Studio Update

I got the keys to my 1200 square foot studio/retail space on Wednesday!!!! I've already finished painting the front room, with my private studio space next, then the class room area. The fabric arts room and the bathroom are going to need painting too, but they are decent right now- i can close off the fabric room and get to it later. The darkroom will need a coat of paint eventually too, but considering i'll be in there with the lights off most of the time, it's not a priority. :)

Looking at a soft-opening of the 8th of September (I'll be at Cooper-Young Festival, promoting my space and selling my jewelry on the 15th of September). I haven't worked out a schedule yet- September is a BUSY month for me- but it will be coming. Trying to decide if Wednesday or Thursday is a better day for Open Studio night.

So, yeah.. pictures coming soon. I've been doing before-and-after shots. :)

Spreading my wings

So, many of you may have already heard that i've been growing into myself as an artist lately. Last month I successfully interviewed to be a guest instructor at the National Ornamental Metal Museum. I'll be teaching a one day class in December and a two-day workshop in March. Also, earlier this month I was voted the new president of the Bartlett Art Association.
I have another project on the horizon that is going to change everything! I can't wait to show it off in August!!!

Etsy listings have begun and I'm BACK!

Etsy Listing - Kyanite and Moonstone necklace
I have been too quiet for too long! I've been so busy with work, teaching and getting back into the show scene, I have neglected my poor blog! No more! I'm back and itching to share all that's been going on.

I've got a Facebook page set up for BMB-Designs, I've got my website on-line at BMB-Designs.com, the Etsy store is online and I'm ready to do the full court press on Making Life More Beautiful!

Go like my page on Facebook for a chance to win a 10 gram package of Art Clay Silver Slow Dry valued at almost $30, see my upcoming classes and what's coming out of the studio these days! 

What i've been up to..

So, i changed jobs rather abruptly back around the middle of July- i left the store manager position at Eclectica to be an Apple technician at Flextronics. It's been an interesting change- i've had to get up at 5:30 (yes- that's AM) to be at work on time for training. It's comforting and strange at the same time to be back in the tech industry. So many familiar faces, so many new ones.. lots of memories of when i was a tech before.

Andy went to Budapest, Hungary in July. I really wanted to go, but it just wasn't in the cards. Perhaps i'll get to go in September. 80's night- Rewind- was at Nocturnal the night he left out and that was allot of fun. I'm glad i wasn't a teenager in the 80's. Being pop 80's is more work than being goth- i would have been either a prep or even less cool than i was in the 90's. :)

I joined the Bartlett Art Association- i'll be teaching a workshop for them in October. I'm looking forward to that. It'll be enameling. I'm trying to get a chain maille class going at the Gardens- just waiting to hear back from Laurie.

I've made a few things- my goal was to make three things while andy was gone- and i did. :)
i'm probably going to list the crystal and the rhyolite on etsy. The vessel with the kyanite is mine. :) not great pictures, but proof that i'm getting back in the studio. :)

I have so much more to write- but not tonight. Tomorrow is my first day out of training on the bench and i don't want to be brain dead.

my new baby

Meet the newest edition to my family- a GORGEOUS Mamiya RZ67. My first really professional type camera. I mean i have dozens of cameras. I have a Kiev 6C, a Nikon FM-10, a Pentax K1000, countless Dianas, Holgas and vintage box cameras... but this.. OMG.. this camera is the real deal.. Needless to say, Christmas came early this year.

i can't wait to take it out and run some film through it. I don't know where i want to go with it, but i am just itching to play. I keep taking it out of the box, looking through the view finder, just getting a feel for it. It's HUGE and heavy.. definitely not a hiking camera. (although i used to say that about the Kiev too.. and it's done great on the monopod on pretty much all our hiking trips)

