Tucson 2017 - Mooka Jasper

Mooka jasper (or Mookaite) is an Australian jasper. It's one of the few gems that can morph into a lovely, deep pink / garnet-y red (though it's often deep maroon, beige, or yellow). Like other jaspers, it's formed in sediment, layers gradually building onto other layers, and this is evident in the soft striations of color often found in this gem. Like most jaspers, it takes a high, very reflective, polish.

I buy from just one gem dealer, who always offers what I consider the absolute loveliest examples of this beautiful jasper. This year I picked up some seriously gorgeous cabochons:

So much pinky-red goodness in my stash now! I try to find gems that are not entirely monochromatic (like the center stone in the second row); though that's nice, I usually like my gems to showcase a bit more interesting patterning. And these certainly do. You can see how reflective they are; making them hard to shoot without high spots. And there's not a variety of shapes usually; but fortunately the triangular shapes are a favorite of mine, and the organic-y asymmetrical gems work wonderfully with my own curvy metal designs.

Just a few more. These really showcase that beautifully soft pattern shift.

This gorgeous mooka jasper was paired with a beautiful peacock freshwater pearl. Both hues play beautifully together.

This is from a few years ago; one of the most unusually colored mooka jaspers I've ever seen. Topped with a bit of rhodonite which echoed the very light pink hue.

And this is another gorgeous (and large) cabochon, sharing its glory with a faceted labradorite. Very much a statement necklace.

Tucson Gem Show 2015, Part V

Here are some of the hits and misses from this year's shopping trip. First, the misses:

Too late:

This is a quick cell phone snap, but I think the gems show up beautifully despite that. The top is azurite / malachite with a copper (I think) infusion in it. Normally I don't like that kind of effect but these were amazing. Spendy, however. Like double the highest price I pay for earrings...I seriously thought about treating myself but I was being a good girl this year, and so they stayed.

The bottom gem...I'm still so sad about. It's one of the loveliest Tiffany Stone cabs I've ever seen. It's rare to begin with - found, so far, only in Utah - and quite pricey. This unfortunately got sold in the time I got the "okay" from a client to buy it, and the time I went back to get it. I am hoping it makes someone else VERY happy...

Too spendy:

The photo (again, cell phone; I don't haul the good camera to Tucson for gem shopping) does these no justice at all. They are facted, BIG, bicolor Tanzanite beauties. And at $450, there wasn't even a question that they were coming home this year. But they were amazing to look at.

Too rude:

The photo does none of these justice either...but trust, me they were amazing. However. When I asked about taking a photo for my client (not everyone allows it), the man I asked was very polite and said yes. So then I asked him if they would hold these four gems briefly while I texted my client the photo). He said okay, but then another man broke into our conversation and said, "Hold them for how long?" I said, "I don't know exactly, but I told her to have her phone nearly and she should get back to me shortly". He said, "That's not acceptable.". Then he paused, and said, "We'll hold them for fifteen minutes". Which was fine...but his attitude was beyond rude. I got about two steps away from the booth, and turned around. I flagged him down and said, "Never mind holding those. I'm not spending any momey with you today."

Damn shame, but there are enough lovely gems out there and enough dealers that I didn't want to spend with him. I don't get offended easily but there's no reason to be so rude. So I moved on.

And found this:

for my client. A fabulous and fascinatingly patterned Kingman turquoise. Unlike any other Kingman I've seen - the dealers had about four pieces of it, and this was the most superb. So I got the okay and now it's here waiting for me to make a very special necklace. :)

And the rest of the hits:

A very unusual crazy lace agate. Crazy lace was in short supply this year -  or at least the crazy lace *I* liked - but this was such a perfect little "scene" that I snapped it up.

Some new Mookaites (Mooka jasper, from Australia). I haven't bought any in a while, but I set (and fairly quickly sold) three or four of them last year. So I figured I'd add a few back into my stock. Its color is amazing, the cuts on these are excellent, and it takes a lovely high polish (as you can see by all the glares off the cabs in the photo). I really like to pair it with labradorite for a sort of moody, elegant combination. And the bottom one is also like a little scene. :)

These are amethyst with goethite inclusions, from Brazil. It's hard to capture the beauty of these in a photo, but they are partially translucent and beautifully cut and polished. I'm quite excited to play with them.

And finally, a sampling of  Utah lace agate. Slightly different than crazy lace agate (which comes from Mexico), this Utah lace that I purchased has some lovely red and purple-ish banding going through it, as well as some white parts which were well-cut to have them look kind of like snow-topped mountains. These will make spectacular pendants and earrings. :)

Peek Into the Life of a Studio Jeweler

I'm heading to Birmingham, Alabama, in two weeks for the Magic City Art Festival, and they sent out a little Q and A to post on their web site in the weeks leading up to the event. I thought the questions were interesting, and a little unusual, so I'm sharing them (and my answers) here, to give you a little insight into the world of a studio jeweler. I love this kind of stuff and can't wait to see how the other artists answered.  :) 

1. What is the most difficult part of your artistic process?

The physicality of actually making jewelry by hand. It's a very labor-intensive process and there's a lot of "repetitive motion" tasks that can be hard on the body. I still love every aspect of it though, from idea to implementation to "clean up" and final finishing. I love being so involved with something that someone else will love and cherish.

