new ring!

i spent soem time last week looking through my pictures from india in january 2007. i found this one, which is part of a tapestry in the Aina Mahal in Bhuj, Kutch. They used this handmade tapestry as wallpaper, and it lined the bottom half of the walls in the hallways of the palace. it is amazing to think of all the hours those women spent hand embroidering this beautiful work.



i ran across this picture of cold connected brooches somewhere, forgive me for not having the proper credits. i love the inegnious way of adding the clasp on these. fantastic design.




i made a new ring last week. i love it! an experiment in color, once again, but sparkly colors that seem to work well together.





i found out last week that Mobilia Gallery in Cambridge will be representing my work at SOFA NY 2009 in april. i am super excited about this! i will be making about 5 large pieces for the show, which fits into my schedule perfectly. jamie and i also decided that we will go up for the opening, new papoose in arms! so we'll stay a couple of days, get to see the show, see my uncle victor, and take a practice trip with the babe. i have already begun making the work, and think it's going to turn out great. i'm super grateful for the opportunity to show my work in such an incredible venue. i have to give thanks also to my studio mate, geoff giles, for recommending my work to Mobilia.

here's a toilet for you. one that burns the refuse and turns it into ash. pretty nifty, wonder why it didn't take off commercially? when i was in india at the toilet museum in delhi, they had a replica of one of these toilets, and the indian guide told me it turns the refuse into "ass". hilarious!




anyone know what happened to all the pre-fab neighborhoods that they showed in movies like E.T., Poltergeist, and The Outsiders? are they still around? what do they look like now?


hope you guys have a great weekend!
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shoes and such

i've found a few new pairs of fun shoes! hope you like them! the second pair is my fave!



remember back when i complained about nicole richey and her new line of jewelry? well, here it is! wow! i've always loved it when people use themselves as their model. just kidding!



things on this end are growing quickly. faster than i could have imagined. less than a month to go!


we had a lovely christmas here with debby, larry, and matt. hope everyone else had a greta day too! now that it is over we are trying to figure out what to do for new year's. it will probably be a quiet night, as most of our nights are nowadays.


my friend kate had her baby, a little boy named max! one day he was inside, and the next he was outside! we were super happy to have her and max over for christmas eve dinner. welcome, max thomas!




not much jewelry going on due to the carpal tunnel issues i am experiencing with pregnancy. i am working on one thing right now, but it is a gift, so i'll post a pic later when i've given it! i must say that the cortisone shots i got a few weeks ago have been so helpful and i am sleeping normally without any hand pain or hands falling asleep at night. i think the combination of cortisone and lots of acupuncture has really helped alot.

best wishes to everyone for a most delightful, inspiring, and fruitful new year!

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brrrr!

people, it has been a cold day! we are all huddled up inside the house, covered in blankies. steve, the cat, even has his blankie on!

penland turned out to be an intense experience. Amy and i had some great students who made fantastic work. each of the students developed their own jewelry style, which was fabulous and exciting to see. really, i was truly blessed to meet some wonderful people, and reconnect with others i already knew were great. i am glad to be home, back working some in my safe studio here in asheville, though.

now i am just filling some orders i have gotten from The Artful Home catalog. i had 2 pieces for sale in the catalog, and it is exciting to have people order my work in that manner! The artful home features all handmade work, both on the website and in the catalog, so if you are looking for some quality handmade gifts, i suggest you check it out.




i also am super excited that i have been accepted into the Klimt Community, an online exhibition space and community. I have long admired this website, and actually never thought i'd be a part of it. well, i will be shortly, as soon as i get my act together and send them all the necessary info and pics. check it out in a couple of weeks. i'll remind you.

i also discovered a new jewelry book that i am super excited about. My new friend Mary Hallam Pearse introduced me to this book, and i came home and ordered it right away. it arrived this afternoon. it is called The Fat booty of Madness, and it features many jewelry artists from all over the world. it a fantastic book for eye candy, ideas, laughs...i just love it! charon kransen sells it for $75 + shipping.



i am reading barack obama's autobiography, Dreams From My Father. I highly recommend this book, as it reads like a novel and also is so informative. Wht a great guy our newest president is! i am thrilled to learn more about his fascinating life. can you still believe it? i am so proud of us for voting him in, finally. it feels good to be proud of something our country has done when i have been embarrassed for so long.



lastly, check out this toilet. it is a tree toilet for camping. how lovely.



