Bluegrass and Glass

The artist Annie herself.

A few months ago, I was trying to come up with ideas for a Crafts & Cocktails get together with some of the other creatives at my day job, and I found the most wonderful little party kits on Etsy by a fellow Kentucky artist named Annie Howes.  After much deliberation (she has several different party kits available), I purchased her Glass Pendant kit.  Even with 3-4 pineapple rum concoctions under my belt, I found it to be not only great fun, but instructive.  I was hooked and went back to her shop to see about purchasing more to experiment with, and it was then that I discovered her Ugly Betties.

What is an Ugly Betty?

It's an imperfect glass piece.  Sometimes mis-shapen, sometimes with a bubble or two, maybe not as smooth as Annie's superb AAA grade tiles (which are spectacular).  I ordered a bagful and became thoroughly enchanted by the imperfections.  I love the way they feel.  I love that they look handmade.

I related this to Annie and she invited me up to her studio to go through her bin of seconds.

So yesterday, one of the other Art Directors at my day job (who also happens to be a glass artist of a different sort) and I drove the Bluegrass Parkway so I could hoard Ugly Betties to my hearts content.

Sitting on a country hillside in one of the prettiest parts of Kentucky is a typical home with a typical outbuilding, horses in the pasture, a lovely vista and the hidden gem that is Annie's studio.

I love seeing how other artists put their spaces together, how they organize in the chaos that is ever present, and Annie didn't disappoint.  She is warm and effusive and incredibly smart - and her space reflects that.  I had a little bit of space envy, because my creative chaos is um, 'organized' all over my house, but here was her creative chaos, which was not chaotic looking at all to a fellow artist.  Although she might argue that point...

Shelf after shelf hold her kits and glass and creations,  sorted for easy order packing - everything was at hand.  Her two kilns had glass tiles cooling, and the kiln gave off a nice warmth on a crisp, fall day.  What impressed me most was the piles here and there of things that I knew were works in progress.  I'm a sucker for an artist's process.  


Annie tests every product she sells, every kit she puts together extensively to make certain that we get the most out of her imagination so we can take it and run with it.  I love that.  And she shares her learning process generously.  Right now she is testing glass paints to put together a kit that I am frankly, pretty damn excited about.  

Glass cooling in kiln.

Before we left, I planted myself on a stool and dove into her Ugly Betty bin pretty much head first. I picked though what I knew I definitely wanted but eventually gave in and grabbed handfuls of the cool, smooth glass and just dumped it into my box.

I'm sure she thought I was nuts, because I kept saying 'I love how these FEEL'.  I walked out of there with damn near 10 pounds of the stuff and 1,000 ideas.

And that is what it comes down to.  My crafting habits are all about the tactile experience in many ways.  My soaps, while colorful and fragrant, are a really tactile process.  

Same with the tarts I make.  Equally, jewelry making is another hand-centric endeavor. And now I am playing with these wonderful sometimes smooth, sometimes bumpy pieces of glass and turning them into tiny little pieces of art.  I'm sure there is some case that Freud could make about it all, but meh.  I prefer Ruskin's philosophy:

"Life without labor is guilt. Labor without art is brutality"

Annie Howes could have inspired it.

Visit Annie at: www.anniehowes.com
and www.anniehowes.etsy.com

Evil Santa, Martha Stewart and a pack of Chow Chows

Well it figures. Santa hates me. It's obvious. All this time I thought Christmases as a kid sucked because between welfare and an insane Mother well, they sucked.

I know now that the reason Christmas always sucked is because Santa is trying to kill me. I don't know if it's a competition thing, if he feels like my hand crafted goods somehow threaten his mass produced ones, maybe he just doesn't like women, or dogs, or both.

It's the only thing that makes sense, really. Otherwise how would any rational person explain the perfect storm of illness, home remodeling and the break down of an otherwise stalwart sewing machine? Or maybe they could, but faced with the utter lack of motivation on my part coupled with the head exploding learning 'curve' that is Photoshop and picture taking, it's all very clear.

