Modern Mouse in Alameda!

I’m super excited to share that I just dropped off a bunch of jewelry at a new store in Alameda, called Modern Mouse! The store won’t be open until November 9th, but it’ll be worth the wait, because the wares are bound to excite and impress. Here’s a peek at some of the pieces I’ll have there:

Petri Dish Earrings

Cell Stem Earrings, Sterling Silver

Cell Formation Necklace, Sterling Silver

You should definitely check Modern Mouse out if you’re in the bay area. You can go to the website (link above) to see a lot of the other artists that will have goods for sale there. I can’t wait for the grand opening on Saturday, November 14th (from 2 to 6pm!).

Thanks to a little Play Time!

Here’s the finished up version of the earrings I talked about yesterday:

 

New Earrings! Sterling Silver.

Through the process of production for a totally different pair of earrings, I happily stumbled upon a moment that gave birth to these little delicate beauties. I can’t wait to play more and make really expansive and branchy versions!

 

The Importance of Play

 

I was working on making some earrings this weekend:

 

Lichen Sprout Earrings. Sterling Silver.

and as I was making all the tiny little “sprout” pieces, I noticed how sweet they looked piling up on my desk… I pushed a few of them around and started to think….

 

“sprout” production leads to new ideas….

These little guys make such sweet little branchy designs. I quickly soldered a few pieces together:

 

new prototype

 This first prototype is basically like a sketch. Though I tend to draw out a lot of my ideas in my sketch book, sometimes playing around with scraps and left over bits of wire is much more fruitful. These little sketches are an integral part of designing. Before I had soldered these babies together, I though they’d be hook / dangle style earrings. An accident with the torch resulted in the very top of the earring to ball up, so I embraced the accident and realized that it was the perfect spot for a ear post.

I’ve completed another variation of these earrings that is much more successful (I’ll share pictures as soon as they’re ready!). I’m really excited about them. But more importantly, I’m glad I allowed myself to take the time to play around at my bench. Though I was trying really hard to get some serious work done, even just a few moments of playing opened up lots of new ideas. 

Also, here’s another pair of earrings I recently finished:

 

Lichen Sprout Earrings. Sterling Silver and Garnet.

They’re my new favorite and look so beautiful on. I’m becoming obsessed with these little sprout forms – I want to cover everything with them!

 

 

 

 

The family comes for a visit!

In just a few short hours, my mom and brother will touch down in Oakland California! This is only their second visit since I’ve been living out here (for 3 years!) and I’m so happy to have them back here.

a young Momma with the hippest glasses

 

little Emm and Ollie, going to catholic school

I can’t wait to share all about the adventures we’ll be having.

Congratulations are in order! (and so is a party)

2 of my most wonderful friends have recently been joined in harmonious marriage. Their ceremony was small, filled with their closest family. So my sweetie and I threw a “friends” party to congratulate them. 

This party was the only party I have ever really spent a great deal of time and resources on, and I couldn’t have been more pleased.

I’ve seen these types of banners before, so I was really excited to try my had at it for the occasion. I used some cute floral fabric cut into triangles (cut with pinking shears, edges left raw), spelled out my message with iron-on letters from the craft store, and then affixed the little flags to a long length of ribbon. Voila! Though you can’t really see in this picture, I also added little butterfly pins in a few spots. Cute!

I also made a huge center-piece with long branches of curly willow (I had been eyeing it for weeks), cat tails (my sweetie’s idea!) and dried “money plant” branches (little silvery-papery coins). The vase was weighted down with tumbled stones and filled up with dried moss. This was also adorned with sweet little butterfly pins.

Top it all off with good friends and good food (including these delectable dark chocolate cupcakes made Anna), and we all had a lovely time. Thank you everyone who helped celebrate!

Sickie

I’ve been really sick the past week. Fever. Sneezing. Coughing. Yuck.

I had to cancel my appearance at the Knit One One sale and am really bummed about it. It’s such a great venue filled with lots of cool sellers and people. Any one well enough to go, should. 

