...Plastics...

Y'all remember this in-progress carved acrylic piece?

Well, it eventually got finished:

I'm reasonably pleased, but I'm probably going to go back in with the heat gun and take out a little bit of the curve. I'm working with other colors of acrylic as well:

I really liked doing these hairpins, and (while I admit they're a bit crude) I think they're pretty good for having been completely free-handed in a couple of hours. They've been tested in my crazy hair, and I didn't manage to break any of them, so they're structurally sound. The "ivory" pins have been useful, but I'll probably put an antique finish on them before I declare them done-done.  The "tortoiseshell" is a somewhat more vexing problem.  That pin was cut from a sample that took nearly 2 months to arrive, and I have reason to doubt the dependability of the manufacturer. Unfortunately, they're the only people I could find offering marbled-pattern acrylic sheets in reasonable sizes (next best minimum order is five 4'x8' sheets).  So negotiations will continue and hopefully this will work out.  I really want to have the "tortoiseshell" to work with.

And winter proceeds apace...

January was interesting, exciting, and incredibly busy.  It was mostly getting ready for the dealers' room at RustyCon, which was a whole different animal than my usual con experience. First, there was having to take an art show display and turn it into a booth:

It still needs a little bit of polish and some more lights, but I love that I have a banner now.  The young man ducking down in the back is my friend Nick, who was lending assistance.

Then there was getting the promotional giveaways ready, which involved pressing 500 buttons:

Having Zazzle print 500 tags:

and then combining them into complete swag bag inserts:

That took the better part of an afternoon, and I learned some lessons about print layout for these things.

After that was the final pre-show creative push, where I had a really good kiln day and tried out some new styles (I'm exceptionally proud of the tiger stripes):

Then, much to my chagrin, we were snowed in for several days:

We were in fact snowed in right up until the last possible moment to load in for the show.
We did alright at the show. Mostly sold claws, but if you had your eye on Directions #2,

I'm sorry, but it's found a new home.

Two days after RustyCon, I went on desperately needed vacation, and came back well refreshed. The last week or so has been spent trying to close my accounting books for 2011 so I can do taxes.  I'm almost done with that.
So, the next few weeks will hold listing the new stuff on Artfire, making more new stuff, adding some more storage to the studio (and possibly getting a new/modified bench), finishing accounting, and getting geared up for NorwesCon at the beginning of April. Here's hoping it all goes smoothly.

Show News! And help please

First, the big news: I got my acceptance email from Norwescon Dealers' Room Monday! That means I will definitely be there with an abundance of stuff. Now I just need to make some decisions about hotel arrangements and locate an assistant.

 The graduation show went well. There was a decent turnout and some sales. I'll be making more leaf things, as they continue to be very popular.

My Professor's only advice about my display was that I should probably have more color.  I'm inclined to agree, and am looking for ways to incorporate my shade of purple into things.  I'll almost certainly be able to add some in the sign and frame, and there may be a new tablecloth or overlay as well.  The fun part is going to be transferring the aesthetic from an art show display to a dealers' room table.

So I mentioned above that I need some assistance with Norwescon. I need some assistance with Rustycon as well. The job mostly involves covering the booth during lunch and if there ends up being a daytime panel I need to go to, as well as help with setup and breakdown. There's a con badge in it for the person chosen, and likely some meals as well.

New Technology and Life Before Handbags

Firstly, a reminder for the graduation show:  This Friday, 12/16, Wayward Coffeehouse (SW corner of 65th & Roosevelt, Seattle).  Be there, drink coffee, buy art!

Now on with today's show!

There's a lot of new technology in the studio lately.  We learned about electro-etching a few weeks ago, and I finally got set up for it in the studio.  The first piece is a thing of beauty.

The first etched piece!

Subsequent pieces have been similarly successful.

My instructor has been encouraging us to look at plastics at an alternative material for some time now, and I finally got around to exploring it.  It turns out that acrylic can be made to substitute for a number of natural materials that are difficult, expensive, and/or unethical to obtain, like ivory, ebony, and bone.  You can carve it , dye it, and heat form it.  This is an in-progress shot from the beginnings of a hair-comb I'm carving from black acrylic:

proto-comb

I hand-sketched the knot right on to the backing paper and sawed and filed from there.  It's currently just about ready to be molded (for later resin pouring) and formed.  There will be pics when it's done.

This is another carved piece in ivory acrylic:

carved ivory acrylic

This pic was only just taken, and it has a ways to go yet.  The carvings need to be cleaned up, the whole thing needs some dye, and there may end up being some inlay work.

