Tucson 2017 - Turquoise (Royston)

A trip to the Tucson show would not be complete without sharing some turquoise finds. One of my favorite gemstones, turquoise is found around the world and has a range of color and patterning that boggles the mind. A good amount of high quality turquoise is found in the American Southwest: Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, and Colorado.

One of the turquoises I love to buy is Royston / Ribbon turquoise, so named because it can look like "ribbons" of turquoise are winding through the host rock, forming interesting patterns. This turquoise comes from Nevada, and is often used in Native American jewelry designs.

My finds from this year:

Not a lot. And I don't have much on hand already, so my stash is on the small side. But when I shop the millions of gems on display in Tucson, one of my challenges is to find what I consider the absolute very *best* options. Some years, there's a lot available of what I deem "the best". And some years...there isn't. Natural gems are not an ever-renewing resource, so I pick and choose from whatever's available at any given moment. I'm quite satisfied with these beauties though; each one has splendid patterning and contrast.

And I did manage to find a few earring pairs:

Just a few. But all stellar. :)

And then these:

I've written about these gems before, here, and here, if you'd like to see more examples of this gorgeous gem. :)

Tucson Gem Show 2015, Part III

In my last post, I shared a little about struggling to find the "right" gems - right heights, right quality, right price. Today I'll share some gems that seemed abundantly available for me this year...the Peruvian opals.

Last year I'd bought a big ol' bunch of pendant-sized gems, and a few pairs for earrings. As it turned out, the pendants moved much more slowly than the earrings. By the end of the year, I was nearly sold out of earring gems. So this year I was on a big mission for earring pairs, and I hit a motherlode.

The photo above is just a random sampling of my haul. Most of the gems not shown are smaller, but all of these gorgeous beauties will make stellar earrings. And they're not heavy, thick cuts. And they're LOVELY. I love my turquoise, but seeing a whole bunch of Peruvians together makes me really, really happy. :)

Since I still had a few pendant gems left, I told myself I could only buy what really, truly made my heart sing. I try to do that anyway - choosing what I consider only "the best" makes it easier to cull through the thousands of gems I view at the shows - but this year I was super-picky about non-earring-sized gems.

I did find these:

which I adore for their translucency (though I usually prefer more opaque color) and their organic shapes. And these:

which hit me right in the gut. I knew they were definitely worth a little splurge. :)

Nearly all the Larimar in yesterday's post, and all of the Peruvian opals from today's post come from the same gem dealer. In years past. they've had displays at three locations in the Tucson Gem show; this year they consolidated to just one. Which made things a little easier and a little more difficult, because I went out of my way to one specific show just to see them, and spent the previously mentioned three hours looking through tons and tons of gems. It's a huge time-suck, because there are so many other places I need to get to - but it's utterly worth it.

I also found just a *few* pairs of boulder turquoise for earrings. The mine for these closed several years ago, and all the rough has been cut up, so new stock in these patterns are nonexistent. But in digging through the bins, I did come across these:

they were hidden away at the bottom of a bin. And now they're safely here in the studio.  :)

Tucson Gem Show 2015, Part I

Time for the annual review of the Tucson Gem show, the largest show in the world for showing, selling, and buying gems. It's a must-do if you love colored gems. The Tucson "show" is actually about 40 or so separate shows, scattered around Tucson over a period of two weeks. Some require a business license, some are open to the public.

And no gem show trip is ever free of some sort of surprise, of course. This year there was a lot of rain - for the desert in winter, a LOT of rain - during the early days of the show. Which made most of the ground look like this:

Most of the time, shopping Tucson is dusty. Not this year! Lots of ankle-deep mud puddles to navigate. Fortunately I'd brought along a pair of workhorse boots, which sufficed until the mud dried up a bit.

My first stop was where I usually like to first shop: the Royston Turquoise booth. Oh, there are others (though not many), but this booth is special. :)  The boys always have many, many lovely gems, but they *do* sell out sometimes, so I like to get there as early as possible. This year I was unable to travel early enough to get to them when the show opened, so I got there late on the first day. And they were already (on the first day! They had two weeks left!) very low on larger sized gems, which I use for pendants.

