NC Jeweler Blog

Project Runway Episode 9: Image is Everything

2011-10-06T17:24:00.000-04:00

First, I would like to welcome the Stylin’ News & Observer readers to the Project Runway Studio 109A blog. I am skipping the Project Runway Episode 8: What Women Want Challenge (for now). I do have a client for the What Women Want Challenge and am in the process of working on very special design, which I will reveal in November. For now, however, it is on to the next challenge, Episode 9: Image is Everything, a.k.a. The Men’s Wear Challenge.

Episode 9 finds the designers creating a look for an up-and-coming band, The Sheepdogs.

The Sheepdogs are the first unsigned band to appear on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine.

“Though the Sheepdogs’ groovy, harmonic, neo-psychedelic sound is easy-going and relaxed, the guys have struggled in their quest to break out of their native Saskatoon, Saskatchewan and into the big time,” says a Rolling Stone spokesperson.

With over 1.5 million votes cast online, the band beat out 15 other bands for Rolling Stone’s Choose the Cover Contest’s top prize, which not only included the August 18th cover, but also a contract with Atlantic Records. [For more, or to hear The Sheepdogs music, visit the Rolling Stone Choose the Cover Contest Page]

My inspiration for this piece came from a comment Sheepdog Guitar Player Leot Hanson made to the designers.

“I have been looking for like red jeans forever,” he said.

Project Runway Season 9 Designer Laura Kathleen couldn’t find red denim at Mood Fabrics in New York, so she dyed the denim she purchased red. I, however, was able to find red denim on a recent visit to Mary Jo’s Cloth Store in Gastonia, NC.

Red denim in hand, I was left with the challenge of creating a men’s accessory. According to Askmen.com Contributor Maggie Kalogeropoulos, men’s bags are masculine, attractive and ideal additions to any contemporary wardrobe. She writes that there are six types of men’s bags: the briefcase, the messenger bag, the hold all, the camera bag, the tote, and the newsboy bag.

Since none of the men in my life, would be caught dead with a men’s bag, I opted for a vest, my first garment.

Since the idea of a vest made entirely of red denim seemed a little effiminate to me, I decided to use the red denim on the front of the vest and pair it with black corduroy for the back. The end result is a somewhat military inspired, lined vest, which considering it is my first garment, I am happy with.

The vest, and all of the Project Runway Studio 109A accessories, will be on display this Friday during the First Friday Gallery Walk in Studio 109A at Artspace in Downtown Raleigh’s City Market.

Until next week, auf wiedersehen.

Project Runway Episode Seven: Can't We All Just Get Along (Part Two)

2011-09-30T16:42:00.002-04:00

Last week I blogged about my visit to Spoonflower fabrics. If you recall, in Episode Seven, the Project Runway Season 9 Designers had to design their own fabric, create a collection, and produce a fashion show.

As many of you know, from my jewelry line, I am inspired by ephemera, everday items of passing interest such as advertisements, photographs, labels, postcards, and letters. One of the reasons I intially incorporated postcards and letters in my jewelry designs, was because my grandfather used to leave love notes underneath my grandmother’s pillow.

So, it should come as no surprise that my fabric design is inspired by vintage postcards and letters. This design was printed on Spoonflower’s new cotton silk fabric.

I must say after having some trouble work with the silk fabric I used in the last challenge (The Art of the Matter), I was a little worried about using cotton silk for this challenge. However, I will say that Spoonflower’s cotton silk fabric not only sews easily, but is also washable.

Inspired by the cotton silk textile, I designed an evening clutch. To finish off the design, I added a removable cameo brooch, which is very fitting since I collected cameos when I was younger.

I am happy with the fabric and the final purse design and will be wearing this purse to my brother’s wedding next month. This textile design is now available for purchase at Spoonflower from $18 to $38 per yard depending on your fabric.

Until next week, auf wiedersehen.

Project Runway Episode Seven: Can't We All Just Get Along (Part One)

2011-09-30T16:32:00.003-04:00

In Episode Seven of Project Runway, the Season 9 designers designed fabrics, created a collection and produced a fashion show. I am acutally going to devote two blog posts to the episode, the first of which will spotlight my visit to Spoonflower.