2. What artist tool do you use the most? How do you use it? 

My creativity. I use it for dreaming, designing, making. But it's also my best problem-solving tool. In the studio daily I'm confronted with technical design problems to solve, balance to achieve, especially with custom-cut gems and asymmetrical designs, metal to forge (harden) and heat (soften) and I have be creative in setting up the process to best achieve the results I want to create for each design. Other tools are very useful, but it's the creativity that drives me and also makes me strive for constant improvement, in both design and creation.

3. If you had all the time in the world to hone your craft and create work in another art medium, which would it be and why?

I might try my hand at shoe design (shoes are a second love to jewelry) but really, I would still work in the jewelry field. I'd spend time learning how to set precious stones and do even more "specialty" type work. I'd play with platinum and other fine metals, and design with the rarest and most lovely gems I could get my hands on. And I'm a tool junkie, so I'd like to play with some of the fabulous tools (like lasers and 3D printers) that would open up a whole new avenue of design.

4. If you could make art in any city around the world, where would you go and why?

Do I have to choose just one?? Paris comes to mind...New York, New Orleans, Marrakech, Moscow...I find most places that have a defined aesthetic very inspiring. But ultimately I'd probably end up in Prescott, Arizona. It's a great "little" city with small-town charm, lovely seasons, dry desert air, and a history for me. I grew up in Arizona and have been going to visit Prescott with my family since I was about fourteen. My parents retired there years ago, and I would love to have my own studio nestled in the mountains.

5. Do you have a favorite piece that you have created over the years? Describe it.

My all-time favorite is from a few years ago. I'd just transitioned into jewelry fabrication, and was struggling to define what I wanted to do, how I would put my design aesthetic into a whole new way of making jewelry. My creative voice felt very small and indistinct. I had a gemstone with an interesting pattern across it, and  (long story short) I ended up replicating that pattern with metal. It was the beginning of my "metal mosaics" and allowed me to set myself apart a little, to work with something that was very "me". I've had offers to buy that necklace, but it's one I'll never part with. It means too much.

6. When you create, do you like silence or do you listen to music? If the latter, what type of music typically fills your studio?

It's a mix. When I'm hammering and filing and doing the more energetic work, I listen to everything from 80's Hair Bands to classic rock. When using the torch for more delicate soldering operations, I listen to what used to be called "alternative" in the 1990s, or instrumental music. When I'm sketching designs, I really need silence. I usually take a tray of gems and the sketchbook up to my bedroom, plump up the pillows and sit there in total quiet, to get the ideas flowing.

7. What is your favorite snack food when you work in the studio?

Busy hands have no time for snacks! The best diet I know is to be working all day. But when I do break, I like chocolate. Sometimes just a handful of chocolate chips gets the job done.

8. Help our collectors discover great talent! Name 3 favorite artists who you have discovered at MCAC or other art shows over the last 3 years. 

I love and collect Eric Strange's ceramics: Eric Strange Facebook

Su Abbott makes fantastic art: Su Abbott Art

And Elaine Rader is one of my jewelry idols: Elaine Rader

And that favorite piece?? Here it is:

Thanks for letting me share with you. Hope to see some of you in B'ham soon! 

Oh YES! What a Thrill!

I recently alluded to my breakthrough in this post. And then I got busy and also took a small vacation. But I'm back and ready to share! I know some of you are eagerly anticipating the money shots, and I won't keep you waiting:

Here's the full shot of the turquoise pendant I posted earlier. At least, it's supposed to be a pendant. I am having bail issues (but no worries, it will be fixed shortly). I went a little crazy with the detail but I LOVE it. I feel like this is taking my work in a whole new direction and I can't wait to make more of these designs.

I'm also working on some pieces without stones, to be cast, but don't have photos of those yet.

Here's the piece that started me down this path:

A glorious piece of mookaite from Australia. Unusual coloring and composition for a mookaite. It was the breccia in the center of the stone that gave me the idea. I wanted to continue the brecciated look onto the metal backing, but didn't want to etch or make a textured pattern into the metal. I felt like that wouldn't have the "punch" that I wanted for this pendant. So I layered metal pieces on top of the back plate, and voila! A whole new design direction.  :)

I haven't decided yet whether or not I'll sell this one. I feel like it might have to be part of my own collection because it represents so much of what I've been trying to create. The asymmetrical design, the jagged-ish edges, the mosaic-look, the soft texture on the plain part of the backplate, and the subtle "pop" of the silver blackener inside the small mosaic pieces. And of course a fabulous center stone. I feel like this piece is so me and I am beyond thrilled.

When my husband came home from work the day I made these pieces, I put them in his hand and was jumping up and down (yes, literally) while he examined them. Brett is not the guy to tell me what I want to hear. In fact, I often tease him - in twelve years of marriage, couldn't he just *once* tell me what I want to hear?? But no. He's honest to the core. He examines things very critically and analytically and often he could be called *cautiously* enthusiastic. So he wasn't jumping up and down...but he did like them.  :)

So...what do you think?? 