I did find these:

Hello, fabulousness! I didn't get anything on the really large side, like last year, but I found a decent variety. The two matched pairs on the bottom are meant for earrings, but the pairs on the left I'm going to break up into pendants, and the pairs on the right I think I'm going to hold onto until I can find a really cool centerpiece to go with them. Sometimes gems just get put away for a while until the right time comes along.:)

While I didn't have a huge choice of pendants...I hit the jackpot with earrings this year:

Oh, what grand fun I will have making earings with these! I love finding unusual patterns and shapes in my gems, and these are all wonderful.

I'm taking photos and uploading them here all week, so stay tuned...there are a lot more lovelies to share. :)

Time Flies...on a Private, Supersonic Jet

I look at the date of my last post, May 20th, and realize today is June 18th. Nearly a month has passed. In some ways, only a month. And yet...in some ways, my last post feels like it was written last year.

For days, days, days on end, my schedule has been to get up, eat breakfast, work.....fourteen hour days (or more). And then go to bed, get up, and do it all again. There have been a couple of weekend days where I didn't work - I really try not to, when I'm not at a festival - but overall it's been exhausting. I headed to Michigan (a ten hour drive) last Thursday, not exactly feeling on top of my game.

And surprise, surprise...I'm NOT on top of my game. I went to the doctor today and got diagnosed with a UTI (bladder infection). Sorry if that's TMI for ya, but it iz what it iz. Far as I can tell, it started Thursday when I left...but there was nothing I could do since I knew I wouldn't be able to see the doctor until today. So I'm a little more run down and tired than normal.

And yet. I feel like I can't rest because there's so much buzzing around in my head. Now I'm going to have some time (my next festival isn't until September) to try to put in place the things I've been trying to put in place for a long time. I've got a list. I've got motivation. I've got...to start working it ASAP, because there is truly no time like the present...and I'm already behind. ~wry smile~ Does *every* small business owner feel this way rather often?

So let me distract myself a bit - because I can't do anything about it tonight - and tell you about Michigan. :)

First, the show is a long way away. And because my husband came with me, we added an extra day as he visited a client on Monday. So it was five hotels in six nights. By the time we were in the fourth hotel, I could barely remember what floor we were on or what our room number was. A lot of shuffling and moving things around.

It's not a big show. It doesn't have a ton of foot traffic - at least, not what I'm used to in some of the bigger festivals in, say, Arizona, or even in Georgia. But sometimes a smaller show can truly be a gem (no pun intended). I exhibited at this festival for the first time last year, and it was, if not exactly solid...well, it seemed to have potential. So I came back this year, a little (only a little!) better prepped with inventory, a little more familiar with the town, a little lighter on my feet because I had help from my husband. Those of you who have never done a festival, from setup to tear down, don't understand how much help it is to have someone with you, to share the load. Especially someone who knows *your* business pretty well. And to help with the (literally) heavy liftting. It made things much easier in some ways.

And the people...oh, you lovely people! The thing I really like about Michiganders is that they're direct. They're not brusque, but they're blunt and to the point, just the way I like my conversation. :)  Nice people who don't bother with any of the "bless your heart"-ish talk that you sometimes hear in the South. They'll tell you how they feel. People recommended other festivals, they were fascinated and interested that we were up "all the way" from Atlanta, and this crowd LOVES gems as much as I do. I sold several special designs that I wasn't quite ready to part with, but I know they went to good homes and will be well loved. I've never seen a group of people so interested in the details about my gems. What fun to talk to a fairly jewelry-educated crowd!

This was the first piece sold on Saturday morning. Brand spankin' new...she loved it and wore it out of the booth. :)

The weather was a *little* warm...but honestly about as perfect as it could be.

So we left town in very good spirits; I've got my list of to-do's to put in place, and all the show crapola is stored away for a little while. I'm looking forward to some long (but not fourteen hour!) days in the studio to build, to push, to stretch my dreams and make them into some fabulous jewelry. "Watch this space", as they used to say, to see what happens next...

