2018 ~ 52 ring challenge - week 19

I missed weeks 17 and 18 due to a personal tragedy. My grandmother passed away midweek the week of April 23rd. I'm still grappling with the loss of an amazing, kind, and creative woman that was an immense driving force in who I am today. It was unexpected and I only hope she knows how much I love her and how important she is to me.

It's definitely made me reevaluate how I interact with people I care about- I've been such a hermit over the last couple of years and I realize I have to reach out and stop hiding, even if it is my studio I take to when I feel like I need to check out from the world at large.

It's also made me aware that I should tell people what's going on with me so they don't think I am just avoiding them. We have to remove the stigma from mental illness- that's the only way we can heal as a society and as individuals.
I have been dealing with depression and anxiety for most of my adult life- in the last two/three years, it's gone up a few notches. I used to love big groups, concerts, festivals- now they send me into a panic attack. Small groups and one-on-ones have their own issues, and sometimes I just have to say it's ok to hide. Nanny would NOT have wanted me to live my life like this. I don't want to live my life like this. So, if you feel like I've avoided you or acted oddly around you, please don't think it's your fault.

Making things has been my life-line to staying involved with people. Teaching allows me to be kind of someone else. I become Teacher Brandy, and somehow I can deal better with all the scummy-brain stuff that keeps me awake all night, and I have confidence that slips away from me normally. 

I've been fortunate enough to have a wonderful group of friends (and family) that come to my classes and ask me to make special custom pieces for them. You guys have helped me more than you know.

This week's ring is not quite finished, but it is a custom piece for a wonderful lady that has been an amazing supporter of my work and I absolutely *love* making pieces for her- I know she falls in love with the stones just like I do. :) Labradorite supplied by her- silver by me. :) The back will have a cut out of a star after we do the sizing.

2018 ~ 52 ring challenge - week 16

This week's ring is a fine silver creeping raspberry leaf atop a 4mm wide plain rectangle band. the band is super comfortable and complements the excellent texture of the leaf, which has a light patina with greens, golds, and bronze tones to it.

2018 ~ 52 ring challenge - week 15

This statement ring is made with a cabochon from a (former) local Memphis artist (he's still around- just moved to the other side of TN). paired with a lovely sterling gallery wire and a simple wide band that keeps it securely in place, it's a solid ring, great for special occasions or everyday wear.

2018 ~ 52 ring challenge - week 14

this Treasure Mountain turquoise is paired with sterling silver and gold fill. I like the mixed metals with the variety of colors in the stone.

(and yes, i did tap those prongs down a little more after this picture. I was just so excited with how it turned out!)

2018 ~ 52 ring challenge - week 13

Featuring treasure mountain turquoise and a lovely little cast succulent, this is week 13 in my 52 week maker challenge. (shown on a lovely piece of wood that became an even more lovely pendant!)

2018 ~ 52 ring challenge - week 12

I spent the evening of the spring equinox making- seemed fitting. This is the most recent ring in my 52 pieces challenge series. 

I call her The Oracle. A lovely cultured opal is set in a crown bezel. Fine silver planchettes flank the setting. The band is stamped with Yes, no, and goodbye, along with some fun stars. All Sterling and fine silver. Will be available in the etsy store soon!

2018 ~ 52 ring challenge - week 10 &11

I was on vacation the first week of March, so I had to play catch up this week. Then I forgot to post, so here are weeks 10 and 11 in one post. :)

I'm teaching a class this saturday on alternative stone setting techniques, so I thought it would be a good opportunity to make some pieces and take photos for my hand outs- here are the two techniques I did- Faceted bezel set stones and 'Fenced' stones (i know there has to be a name for that kind of setting, but it reminds me of those old little wire fences people would have around their flowerbeds back in the day... )

Lab grown alexandrite set in sterling custom stepped bezel

Dichroic glass set in sterling with stamped band

2018 ~ 52 ring challenge - week 9

This week's ring is also a simple one. I started out with 5 White Water turquoise mini nuggets stacking rings (as the plan) and wound up with only one after a variety of mishaps, including sticking a bur into my thumb.
But that's ok, i'll remake the tiny bezels and get the stack made this week.

i also finally made the scrying pendant i've had bounching around in my head for months and did my first stone-on-stone setting, so i would say it was a productive week. Even though some of it was frustrating, i learn from my mistakes.