In the interest of full disclosure, the fabrics featured on Project Runway Season 9 Episode 7 were designed on HP TouchSmart computers and printed by Dye-namix, which is located in New York City. Dye-namix’s client list includes Calvin Klein, Coach, J. Mendel, and Ralph Lauren.

Spoonflower makes it possible for the rest of us to design, print, and sell our own fabric. Last spring, I blogged about ordering custom designed fabric from Spoonflower. A couple of weeks ago, after Episode Seven aired, I contacted the company to tell them about my Project Runway Studio 109A challenge. They invited me for a tour of their Durham, NC facility.

My fabric design process started with a vintage image, which I scanned into my computer. I manipulated the image using Paint.net, a free image and editing software program for computers that run on Windows. After finalizing my image, I created a free account on Spoonflower’s website and uploaded my image.

Once my image was uploaded, I had my choice of fabrics and layout options (centered, basic repeat, half-drop, half-brick, or mirror repeat), which I could preview instantly. I then ordered my design in Spoonflower’s newest fabric, cotton silk.

Spoonflower’s fabrics run anywhere from $18 to $38 per yard, although many of the fabrics come in wide widths. For example, the organic cotton sateen and interlock knit fabrics come in 56 inch widths, while the upholstery weight cotton twill (my favorite) comes in a 58 inch width. I ordered my fabric on a Friday afternoon. Normal shipping times vary (usually from six to seven days), although my fabric was ready by the time I visited Spoonflower on Monday morning.

Spoonflower’s offices are located in a modest office park just outside of North Carolina’s Research Triangle. Lined up inside the lobby are chairs upholstered with fabrics designed by the Spoonflower community which numbers around 150,000 designers from around the world.

Just past the lobby is a warehouse full of fabrics waiting to be shipped and a number of digital textile printers feverishly reeling out design after design. Darci, my tour guide, explained to me that the company prints out around 500 yards of fabric per day and averages 3000 yards ordered per week.

Although the company has been featured in the New York Times, Associated Press, Vogue, Martha Stewart Weddings, Make, CRAFT, ApartmentTherapy, Photojojo, and many others, the owners and employees remain humble, yet passionate about the marriage of technology and textiles that is Spoonflower.

Special thanks to Darci and the Spoonflower team for making me feel so welcome. I can’t wait to share with you my design, but you will have to wait until my next post. Until then, auf wiedersehen.

Project Runway Episode Six: The Art of the Matter

2011-09-30T16:29:00.001-04:00

Project Runway’s Episode Six paired the designers up with students from The Harlem School of the Arts. The designers created a piece of art with the students, which served as the inspiration for their avant garde look.

I hooked up with a student from North Carolina State’s Early College High School. She painted a picture of a sunflower when she was in elementary school and asked if I could use that painting as my inspiration. Once I saw the painting, I immediately thought I might try my hand at a garment, but after several disasterous attempts at installing a zipper into a skirt, I settled on a circle scarf instead.

The tricky part of this challenge was to “interpret” the painting and not to re-create a sunflower accessory, which might turn out more costume than couture. I found a printed silk print which incorporated all of the colors of the initial painting (brown, yellow, and green), and paired it with a solid mustard fabric.

I have to say that personally, I love scarves, so you will be seeing them in my accessory collection. What makes this scarf special in my opinion, is the beautiful print.

So, it’s onto textile challenge. Keep an eye out next week for two posts (the first of which will feature my recent visit to Spoonflower). Until then, auf wiedersehen.

Project Runway Episode Five: Off to the Track

2011-09-30T16:25:00.002-04:00

Episode 5 of Project Runway’s Season 9, finds the designers off to the track… The New Balance Track & Field Center at The Armory. The designers had to work in teams of three to design three looks for Heidi Klum’s New Balance sneakers.

“I love a fashion sneaker that doesn’t look like it belongs in the gym, which was the inspiration for my new Heidi Klum for New Balance sneakers and my Project Runway challenge this season,” said Klum.
Klum’s sneakers come in gray and black suede and pink suede and denim, and the designers were directed to use suede and denim in their designs.