Summer's officially here in three days. Let's make it a really, really good one. :)

Tucson Gem Show, Part IV: The Turquoise!

I learned my lesson last year, having randomly stumbled across one small booth selling beautiful examples of Royston turquoise. I bought a few, and sold all but one (thank you, my awesome customers!!). The response to them was phenomenal, which means that I get to buy more!

This year, I went straight to that same booth when the show opened, and I literally fought my way through the crowds to get some of these goodies. The booth was packed with other people who wanted the same thing I did, and getting your toes stepped on or your side elbowed is sometimes part of the gem buying experience. But trust me when I say it was totally worth it. :)

For those who don't know, Royston turquoise comes from Nevada. It's a lovely and prized type of turquoise with stunning color and matrix. But the type of Royston turquoise I REALLY love is known as boulder, or ribbon turquoise. The turquoise gem is not completely cut out of the host rock, or boulder (hence, boulder turquoise), and the lovely blue color winds through the boulder, often resembling a ribbon. Like these:

they give a flash of the blue, contained within a lovely golden brown host rock (sometimes the host rock is a bit paler, as in the center earring pair shown above). Unusual, lovely, and yes...a bit spendy. But sooo worth it. 

These are all earring pairs. I didn't have as much luck finding pendant gemstones this year, but I did stock up on earring stones as much as I could. That doesn't mean that I have a lot, because these aren't easy to find - I only saw Royston / boulder turquoise at two gem vendors this year - but I grabbed what I could.

Of course, I didn't forgo pendant-sized gems entirely:

These all have the lighter host rock, but will still make lovely pendants. The upside-down teardrop shape is one of my favorites to work with.

I also found these three ovals, and....

this bad boy. It's BIG. And beautiful. And it's going to make a stunning pendant. :) 

But let me share my OTHER great find:

Natural Kingman turquoise, from Arizona. One of my favorites of the American turquoises. The Kimgman mine is still in operation, but only for copper mining; turquoise is no longer mined there. So any Kingman gems that come on the market are from old stock, in limited amounts. They're also often not in my budget. But this year, the stars aligned and I found a few that I had to bring home. Just look at those two beauties! The coloring and matrix remind me of some of the prettiest Peruvian opals that I've shared with you....only these are even better in some ways. :) 

And for the first time ever, I found earring pairs!

Just a sampling of the 12 pairs I found. All different, all stunning. And all American.  :)

I have one more unusual gem to share with you. And then it's time to get on to turning these gorgeous goodies into jewelry! 

Tucson Goodies, Part I: Agates, Opals, Abalone

I promised to show you the lovelies I found at the Tucson Gem Show this year, and I'll get right to the gorgeousness, starting with some lace agates:

These are laguna lace agate, a variety of crazy lace agate, from Mexico. These agates (crazy lace, red lace, Utah lace, etc) are wildly patterned and the colors are earthy and bold, ranging from white to tan to brown to gray to a deep red. The "crazy" name comes from the twisting, irregular patterns.

The triangle above is Utah lace agate, a new stone for me. Most lace agates come from Chihuahua, Mexico, but I did find out that there's a variety of lace agate in Utah. I love the translucency (there are translucent parts in the center, right above the white bottom and in the upper right corner) mixed in with the more colorfully banded patterns.

Another piece of Utah lace. I love the scenic effect, with the cloud-like bands of white up top and then the dark band of "earth" in the center and the deep gray looking like water below...

These are red lace agates. They were actually for sale as two separate pendants, but I really think they'd make great earrings. They're quite well matched in size and color pattern. :)

I also had to get a few more dendrite opals. I see several dealers who offer these at the gem show, but I only buy from one gem dealer, because whomever is cutting his rough is a MASTER at making wonderfully picturesque scenes with these stones. I love how the outer edge of patterning wraps around the center of these gems, and the bottom one looks just like moonlight is shining in from the left side. Brilliantly done!

