what a week, part two

Just a couple of days after returning home from Olympia, I was off to Tucson to enjoy a visit with Libby, my friend and fellow jewelry artist. The trip was planned to coincide with the Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show events that take place each year in Tucson. Libby guided us through 3 of her favorite bead shows during my short stay. It was a bit of a shopping frenzy, I must admit, mixed together with a load of inspiration.

One of my favorite vendors was Sandra Younger of The Knotty-Do-It-All, a design board that makes knotted cord jewelry much easier to create. Sandra made a bracelet for me using one of the charms I got from the Green Girl Studios booth, and I came home with one of her boards.
I found some nice things at Akonye Kena's booth; some hand-dyed fabric, a couple of bags, and a handmade photo album. This organization partners with young artisans in Africa to provide a venue for selling their goods, including colorful beads made of recycled paper.

A few other little treasures that found their way into my bags.

The time passed all too quickly but it was a great seeing Libby and catching up with her, eating great Mexican food (!!!), and experiencing a little bit of Tucson.

what a week, part one

Last Friday, buddies Debi and Tory piled into my vehicle and the three of us set out to Olympia, Washington for a clay play weekend at the lovely home and studio of our friend and potter extraordinaire, Maggie Roberts. Maggie and her hubs, Dave, are the owner-artists of Kennedy Creek Pottery.

In the studio teacher Maggie expertly led us through several projects; here with Debi and Tory on either side, busy with their creations.

I was so pleased with my birdhouse! Tory and I each made one of these to add to our gardens when they are fired and glazed.

We created a village of pottery houses; some are painted with colored slip (liquid clay).

And here are the tiles we made using the sgraffito technique, carving through dark slip to reveal white porcelain clay beneath. This was great fun! My tiles are at center and upper-center.

Thanks to our hosts Maggie, Dave, and Spud the wonder-Corgi, we had an amazing time.

january pastimes

Week One of Misty Mawn's online workshop "Stretching Within" has given me a jumpstart in the drawing and sketching department. I'm really looking forward to this week's "Painting" section; it will no doubt take me beyond the 5-week course to explore all of the assignments in this class. Misty has put together an amazing collection of lessons, videos, and opportunities for sharing our work online.

And then there is the purging and organizing going on in my workspace.

It feels good to know that I'll have an easier time finding things when starting new projects.

Bright and shiny bits bring a little spark to this time of year, when days of darkness and rain are the norm in my part of the world.

thoughts at year's end

Each year seems to go by more quickly than the one before...I'm always left at the end of December with a feeling of how things were, both good and bad. For me, 2010 was a journey of self-improvement, discovery, and creativity, with only few bumps along the way. My intention is to carry some of the good things into the next 12 months. This lovely piece made by art pal Gloria Sowell reminds me of that.
I enjoy thinking about the year ahead and making a few new plans; of travel, of stretching creatively, of doing things that have been put off for one reason or another. What are your intentions for 2011?

Happy New Year--wishing you love, friendship, and laughter.
Suzanne

"The experience of joy is why we're here"
--Chris Roberts-Antieau

deep breath

It's hard to believe that the 4th PAC "Open Doors" Show and Sale has come and gone. November was a whirlwind of preparation; it definitely was a busy time for those of us who work to a deadline. Now we are left with many good memories of last weekend when we performed like clockwork to set up our signature doors with the help of family and friends, prepared our booths, worked assigned shifts, greeted visitors--and took down the whole shebang in less than an hour!

These are photos of my booth and some of the things I made for the show. More pictures of the show are posted at my Flicker space, and you can see and read more at the PAC blog. We're already looking forward to next year.

holiday crafty

I've been pretty busy here but wanted to take a moment to mention the holiday issue of this great e-zine from Amy Powers of Inspire co. It's full of projects contributed by many craft designers that would be a lot of fun to do with your family, or anytime around the holidays. And it's free! A labor of love. Thanks to Amy.

It's A Giveaway!

The Portland Art Collective has a monthly giveaway, and for October it's a beautiful glass chandelier journal created by the talented Tory Brokenshire! So head over here and just leave a comment to be entered in the drawing.