For this challenge, I designed a black and gray suede “fan shaped” purse. Inspired by the “fan shape”, I used an Asian inspired cotton for the lining.

I have to say that at this point in the Studio 109A Project Runway Challenge, this is my favorite bag. The oversized purse would work with practically any of the looks in Klum’s New Balance collection, including Joshua McKinley and Viktor Luna’s winning looks.

I want to thank all of you Project Runway fans who stopped by Studio 109A last Friday night for the First Friday Gallery Walk. I hope to see you next month to show off my New Balance sneaker inspired purse and upcoming avant garde design. Until then… auf wiedersehen.

Project Runway Episode Four: All About Nina

2011-09-30T16:21:00.001-04:00

In Project Runway’s Episode 4, the designers had to create a day-to-evening outfit for Nina Garcia, a Project Runway Judge and Fashion Director of Marie Claire magazine.

Season 3 Alum Laura Bennett blogs: “Nina starts out by giving the designers a list of her likes and dislikes. She likes tailored clothes. She doesn’t like volume, muted colors, bright colors, pattern, short, long, tight, loose, flashy, boring or ‘Dynasty’.”

So what constitutes “don’t bore Nina” style…

“…classic with an edge, streamlined, clean silhouettes,” blogs Season 2 Alum Nick Verreos.

After checking out Garcia’s web site, it is clear she likes classic style. Her home page is filled with images of Grace Kelly and Audrey Hepburn and vintage looks from Balenciaga and Nina Ricci. She even posted a close-up of a Giambattista Valli dress (below) she wore on the “stilts” episode of Project Runway.

That in mind, I set out to create a clutch/wristlet out of Marie Claire… not inspired by the fashion images in the magazine, but out of the magazine itself.

I started with an inspiration image… a black and white Guess ad (below), which I cut into half-inch strips and wove together with other black and white images from the magazine.

I interfaced the back of the woven paper, and sewed in the zipper and lining. The strap is also created from woven strips of paper cut from the magazine, interfaced, and sewn together.

The biggest challenge with weaving paper together (aside from sewing it and its tendency to tear) was to ensure that I wasn’t re-creating a “candy wrapper” purse, which needless to say would not be very Nina.

The end result, I am happy to report, is part Nina, but very me.

So, it’s off to the track for the Heidi Klum New Balance Challenge. Until next week, auf wiedersehen.

Project Runway Episode Three: Go Big or Go Home

2011-09-30T16:15:00.002-04:00

Episode Three of Project Runway Season 9 had this artist living large (literally). On the show, the designers were broken into teams of two to create outfits for stilt-walking models.

“Whoever came up with this idea A) must have just been to the circus and thought, ‘Gee, this might be a fun challenge filled with TACKY outfits that have nothing to do with being the Next Great American Designer’ or B) was smoking something that’s only legal in certain ‘cafes’ in Amsterdam,” said Season 2 Alumnus Nick Verreos.

So, like the designers, it was off to the fabric store for the first time since I started Project Runway in Studio 109A. Unlike the designers, however, I had a budget of $50 (not $500).

After crawling around on my studio floor for a week cutting, pinning, and drowning in fabric, the end result is a flat bottomed, lined, oversized tote. Although it isn’t what I initially envisioned for this challenge (my vision was a Hartmann inspired tweed bag), this bag helped me realize the sewing skills I have mastered over the past eight months and has helped build my confidence. As an artist, I have found it is easy to get bogged down in my deficits rather than embrace the skills I have acquired. This bag illustrated to me how far I have come as a sewer and not how far I have to go.

That being said, my Tim Gunn wannabe husband said it’s a good thing I have immunity on this challenge, and my daughter (after I asked her to climb into the purse for a photograph) told me that this kind of craziness should be against the law. So, until next week…. auf wiedersehen.

Project Runway Episode Two: My Pet Project

2011-09-30T16:10:00.001-04:00

Last week, I shared with you the fact that I am bringing Project Runway to Studio 109A. Since I started a week late on completing the challenges, I am running a week behind.