Watch for image updates.. I guess i have to invest in a scanner now for sure. the Nikon image scanner i want is only 2 grand.. i know... i know.. i'll have to start out smaller.. and before anyone suggests it, i don't want to get a digital back, yet.. i know it's only a matter of time before andy will want to explore medium format digital.. :)

vacation recap

So.. i've returned from the land of wonderfulness, AKA vacation, and i am slowly settling back into normalcy. I've been home less than 8 hours, so i guess that's not too bad. Kitties missed us and were very missed, at least by me. (andy missed shadow, if none of the others)

The train ride to NOLA was great- we decided to upgrade to a sleeper when we got there and they had a room (not the roomette- aka closet). Breakfast was awesome- went and took a nap. Lunch was good. Went and took a nap. And then it was time for us to be there! I looked for gators as we went through the swamps leading into NOLA and was very disappointed that i saw none! Nor any turtles! but the water fowl were abundant and pretty. Arrived- Steven fetched us- jenny made dinner. (she introduced me to Napoleons- another delish pastry type thing that i now crave randomly) we played clue and Yahtzee. (*I* had fun) chatted until like 3 am.. then went to sleep.

I created a pocket dimension in Jenny's trunk for all our luggage, went to the port, carried our stuff in, andy's pocket knife got confiscated even though it was under the length limit.. sat for A LONG time.. but it was better that we got there early since that meant we got to board earlier. Ate lunch- and then we wandered down wait to go into our stateroom. Very boring.

The cruise was awesome. The food was great. I was only sick twice and thankfully both episodes were short lived. Our favorite part was going up on deck and watching the water from the back. I was amazed at how the water could look so different - different colors, different textures, different feel to it. We watched the sun set once, i think, and i was disappointed. Our lovely rainbow sunsets are pretty much caused by pollution.. and out on the open water, there's not so much of that.. which is good.. just not for pictures. :) Looking out and not seeing anything but waves 360 degrees around you really puts into perspective how big the world really is.

Progreso was cool- we went to see ruins. Climbed up one of the step pyramids. wandered around another temple. It was hot- like 85. It was really neat though. we took a TON of pics. I will have to space out getting the film developed. Over the entire trip i took 8 rolls, some of that 120.

Cozumel really captured me though. the water was SO gorgeous. I wanted to just dig my toes down into the sand and stay forever. I saw damsels in the water (made me wish we'd gone snorkeling), saw little blennies and other critters in tide pools, saw an iguana that from tip of nose to tip of tail was as long as the lane he was sunning himself on the road was wide..... finished the day with a great meal and some fishbowl pina coladas.

Getting off the ship in NOLA wasn't too hard- customs was super quick and totally painless. the condo was great- perfect location on Dauphine between Orleans and St. Ann. Went to Boutique du Vampire and got a copy of Father Todd's new book and stood there like a dorky little fan girl to have him sign it. (aubs took a pic)

Halloween was freaking fantastic. The crowd was awesome. Totally had a pre-Katrina vibe going. (although i only saw a few women flashing for beads- honestly i was too busy watching the costumes and posing for pictures to really watch for flashers)

November 1st- Andy and i got custom fangs made. it was quite comical. I might share the story, might not. Full moon was out- so of course, so were we! Decent crowd for a Sunday night.

November 2nd - ventured out to the Garden District. Stumbled upon Lafayette Cemetery. Wonderful photo op. Took pics. LOTS of pics.. :) shopped- mostly window shopping. Watched the first half of the Saints game at Oceana with Jenn, Steven and Kaylin. Had AMAZING crab cakes.. they were THE nom. Debated on going out... watched Paranormal State (which totally put me in a ghost hunting mood) Finally went out and the streets were packed with jubilant Saints fans and still loyal Falcons fans. (thankfully no fights that we saw) crashed out