I really worked hard at staying true to my shopping list; the lace agates were a bit of a side track, but I already had a few, and they'd sold well, so I wanted to add some more to my existing stash. I had bought some as far back as 2003 or so, and then for several years, I couldn't find any with nice enough patterning to satisfy me. Last year I found some organic shapes that I want to prong-set, but this year it was nice to come across some great new gems with those gorgeous patterns. And the dendrites are SO lovely and I always sell a decent handful, so I bought a few more. :)

And then I ran into these:

They're faceted abalone and boy, are they wonderful. The photo doesn't really do them justice. I only bought a few, but I really wanted to play with setting them. I'm not sure exactly what the process is in making these - I know they're a doublet (see my previous blog post about doublets here), but I don't know how the faceted (glass, I assume) top is bonded to the abalone. I DO know that it's a pretty durable process, having had this ring:

for a number of years. It, too, is abalone under a faceted top. And it's held up very well.

Here's a side shot of the abalone I bought:

You can see the facets on the top; the black line on the bottom is the abalone shell bonded to that top piece. It won't be noticeable once they're set in a bezel, and the facets just magnify the bright abalone beauty. What fun! Can't wait to play with them. I also bought smaller pieces for earrings. :)

I still have a lot more photos to share, including larimar, some FABULOUS Peruvian opals, and of course, the turquoise...I found some really amazing pieces of the Royston Turquoise this year...stay tuned.  :)

Motivations

“Each mistake teaches you something new about yourself. There is no failure, remember, except in no longer trying. It is the courage to continue that counts.” 
― Chris Bradford, The Way of the Sword

I needed this quote recently, after a rough day (well, rough several days) of feeling like I cannot reach any of the goals I'm striving for. All of the positives this year seem suddenly outweighed by the failures (or lack of successes?). I try very hard to not fall into those pits of despair that seem to litter the path...but occasionally it's like one just opens up beneath my feet and I can't avoid it.

So here I am, reminding myself of the stories of other people I consider successful, and how they've shared about their own struggles. Which is comforting. But only to a degree. I tell myself that I'm persistent, not a quitter, doggedly determined. And so I am...but maybe, just not right now. Right NOW I want to stamp my feet and throw something through the window. The sound of glass breaking can be very soul-satisfying...

We all need outlets for when we feel a bit sucker-punched, a bit like we've gone ten rounds and Do.Not.Want. to get back up off the mat. The outlet that has served me best in my life, ever since I was a teenager, is to write. I wrote poetry on a regular basis for twenty years, and then I made some changes in my life and didn't need the poetry outlet as much, so I've written sporadically in more recent years. Though I realize that some of my writing outlet has been channeled into my jewelry descriptions. I guess they're my way of sharing, of connecting with others. I look at at the stone and think about what it evokes for me, and then I try to elaborate on that. Often these relate to things I consider paramount in my own life, like nurturing the self, the soul, loving with a full heart, making changes and learning and growing spiritually, etc.

The tricky part is to not write descriptions when you're feeling like I have been feeling lately...or at least, try very hard to not let your anger or frustration seep into your writing...

"The hardest blows are the unexpected ones. When the person you shared a friendship with turns on you, the door you thought was open is not just closed but bolted shut, the blue skies you saw in the distance have turned stormy. That's when it's time to reach deep within and grasp some tenacity. No one ever said that the climb would be easy or that the rewards would come when you've earned them, or even that the prize would ever be yours. Some days it's painful just to put one foot in front of the other, but eventually the light will brighten, a window gets cracked open, the water oasis appears just when you most need a drink. And you reach, again, for that dream. That battered, trampled, stubborn dream. You hold it close, you believe, and you begin again."

I wrote the description above for the final bit of Royston turquoise (in the photo) I had in my gem stash. I'd set it recently but no evocative descriptions were coming to mind...I guess it needed a different perspective.  ~wry smile~ 

All that mix of browns and patterns evoking the dry, dusty desert, and then these brilliantly blue spots showing through...like the oasis appearing just when you really, really need it...sometimes life is handing you a rough road. And sometimes you get stuck. But eventually you get up.You carry on. And you get back to a place of light again.