In Episode Two of Project Runway Season 9, the challenge was to create an outfit using pet store supplies. Tim warned the contestants that the judges frown upon using “fabric” for unconventional challenges. For example, you can’t take a dog bed made of fabric and reconstruct it. The idea behind the unconventional challenge is that you use unconventional materials (although you can use muslin as a base).

Keeping that in mind, I headed off to Pet Supermarket with a $25 budget (I didn’t have the lofty budget $300 the contestants did). I ended up purchasing all natural moss used in terranium bedding (pictured above), a bird perch (made of driftwood), and assorted bird toys strung on a wire. I wasn’t interested in the toys, but wanted the wire on which the toys were strung to attach the perch to the purse. After I got to the studio, I was disappointed I hadn’t purchased a leash. When I told my husband I was headed back to the pet store to get a leash, this Tim Gunn designer/mentor wannabe said that returning to the store was against the rules and told me to “make it work”.

The end result is a small purse resembling a bird’s nest. The handle is created from the bird perch (perfectly pre-drilled to attach to a cage). The centerpiece is made from one of the bird toys (a copper cow bell I hammered flat). After spending an entire Saturday afternoon gluing terranium bedding to muslin, I have a new appreciation for Project Runway Contestant Anthony Ryan Auld’s bird seed garment. Now, it’s off to make a “larger than life” purse. Until next week, auf wiedersehen.

Project Runway Episode One: Come As You Are

2011-09-30T16:02:00.000-04:00

One Designer. Twelve Challenges. This is the Studio 109a Project Runway Challenge.

Since January, I have been teaching myself how to sew in order to launch an accessory line. Last week, while watching Episode 2 of Project Runway, I had an idea. What if I complete each week’s Project Runway challenge and blog about it. Of course, in the spirit of Project Runway, there is a “twist”. The “twist” here is that instead of creating garments, I will use each episode’s challenge as a springboard for creating an accessory. At the end of Project Runway Season 9, I hope to launch my own accessory collection.

So, let the games begin. The first challenge of Project Runway Season 9 was called Come As You Are. Designer Mentor Tim Gunn woke the contestants up at 5:00 a.m. and presented them with their first challenge… to create a look using their pajamas and a single bed sheet. In my case, I started with a pair of pink and red, heart print pajama bottoms (picked out by my husband who was excited at the prospect of never seeing me wear them again) and a white bed sheet.

My first challenge was to get rid of the hearts. After dyeing the pajama bottoms and the bed sheet at home, it was off to Studio 109a to start making the bag. The end result, a boho bag, which I affectionately call The Pajama Purse.

The good news about the Studio 109a Project Runway Challenge is that I will always have immunity and never be “out”. Until next week’s Pet Couture challenge, Auf Wiedersehen.

Fall 2009 Color Forecast

2009-08-25T16:31:00.050-04:00

Earlier this year, Pantone, the world's authority on color, came out with its color forecast for Fall 2009.

“The fall 2009 palette is more unique and thoughtful than the typical autumnal hues of years past,” said Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute®. “Designers recognize the desire for fundamental basics that speak to current economic conditions, but also understand the need to incorporate vibrant color to grab the consumers’ eyes and entice them to buy.”

The Top 10 Fall '09 colors for women are: American Beauty, Purple Heart, Honey Yellow, Iron, Burnt Sienna, Nomad, Rapture Rose, Warm Olive, Majolica Blue, and Creme Brulee.

Designers Maria Pinto and Lela Rose like the blues mixed with neutrals like graphite and ebony. The Love Letter necklace with its light gray beads and silver clasp compliment either one of these two fall colors.

"Strong yet understated Iron serves as the “new black,” making traditional basics much more interesting. Neither gray nor brown, Iron is a grounding color that coordinates well with all colors in the palette. Crème Brûlée, a grayed-down beige, and Nomad, which bridges the gap between beige and light gray, also speak to the need for timeless neutrals.Pair Nomad, Creme Brulee, and Iron with white beads and clear crystals." [Pantone Fashion Color Report Fall 2009] Pair Nomad, Iron, or Creme Brulee with white beads and clear crystals.

