JoAnna Pierotti Classes

I had such a wonderful time this past week at the inaugural west coast art-is-you retreat in Petaluma, CA.  I took two workshops from JoAnna Pierotti.  Her work is so impressive that it sells out within a few minutes after it is listed on etsy.  She is very talented and one of the most creative artists I have ever met.  Her work is inspirational and she is so willling to share it with others.  All of the students did amazing work with the help of JoAnna.   You can find JoAnna's work on her blog which is at: http://mosshill.blogs.com/joannas_journal/   She is also the latest member of susanlenartkazmer design team. Congratulations JoAnna!  I know you will be a great addition to their team of inpirational artists.  Our class had so many wonderful artists that mostly work in jewelry design and are also teachers. Some of the students are: Riki Shumacher at:  http://rikijewelry.blogspot.com/,  Diana Frey at: http://www.dianafrey.blogspot.com/ , and Debby Anderson at: http://romancingthebling.blogspot.com/p/press.html  I was surrounded by so much talent all week and cannot wait to attend this event next year.
 

Dog Designs

I love dogs and this little one is no exception. I had a black Chihuahua when I was a kid so when a saw Buster I was drawn to him. He is so friendly and loves people.  I met him at the SLC artist market last week and he was sporting his own handmade jewelry.  I thought this was a neat idea.  His owner decided that Buster needed to have a name necklace and ordered a custom one from me.  I brought it to the market yesterday and had so much fun measuring his neck and fitting him for his own necklace.   Everyone at the booth was admiring little Buster in his new necklace. His owner says he only weights 4.5 pounds. I never thought that I would ever design an order for doggie jewelry but this was so much fun that I want to create doggie designs.  His owner snapped this cute photo of Buster all decked out in his new design and sent it to me.  I have all kinds of ideas and am looking forward to creating more designs for dogs.

Skeleton Key Bracelets

I have been busy making a few extra pieces to take with me to Art-is-You.  These key bracelets were originally in Belle Armoire Jewelry 2010 spring issue.  There is a how to article in the magazine if you want to make one.  I made 4 bracelets this week but still have to solder the jump rings closed.   My studio is a huge mess and there is about 5 inches of working space. It looks like a tornado hit it and I am not kidding.  I seem to create the biggest messes when I am creating things.  I really get  into what I am making and supplies just seems to land everywhere.  Who has time to clean it up? I just close the door and then next time I go in there I make another mess and it piles up.  When I need to find something, then start cleaning it up, but it never really gets very clean.  There are priorities after all and designing and creating jewelry is a lot more important then cleaning the studio.  I like to tell myself that the problem is the space is to small and if it was bigger then it would be organized.  The truth is if it were bigger than I would have a bigger mess and even more supplies.

Jewelry Booth in a Bag

I was planning on driving to Art-is-You in Petaluma, CA but since my daughter is unable to go with me I did not want to drive the 12 hours alone.  I have to improvise because  I have a booth at the retreat I was left wondering how I would set up the booth with minimal display equipment.  The booth needed to fit into one suitcase and not weight too much.  So I bought foam core and polyester stuffing and covered the boards with some left over fabric I had.  I used Tacky glue and a staple gun.  The black velvet jewelry busts (6) were already lightweight but I needed a way to prop them up so I bought shipping boxes and will use to secure the tops of the boxes. The boxes will be draped with fabric.  I already have a table at the retreat and a table cloth, but decided to pack my own anyway just in case the color does not work out.  It all fits nicely into one suitcase and is not even at 50 pounds yet, so I can add some jewelry to the bag.  Anyway, I just wanted to share my booth in a bag idea in hopes it will be useful to others.

Keyhole Necklaces

I recently sent some of these keyholes into Belle Armoire jewelry and found out they will be published in an upcoming issue.  I have been making these for about a year and have given many of them away to friends.  I am getting low and have about 5 left to take to the Art-is-you art retreat in Petaluma, CA. The website is at: http://www.art-is-you.com/mysitecaddy/site3/ You will be excited to see the lineup of great classes that are going to be taught, I can hardly wait.   I hope I get some more time to make a few more of these before I go on Sept 21st.  The vendors night will be Saturday Sept 25th and I hope to see many of you guys there or in classes.