Artist Quote - Michel Leah Keck

"My paintings are mostly abstracts.. they are instantaneous and impulsive and always painted very rapidly. Many collectors/viewers have said my paintings to them are dark yet uplifting simultaneously.. and I think that is the best description of my works."

Michel Leah Keck

Visit Michel at:

http://www.michelkeck.com/

Artist Quote - Vanessa Pooley

"Ever since I was small I've wanted to work from the female figure. As a child I remember playing with handfuls of clay found on the beaches in Suffolk and the satisfaction I had from moulding the soft sticky lumps into shape."

Vanessa Pooley

http://www.vanessa-pooley-bronze-sculptures.com/

Artists Quote - Caroline Magerl

"You must ultimately be guided from within. If you are, then alot of the crap that WILL come your way, will be water off a duck's back."

Caroline Magerl

Visit Caroline's site at:
http://www.cmagerl.com.au/

Artists Quote - David Ladmore

"I love the high from painting. The intense concentration and discovery, pushing my limits. Motivation isn't a problem - it would be much harder not to paint."

David Ladmore

Visit David at:
http://members.shaw.ca/davidlaurieladmore/
http://davidladmore.wordpress.com/

Art Quote Tuesday - Lyle Carbajal

"One thing I do when it simply doesn't work is tell myself "it is all just under-painting waiting for the good stuff". Since I do prep my pictures quite a bit and I layer sometimes up to four or five times, I can afford an off day."

Lyle Carbajal

Visit Lyle's Site at :

http://www.lylecarbajal.com/

Art Quote Tuesday - Matt Sesow

"I suppose everybody does something in their life that can be considered art. I think I paint because I can't sing or play an instrument."
Matt Sesow

Visit ArtQuotes.com to see more of Matt's work and read an interview:
http://www.artquotes.net/artists/sesow.htm

Art Quote Tuesday - Jesse Reno

"My art is a product of pure necessity... With no formal education I draw my inspiration from the primitive ancient cultures of Africa and South America, as well as modern pop culture."
Jesse Reno

Visit ArtQuotes.com to read an interview and see more of Jesse's work:
http://www.artquotes.net/artists/reno/index.htm

Art Quote Tuesday - Belinda Eaton

"My paintings are my world, my fascination for people, plants, animals and colour, how I perceive things with all their energy."
Belinda Eaton
Visit ArtQuotes.com for more of Belinda's work: http://www.artquotes.net/artists/eaton/index.htm

Jewelry Artist: Didi Suydam

Suydam believes wearing jewelry should be a sensual experience,physically and visually. Her shapes are influenced by ancient cultures and architecture as well as the world of nature. Her forms have an archetypal presence, often suggesting tribal masks, and vessels, as well as the ancient ritual and tradition of body adornment, and armour.http://www.didisuydam.com/jewelry.htm#

Art Quote Tuesday - Geoffrey Laurence

"I never feel like its ME making the art, I just turn up for the job and get my orders."
Geoffrey Laurence

Log onto ArtQuotes.com to delve deeper into Geoffrey's work:
http://www.artquotes.net/artists/laurence/index.htm

Amazing Feats of Artistry: Jennifer Marsh's Gas Station Cozy

"Tired of seeing the abandoned eyesore on a daily basis, artist Jennifer Marsh decided to cover this old gas station in 5,000 square feet of fabric.

With the help of professional and amateur artists from 15 countries and more than 2,500 grade-school students in 29 states, Marsh covered the 50-year-old former Citgo station — pumps, light stands, signs and all — with more than 3,000 fiber panels that are crocheted, knitted, quilted or stitched together."

Video and Story from the Syracuse.com:
http://blog.syracuse.com/video/2008/04/international_fiber_collaborat.html

VIA: http://www.woostercollective.com/crafts/

Connection Technique: Joining Any Combination of Materials Together.