"Like the olive in a martini, Warm Olive, a rich yellow-green, adds a touch of elegance and sophistication to fall. When combined, this tangy, intriguing hue makes all other colors come alive." [Pantone Fashion Color Report Fall 2009] Try Warm Olive, Honey Yellow, and Burnt Sienna with ecru beads and amber, smoky quartz, and topaz colored crystals.

I don't typically design around the Pantone Color Palette, although I have met many jewelers who do. However, I am cognisant of the fact that either consciously or subconsciously my customers take the current color forecast into account when making buying decisions.

"Each season, Pantone surveys the designers of New York Fashion Week to identify the 10 most directional colors. Like a painter’s palette, fall 2009 offers choice and diversity, but the unique integration of colors is what makes it so appealing." [Pantone Fashion Color Report Fall 2009]

The Road Less Traveled: "A" is for Artspace

2009-08-20T10:30:00.037-04:00

In April, I posted my first Road Less Traveled installment about my visit to The Rocky Mount Art Center. The day trip to Rocky Mount, while worth the drive, took me 59 miles outside of Raleigh. So, as the summer of staycation vacations winds down, I thought I would tell you about one of my favorite places closer to home.

When I first moved to Raleigh eight years ago, one of the first places I visited was Artspace in Downtown Raleigh's City Market Moore Square Art District. As I wandered down the artful halls, I never imagined that someday I would have my studio there.

Located in a historic building, Artspace was once the location of the city’s livery and later the Sanders Ford Car Dealership. Signs of Sanders Ford still swell from the brick walls. A metal arrow directing Please Park Left For Service hangs in the lobby and more conspicuously, the Sanders Ford logo peers out from under the blue Artspace sign in front.

Today, this 30,000 square foot building is home to 35 artists, including myself, working in a variety of media, along with three exhibition spaces, education space, a gift shop, and administrative offices.

According to its website, "Since its inception Artspace has inspired more than 2 million visitors and served as the heart of Raleigh’s visual art community. Artspace offers more than 100,000 visitors annually over 30 challenging and award-winning exhibitions, interactive workshops to over 2,000 school-aged children each year, art programming for at-risk youth, classes and workshops to over 3,000 youth and adults annually, and over 200 public events open to all in the community free of charge."

Growing up in a major metropolitan city, I can tell you that the only open art studio environment we had was located in such a bad area of town, nobody ever went to it. Artspace is centrally located just steps away from Marbles Kids Museum and Fayetteville Street, and a Raleigh Rickshaw ride away from the State Capitol, The North Carolina Museum of History, and The North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences.

This weekend, Artspace plays host to Family Fun Day. Carnival fun and games will include artist demonstrations, face painting, and make and take activities. For grownups, this Saturday, August 22nd, also marks the last Downtown Live Free Concert in Moore Square Park featuring the 90's group Better than Ezra. This weekend I will be exhibiting a short drive away at the 33rd annual Lazy Daze Arts and Craft Festival in Downtown Cary.

So, whether you live or work in the Triangle or are just visiting this weekend or any weekend, plan your next staycation/vacation trip to Artspace. Artspace is open to the public 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and stays open until 10:oo p.m. the first Friday of every month. Admission is free.

Vue de Paris

2009-08-14T22:55:00.078-04:00

"The sweetness and generosity and politeness and gentleness and humanity of the French had shown me how lovely life can be if one takes time to be friendly... Oh, how I adored sweet and natural France, with its human warmth, wonderful smells, graciousness, coziness and freedom of spirit." [Julia Child, My Life in France]

Francophiles unite! The success of the movie Julie & Julia has sparked a newfound interest in everything French. Why not? It's easy to romanticize France? Everything sounds better in France. It is a romance language after all. "Even their songs are swoon-worthy." [From Joanna Goddard's Marie Claire Blog] And of course, there is the food.