November 3rd- the end of vacation... so sad. So tragic.. didn't want it to happen.. but i did get a new absinthe. Sidney's on Decatur has the largest selection of absinthes i have seen. there were at least 10 different ones. Went to go get the car to go home - and it had been towed for street cleaning.. oops. Had to get a cab to take aubs and me to get her car at the impound lot UNDER I-10.. there was a silver lining- found the cemetery i see on Google Maps that's split into three parts (by the projects). On the way out of town, passed Cypress Grove and another cemetery that was HUGE that i simply must take pictures of. (LOTS of statuary) Made good time getting back because Aubs wanted to go to Trivia. Started putting the house back together - it's amazing what 4 cats can do in 10 days home alone (although grandma did check on the kitties, they wanted to be sure that we were aware of their displeasure at us being gone so long)

now- almost 2 am... and i can't sleep. Insomnia seems to be tied to memphis as i didn't have a bit
of trouble sleeping while out of town (i don't count waking up at 6am because the upstairs neighbor walks hard in heels on a wood floor as being a sleeping problem of mine)

I just want to lock myself in the studio for a week or two. I have all sorts of ideas for all sorts of media. Silver, enamel, even clay and paint. And the pictures.. OMG.. i could print pictures for a month and not scratch the surface, i think. Most of my Mexico are color- i did a few 120 in B&W.. but most of my NOLA are B&W.. and i feel pretty confident that 80+ percent of them are print worthy. I'll have to see the negatives to be sure, but i'm feeling good about them.

So... yeah.. that's the recap. Vacation was great. Have some great stories to tell, some great pictures and some seriously sore feet. :)

What I've been up to...

So- tomorrow i turn 30.... and while i've been kind of stressing over it, there is a certain calm that has come over me on this milestone birthday eve. I'm ok with it.. i think :)

I got the hook up Friday and got to go see Sister Hazel and Train at the Botanical Gardens for their Live at the Garden concert series. we took chairs, blankets and a cooler and sat under a tree and watched the concert, the people and the stars. Quite awesome.

Saturday, Mar and i went out and had dinner at Spindini's down on Main, drinks at Mollie Fontaine's Lounge (AWESOME place), drinks at Bayou and wrapped up the evening at Side Street. It was a wonderfully decadent way to spend the last Saturday of my 20's.

Sunday i had lunch with the fam and went to Aubs to watch RocknRolla.. Today has been a down-time day to prepare for tomorrow... Lunch and then trivia at the Flying Saucer Cordova and then swimming after. i might not make it to work tomorrow. :)

On the art front- i finally have aquired Diana cameras! 4 to be exact. in their original packaging.. never used.. perfect.. they're so beautiful.
i've also finished up some silver pieces i was working on and put together all the bronze pieces i've been accumulating into actual jewelry. Take a peek.. :) tell me what you think..

Today...

So- last Friday, as in just a few days ago, was the 5th anniversary of my commitment to the wonderful man that is my husband... and i have to say, diamonds aren't everything, girls. :) Every year, he surprises me with his creativity, his innovation, and his sweetness. I awoke to roses and a poem that lead me to four other well thought out gifts- one for each year we've been married. He's a keeper, as if i didn't already know that. :)


I also am pretty excited about my classes that are coming up at the Memphis Botanical Gardens. I have one in June, another in July (i think) and then a copper enameling class in October! They're going to be so much fun and i can't wait to get other people as excited about this stuff as i am! Aside from my classes, the Gardens have so much to offer- their concert series is coming up and has Train, Moody Blues, and some other great artists and the Japanese Gardens are always beautiful, even in the middle of February (i got some amazing Koi photos). They have a new swan on the koi pond that was gifted to them and he's pretty social. He came close enough that i could have touched him.

the perfect job.. courtesy of Neil Gaiman

I was perusing my three blogs i have to hit every day in order to have a functional, pleasant day when i ran across a posting from 1am this morning on Neil Gaiman's blog. (it's nice to know that the inability to sleep seems to be a common trait amongst creative people- there is hope for me yet!)