In fact, I bet I was born into a really nice, wealthy family. Santa must have like, a Magic Mirror which foretold of my creative abilities. Sent elves out to look for me, scour the earth and then when they found me, stuck me with a crazy woman.

Who knows? Had I not been cruelly kidnapped and displaced I could have, with my well adjusted parental support and barrels of cash, had my own kick ass Workshop. Maybe even offered those poor Elves a better pay scale and benefits, plus it's a lot warmer here.

Despite Santa's black and evil heart, I did manage to survive. And while I'm years behind where I could have been I make some pretty nice stuff. I figure what happened is Martha Stewart ratted me out. That bitch has always been jealous. Her Chows must have tracked me down (Martha and Chow Chows are like bread and biting butter) despite my own dogs covering me with hair and saliva in an attempt to damp down my scent.

So what does Santa do? It's glaringly obvious. Breaks my machine and uses some weird elven based mind control to remove all my motivation and desire to craft anything more then a, well, anything. Of course, now that I know, I can start to pull myself together.

I'm pretty sure this means listing much for Christmas is a bust. Almost all my Grumpy stuff is on consignment. Santa can't touch that. Although, if I start seeing my monsters mass produced, I'll know who to blame. SO for now, I'm resigned. That sounds so much more noble then burnt out and wanting to kill someone. Which isn't a very 'accepting' set of behaviors.

My apologies to anyone waiting for inventory to be listed. I can't imagine much will before the first week of December. Then I have to get it all up before the Easter Bunny starts in...

To Twit

Old Books by Kraybon

Amongst all my other pursuits, I love to read. I get lost in the story, watching
the scenes unfold in full Technicolor in my mind's eye. In fact, I often have
trouble surfacing to the real world from a particularly well-told story... much
to the chagrin of my family. Because I love to read, however, I am also inclined
to notice and appreciate unusual or extravagant language choices.

Like saying perchance instead of by any chance. Or indubitably instead of of
course. I am often teased about my word choices when I am exceptionally tired- I evidently wind up sounding like an 18th century dictionary. Not that I notice, particularly, but the gales of laughter from my friends and family invariably give me away.

Recently, however, I used a phrase without thinking, and nearly had my head
bitten off by a particularly anti-technology friend of mine. My errant statement
from the conversation went something like this:

"I didn't mean to offend you, I was only twitting you about your focus."

At which point I was treated to a short, but heartfelt, lecture on the insidious
influence of Twitter on the English language. "Tweet is not a real verb!! It's
made up! And you call yourself a lover of excellent English, you hypocrite." I
am exaggerating, somewhat, there was no name calling. But I think it was a near thing, to be sure.

The point is, I do love the English language in all it's complicated majesty. I
think it's fascinating to look at contradictory rules of speech in society, and
to watch them change year in and year out. But this time I was actually upset.

The person to whom I was talking is a very intelligent individual, if not so
literarily inclined. I am no old fogey either, to spin tales of "When I was
young...." to a disbelieving younger generation. I'm still under 30- and will
be for several years!

Yet this seemed to me to be highly significant. Our modern society has so warped a beautiful piece of interesting English that not only is it no longer commonly used- but it's not even faintly remembered in it's proper place.

So that there will be some modern remembrance of this suddenly out-moded term, I
give you this definition:

Twit- verb. To tease, to make fun, to use in a lighthearted yet chastening way.

He twitted her about the vanity of her new hat.

I have absolutely nothing against Twitter. I enjoy it, at times. But I object
most strongly to the appropriation and misuse of already taken segments of the
English language.

Let us have the majesty, and invent new terms for new technology. Surely a
society that produces such amazing new social tools can also produce new phrases
and verbiage to go with each advance!

Care to twistle, anyone?

Grumpy Haters get a new face

The new banner and logo.

The plush, (apologies for crap pic quality).

Pretty nifty, huh? The ever talented LeeAnn from Crown of Rue designed this for me from a plush I made. The cupcake was a direct reference and Etsy specific so I wanted to get away from that as we all head out into this Brave New World. 

I've ordered my stamp and my labels and price tags. I use Vistaprint and with my larger items put two pics on either end of the card, cut it in half and Presto! I professionally printed price tag for less then the cost of my craptastic printer ink. 