So maybe that description was as much for me as for anyone browsing my web site...we all struggle, and we all rise. Anyway, I felt better after writing it. So I'm picking up. Carrying on. And minding the broken glass as I move forward.  :)

Higher, Faster, Stronger. The Best Never Rest. Etc.

Though I struggle against it, I am a perfectionist. It's in my bones, in my DNA. I want the best, I want to *be* the best, I want to be able to...be stronger, fly higher, design and fabricate (and do everything else) faster. It's a driving force in my life but also a constant source of dissatisfaction.

And my own designs are certainly not off limits from my expectations, of course. Usually when I'm designing one of the labor-intensive, fabricated pieces, it's (mostly) a labor of love. Sometimes it's just a labor. And the last time I did one of these, when yet ANOTHER part of the process utterly didn't work, I cried - just a little - and yelled some unrepeatable words. And I do mean yelled. At the top of my lungs. Twice. (the first time just wasn't satisfying enough).

Then I stepped away from the work table. I had a snack. I poked around on the computer. For about twenty minutes. Then I made myself go back to the work table, pick up the torch, and begin again. Some days, that's what it's all about - refusing to give up. Of course, some days I should give up, but this was not one of those days. How do I know the difference? Trial and error. :)

What was frustrating me was not learning something new, but rather running into an issue(s) with tasks I've done before. A lot before. So much so that I should be able to pretty much do them with ease. And most days I do...but not earlier this week. Monday's work was an exercise in picking one's self up after being dropped in the dirt repeatedly. Bloody, but unbowed, and all that.

So what did perseverance get me? Well...

This. Which isn't a bad reward. It's better when you don't start thinking that the reward  might never happen...because this nearly went in the scrap jar more than once. But it's completed and all is good.  :)

It's slightly different from this piece in a few ways:

- I made the overall pendant more lightweight, using a lighter back plate. The other one was comfortable to wear, but rather heavy. By the time I'd finished the three plaques, and the chain, all that metal added up. I wanted to design a bit lighter this time. Less silver = less cost. Metals prices still aren't super inexpensive, and keeping costs down is always a bonus.

- I  also learned from this chain:

to go bigger, bigger, bigger on handmade chain loops. The chain above was nearly the death of me, both the making of and the cleanup / polishing. First, I don't love soldering small jump rings. These are about 3.5 mm
18 gauge rings. And there are a LOT of them. And my soldering didn't get noticeably better after having done so many. And then hand polishing them all...I did not want to repeat that anytime soon. So I made much bigger, wider links on the new necklace. Result? A happier Jill. Also, less labor because I made 300% fewer jump rings.  :)

- I also wanted to try a different connection method. Past big necklaces like these have had a simple jump ring connection, which has worked fine. But I want to push myself a bit on connectors and bails. I think it's time. So I soldered on some tubing and then ran a jump ring through it, for a more flexible connection. I am planning to use this kind of connection on some other pieces, and wanted to see how easy it would (or wouldn't) be.

And in the meantime, I finished these:

Two of the Royston turquoise stones I purchased in February. The bottom pendant had to be completely redone, because of this:

The bezel kept getting these nicks, or divots, in the top. This has happened before and I couldn't figure out why...I got some online help and now I think I know what was happening. But I had to scrap the bezel and back, saw off the top embellishments, and start again. And of course the top piece(s) didn't just want to magically attach to the new bezel...it took far longer to re-do than it should. I'd almost given up on it entirely.

But I didn't. I cried and I yelled and I might have even stomped my feet a little bit...but eventually the studio diva got her way. At least I can exert my will over the inanimate objects...sometimes. :)

So a lot of imperfection manged to add up to more learning...and at least a *little* satisfaction in the end. Worth the journey, every time.  :)

Searching for The One (It's Not What You Think)

Are you constantly looking for The One? The *one* item that will fill a space / wardrobe / accessory need in your life? 

I am. I like what I like. And I could care less about the rest. This applies to everything in my life - food, clothing, shoes, home decor, art...you get the idea. When I like something, I really, really like it. Otherwise I have no interest in it whatsoever. And the older I get, the more choosy I become. It feels like I only have so much time...I want to put it to its best use and kick the clutter to the curb.