He posted a blurb from an article about an aluminum smelting plant in Iceland and the troubles they had getting the plant built because they had to have someone come out and certify the land elf-free... that's right.. some one got paid to ensure that no elves homes were destroyed in the building of this facility. I could *SO* do that job too! (Neil says that the job besides writing that he could do) Given my affinity for the pointy eared creatures, i would *love* to do that. Oh my- what would i ever do if i happened to run across one!

Here's the link to his post so you can read his post and the article for yourself. The original article is all about the economic issues in Iceland and is from Vanity Fair. It's quite a long article and is rather depressing, but he has quoted the important part about elves on his blog. :)

BronzClay Botanical Bowl Class March 14th

March 14. BronzClay Botanical Bowl Workshop
10 a.m.-3 p.m.
Artist Brandy Boyd will teach how to create a solid bronze footed dish from Metal Adventures new product BronzClay. Beginners or veterans welcome. Tools and materials provided, may bring own rubber stamps for texture. Due to firing time, finished items will be available for pickup the week following class. MBG members $60/non-members $75. Call 636-4128 to register by March 9.

So- that's my teaser in the pretty gold and bronze frame up top. The two bowls are the samples I sent with them to show off what we're going to be doing. (I kept my little bits with me- they were just for the photo) I actually used scrapbook paper I had in my stash and only bought markers and vellum.


Here's a close up of my leaf bowl. It's got a subdued rainbow patina that doesn't really show up too well in this picture.

In other news, I'll be on Live at 9 on Channel 3 next Tuesday (that is the 10th for the calendar impaired. :) ) talking about the PMC and BronzClay classes I teach at the Gardens. I'm going to do a firing demo of a pre-prepared leaf, I think. I'm crazy nervous about it and it doesn't help that it's *LIVE*... but it's a really great opportunity for me.

I haven't been getting into the studio much lately and the projects are really piling up in my head! Gotta remember to sketch them because it seems like the new ideas are shoving the old ones out and I'm losing stuff...

I have been playing with my microwave glass kiln at the house and I got Laura hooked on it this past weekend. Her first pieces came out absolutely perfect and that's always a hard thing to walk away from. It still boggles my mind that I can fuse glass in my microwave... seems wrong somehow. :)

Andy and I are looking forward to this month- we are going to Chatanooga to take the kids to the Aquarium for spring break. He's going to take a ton of pictures and I hope I'll be able to as well. Mine aren't instant gratification- I have 15 rolls of film that need to be developed.

so.. i survived... :)

And i did wind up getting most everything done that had to be done. It really surprised me! I didn't get my employee's gifts done, but i'm still going to finish them up and give them to them soon. I did get some great pieces made for gifts though and here are the photos. The first one was a commission for a very good friend of mine from her mother and the second one is a necklace i made for my nanny. :)

So- yeah.. i have done *something* lately! wait til you see all the bronzclay stuff i've been working on!

5 things that make me happy, plus misc stuff

So, i've been meaning to acknowledge the little things in life that make me happy - especially this time of year when the sun sets too early and the grey skies make me want to pull the covers over my head and stay in bed all day. So, here are 5 things that pleased me today-

1. IT Crowd on IFC. (although i haven't been able to see it because my DirecTV is hosed) I just THINK about IT Crowd and i can't help but smile. Richmond always makes me chuckle.
2. My employees gave me a gift card to the Flying Saucer. I <3 my people. :) Tonight is trivia, and i plan on us at least getting 3rd place again. Especially since we were only down by 2 points!!! last time.
3. ETSY- everything about etsy rocks my socks. I got great gears, beads and Christmas presents off etsy.
4. Queen of Babylon white tea. Teavana is my drug of choice for the moment. I can't afford for Absinthe to be my drug of choice all the time. :)
5. Kitties! I had to take Percy to the vet again today, but luckily it doesn't seem to be anything to bad- she's on special food again. While we were at the vet, she wanted me to hold her so i pulled her out of the carrier and she snuggled up and buried her face in my sweater. SO CUTE! and she buzzes so sweetly. I know i am loved when i cuddle up with her.