Upside-Downside

I just found out that I have been accepted into my third art festival for the month of October. This all by itself would be cause for celebration. And I am happy....but...here's what the fall schedule is looking like:

September- festival Labor Day Weekewnd. Weekend off. Festival mid-September. Weekend off...which includes traveling to Paris, France (I PROMISE I'm not complaining!) because my husband has to go there for work (poor guy). Which means I won't get home until the 29th. That knocks out September.

October - Festival the first weekend. Festival (out of town, which means travel time, of course) the second weekend. Festival (the one I just found out about) the third weekend. Wait listed for a festival on the last weekend.

November - Festival (not guaranteed, but likely) the first weekend.  Three weeks off and then travel for a festival (not guaranteed, but likely) the first weekend of December.

And what has to happen in the mean time is making, making, making. I am a bit concerned about how I will handle the production. I'm still designing s-l-o-w-l-y...I guess I'd better pull it together and hit the ground running!

I'm getting ready to leave Monday for a 4 day festival, which really means seven days...travel day (it's a 12 hour drive), set up day, four days of festival, travel day. Whew. And then we turn around and head to Arizona in early August...it's a trip I'm torn about. I want to see my father but I really could use a month of down time / design time...but the airfare is free (long story) and I won't be back to Arizona to work / see the folks until December (assuming I get back into the festival then).

Just thinking about it all makes me tired...but this is the upside and the downside of my life as an artist. Festivals are great - I love the customers, I love the crowds, I love sharing my jewelry with the world. But the prep work is enormous and they can be very physically and mentally draining.

However...I'm in it now! So I'll sign off and get to work. I try not to work weekends (unless it's a festival weekend) but I've been under the gun for this upcoming show and that means this weekend is a working one.

I'll leave you with a happy shot of some bezeled goodies waiting on the work table:

Top row, left to right: red creek jasper, peruvian opal, turquoise. Middle: biggs jasper. Bottom: mookaite.

They won't be finished for the Ann Arbor festival, but they'll be ready to go when I get home.  :)

Welcome 2012!

A little eye candy to get you started this year. This is a beautiful piece of mookaite (for more info, go here) that I set recently. Setting stones, for me, is proving as difficult as I expected...maybe it's difficult *because* I expected it to be...but either way it's still a struggle. However I have signed up for another 10-week course at the Spruill Center - starting next week - and I am determined to get better!   :)

I don't think I've ever been so happy to see the back end of any year, as I was to say goodbye to 2011. What a crazy year...and yet it's still with me. I'm behind on everything. That's what happens when you have two surgeries, a slow recovery period, a sick father...among other things. But I'm looking ahead and wanting to make 2012 the best year yet. Here's how:

1. Spend more time / quality time with the people I love. Last year felt so fractured, and  I felt isolated and lonely in many ways. And this year there's a strong possibility I will lose my father. So one of my goals is to figure out how to schedule in more time with the people who are important to me. I started today by meeting two friends for lunch. :)  And I'm taking extra time on all three work trips to Arizona in the next few months, to get in some quality time with Dad.

Here's Dad and me back in November when we visited.  :)

2. Spend my money more consciously. Times are tight, and seem to be continuing that way in the forseeable future. I made cuts last year and the prior year, but this year I need to make even more. And I really need to be on top of my labor and materials costs. I learned so much last year as my skills grew, and now I have to put that knowledge to even better use.

I am changing up the way I spend in my personal life too, looking for more quality over quantity, and (yes, really) buying more practical shoes. I need some work shoes. I tend to get sidetracked by all the fun, pretty footwear I see, and then of course I'm without appropriate footwear for work. I know it sounds like a silly goal but I think it's necessary so I don't get off track. (You can see the shoe evidence here)

3. In tandem with number 2 - grow the business to $XXX. (my secret number). I've got a few ideas in place and honestly I think my secret number is not quite attainable this year...but I figure if I try to set a goal for what's attainable, I'll never exceed it. So I'm going for the unattainable. Wish me luck.  :)

4. Lose 15 pounds by the end of the year. Between my own discipline and the surgery last year, I lost almost 20 pounds. Which leaves 15 more to go. And I figure that the end of the year is a totally reasonable date to achieve it. Hopefully it will be a good bit sooner than that, but just in case...portion control, more exercise, and watching the random snacking should all help get me there. And to those of you who find that number offensive...thank you for telling me so...but I promise you, I'll still be at a very healthy weight with 15 more pounds gone.

5. Have the braces off by the end of the year. I was hoping for March, but a few months ago my orthodontist said "maybe" summer. And now with the surgical complications, I haven't been wearing the rubber bands (I can't get them in). Every day of not wearing them is pushing back when the braces will come off. And I have to do physical therapy on the jaw this year...so I am giving myself a big ol' long window with the braces. And if they AREN'T off by next year, then I guess I'll be all grumpy and depressed THEN. But for now...positivity.  :)

And of course number 6 is to yet *again* try to keep up with the blog.  One of these years it will all come together!

Best wishes for a very happy, prosperous, and safe 2012!