For smaller items I use the image three times, it works really well. You can also position the image and the fold the card so you have a mini card. I used those for my soaps to carry the logo and list materials and scent. Works like a charm. 

Now it's restocking like mad. We had a great season at Ballston Crafts Market and Linda from Artspring in Silver SPring, MD cleared us out, much to our delight. Even better she and her business partner Chris, called yesterday to say they'd sold out of monsters and how fast could I make more?

My husband has offered to schlep what I can make to the shop on Monday. Which is a Godsend, otherwise I'd have to post a big box.

Of course, I'm not anywhere near ready to move into my workspace, although I am ready to move, the workspace isn't. Hows that for convoluted sentencing?

So you'll find me buried under a pile of fleece, next toa box of safety eyes and to the left of a pile of boxes. For the last time, hopefully.

Jeweler

Photo "Buy My Love" by Plzy

Have you ever noticed that there seem to be many different interpretations of the word jewelry? In fact- not only are there interpretations, there are knock-down drag out fights about it! They say It's only jewelry if it's forged- AND it must be entirely made by hand- that includes clasps, headpins and chains, so don't even think about it Betty Beader!

Seriously people- come on. Webster's says jewelry is:

jewels; especially : objects of precious metal often set with gems and worn for personal adornment

Please note that it doesn't say it has to be precious metal, and set with jewels. It just says especially. As in, other ways are just as valid. So if Miss Betty Beader makes jewelry from fishing line, silver tone charms, and wool beads- more power to her!

Is there a difference between that piece and something I may make with forged 18k gold and diamonds? Well of course. They are two entirely different skill sets, and are created for entirely different audiences. But they are both jewelry, and Betty and I can both be termed jewelry makers.

Can we both be called jewelers? Um. Back to Webster's, which says a jeweler is:

1 : one who makes or repairs jewelry
2 : one who deals in jewelry, precious stones, watches, and usually silverware and china

Seems like yes, doesn't it? Here's where public opinion comes into play. Public opinion says "No". Ask ten people what they say a jeweler is and 8 out of ten will say someone who makes jewelry out of precious metals set with gemstones. The other two are more jewelry creators, and they work in beads, so their definition is a bit more elastic. Something like, "Something that you can wear that's hand made, usually out if metal, but not an article of clothing." But even these people, when given the chance to choose, will point to something with precious metals and gemstones as "real jewelry".

So you see the problem. Most people won't consider beads or unusual materials as something a "jeweler" will use. In fact, I've talked to groups of jewelry makers, and invariably we all talk about what we're making, like craftspeople do, right? Except when it's my turn, they all go a little bit quiet, and someone will say "Oh, you're a real jeweler." Every. Single. Time.

Even jewelry makers don't agree on what jewelry and jewelers are!

Now I'm not saying that what Betty Beader and I make are the same, or that they're classified the same way. Or even that they should be classified the same way. But it bothers me that what seems like the majority of beaders seem to think that what they make is somehow not "real". Each and every one of us is making something. Something amazing to our sense of beauty. What could be lesser about that?!

In point of fact, I don't introduce myself as a jeweler. I think the term is misleading, worn out, and overused. I'm an Art Metalsmith who specializes in Jewelry. Period. Now that's a little long, for ordinary conversation, so I usually say I'm a Metalsmith. Which is a term that is hardly ever used, so when they look askance at me, I can say I forge silver and gold with gemstone accents. Usually this is enforced by pointing to whatever piece I'm wearing that day. This gives them a very clear idea about who I am and what I do- as well as NOT enforcing the jeweler stereotype.

Which can only be good.

Now, even though I know I'm standing on the edge of a precipice here- what do you guys think? Am I right? What do these terms mean to you?

Feeling Dirty?

Cerulean Sea Cool Water Vegan Soap

Sweet Alyssum Handmade Vegan Soap

Log Cabin Pinewoods Vegan Soap

Hand crafted Vegan Soaps from Crown of Rue.

42 Things Has Swell Stuff

 Oak Leaf Postcards 

Happy Halloween!

These are my favorite, hands down.