Long Time - No Post

It's been so very long since I've posted, - a year or maybe more - terrible. I vow to do better from now on.

So much has happened - most of it wonderful - in the past year, that I have a lot to catch up on. For the next few days, I'll try to bring my blog up to date and then I can move forward a bit.

Jewelry"wise", I had another wonderful happening. Shortly after winning 4th place in a juried art show, I decided to submit an application for an exhibit at the Capital Arts Houchens Gallery. The great news was that I was accepted and was a part of an exhibit called "A Celebration of Food and Wine". The show was a "team" effort - I joined with a wonderful artist named Misha Ambrosia who works in various media - acrylic, oil and watercolor - and occasionally others. She had some of the most beautiful work that all related to the theme. My jewelry occasionally stretched the theme a bit, but most of my pieces also fit.

I had a collection of jewelry pieces made from sterling silver table
wear that was one of the most popular of my work. Here are a
couple of the silver wear pieces: This piece is made of hand
forged and hammered sterling silver circles and faceted black
onyx rondells. The center focal is the spoon end that I've annealed
and hammered flat. I added strips of sterling stamped with the
French phrase, - Cest' si bon (it is good!)

The second picture is of an antique serving spoon that was so thin on one side that it had cracked. After planishing with my hammer, the crack opened up - so it had to be "patched". I made the patch with a piece of copper and sewed it with a piece ofsilver wire.
It's stamped to say "A broken heart means you have loved".
I love thinking of the lady who served food to people she loved over and over for the many years it took for this silver to become so thin on the broken side. And, I love the rustic look to the cold connected patch.

The night of the opening of the exhibit, our Capital gallery held a lovely reception for us and the attendance was marvelous. I will have to say that the majority of people came to see Misha's work. She is so well known in Bowling Green and has a wonderful following of "art fans". However, many of her friends and followers sought me out to tell me how much they liked my jewelry. One of her followers, David Francis, asked me about the possibility of being featured in an article in the fantastic "SOKY Happenings" that has taken Bowling Green and the surrounding are by storm. We made plans that night and before long, Carrie, David's adorable wife, called and we put everything together. When I saw the final product, I was thrilled. I think I'll keep that copy on my coffee table forever!

If you live in the Bowling Green, Ky area, be sure to pick up a copy of SOKY Happenings - it's a fantastic magazine, full of upcoming events and articles about people and places that you'll find interesting.

Artworks 2nd Annual Fine Arts Exhibition

I can pick the absolutely worse times to be sick. Actually, I'm never sick - but let something I really want to do come up - and, there I am - totally sick!!! I entered the Artworks members exhibition again this year and was excited about the reception and first night of the show.

Our judge was from the Speed Museum in Louisville - and I received word the next day that I had won 4th prize in the 3D category. I do so wish I could have been there to receive the award, but to have won was so exciting.

The hammered heart is forged of a silver and copper alloy called shibuichi. It is sometimes referred to as "pink silver". I was unable to locate shibuichi in the US, so I contacted a friend in Japan who found it and shipped it to me. My necklace is entitled Setsuko's Quest in honor of my friend Setsuko Tsugihara who was so wonderful to find it for me.

You can see many of the entries of the show at this link - to see my necklace, you will need to scroll down a long way. http://www.artworksinc.org/events.html

Here's a picture of Setsuko's Quest:

I hope to have a close up picture later - but if you are in the Bowling Green area, the necklace is still on display at The Gallery at 916 on the square in downtown Bowling Green, Ky

Life certainly brings about change! It's been a busy couple months and I haven't had time to turn around, and definately no time to post.

In October, my mom suffered a fall and broke her hip. She had a total hip replacement and has been working so hard to get her health and strength back. It's been a difficult road, but she seems to be improving a little faster now.

Looking in on her and helping a bit uses up a good portion of my time, so my jewelry work has taken a back seat for a while. I kept up with Christmas orders pretty well, but haven't pushed to do much since then.

I have an exhibit coming up in June and I need to make several "pieces of note" - which means I really need to get it in gear and get busy NOW! A "piece of note" doesn't come easy and each will probably take 2/3 days ore more - so I need to devote lots of time to creating.

Here's hoping that this new year will bring about growth and improvement in my smithing skills and my ability to concentrate on the creative aspect of jewelry making.