A lot of my playing with etching and plastics is headed in a particular direction.  This is an antique chatelaine:




Pre-WWI, this was one of the more popular options for women to carry around the things she would need during the day.  The attachments were called accessories, and could often be switched out depending on what was planned for the day.  This one has a pencil, a little notepad called an "aide-memoire" (these frequently had ivory or celluloid pages that would be erased and reused), a compact or pill case, scissors, a container for a thimble or tape measure, and a whistle.  A google image search will show almost limitless options for things to hang on your chatelaine.
I'm working on a couple of these and a bunch of accessories, and how they might be updated with modern materials and accessories.  I already carry a number of things (bus pass, key-cards, a tape measure & a flash drive) on tags and hooks on the outside of my purse despite the fact that the handbag itself is ginormous.  I already have this flash drive and am planning to make more:

The jump to a proper chatelaine is really not a big one.
I figure the modern chatelaine would include a cell case, credit card case, flash drive, change purse, plus whatever tools you need for what you do.  I always have a tape measure, and often need a box knife (they make tiny adorable ones) and a B&S sheet metal gauge.  I'd probably also have a little change-purse-type bag for Carmex and the like.  I'm especially fascinated with the aide-memorie and its reusable pages, since there are some things in the world I can only work out with a pencil.  This is another case of "pics when it's done", which hopefully will be taken Friday afternoon before time to go set up the show.

Shows, Sales, and everything else!

Tine for catching up!  Most immediately, we've got a big sale going on in the Artfire shop.  There's a coupon code for half-off everything in the "clearance sale!" category.  Also there's free shipping on everything right now.  The sale will run till Tuesday.

Other big news:  I'm graduating from my jewelry and metals program this winter!  Part of this process involves having a solo show, and mine will be on Friday, Dec 16th, at Wayward Coffeehouse, at Roosevelt and 65th in Seattle from 6pm to 9pm.  I even have a postcard for it!

All of the pieces featured on this postcard will be at the show along with some other spectacular things.

Speaking of things you haven't seen yet, here's another pendant:

I'm exceptionally pleased with the smoke effect from the double silk ribbon necklace.  I think I'm going to switch everything over to silk cords and ribbons.  At the least it will lend some consistency to my presentation.

Also, speaking of shows, I'm all lined up to be in the Dealers' Room at RustyCon January 20-22, 2012.  I've got my paperwork in for the Dealers' Room at Norwescon, but I don't know yet if I'm going to get a slot.  I should probably snag an art show table to feature some of my really spectacular pieces, just in case.
OryCon was a pretty fun show.  I seriously had the slickest, most professional display of all the 3D artists.

I sold a pendant and a print, and spent an awful lot of time at concerts.  Also, I think some of the northwest convention regulars are starting to recognize me.  :-)
I'm going to be away from home and studio for a couple weeks right after RustyCon for a desperately needed vacation, during which I'll be filling my personal twitter feed with pictures of things like pineapples full of rum.  With any luck I'll come back full of ideas and new solutions to vexing engineering problems.

That's about it for now.  There will be further updates on progress towards the graduation show.  If you're in the Seattle area at the time, feel free to stop in.

Back from Foolscap--Best Con Weekend EVER!

Tiny convention was tiny, and also awesome.  I think there were maybe 120 people there, but the smallness of it was one of the major contributing factors to the awesomeness.  There were generally 3 rooms of programming running at any given time, and only the largest room had the table-in-front setup.  The other 2 rooms had big conference tables, so the panels in there were less like panels and more like discussion groups.  Also, some of the panels were 90 min. instead of 60, which gave us the chance to further explore complex topics.  The size of the con also kept it from becoming impersonal and scary.  There weren't really enough people to break off into separate cliques.  The attendees were also almost all (mostly local) writers/editors/publishers/artists.  I don't think I met one single "just a fan" the whole weekend.   I met a bunch of people and made a bunch of connections and had a great time.  Pretty much everyone at this con walked through the art show at least once, so when I said "I did the enamels in the art show" they knew what I was talking about (this doesn't happen so much at larger conventions).  It's entertaining to think that there are actually people now who know who I am and what I do. :-)
People of note:
I met illustrator Egypt Urnash on Friday night as she was showing off the Tarot deck she just finished designing (Tarot of the Silicon Dawn).  It's a fantastically unique deck full of evocative sci-fi and post-human images.  If you are at all technically or sci-fi oriented, check out this deck.
I met author Nathan Crowder on Saturday in the Real-World Achievement Systems panel.  Afterward, he allowed me to be a bad influence and tempt him off to the hotel bar, where we ran into Folly Blaine, another writer.  We ended up talking about writing and Seattle neighborhoods and creative process until we were all half an hour late to our next panels.  Folly and I ended up going to "Love and/or Money" (about trying to make a living in art/writing), and ended up having an extended conversation about art and writing with Lee Moyer, a fantastic illustrator from Portland.

I also sold a necklace, a pendant, and one of the firebird prints, and when I went to do a final check on sales right before brunch, I found a blue ribbon tacked to my panel for first place in 3D work!

All in all, this is one of the best convention weekends I've *ever* had, and I'm definitely going back next year.

Off to Foolscap for the weekend!

I'll be in lovely Remond, WA all weekend.  There will be pieces in the art show, too.  I'll still be connected to email for questions/comments/etc., but no shipping of anything until next Tuesday.