seattle revisited

i lived in seattle for about 7 years before returning to the east coast nearly a year and a half ago. since this was my first trip back, it was packed with old friends and good coffee. today i ventured to the industrial area to visit the HQ of the amazing clothing company prairie underground. (the above picture was taken nearby - i just couldn't resist that sign!) i got to meet the duo behind the work, devora and camilla, and picked up a few pieces for myself including this incredible jacket.
i also spent a lot of time looking at jewelry in shops and galleries around the city like facere jewelry art. the following image is a brooch by seth papac, one of the many wonderful jewelers represented there.
my trunk show at velouria was fantastic. this shop is by far one of my favorites and i absolutely love working with the owner and clothing designer, tes de luna. it's always such a treat to have a trunk show at velouria!
i am off to san francisco. my rare device show is this saturday, 12-4.

thanks for reading.

portland scrapbook

my visit to portland at the end of last week, although short, was very sweet. i spent hung out with old friends, ate at favorite restaurants, spent some time with jill bliss in her studio, and had a great trunk show at seaplane.

i went to jill's on friday. her studio is really great - light-filled and loaded with cute stuff and interesting things to look at. i also picked up the jewelry of the month pieces we collaborated on for december. they look just amazing! (and that's all i can say about the work until december...)
my trunk show was good, not as well attended as i would have liked, but i did enjoy myself as i sipped champagne with customers.
seaplane made t-shirts with my logo for the event. so funny to see my name in this way!next up...seattle and velouria.

thanks for reading.

p.s. the top picture is of my favorite pdx bridges - the steel bridge.

guest star friday #27...the west coast edition part 1

for the next couple of fridays while i'm on the west coast i thought i would feature the work of jewelers who live in the cities where my trunk shows are. this week i have two shows in a row, portland today and seattle tomorrow. i'll begin with portland jeweler kristin mitsu shiga. kristin makes wonderfully tactile work with a layering of different materials and lovely details. i am especially fond of the first piece due to the yellow color. i also really like the hand stitching.
next is lori talcott from seattle. lori is my mentor. i met her years ago at penland and later went on to apprentice and work for her. lori's jewelry is loaded with rich detail and each piece is incredibly refined and thoughtful.

you can see more images of her work at this link.

thanks for reading.

from penland to seattle

my time at the penland school of crafts ended on thursday. we had a final critique on my students' bezel setting projects and as usual i was impressed with how well they did and even more with how personal they are already making their work. after the crit they presented me with this beautiful charm bracelet that they had been secretly making. it made me cry. my near four weeks as their instructor was just incredible. it was a joy to teach them and i learned a lot myself.

my instructor slide show/artist talk went well. i was very nervous but was able to settle down within the first few minutes. i showed images of my work and things that are inspiring me right now. here are a few images of my inspirations...nicholas de stael, terry winters, and a close-up of a buoy.

today i am off to the west coast for the start of my trunk show tour and right now i am waiting in the tiny asheville airport for my plane to board. it is real early and i am looking forward to being quiet and still on the plane, two things i have not been for awhile now. i have a few days in seattle to start, then head to portland for my show at seaplane. the next day i will travel back to seattle for my show at velouria followed by a few more days to visit with friends. after seattle i head to san francisco for my rare device show and then on to los angeles for my final show at carol young/undesigned as well as a lecture at long beach community college. after all that i head back to penland for the last days of the fall concentration. i am really looking forward to my shows and seeing all my friends again. it's been almost a year and half since i moved from seattle to asheville. this trip is sure to be lots of fun. as for my shows, i'm feeling pretty good about my readiness. i wasn't able to make as much as i would have liked, but i'm guessing it's still enough since i tend to make more than i usually need.

charm by claire buck - gracias amy

thanks for reading.

more hollow forms

here are the remaining hollow forms my students made last week.

collin blackmore

hillary woedl

laura davis

i am only here a few more days - my last day is tomorrow. what an incredible experience this has been! so challenging and so fun! i've learned a lot about teaching and gained greater confidence in my teaching skills. i feel very fortunate to have had this time here as an instructor and to have worked with such a talented group of students. it will be hard to leave.

thursday i will be joined by joanna gollberg who will be teaching the last 4 weeks of the session. that evening we will both give our instructor slide show/artist talk for the school.

thanks for reading.