I am SO tired of the rain- and it's only been raining a day! When it rains in the summer, it's nice because afterwards everything is crisp and fresh. When it rains in the winter, everything is just soggy. all the piles of leaves are gross, the yard is a sink hole because the grass is dead and the dirt just becomes a big mud hole.. i hate that it is almost dark at 5pm too.. even though i am a night person, when it gets dark that early, it totally screws up my internal clock.
I probably wouldn't mind so much if i didn't have to leave the house when it rains. If i could stay home and lay in the bed with the kitties all day and read, it would probably be perfect because i enjoy the sound of the rain.. i just hate the mess..

What I've been up to...

So- i finally got up the nerve and opened my Bronzclay and started playing. I killed a whole 200gram package (the photo only shows about 50-75 grams worth of goodies) It is so freeing to have that much material to play with.... Now, if i can just figure out a way to convince myself to not be such a tight ass with the PMC... To the right of my bronze pieces, those are glass pendants i've been working on using 'found' images of fairies, goddesses and the like and just almost out of the photo in the top left corner, are my watch gears- i've become almost obsessed with this SteamPunk thing.. it's like victorian gothic with an edge. It's running, jumping, climbing trees Victorian goth! :) (eddie izzard reference for those with a 'huh?' look on their faces)


Patrick got his plate last week- i guess that would have been 11/25.. i'm WAY behind- but i also only go on tuesdays pretty much. I have a routine down, Trivia on Tuesdays, Studio on Thursdays (although i've been terribly bad and haven't been on thursday for a while) I used to have Bellydance class on Wednesday but after i ganked my knee up for the umteenth time, i decided that i needed to lay off it for a while.

But, i digress... Patrick's plate party was great- Andrew made an appearance- haven't seen him as much as i used to as of late. Steve came out- which i have to give him credit for, he does usually come play trivia with us and he helped us get the bonus question right that won us first place a few weeks ago. Patrick's mom and dad were there. The photo to the right is Patrick contemplating how his pint glass could possibly be empty and his mom just laughing.

I had a great Wednesday- i was off work (because i'm working this weekend) so i had lunch with my darling husband, drug him through Michaels (but didn't buy anything because they were being stupid and had long lines and were closing registers!). Then I went to the clock shop beside Chou's to see if i could buy some broken movements to strip the gears from and they gave me two for *free* and told me to come back any time for more! And i got a neat carved wood bead to make my nanny a necklace for christmas at Chous and then scored this neat wool at Tuesday Morning. I'm going to make some mermaid falls with it, i think.

So, yeah. that's what i've been doing.. Not too exciting. I wish i could show off more stuff i've made but i haven't really been able to spend too much time at my studio. I was over there wednesday for a while and i cleaned up so i can actually work in my jewelry area and i made two necklaces that were comissions for christmas presents. I have to go over and finish the piece i'm making for the Employee holiday party gift swap. There needs to be about 40 hours in the day.. i might make a dent in what i need to do if there was just more time...

Music Cheating

Ok.. here's the notes for regular flute

Imperial March - opening little bit- still working on getting more.. but it's a start!
G G G E flat B flat G E flat B flat G

Zelda Original Theme
B flat B flat B Flat B flat B Flat A flat B flat (X2) B flat B flat B flat B flat F F F F F F F F B flat F B flat B Flat C D E F and now i need to play with my fingering more to figure out which of the notes on this piano music is the true melody..

To Be Continued.... :)

Bleh!

Is how i feel today. The cough won't go away and i can't have Nyquil at work- i have too much to do to be fuzzy headed. Grrrr. i need a happy! I need to go wander the woods and take some pictures. Maybe Wolf will call me and tell me my film is ready. That would please me muchly- although paying for it won't...