It drives people crazy (mostly my husband, especially when he's gift shopping), but yes, I am very, very particular. I prefer the word discerning, of course.  :)

And I think it's good to be particular. To be exceptionally choosy about what you spend your hard-earned money on, to select with great care the things that surround and adorn you.The problem is, I'm the kind of girl who would rather wait for just the "right" thing, rather than purchase some specious "interim" thing...this explains why, after nearly ten years, our house is what you might call "minimally" furnished...also, what I like tends to be, er...not inexpensive. So it's a slow process...

I don't find that much of the public shops this way...many people are seemingly quite un-discerning. I suppose this shouldn't surprise me, but I always expect a little different perspective from art show shoppers. I'd like to think that people who make the choice to buy art / furniture / jewelry (!) from an art festival, rather than a mall, for example, would be more discerning...but I think many people, no matter where they shop, want throwaway items (at a low price) that are easy, I-don't-have-to-think-about purchases...and when something breaks or is "out of style" or isn't needed anymore, it can be tossed (and possibly replaced) without much thought to the replacement purchase. And that's kind of the art fair expectation too, sometimes.

I'm not really sure what drives this. Americans *are* known for "bigger", for "quantity over quality"; we like abundance. Clearly money (or lack thereof) can be an issue. Which I totally understand. But for me, longevity has always been part of my purchasing. I don't spend often, but when I do, I will spend a bit more to get something I really love, rather than having something that "sort of" works. Or "sort of" fits. But sometimes things just aren't in the budget. On a trip to New Orleans, several years ago, my husband and I fell in love with some lamps. We oohed and aahed and thought long and hard about the right place in our house for one of these gorgeous, hand-painted lamps...and then the salesperson came over. And the price of the lamps was in the low five figures. Eep! That's just never going to be in our household budget. So I get that for some folks, $135 on a necklace won't ever be in the budget...but what about the rest of us?

I sold the above earrings at an art show recently. They were not prominently displayed, yet I can safely say that they were one of the most-looked-at items in my booth. People picked them up, oohed and aahed at the beautiful stones, and asked the price...which was $138.  Most of those people put them back down again and either looked at something less expensive, or simply walked away. Until late Saturday afternoon, when a woman came into the booth and went through the same motions...except she never let go of them. Not even when I told her the price. She said, "I think I just *have* to have these". And you know what she told me? That she doesn't buy often...but she buys "for keeps". So the items she chooses to spend on are loved/used/worn constantly and for her, worth a little more investment up front.

Now, I know that $138 for earrings, even handmade, stone-set ones with GORGEOUS stones, is not in some budgets. But for others... could it be? If, say, one was buying less throwaway items at $40 a pop? Or $15? If one had a desire to have fewer items, but items that were truly standouts, truly loved, and beautifully adorned one's ears (home, feet...etc)? 

The earrings above sold before I could even list them in my Etsy shop or on my web site. I had posted them on Facebook, and the woman who bought them told me to not bother listing them and just PayPal her an invoice. She knew they were something special, and she knew she'd get years of enjoyment out of them.

Interestingly, this has been how I buy personally, but not necessarily for my business. I have always looked for the best quality stones I could afford for my jewelry designs, and I know my regular customers recognize and appreciate that. But it wasn't until very recently that I considered spending a bit more for some really stellar stones, like the Royston Turquoise earrings shown above. I think I was a little afraid that the general public wouldn't appreciate - or buy - I am in business, after all - the more unusual, pricier stones. But these two recent earring sales, and a few other transactions, have made me rethink my stance.


With this in mind, I splurged a little on my most recent stone buying trip. The photos turned out a little blurry, but I think you'll get the (gorgeous) idea.  :)

Boulder turquoise, from Asia. Stunning! Now, the interesting thing is that usually I can pay a good bit less for Asian turquoise than for American turquoise, but the prices for the Asian stones have been creeping up in the last year or so. I asked my supplier about it. He said the mine in China has been closed - apparently it has been closed for a few years now, and for a while they were getting fewer stones, and now they are getting almost none. But the supplier still has a big demand for it - so the prices are going up. 