By: Maria Whetman

Although I can silver solder, there are times when other methods of joining are required, or I just fancy a change, or a design warrants the look of little rivets. All my work is either soldered or riveted. "Rivets" sounds technical, sounds 'hardware store', but it needn't be. The great thing about rivets is that you can make them yourself, very very easily, you can connect together any materials you like, they have a beautiful decorative look to them, they're easy to make and use and they can even become the essence of your jewellery or mixed-media artwork. Best of all, it's smarter, more sophisticated, more permanent and more satisfying than using glue. Glue has it's place, but consider rivets.

Here is a sample I made to show you how to rivet, I'm going to show you how to Tube Rivet and how to Wire Rivet. You see a piece of wood, rusty steel, embossed copper shape, snippet of tin can, scrap of fabric and a shard of plastic.

TUBE RIVETING.

1. You can buy lengths of very small diameter, round tube in copper, brass and aluminum from model shops. You can buy silver and gold tube from your jewellery suppliers. You can make your own tube too, but I wont go into that here.

2. Here are all the materials waiting to be connected together.

3. Choose the tube you want to make your rivets out of. Find a drill bit that's the same diameter, like above.

4. Drill a hole through all the pieces to be joined. The tube should be a snug fit in the holes. The little copper rectangle shape you see in the 2nd picture, is a 'washer' I made to stop the tube rivet from sinking into the soft squashy wood. Your 'sandwich' of materials need to have the outer layers consisting of hard materials, or else make a washer. Your washer could be a tiny little disc with a hole in it, mine is a shape you can see for the purpose of this exercise.

5. Next, you need to saw a piece of your tube down to the right length for a rivet. You want the tube to protrude from each side of your sandwich by no less than 1mm and no more than 2mm. If your tube is too long, it will bend over when riveting and look ugly. Too short and the tube will disappear in the hole. Here is the back of my sample, the rectangular shape is the washer that stops the tube being pulled into the soft wood.

6. Here I am using a basic tube vice (chenier vice) to hold my tube while I saw through it with my saw blade to the right length. You don't need one of these, but it is important that each end of the tube is sawn flat and perpendicular to the tube.

7. Now, with tube section threaded through your sandwich, place you sandwich of materials onto a flat steel block. Use a pointed punch (you can make one by filing a cheap hardware store nail to a point) to flare out the protruding tube, by tapping gently with a hammer or mallet.

8. Gently flare out the other end of the tube by turning over your sandwich and tapping your punch point into the tube again, as before.

9. When the tube ends are flared and the connection is well and truly made, use the round head of a hammer to finish the flare / spreading of the tube end...

10. ...and then use the flat head of a hammer to make the rivet flat. Your tube rivet connection is complete. There are variations on this simple way of doing a tube rivet, you could solder the tube onto the back of the metal so that only one side shows the distinctive little 'donut' of the rivet (blind rivet). You could re-drill your hole very slightly, not all the way through, with a larger drill bit to create a dimple which would allow the donut to lie flush with the rest of the surface.

WIRE RIVETING.

1. Once again, your materials need holes drilled through them that are the same diameter as the WIRE you want to make into a rivet. Again, the wire needs to protrude at the top of the sandwich by about 1.5mm and by about 1.5mm at the back of the sandwich, as you can see here above.

2. As with step 6 of the tube rivet, place your materials with the wire in place onto a steel block. Now instead of using a punch, just use the round head of your hammer to tap the head of the wire...as in the above illustration. The black circle represents the flat protruding end of the wire. Your hammer blows should start in the center of the circle and spiral outwards to gradually spread the head of the wire. You can also hit around the edge of the circle by 'stroking' your hammer blows outwards, as described by the orange arrows. Do a little on one side of the sandwich then turn over and do a bit on the other side, same as for the tube rivet.

3. Here you can see how the end of the wire has spread into a sparkly little rivet head.

4. Here on the back of the sample, you can see how much the rivet head has spread, compared to an offcut of the wire in its original condition.