Update- and 10 things that make me happy

So, i've been slowly sifting through my dozen or so SD cards to pull all the photos we took in New Orleans off. I am mostly recovered from the plague that had me out of work for three days- getting sick right after coming back from vacation is hell. Add to being sick, an allergic reaction to the meds that are supposed to make me better and you have my week. Not to mention that a part of my car, mind you a part that had JUST BEEN REPLACED, fell off while i was driving back alone from taking the kids back on sunday, and you have what is effectively the worst week ever. (from a sheer number of bad things standpoint)

I thought since i was feeling crappy (i HATE lingering coughs), i would make a list of things that make me smile. In no particular order they are:
1. Cuddling up with Andy and at least 2 kitties on the couch and watching tv (like smallville and if walls could talk)
2. IT Crowd. 'nuf said. :)
3. the weight of a 200g package of Bronzclay in my hand. I don't know what i'm going to make yet, but it can be BIG!
4. getting three pieces of my halloween costume that was supposed to be for this year but will now be for next year done. (it's just the shoes, the hat and the sleeves, but it's progress!)
5. Cleaning off my workspace and finding a strand of high quality designer cut beads i forgot i bought. (i often hide things from myself)
6. Percy sleeping on my pillow with her paws wrapped around my face and her purr in my ear.
7. NIN and Enigma. Pretty much any song from any cd of either band and i'm in a better mood instantly. (although "with teeth" and "A Posteriori" are my favorites)
8. My new Absinthe glass and spoon and my **3** bottles of absinthe! Especially the bottles of Mata Hari and Le Tourment Vert. Drinking it with friends makes it even better. :)
9. I finally put stickers on my car- two super sexy silhouettes, one with these great bat wings and the other just looking spooky, a NIN sticker and a cute kitty in flames- like a hell-cat. the two apple stickers i had didn't count- they weren't really stickers- more like identification that i was in fact an enlightened being. I realize the superiority of Apple, i just can't afford it yet. :)
10. The Ocarina app i downloaded to my iPhone. It turns my phone into a musical instrument! i had to download it to see how it worked and i'm hooked. Nothing i play sounds like music, but i am just so amazed at the fact that it works!

NOLA- Halloween 08

Beautiful saint louis Cathedral on Jackson Square. The weather has been great. They called me yesterday (Wednesday) to let me know the parts for my car will be in and hopefully everything will be fixed by Friday. (that's a whole other story that i will tell when i'm ok with being in a bad mood)
The Condo has been better than we could have imagined, except for the bedroom we slept in last night has a window on the courtyard- and the Copper Monkey, on the first floor, is a 24 hour bar. So at 7am there were still drunken philosophical conversations going on. :) Well, anyways- here's a look at the condo. it's so beautiful.. and it makes me want to live here...

Happy Talk Like a Pirate Day!

Argh! Avast ye mateys!
Get a lil' Captain in you and celebrate Talk Like a Pirate Day with your favorite mates.
It's just plain fun! and since it's Friday, you have no excuse as to why you can't consume copious amounts of rum and make a blooming fool of yourself!
{hugs}

Bellydanca'

So- we had to put on what we thought would be performance make-up for a meeting my bellydance group had a couple of weeks ago.. and this was my look.. :) i don't think the photo looks much like me at all, but it could be the pound of make-up i was wearing (it sure *felt* like a pound!) i have in pink, white, black and lilac dread falls and a pretty silver bindi, although it doesn't show up so well. hmmm.. dress up.. how i've missed you so!

(BTW- i know my face is soft focus and everything else is sharp... apparently my camera found my necklace more interesting than my eyes)

here we are in the Faulkand Islands...

that Britain needed to keep after Imperialism ended due to Strategic Sheep Purposes. If you don't know what that is a reference to, stop reading now- turn around and RUN- don't walk- away. Nothing i say or do here will amuse, enlighten or educate you...

Now, if you caught the Eddie Izzard reference above, then i think we shall be excellent friends, but only if you have a flag.. :)