Oohhhh Waaaaatttaaaaa Goooooo Sssiiiiaaaaam...*

[ a plethora of texturing tools]

This Sunday was the last segment of the Mantra Bracelet workshop at the Des Moines Art Center. There were 5 students and I think they all did a wonderful job. I know we all had a bunch of fun with 'hammer therapy' and the feeling of accomplishment when the piece is done and being worn? Priceless! The students hustled their buns and finished these earthy and heavily textured pieces in only 4 hrs. I will also be offering this workshop at the fuzzi-studio after the start of the new year or if there is enough interest expressed (they'd make great xmas presents!)

maggie - "love you to the moon and back"

megan - "faith, hope, love"

betsy - "believe in who you are & what you do"

eden - "carpe diem"

katie - "if it is to be, it is up to me"

*My grandpa was always a bit of a jokester. This used to be a 'mantra' he would have us kids say faster and faster 'til we 'got it'. Get it? ;)

Like quicksilver...

J102's cast pewter 'reflection' pendant photos are up. Go check out their awesome pieces (WITH artist's statements!!!) here.

This was the first project for J102 and was a quick little piece. Students learned how to carve their designs in plaster and cast with molten pewter. I hope to get some 'in progress' photos up here soon. This was also the first project that students were 'strongly encouraged' (read: harassed non-stop) to write artists' statements. Eventually we'll get to the point of holding critiques after they complete a project. :D Watch out, students!!!

My Precioussssss

Isn't my new baby pretty? I am so incredibly psyched to have gotten my hands on a rolling mill. Granted, it isn't the stacked Durston D2 130 that I've been lusting after...then again it wasn't $2,000 either! I'm looking forward to future classes being able to use this to texture their metal. It will be especially good for the cold connections project that J102 is doing right now. I am still working on getting a stand for it so that it may be used. I'm heading out to Bob's* this weekend to try and find something that might work.

This mill has a lot of history, the grandfather of the woman I got this from used to work for one of the major film production companies in Iowa. He used to collect the silver dust from the process, refine it and make jewelry. Since then the mill has been used by the grandkids to squish apples and various other objects. She approached me at state fair and asked if I might be interested in such an object. Of course I was!

I'm trying to figure out exactly what brand of mill it is and perhaps a little bit more about its history. If any of you out there have a clue, please let me know! I took her apart to try and clean it up a bit and saw a 'made in italy' stamped into the metal. There are also some letters/numbers near the top that you can see in the photo...looks like EC 82? Any ideas?

*I really really want to get one of Bob's redheads (see below) for the studio. Some day!