, and vintage rhinestones…

…and Soldered boxes with Filigree, filled with trinkets and ICE Resin…

or perhaps adding some texture with etching, helped along by the sweet guidance of Maire Dodd...

My creative journey is ongoing…I am still learning, I am still growing, I am still moving forward. But one thing I know for sure, there is no journey, unless you take the first step.

So begin and start creating.

editor's note:

you can follow cat here:

blog - www.inthelightofthemoon.blogspot.com

etsy shop for mixed media and altered art 

etsy shop for mixed media jewelry

in addition, cat was recently selected to be on susan lenart kazmer's ice resin creative team 2011 - 2012... congratulations cat! that is a huge honor... looking forward to seeing more of  your work... 

so a woman has a deadline -

and it's, um, today... 


she started out with the best of intentions - with a list that was refined during the week... components finished (each and every step)... and all that was really necessary was to sit in one spot and put them together... 


and then, she woke up and had one of those 'hey, what if i...' moments... 


did she:


a - stick to the list
b - generally stick to the list, but be flexible about it
c - veer completely off course and have a blast making 8 rings... yes, 8... 

'venture forth' came first... a translation of my earrings into a ring... there is a 'Q' instead of an 'O', to serve as a reminder that we all make mistakes, but must keep the big picture in mind...  set things right and get back on track... 


then came a 'what if i soldered 2 cupped discs together?' which meant i had to play with two levels of soldering... and figure out the order of some other steps... 

the 'emerge' rings have a lotus at the center of the base...

and then 'what if i etched some of the metal

and added some silk?'

or tried it with enamel...


and etched the back?

or figured out a ring to set off one of marsha neal's connectors for her my mom pattie etsy shop?

or played with etching, patina and silk?

and then there is one that is unfinished - the patina is setting - but i love the construction and wish i had taken a picture prior to adding the color... 

this one is very 3 dimensional... 

by the way, the woman chose answer 'c'... actually, she didn't choose it, it chose her...

oh, i did also make a leaf pendant to go along with one of lean weih's acorns (which i am not so sure i can part with)... 

and finish a special order for a friend - i made her a lotus disc to go along with the 'moon' resin and moonstone... 

let's see,  intake for the exhibit is until 1pm... i still have time!

hello, my name is

(stands up hesitatingly)

mary jane dodd... and i have an uncontrollable desire to figure out how to make things myself... 


like many of you, i have been making manifest the things i envision for much of my life... in different media and with different techniques... 


what set off the whole adornment 'thing' was sundance catalog over 10 yrs. ago... i would look through the pages and think 'i can do that'... and so i started trying... 


but it wasn't until my entry into the world of blogging/etsy/flickr that i really started to develop a style and find ways to express myself... it was like falling into a virtual artists commune... people working through different kinds of problems - be they the technical, inspirational, or even business type... being a studio jeweler can be isolating (and add 3 kids into the mix and there is no time for anything!)


i am of the belief that we are continuously subjected to so much external stimuli that we can lose our way easily... i like to think of the pieces i create as bridges to your Self... ways to get back to what is important to you when you are feeling overwhelmed... 

life is bittersweet - for all of us... i find affirmation in words and hope that you find a connection with them as well... gemstones are used for their metaphysical properties... i prefer using mixed media - the bringing together of metal and fiber is a tangible way of expressing fragile strength - a quality i think many women share... resin can take an antique page of text and preserve it for many many years to come... enamel allows me to add my own color (something i have learned from another lmaj member who you will meet)... as does adding patina (also learned from a talented lmaj member)... 


we at lmaj look forward to sharing our journey with you - the accomplishments and the set backs, all the while moving forward... 


i invite you to stop by my blog @  www.mairedodd.blogspot.com ~