Here are 3 books I own that concentrate on "cold connections" of many kinds. I recommend them all! (I do not represent the authors or publishers). I hope you enjoyed this tutorial and found it helpful and inspiring.

I can't thank Maria enough for this tutorial. I'm am now working with rivets and will show my attempts in next weeks blog.

Please visit and anf follow Maria at:
www.fluxplay.etsy.com
www.fluxplay.co.uk
www.fluxplay.blogspot.com

Maria has been working in small-metals for 22 years+ and is based in West Devon, in the UK where she has a small workshop. She has been working as a jeweller, designer, maker and fully qualified teacher in schools and colleges since graduating with a BA.hons in Jewellery design from Central Saint Martins School of Art & Design, London, in the early 90's. Currently Maria is a part time lecturer at the Plymouth College of Art & Design in Devon and is also one of the tutors at the Mid Cornwall School of Jewellery. Maria's small workshop overlooking her vegetable patch is where her hands, eyes and thoughts turn materials into wearable artworks. She enjoys designing, making, experimenting with materials, playing with ideas, teaching others and learning from others.

Skittles Have Found Us!

While our friend Elliott, my mom and I were weeding the front yard, the friendliest little tuxedo kitten stopped by to say hello and to see what were we doing. We brought him inside since he was alone and without a collar. After 2 hours of loving and lap sitting my partner Adam took a walk around the neighborhood to ask if anyone had lost a kitten. He stopped a new neighbor to ask. She pointed to a house that just happen to have the twin of the little guy we had tucked into the office chair at home. Adam asked the woman talking on the phone out front if she was missing a little tuxedo male. Her answer infuriated Adam. "Male I thought they were all girls. they just run where ever they want." Well this didn't settle well with Adam or our new friend the jogger. The quickly scoped up the twin and her equally adorable grey tabby sister. They are now terrorizing every object in our office. Since Adam and I have rescued many, many, many kitties over the years, we are looking for good homes for these adorable 3 siblings.
Here are our 3 boarders.

International Call for Jewellery Entries - Metal Inclinations2

METAL Inclinations2 International Juried Online Exhibition
Call for Entries: Sign up now for METAL Inclinations2.

METAL Inclinations2 International Juried Exhibition 2010-11 will include selections of the most exemplary fine metal art jewelry created by metalsmiths, silversmiths, goldsmiths and jewelers all over the world.

METAL Inclinations2 is sponsored by the Hauser & Miller Co. Refiners and fabricators and produced and presented by the Society for Midwest Metalsmiths.

DEADLINE: June 30, 2010 METAL Inclinations2 will debut on the Internet October 31, 2010 and continue for one year until October 31, 2011

JURORS:
Jamie Bennett, Klaus Bürgel, John Cogswell, Sydney Lynch

AWARDS:
$2,000 First place award sponsored by the Society for Midwest Metalsmiths.
$1,000 Second place award, sponsored by Hauser and Miller.
$500 Third place award gift certificate, by Rio Grande.
$200 Award of merit gift certificate, by Pasternak Findings.
$100 Three awards of merit gift certificates by Pasternak Findings.

Enter METAL Inclinations2 directly by using the Juried Art Services website

METAL Inclinations2 is sponsored by Hauser & Miller and produced and presented by The Society for Midwest Metalsmiths. SMM is a not-for-profit organization of volunteer metalsmiths. The Society's goal is to promote, develop, educate, and encourage individuals who are interested in metalsmithing.