Peruvian opal. Bigger (and yes, a bit pricier) than I usually buy.

Glorious Kingman turquoise from Arizona. As I mentioned above, the price for Asian turquoise is coming closer to what I'm paying for American turquoise (though I hunt like crazy to try and find really good deals on American turquoise whenever I can). I sell primarily in the Eastern part of the U.S., and out here no one much cares about the origin of the stones. But out West, I constantly get asked where the turquoise is from. And Westerners don't often want the Asian turquoise. They want the Kingman, Morenci, Fox, Carico Lake, etc. (Most turquoises are named after the mines where they're found). It's quite an interesting distinction.

Anyhoo, time will tell if my spendy-er stones are worth the purchase. I think they will be...to the discerning shopper. Otherwise I'll have some GORGEOUS earrings of my own design to wear.  :)

Back in the Saddle (Old Horse, New Tricks)

One of the things they tell people who have never been on a horse before, is that you have to maintain control. If you don't, the horse will sense that and take every possible advantage of you. Sounds...sound, right? But if it's your first time (no matter what age) on the back of a horse, it's not quite that easy to put into practice...

It took me much longer than I expected to recover from the Ruidoso art festival in New Mexico. Last week my energy was nearly zero, and then I spent a busy weekend (my only "down" weekend this month) housecleaning and catching up on things. And I'm still trying to regain some equilibrium.

I think part of the issue was not just the physical tiredness and pain, but the mental side. I'm in an ego business - we artists have to be "approved" / "accepted" into art festivals, we have to pay for the privilege to just be looked over, with no guarantee of being granted permission to show up, then if we do get to show up (and pay for that privilege as well), we spend several days having our egos (and wallets, hopefully) either stroked or ignored by the public. And if you're not making the money you hope / need to make, you're going to (at least occasionally), feel a little bad about yourself...at least some of the time.

I know the rational reasons why I had a tough show. But the emotions are not so easily managed. At most festivals, I have what I would consider realistic expectations. But for whatever reason, I really let my expectations rise for this festival: I got called off the wait list! I won a blue ribbon! I have a great corner booth! I am doing some of the best work of my career so far! etc, etc...I felt like everything was sort of converging in my favor. So what do I know...apparently not. ~wry smile~

So. What does a sensitive artiste do when she's feeling low? She tackles something new, something she has no practice in, something that is a bit beyond her reach. Okay...no, most people would work on something simple and easy...stepping slowly into the harder stuff. Not moi. I went into the studio on Monday and decided that it was time to make rings. Big rings. With lots of soldered pieces on them. Soldering to CURVED surfaces...ha! Because when you're feeling down, you should set yourself what seems to be an insurmountable task! I can sort of laugh about it now, but on Monday night I was ready to toss my entire workbench in the trash. Head, meet wall. Banging ensues. Repeat ad nauseum.

But I DID learn. It's coming together. Two big ol' rings are to the clean up stage, and today I'm working on some easier things (finally). Making a bunch of bezels:

Mmm...yummy. Larimar, boulder turquoise(s), more turquoise, variscite, Kingman turquoise.

And more:

Peruvian opal(s), Eudyialite, sonoran cactus, boulder turquoise.

And MORE (I can't help it, I sort of get a rhythm going when I'm bezel-ing):

Larimars, Peruvian opals, Eudyalite.

What am I going to do with them? Not sure yet. But they need bezels no matter what. And when I am ready to design with these, I'm always happier when the bezels are done and I can get straight on to designing, rather than having to make the bezel. Design. Make the bezel. Design. What can I say? I'm a batcher.  :)

Which is why I did THESE, too:

Turquoise, petrified wood (I think), boulder turquoise, Peruvian opal, Eudyalite, boulder turquoise. And then I had to stop myself. Also, I ran out of 4mm bezel wire. Pfft. And I needed to work on finishing the big rings from earlier in the week...so I guess that was enough bezel making for one day. It gets out of hand quite easily.  :)


Now I'm planning my next big project, for next week...and maybe another big ring. With a stone, this time? I'm not sure yet...but the saddle leather is getting comfortable. The horse is a challenge but you can't let the horse be in control...the rider has to maintain control. Sometimes easier said than done...but I'm getting there.  :)

Knowing When to Take a Break

I woke up today feeling crappy. Which is no surprise, because I went to bed last night feeling crappy. Which is also no surprise...because I'm not sure I can recall the last time I really rested.