I'm excited to be working on the instructions for my Bezel explorations class next month and for another step-by-step article for Metal Clay Today. :)

2018 ~ 52 rings challenge - Week 8

Last week was filled with last minute work on my Halstead Maker's Challenge piece- it turned out pretty ok (although I crashed it on Saturday during class- i think the succulents survived)

This week's ring is nice and simple -it's a little infinity midi ring. not all pieces have to be 'works of art' and day to day rings are important to make too. so here it is :)

  

2018 ~ 52 rings challenge - Week 7

This week's ring is kind of a dud only because there was some silver solder on my brick that I didn't see and it got on my pretty copper bezel wire and messed up the pattern. I guess that will teach me that I should always tap off my brick between silver and copper projects! The back of the stone is open though- it has a little shelf inside the bezel wire from square copper wire that the rounded back of the fossil sits on. I used my whetstone to flatten it out some so it wouldn't jab the finger, but the open back allows the ring to be lighter on the hand and I think it's a good technique to use when you have a stone that is irregular or interesting on the obverse. 

This is my new burl wood statement necklace- I cut the slice of wood from a chunk of burl, sanded it to make a nice smooth surface, shaped the edges and then oiled it to make the figuring pop. I created the frame in a minimalistic way to show off both sides of the wood- they're equally enchanting. The chain is handmade, but not by me. I have a front clasping toggle to make it very comfortable to wear. I'm not sure i'm going to be able to part with this one, but i am DEFINITELY going to be making more!

2018 ~ 52 rings challenge - week 2

(Note- also back dated due to issues blogging from my phone and forgetting to do it when i was at a computer. lol)

Here's my ring for week 2 of my challenge:

Sterling silver with rainbow dichroic cabochon from Galaxy Glass (on etsy). I made it so it could be easily worn with stackers (as seen on my finger)

2018 ~ 52 rings challenge - week 1

(note- I backdated these as I had the rings made on time but forgot to post- going forward, they'll be accurately dated)

I've decided to do another annual challenge. Things have settled down on the travel front for work and I honestly shouldn't be traveling more than 3-4 times, at most, in 2018. I'm sad and happy about it. Sad, because I enjoyed those face paced, 24-hour turn around visits to random cities- exploring them in the middle of the night and sleeping on the plane coming home. It was like speed dating for cities. Pack as much interesting and local stuff into 17-36 hours as possible.

It's good that I'm not traveling like that because it allows me more time to plan my personal trips. I'm doing a class with Sarah Perkins in June and one with Victoria Lansford in July. I'm trying to decide what to do for my birthday this year, as the last few have pretty much been suxxors for various reasons- last year I was flying back from LA on my birthday and the year before, we were in Arizona with the kids and my aunt. And while my birthday itself was good, it felt really off too for some reason. the year before that was awkward for reasons I won't go into. And I get to go to a beach this year and actually do more than stare at it for 20 minutes and take some photos and scoop up a few shells. :)

So- since I think I'll be around, I'm going to try this 52 ring challenge- and if I make more than one ring in a week, I'm not going to save it for another week, unless it's because I'll be at a trade show or out of town.

Without further ado- here's what I made on New Year's Day.
1- larimar heart with fancy gallery wire and a wide, textured band
2- Mokume gane oval cab (made by me) set in plain silver bezel and on a thinner, pattern band
3- Mokume gane round cab (made by me) set in plain silver with a plain half round band
4- Tabasco geode from Mexico set in a plain silver bezel with a thin rectangle band

Woot!! I can post again!

I have finally found the work around that will let me post photos on my blog. I've been very quiet this year and it's not entirely because I haven't had anything to say or share. I have been to some really cool places this year and I've done and seen some neat stuff.
But I've been in a funk mentally. Energy levels are still low- blood work is fine, but I still feel like I did when I had Mono. I haven't been as busy as I was last year, and while I know that's for the best, I feel like I'm slacking. It makes it hard to make new and meaningful work.
I have mostly filled up my moleskine, so I picked up a few new ones (a watercolor one!! A soft cover turquoise one And my normal black hardcover) I'm trying to get back into writing, sketching and making daily. It's harder than it should be, but I'm working on my self talk and my self care and hoping things will return to something close to normal.

I was lamenting the lack of toad visitors this year and was greeted by this handsome treefrog the same night, my large, garden toad momma this morning before work and tonight, when I came home, momma and a small, bright male were hanging out at the door. The universe answers sometimes. :)

How is it almost June?!?!

“I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be.”

~ Douglas Adams, The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul

It's been a very fast paced year. It's been going by so quickly, I'm not sure how I got to be where I am at times. And while I think I might at least be close to where I need to be, I can see a vast stretch between me and where I *want* to be. 