VIA: http://www.metalcyberspace.com/design.htm

Art Quote Tuesday - Alice Neel

You should keep on painting no matter how difficult it is, because this is all part of experience, and the more experience you have, the better it is.. unless it kills you, and then you know you have gone too far.
Alice Neel

Visit Alice's Website to see, read and learn more about Alice and her work.
www.aliceneel.com

Hephaestus - God of Fire and Metalworking

I've been making jewelry for over 20 years now. My tastes and interests have changed many times over those 20 years. I've went back to basics recently. I'm currently on a copper, wire and the use of limited tools, kick. Well, at least that is this week.
I'd told my friends Ann and Jeanette of Infinite Designs (see link below) that I would do line of copper jewelry for them. Well here it is, earrings, rings, bracelets and necklaces completely made with copper wire of varied gauges. The only things I'm using in these new collection is copper, copper wire and various bead or bead like items. I'm really liking the way the copper acts and how fun these pieces are to make. I just purchased some vintage crystals and such to work with too. I'll keep you posted. I'm calling this collection Hephaestus after the Greek God of fire and metalworking.

Here is a sneak-peek.Infinite Designs: http://id-laser.com/
My Etsy site: www.ceruleangypsy@etsy.com

Exquisite Jewerly - Metalsmith Rebecca Barton

Rebecca Barton

Just Begun - 2008

Rebecca Barton
Devil's Yoke - 2009

Rebecca's work is incredible. She blurs the line of create and the natural world recreating earthly wonders in a wearable form. BRAVO Rebecca!

Check out Rebecca's site at:
http://www.rebeccabarton.net/about.html

Art Quote Tuesday _ Andy Warhol

"Don't pay any attention to what they write about you. Just measure it in inches."
Andy Warhol

Check out Art Quotes for bio, interview and images of Andy's work at:
http://www.artquotes.net/masters/warhol_quotes.htm

Hiding in Plain Site - The photography of Liu Bolin

Liu Bolin was born in China in 1973.

Liu has exhibited extensively all over the world.

Can you find Liu in these photographs?
Liu Bolin
Hiding in the City No. 83, 2009

Liu Bolin

Hiding in the City No. 16- People's Policeman, 2006

Liu Bolin
Hiding in the City No. 71- Bulldozer, 2008

Liu paints himself and stands in the picture camouflaged by paint.

To see more of Liu's work visit:
http://www.ekfineart.com/html/artistresultsFull.asp?type=All

Guest Blogger - Viki Twyman from Lorie Lynn Designs

Approximately 5 years ago I was working for the Redding Police Department as a Police Services Supervisor and I was making jewelry as a hobby. At the time one of my co-workers (and dear friend) was engaged in a battle against breast cancer. Unfortunately she lost her battle in 2006. By that time, I was selling some of my jewelry and thinking about taking it from a hobby to a business. I was trying to come up with a name when another friend suggested I name the jewelry after Lorie. I loved the idea, and with the blessing of her family, Lorie Lynn Jewelry was born. In Lorie's memory, we donate 10% of our sales to local breast cancer programs.

I asked another friend, Bobbi Berg, if she would like to join me in this venture, she said yes, and we have been having a blast creating fun wearable art ever since. We think of our jewelry as pieces of art because every piece is an original, one-of-a-kind creation.

We started out making your basic beaded jewelry and after a short time decided that just wasn't the direction we wanted to go. We started adding vintage and antique jewelry pieces to our creations. We LOVED the look of the new pieces and decided this is where we wanted to go with our jewelry. It has continued to evolve and the majority of our jewelry is now made from anything old that we can find. We use old keys, drawer plates and pulls, jewelry pieces, chain, typewriter keys, can openers, rulers, etc. etc..................The hunt for all of the great stuff we use is almost as much fun as creating the jewelry.

We recently changed the name of our business to Lorie Lynn Designs to incorporate other accessories that we now offer. I have started creating fabric wrist cuffs, neck-warmers and scarves and am hoping to add handbags in the near future.

Our jewelry is sold in the Kimberly Nicole Boutique, California Decor, and Oregon Street Antique Mall in Redding, CA, and Adorna Bella in San Francisco.

Our etsy store: www.lorielynn.etsy.com

Our blog: www.lorielynndesigns.blogspot.com