Anyone who knows me knows how much I love images of cells and microscopic things. So while I was searching for the above image of “tissues”, I also came across this image of “tissue”:

In my fever-fueled delirium, I was initially confused about why this image came up in my search. Then it dawned on me: tissue. Duh.

Anyways, I really like the colors in the picture.

Craft Fair This Saturday at Knit One One in Berkeley

I’m so excited! This Saturday (September 26th) I’ll be selling my jewelry at Knit-One-One in Berkeley! There will be about 10 people, selling a wide range of goodies. It’s also a few doors down from the yummy Sweet Adeline Bakeshop. 

To entice you further, I will be bringing a sampling of my newest designs and even be offering special sale prices for the occasion! 

More Details:

 

Time: 10:00 am to 4:00pm

Where: the k11 studio, 3360, Adeline Street, Berkeley (2 blocks from Ashby BART)

Hope to see you there!

Working with a purpose

I have recently accepted what I consider to be quite a challenge, in creating a piece of jewelry that will retail at $50 or less. I never thought it would be so challenging, but it really has! I think I finally came up with something, and it may turn out to be the doorway into a whole new collection of pieces – exciting! I’ll have some pictures to share as soon as I get the new piece cleaned up.

On the way to my $50 challenge, I made quite a few other pieces, some of which I’m really excited about (though they are far from $50). Keep in mind this little peek isn’t cleaned up, but here’s a pendant I’m really happy with:

 

Double Lichen with Spores. Sterling Silver.

I think this piece will begin a new series that will marry two of my favs: the spores and the lichen…

 

Hard at work, soldering away on a sunday.

I also got to do some shopping at a gem and jewelry tradeshow this weekend. I went with a couple friends and bought some new gemstone beads for a new collection I’m working on ( check out the color spot collection!). And I have to admit, I really enjoyed a chilly and gray Sunday. I hope you had a wonderful weekend too!

Writing an Artist Statement / Bio

 

If you’ve ever been in a position where you’re required to provide an artist statement or artist bio, I’m sure you’re familiar with the resulting feelings of stress or anxiety. I was asked to provide an artist bio for the MOCFA museum store last month when I dropped off my first batch of jewelry. I was slightly caught off guard, as I hadn’t written like that for quite some time. I went to art school, so I knew all about the importance of being able to express my ideas or point of view with words, as well as with my art. But in the real world after school, there haven’t been many moments where a visual artist / craft person needs to exercise their written skills.

First, I debated with friends over the difference between an artist statement and an artist bio. The clear difference being that the statement is about the work, and the bio is about the artist. I decided to get comfortable with my assignment by starting with a hybrid version: I’d write about myself and my work.

Getting started didn’t take much time, since my jewelry is divided up into four lines, all of which have clear inspirations: Leaves, Lichen, Spores and Cells. I like the idea of exploration and discovery, so I played with ways to tie these elements from my work to some personal information (it’s supposed to be a bio, after all). It took a while, but here’s the final version:

 

Large Petri Dish Earrings

My Final Statement:

My interest in the rhythmic forms of nature began when I was a little girl growing up in coastal Maine. Exploring ocean shores and dense pine forests revealed a world full of tiny living creatures and plants that I later learned could be easily overlooked by an untrained eye. My current body of work speaks to the journey of examination, beginning at the surface of an enchanting botanical form and transitioning to the more illusive and unseen inner world of cellular formations and microcosmic structures. I enjoy examining nature and infusing it with my own fanciful and imaginative interpretations to make curious and compelling jewelry.

 

Large Leaf Frame Necklace

 

New Earring and Ring at the Museum Store at MOCFA

This weekend I brought some new pieces to the Museum of Craft and Folk Art museum store!

Double Lichen Ring. Sterling Silver.

 

Organic Cell Double Drop Earring. Sterling Silver.

 

What do you think? I’ve been wearing a similar pair of these earrings for about week and I just love them. They’re simple and they go with everything. I’m really excited about the ring too. It looks great on, and I’m dreaming of making different variations to be stacked together into a stunning arrangement! What do you think?