My birthday is quickly approaching and that's always a trying time for me. It's my New Year. I try to incorporate all the things I learned, about myself and others, during the time of turmoil (also known as Spring) and make some plans for the next 12 months of my life. It's a pseudo-tradition I began when I was 19 and I've more or less kept up with it. The plans have gotten more open-ended and much less 'strict' as I've gotten older, and hopefully, wiser. And my priorities have certainly shifted since I was a naive teen feeling like anything in the world was possible with little effort. 

I've been focusing more on my art- learning new skills, and trying to work out my visual vocabulary. It's hard creating a 'signature look'- I think it's something I'm just going to have to keep working at. Keep creating all the work I can create and see what repeats. I know what I want to say... it's just hard to figure out how to say that sometimes without being too overt. Maybe I need to be overt for a while.. see how that goes. lol. 

I'm going to have a change of scenery for the next week or so and I'll have an opportunity to dip my toes in the ocean. I'm hoping it will be the recharge I need to face the coming year. 

And here are pictures of some of the stuff I've been working on :)

the finished pieces from my workshop with Joanna Gollberg! i *love* the techniques i learned!

Always making leaves- these are all from the Memphis Botanic Gardens except the tiny oak at the bottom- that one came from Flagstaff AZ. :)

Creative file- Album from San Antonio

For those that don't follow me on Google+ or Facebook, I've published a selection of images from my trip to The Makery in Bulverde and my adventures in San Antonio and Austin.

The album is public here. :)

Creative Life 2016- week 43

October has been a wonderful month in many ways. I've had several weekends now where I've been able to demonstrate metalsmithing and share my knowledge with the public. This weekend, I'll be teaching a class on chain maille at the garden (which I had the experience of promoting on Live at 9 this past Monday! - Click here for the video)

I've become kind of resolved to the fact that I am a living creature with biology that doesn't always match up to what I (think I) want- for a long time, I truly believed that 'humans' were evolved past things like circadian rhythms and seasonal cycles- oh how wrong I was! I am such a slave to my body's sleep and active cycles, and mine are off from what the world expects. Attempts to adhere to this arbitrary and incompatible schedule reflect in my health and mental status on the regular.
I tried the whole waking up with the sun thing, and it was glorious... I was so much more alert, even on less sleep, than when I wake with an alarm. My true lament comes from the realization that no matter what I try, my most creative hours are between 8pm and 2am. I was trying to figure out where my mojo went in the evenings after work when i would go to the studio and try to make. I stayed late one night, and discovered I was leaving the party before the mojo kicked in! I tested it a few more times and confirmed, I can create new pieces with wild abandon, crank out my pseudo-production work and get my Units per Hour to an actual range where I can make a profit selling my art when I work between 8pm and 2 am! However, the schedule for the rest of my life is very incongruent to this block of creative time.

See how productive i can be during the right time of the night?!? And i really need a few more nights like this to be ready for Crafts & Drafts on the 12th of November. (It's a great show- lots of great work and a wonderful, festive environment. I highly recommend attending it)

Creative life 2016 - busy season

So, this time of year is my busy season, both as an artist and just as a person. Most of the shows i do all year are in October and November, and this year I also took on demonstrating for Tn Craft week, which was actually a lot of fun, but it was also rough on my shoulder.. I enjoyed meeting people and hearing stories about their journeys- both the specific trip they were on and their larger, life journey. Individuals are usually pretty awesome, and it's fascinating to me how people's experiences vary so wildly.

As a person, fall is *my* time. My personal magic is strongest now and it will continue to grow until I wear myself out some where between Thanksgiving and the Winter Solstice. I'll hermit a little until the new year, where I force myself to get out, otherwise I spiral downward into taking stock of what I didn't get to over the past year, even though my 'new year' isn't until later, I still find myself harshly judging by societal standards. My resolutions for this year are to be kinder, to myself and others, and to put more effort into eliminating overly processed things from my life, be that food, goods or experiences.

2016 has been a rough year. I'm discovering that it hasn't just affected me and my little circle. It's been wide reaching, especially amongst the empaths. It makes me wonder if all the negativity in the world is just overloading our circuits and we aren't able to keep the walls up to keep the bad stuff out while keeping the plates spinning to keep the good stuff happening.

I've watched my circle of friends shrink as people change and I moved one of my best friends to the other side of the country less than 2 months ago. It's been hard to fight the feeling of isolation and to stay engaged. I would say I've failed more than I've succeeded. The desire to buy some land somewhere secluded and build an earthship and a tree house is strong most days.

