This poor blog. It has been left to languish while I have been racing around tending to house sale, business running, teaching, and proposal writing (more on that later). That’s going to change soon – I’ve embarked on a site redesign that will help me keep the content fresh and (hopefully) encourage me to post more photos in addition to writing more than one paltry post a month.
So, with the mea culpa’s out of the way, let me show you what this month’s Art Jewelry Elements component challenge was all about.
Those glass cabochons were made by yours truly, and it was a little nerve-wracking. I make most of my own components, but not usually for other people to use – and let’s face it, the AJE contributors are among the most talented component creators out there. So…. yeah, a little intimidating.
I picked that pretty mossy green cab in the upper left, second row. And in a confluence of events, I killed several metaphorical birds with this particular stone.
Metaphorical bird #1: I teach a two-day chain making class that includes a full day of “cold” chain (i.e., chain that isn’t made with a torch) and I had been looking for a resource I could recommend to students who wanted to move on to more advanced projects. I finally picked up Cindy Wimmer‘s book The Missing Link, which has been on my Amazon wish list for a while, and let me tell you… this book is amazing. It is so beautifully written and photographed, and the links are so well explained – I started out making wire jewelry years ago and moved on to metals and enamels, but in the last couple of weeks, this book has reawakened my excitement about working with wire. Rather than use manufactured chain for this piece, I made one out of Loopty Loop links from the book, and I modified the link to create a clasp that blends nearly seamlessly into the chain.
Metaphorical birds #2 and #3: I have been trying to screw up my courage to apply to some of the bigger venues for teaching opportunities, but I’ve always talked myself out of it. The truth is that I’ve been doing more and more teaching outside of my comfort zone (including a continuing education class for art teachers in the local school district – yikes!) and have become increasingly confident in my ability to work with larger groups and troubleshoot on the fly. So when my Roadhouse Arts partner Gail suggested I apply to teach at next year’s Glass Craft Expo, I took the plunge – so in addition to being my Component of the Month offering, this necklace served as a sample for the prong setting class I proposed to them.
WE INTERRUPT THIS COMPONENT OF THE MONTH REVEAL FOR AN IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT:
Glass Craft Expo took all four workshops I proposed.
This means that next April, I will be teaching in Las Vegas at one of the largest gatherings of glass artists, vendors and enthusiasts in the United States.
I am thrilled, excited, a little scared, and very, very pleased.
Registration for the classes opens in October, and I promise you will become thoroughly sick of me telling you all about it.
WE NOW RESUME THE COMPONENT OF THE MONTH REVEAL!
In spite of the fact that Bead Fest is right around the corner, several of my wonderful AJE partners found the time to participate in the COM this month, in addition to our terrific guest designers. Take a quick spin through the blog links below, and be sure to leave folks a comment letting them know you stopped in – we like it when we hear from you!
Guest Designers
Deb Fortin – www.studiok24.blogspot.ca
Toltec Jewels – www.JewelSchoolFriends.com
Carol Briody – cbriody.blogspot.com
The AJE Team
Caroline Dewison – blueberribeads.blogspot.co.uk
Susan Kennedy – www.suebeads.blogspot.com
Melissa Meman – melissameman.blogspot.com
Jenny Davies-Reazor – www.jdaviesreazor.com/blog
Kristen Stevens – kristen-beadjourney.blogspot.com
Francesca Watson (yours truly!) – www.francescawatson.com