item of the week

this week's item of the week is the diskis bracelet from my signature collection. this bracelet is based on a custom design i created for a client a few years ago. as i was working on sketches for the fall preview and 2009 pieces, i came across my original drawings. i was reminded of how much i enjoyed making it then and thought it would make an excellent edition to my original line now. plus, i really liked that i would be adding a bracelet. i don't make many of them so it is a refreshing edition as well. the random pattern of different sized disks is how i like these elements best.

this will be the last item of the week until i get back from my west coast trunk show tour. i will also be "closing" my shop until then as well. you will still be able to visit my site and all its pages and even place orders, i just won't be able to fill any of them since i will be away from my studio.

thanks for reading.

hollow forms

claire buck

last week my students made hollow forms based on a specific source of their choice. the form had to have at least 2 scored and folded sides. here are a few images. i have a few more to photograph and will post them later.

kate schroeder

raina lee scott

eve singer

marianne dages

thanks for reading.

mini update

i leave for my west coast trunk show tour in a week. in the evenings when i'm not teaching at penland, i am busy making inventory for my four shows. i've made most of my steel and gold collection but still have a long way to go on my other collections. i foresee some long days ahead.

seaplane pop up shop
friday, oct. 24 from 7-10pm
919 nw 23rd. st. ground level
portland, or

velouria
saturday, oct. 25 from 2-6pm
2205 nw market st.
seattle, wa

rare device
saturday, nov. 1 from 12-4pm
1845 market st.
san francisco, ca

carol young|undesigned
saturday, nov. 8 from 12-6
los angeles, ca

in other news...i've been chosen as a american craft council searchlight artist. i was nominated by a colleague and then juried in. the searchlight program features a group of 25 emerging artists at the american craft council baltimore show in february 2009 in a special gallery section.

thanks for reading.

what they've been up to

we had our first big project critique yesterday. last week we tackled soldering and the students learned to make rings and chains, among other things. i gave them a choice of ring and necklace projects with accompanying sketchbook assignments. for our discussion, i asked everyone to talk about why they chose their project, what they liked about their piece(s) and what they thought could be improved. i also asked them to comment positively on someone else’s work. i was very impressed with their finished pieces and could tell they had worked hard. now that i think about it, they did so well! they just learned the very basic stuff in the last 10 days.
raina lee scott (asheville, nc) steel link chain necklace with river rock off-set pendant
collin blackmore (hamilton, ny) – architectural chain necklace in stainless steel and brass
marianne dages (penland core student, philadelphia, pa) - found object sterling silver rings
kate schroeder (new york , ny) - sterling silver and brass rings
hillary woedl (oxford, oh) - copper and brass ring series
caitie sellers (richmond, pa) "memories of guatemala", steel and sterling silver chain
linda paine (me) - copper, sterling, and found acorn ring
claire buck (new braunfels, tx) - copper, brass, rawhide, and sterling silver ring series
eve singer (san francisco, ca) - brass necklace
kallie kosta (asheville, nc) - copper toggle necklace

in the afternoon i demonstrated acid etching on metal. then we piled into the school van for a field trip to asheville where we had dinner at an indian place and then heard a lecture by jeweler phil carrizzi at unc asheville.

for the rest of the week we are working on hollow forming metal with scoring and folding and the hydraulic press, as well as hinges, and pin stems.

thanks for reading.

item of the week

this week’s item of the week is the aligned shadow box in both earrings and necklace form. i made these in an effort to bring some depth and dimension to my otherwise rather flat preface collection. i also wanted to add sheet metal in some way rather than working with my usual wire shapes. after i made them i tried to come up with a good name and thought shadowbox was fitting. there is something very pleasing to me about shadow boxes and the like. they remind me of the many dioramas and dollhouses i made as a kid. this new shadowbox reminds me of those tiny spaces that I filled so happily and meticulously. i think this new form has potential to be filled with something...you might just see that next year.

the aligned shadowbox earrings and necklace are both part of my fall preview. all fall preview designs are currently 20% off until oct. 15.

thanks for reading.

october jewelry of the month

i am happy to announce a new jewelry of the month piece, the silk stitched pendant. this little pendant is composed of a gently domed, soft rectangle that is pierced and stitched with yellow silk thread.

this design satisfies an ongoing desire to incorporate fiber into my work. i made five pieces and each bears a unique stitched design.

the pendant is approximately 1” wide by 1.25” long. each is made of oxidized sterling silver and hangs from an 18” chain. the thread is pure silk.

there are five necklaces available at $78 a piece, each with a numbered and signed card.

thanks for reading.