Coming back from my father's memorial service on the 24th with a lingering sadness. Realizing that I won't be able to attend my friend's memorial service in late July. Planning for an unexpected destination wedding in August (as well as a destination bridal shower). My mother is coming for a visit (also in August). My SIL and BIL were here for a week and left last Friday. Tonight I leave for five days in San Francisco. Trying to continue making jewelry in all that mess, constantly feeling like I can't stay on top of everything (anything!). Having the a/c out in our house (where I work) for two days (that was the week before last, but it's no fun working with a hot torch when it's hot inside).

I'm kind of wiped. I realized that I was dangerously close to burnout with the jewelry right before we left for Arizona. So it was good to take a break from the studio, but it wasn't for uplifting, relaxing reasons. When I travel to Arizona, as I just did, and all the times I went last year while Dad was still alive, it goes like this:

- Fly to Phoenix, pick up rental car, drive to friends' house. Interact with friends. Stay over at friends' house. Unpack for one night, then pack up again and head to Prescott the next day.

- Stay over at Mom's house. Unpack for 1-3 nights, try to adjust to altitude, interact with family.

- Pack up again and drive to Phoenix. Stay over at friends' house. Unpack for one night, then pack again, return rental car, fly home. Go back to work.

There's not a lot of downtime in this scenario. There's flying (always stressful), driving, talking with friends and family, packing and unpacking, more driving and flying.

I don't begrudge my visits last year at all, or this most recent one, but they're draining. And then I come home and work like crazy in the studio. And I go to bed at night and sometimes I just play games on the iPad until I fall asleep, because I'm problem solving all day and just don't want to think about anything once I'm done.

I thought that this year, with less travel, and less festivals, would be an improvement on last year's craziness. In some ways, it has been. I've been finding a rhythm to my studio days, and my studio work. But I still can't seem to manage everything. And travel is just taking everything out of me (oh, and grieving? That, too).

I'm not sure what the answer is...meditation? Yoga? NOT trying to go to every event, and accommodate everyone? Probably a mix of all of the above, to start. At least this morning, I gave myself permission to get a late start in the studio - without feeling guilty. This is part of the point of RUNNING MY OWN business, right? Flexible hours and all that. I guess I'd just like to feel like I'm not RUNNING quite so much. Figuring that out is going to take a little longer though...

In the meantime, I fly to SF tonight - it should have been at 11 *a.m.* today, but somehow Brett and I overlooked the fact that he booked me for 11 p.m....so I will arrive around 3 a.m Eastern time. Eep! Tuesday morning will be a little rough! But it's likely my last vacation for the year, so I'm going to make the most of it. It seems like I never have a "good time" to travel for pleasure - so much work to do in the studio - but I think I'm not going to be making any good work if I don't take a REAL break now and then.

So I will leave you with some goodies I was able to finish recently:

Joy Rising Earrings

Chrysocolla. There are supposed to be two pair, but the other set of stones isn't ready to play nice. : )

Waterblooms Earrings

These and the pendant below are part of a grouping of boulder-y turquoise stones I set recently. I call them "Waterblooms" because they remind me of flowers floating on the water. Beautifully contrasted, really unusual turquoises.

Waterblooms II Necklace

Two pair of Royston turquoise earrings - the first pair, that I mentioned in my prior blog post, already sold:

And I'm having a hard time letting them go. I have to mail them today...but I'm not ready. Sometimes I get a little *too* attached to my gemstones...

And these, just finished yesterday:

Between Canyons 

These are just a few of the new pieces listed on Etsy and on the Blue Piranha site. Feel free to have fun looking at all the new pretties! I'll be back next week!