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almost forgot!

wow, i guess today has been overwhelming with the traveling and all because i forgot to say what happened yesterday and the day before!

wednesday afternoon i got a call from dana moore at penland school of crafts, asking if i was interested in filling in as the metals instructor for fall concentration. this is an 8 week class. i have a lot going on. i said i would be happy to help in some way but that i could not teach the whole time.

dana asked about amy tavern, my studio mate and friend, and i said, well, she's sitting right here next to me! so the 2 of them talked, then amy and i talked, and we figured out that amy would take over the first part of the class, and i will take over the 2nd part of the class. 4 weeks and 4 weeks. wow.

so yesterday we went up and met the class and talked about their expectations and introduced ourselves and whatnot...and now...this fall is set on a different course! how exciting for both amy and me, and i hope exciting for the students! amy and i are both super excited to be able to be up at penland!

i will commute some of my time there, so i can come home and be with jamie. i also have a lot of other work to get done during that time as well, for 3rd Ward Jewelry in Milwaukee and for DeNovo in Palo Alto. not to mention working on my new book!

so, in a couple of weeks i will get to be part of my 2nd fall concentration as an instructor at penland! yee-haw! penland has been such a great place for me, and i look forward to the peace it brings. i think amy and i will make a great teaching team!

boise day 1

hey all,

i arrived safely in boise. had a great lunch with 2 of the ladys from my class whom i remember from being her 2 1/2 years ago. super nice people!

they dropped me off at my hotel so i could chill for the afternoon. i am super glad to have this afternoon to do nothing, as i was up at 4:45 this morning and will be up til 11 or so NC time. my normal bedtime is 10pm, so it is late for me to stay up past that, and i have to teach all day tomorrow. so this afternoon i have laid about in my kick ass motel!

i am staying in the Modern Hotel. it is an old motel that has been redone mid-century modern style. fabulous! the room is simple and luxurious, with all mid-century repro furnishings, a delightful waterfall shower that come right out of the ceiling, aveda hair products, a flat screen tv and an ipod docking station. needless to say i have already been quietly rocking out to some "Om Shanti Om." AND i get internet access from my bed! sweet!



the only negative about being here so far is that i am gonna miss the debate. dammit! but i am sure i will find out if there is anything good said. this election has gotten me riled up, people, riled up. to the point where i honestly feel that if you plan on voting for mccain and palin, you are not bothering to really think about the future of this country, and i have lost respect for you. seriously. i mean, did you even see ms. palin talk about the proximity of russia to alaska and what that means to her foreign policy experience? puh-leeese!

so, tonight i give my lecture, which is just a slide show about me and my work. then tomorrow we begin making our hinged lockets!

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we went to the mountain state fair on friday evening. jamie had never been before. i'm never one for the rides, due to motion sickness, but we did go on the ferris wheel. we also went to the petting zoo, where we saw this camel. i got to touch his face! he was a very nice camel, unlike all the ones i have met in real life before, who were mean and liked to bite. we had a good time looking around and people watching and such.



we decided to paint one wall in the baby's room orange. looking good. jamie did a quick paint job on it this afternoon. i am not a huge fan of the baby pastel colors, so we aren't having any of that. just making the room a nice place for us to hang out and for the baby to sleep and play. should be cool when we're done!



i've been working on a group of new work which i will send to Mobilia Gallery in Cambridge, Massachusets for their Mid-Century jewelry show that opens in October. here are some pieces i made last week that i really like!



i found this website that is interesting: Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Government. They have compiled a list of the 20 worst congressmen-- very interesting, shocking, and disappointing. i am getting worn down by the lies, the twisting of the truth, and by the general american public who is willing to believe all the lies as well. sigh.

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