One-of-a-Kind Show Toronto

Had a fabulous time yesterday in Toronto at the One-of-a-Kind Show with my good friend Trisha.
So many artists with really innovative work! I especially enjoyed the work of Alison Terp, Michele Rose, Rudy Kehkla and Sharon Nowlan along with many others. I came back with a great deal of inspiration and lots of ideas for my own artwork.

Textured Painting

Yes, I know I make jewellery, but I wanted to try my hand at Paul Bozzo's cool textured painting technique. See his videos in previous post. I have a long way to go but I have to tell ya - this is really fun!!

I can't wait to experiment with more colours and different textures.

Texturing with joint compound

1st layer of colour

Maboue

I am loving this Montreal artist, Soleil Fleming, that specializes in exquisite porcelain jewellery. Her style is simple, elegant and understated - exactly what I like!

She goes by the business name of Maboue and her Flickr and Etsy sites have lots more eye candy to peruse.

New Pendants!

Sorry for the delay in between posts but I am recovering from the Nasty flu as I have aptly named it. Hope you didn't have it.
Working on some new Spring-inspired pieces - wishful thinking I'm sure! I am hoping to create some floral and nature-inspired pieces as well as some more bold, colorful jewellery too.

New Year - Learned Lessons and New Beginnings

Well, another year is over and time to send my scrap silver to the refiner's. It has been a busy year, starting with a decision to invest more effort into my jewellery business and really buckle down, buy new equipment and learn some new skills.

After a slow start, I gained some momentum and finished off the year much more successfully than anticipated. I have learned so much in 2010 and am grateful for everyone that was kind enough to give me advice and so much valuable information that I needed.

I have to give a special thank-you to the three newest galleries that are representing me;

   Gallery Art Plus in Belleville,

   Agnes Etherington Art Centre in Kingston and

   Metalworks, also in Kingston

Metalworks, in particular has been instrumental in looking at my work through a finer lens and helping me to become a better metalsmith. I hope to take more classes and continue on the same path this year.

I am very excited to find out what the new year has in store for me and my family and business and I guess the one thing that is constantly in the back of my mind (along with the cobwebs :-) is that nobody is going to come knocking on my door unless I first hit the pavement and knock on a few doors myself first. I don't know why every year that I am so surprised and delighted to find this is true. The trick for me is to get over any insecurities I may have and just be bold and confident and approach new business opportunities as if I had done this 100 times before. Every new business experience this year has been wonderful and unique and has helped me grow as a business woman, artist and person.

Thank-you and Happy New Year!

Great Jewellery!

Check out Miranda's blog and her stunning jewellery which you can purchase at Metalworks along with mine (plug, plug :).

She is a terrific metalsmith and I hear she will be updating her blog more frequently, so check in with her and see what she's up to!

She also has a flickr site as well.

Challenge

This was a custom order I completed for a client and just heard back that she loved it. I always hold my breath a little (ok, a lot!). This was mostly her design translated through my hands and a handful of emails and I am so relieved that she liked it!

Custom orders are tricky. I agonize over them but this particular one was a good lesson for me because I had never created a cuff bracelet like this. Definitely a good lesson in problem solving and a confidence-booster in realizing a finished product that the customer is pleased with. 

I'm working on some new resin and crushed glass pieces. It is so much fun to experiment with new materials and find out their possibilities and limitations. As messy as glass is, it does work extremely well. They still have to be sanded and finished but I see a whole new line opening up with lots of possibilities!

Lovely Day!

We went for a wonderful drive to Prince Edward County today and stopped in Bloomfield at the fabulous FAD Gallery. Beautiful, functional art, fine art and loads of gorgeous jewellery is what this place is all about! I especially liked the encaustic work by  Tanya Kirouac. Breathtaking, actually. Michael was  a great help!

Definitely stop by if you are in the neighbourhood or need a gift for a special person. So much to choose from and all one-of-a-kind!