Hermiting is not good for me long-term, although i think I do need a few days alone in the woods or on the beach to recenter, recharge and clear some of the debris from my heart and soul of the last year or so. I have a lot of stuff in there trying to get out- visual arts, music, dance, words... But there's so much in the way that it just trickles out in frustrating spurts.

Creative Life - Tennessee Craft Week

I had the pleasure of doing some metalsmithing demonstrations this past weekend at two of the TN welcome centers to raise awareness for TN Craft week and Tennessee Craft.

I was at the I-40 downtown Memphis center on Saturday and the I-155 Dyersburg center on Sunday. I met some really awesome people and heard some great stories about people following their dreams and seeing the world. It was quite inspiring.

Creative life 2016- week 40

Not much studio time since I got done traveling- my nights have been filled with getting things back on track from my month away from home. I did take some photos last week that I thought were worth sharing. :) I have demos at TN Welcome centers this weekend, Pink Palace Arts & Crafts fair in less than 2 weeks, River Arts in less than 3 weeks and then a great chain maille class at the Gardens on the 29th. I'll be on TV the 24th to talk about my work and my classes. October will be pretty busy, but in a good way- for the reasons I like to be busy. Hopefully, I'll be creating like mad over the next few weeks, so keep an eye out for new work!

The tree I always stop and visit when I go to Olive Branch for onsite service. 

The view from Cabin 6 at Natchez. It was supposed to be a nice weekend with woods wandering but instead turned into an unplugged weekend of cabining. 

Reflections early in the day on Pin Oak Lake

Reflections late in the morning on Browns Creek Lake

Creative life 2016 - some week... some time..

Blogger's inability to correct the issue with its app, on a Nexus device, has severely limited my ability to blog, so yes, I am very behind on my regular posts. No fear, though, I have been creating!

Tennessee Craft Southwest put on a show at Crosstown Arts last weekend that I had the pleasure of having a booth in and the experience of coordinating. 13 artists in a small space is something akin to herding cats, but it was a great show, all the participants were excellent and we had an amazing turn out for a 1st year show. I think everyone was quite pleased. My booth setup was a little different as we had 6x6 spaces and I was out in the middle so my space was fully visible from all directions. I think I pulled it together ok :) (Marilyn's gorgeous art quilt is in the upper right corner of the image below- her work is so detailed and deep, it's truly inspiring)

I'm going to be adventuring for the next two weeks, so not much creative time. I was working on getting some stuff done for an upcoming private enameling class and I was playing around with a piece that I had put a counter enamel coat on long ago and forgotten. This was supposed to be the back of the piece, but with some vintage lump enamels, some leaded powders, and some unleaded liquids, I accidentally created this last night. The clear when teal, so I had to add more blues- it actually matches the studio - almost exactly the wall color. it's a 6x6 piece, so I'll probably put some counter on the back and call this baby done. the depth doesn't really show much in the picture, but the way the copper oxides are dispersing through the clear coat and the white looks like leather in a few places, it's a neat piece and I'm looking forward to having time to play with the techniques more.

Something that keeps showing up on my radar is growing my business. Conversations, blogs I follow,  my horoscope, whatever, there's a theme of pursuing my passion, and how to get the funding necessary to do that. I did the Go Fund Me thing, and I need to revisit that as we have changed the plan as it unfolded- the Mobile Metal Working Studio is still a thing- it's still in the 3 year plan and it will happen.. just not in a VW bus and not on the time line I thought it would happen. We decided a small trailer is the better way to go last year, and if my recent google search is to be believed, mobile boutiques are BOOMING, so having a small studio/gallery that I can cart around the country, especially the west coast, is doable. And there are now resources out there to help me be successful instead of me having to figure it all out on my own. I've priced it out and since I need a new daily driver soon, it's a better investment. Also, to be fair, there are some logistical issues that have put the acquisition of the MMWS on hold- namely where to store the thing when I'm not on the road, which with my mainstream job, that will be a lot of the time.

I want to do this full time. the teaching, the art, the shop. I need funding to do that, but I feel bad about asking for money, (loan, Kickstarter, go fund me, whatever) when I can't give definitive dates of when I will do things because of the day job. and If the money isn't enough, like partially funded go fund me, then it all falls through and I'm left with a really guilty feeling. I want to be one of those people that dives off in and makes it happen, I just don't know how. :(