studio visitors

i've been really lucky to have had some amazing guests in my studio over the past few weeks since the penland summer sessions began. we've had some interesting conversations about jewelry and art, penland happenings, and they were also kind enough to talk about my work and my residency plans. i'm won't go into detail; there is just too much and i might bore you, but i will say these conversations gave me lots to think about and have made me even more excited to make my work. i want to say thanks to all of these wonderful people for sharing their precious and valuable time with me. the above photo is in my studio before one of these visits. i usually set up my table with things i've been working on so my guests can see what i've been up to. in brief...

leslie noell, a mixed media artist - we talked about my new life at penland and how i am adjusting to my surroundings, the busy/unpredictable/strange schedule, and the multitudes of new people i meet. we also talked about drawing or making marks on paper, something i am very interested in. leslie suggested some exercises to get my ideas going and advised me to start by working with what i know.
mary lee hu, my former jewelry professor from the university of washington - we talked about what "one-0f-a-kind" means because i am having a hard time defining it within my work. she suggested going bigger, for one. she also noted i need to find my "thing" and run with it.
anika smulovitz - this was my first time meeting anika and i really enjoyed getting to know her. we talked about things we are struggling with in our work and traded suggestions on pushing through, motivation, and idea generation.
bob ebendorf and jim meyer - we talked about trends or themes in jewelry and the overlap that can occur among artists. we discussed how important it is to know who's making what and the pros and cons of keeping up with what others are doing versus not looking at others' work to steer clear of overlap. it's tricky...
most recently susie ganch and christina miller were here teaching radical jewelry makeover. we talked about making jewelry, susie's experience as a penland resident (i met susie as a resident in 1999), and radical jewelry makeover. these two are some of my favorite people and i loved spending time with them!

thanks for reading.