"This is the kind of food that I have fallen in love with: not trendy souped-up fantasies, just something very good to eat. It was classic French cooking, where the ingredients have been carefully selected and beautifully and knowingly prepared. Or, in the words of the famous gastronome Curnonsky, 'Food that tastes of what it is.' " [Julia Child]

I saw the movie and loved it, but since I don't cook (at least not well), I thought it would be appropriate to pay homage to Julia's "sweet and natural France" by taking a look at my Vue de Paris collection.

I did my first craft show in 2004 in Durham, North Carolina. I affectionately refer to this first show experience as "a river runs through it" because it was cold and rainy, and there I was on the street with a river of water literally running through my booth. But on that cold and rainy day, I sold my first bracelet, The Vue de Paris tile bracelet. The success of that first sale sent me back to the studio to create a Vue de Paris collection.

Much of the Vue de Paris collection is inspired by the 1890’s Belle Epoque and Art Nouveau movements, an attempt to eradicate the dividing line between art and audience. Everything could and should be art. Burne-Jones designed wallpaper, Hector Guimard designed metro stations, and Alphonse Mucha designed advertisements and stage sets. The 1890’s were also the golden age of the lithographic poster. Pierre Bonnard, Edouard Vuillard, and Toulouse-Lautrec all produced highly original masterpieces which elevated the poster into an art form.

The centerpiece of the Vue de Paris collection is my Much Ado About Mucha necklace. Although Alphonse Mucha wasn't born in France (he was born in what is known today as the Czech Republic), he moved to Paris in 1887 and seven years later designed his first poster for Sarah Bernhardt's Gismonda. For this necklace, Art Nouveau poster images are transferred to clay and hand-formed into the beads. But what I am most proud of about this necklace is the clasp. On a visit to Miami a few years ago , a gallery owner told me that he wouldn't buy jewelry from any artist who didn't make their own clasps. Upon returning to my studio in Raleigh, I set forth on a quest to create a clasp design that would not only cinch the necklace but be the focal point of the piece. The end result was this clasp, in which two Alphonse Mucha poster images for Sarah Bernhardt are impressed into fine silver. This necklace appeared in the 2006 in Ornament Magazine.

Pieces from my Vue de Paris collection can be found in my studio at Artspace, at galleries, and online. The collection consists of bracelets, necklaces, and earrings. And of course, I am always thinking about new French inspired designs to cook up and add to it.

A Room with a View

2009-08-08T09:30:00.027-04:00

“I have inherited 10,000 empty wine bottles, one grape, every issue of La Nazione printed in 1958, and assorted previous tenants. The trick to overcoming buyer's remorse is to have a plan. Pick one room and make it yours. Go slowly through the house. Be polite, introduce yourself so it can introduce itself to you.” From the movie/book, Under The Tuscan Sun, 2004

As you know from my last post, I moved from Studio 217 upstairs at Artspace to Studio 109A, downstairs at Artspace. Much like Frances in Under the Tuscan Sun, I did experience buyer's remorse. Look at the before picture. Wouldn't you? In my case, I inherited a bolted down safe (which now belongs to Raleigh Ensemble Players, the previous tenant), two phone books (not sure what year), a damaged concrete floor, and a seventeen foot shelf. But the key to overcoming buyer's remorse is to "make it yours". So, for the last month, I have been painting the space, slowly introducing myself to it, and transforming it from office to studio.

The downstairs artists have welcomed me with open arms. I am surrounded by Marriott Little (painter), Susan Soper (printmaker), Susan Parrish (clay), Ann Harwell (fiber), Casey Porn (painting/drawing), Catherine Thornton (clay), Pat Scull (clay), Paris Alexander (sculpture), and the new Artspace Regional Emerging Artist in Residence David Eichenberger (painting/drawing).

So, last night was my first First Friday in my new space. Although my studio has been open for a couple of weeks now, last night was the first chance most people had to take a peek at Studio 109A. I had the chance to see some old friends and the opportunity to make some new ones. No more buyer's remorse. Like Frances found at the end of Under the Tuscan Sun, I have everything I hoped for in my new space. I am surrounded by the creative energy of the artists around me. I have space to design, create, and work more efficiently. A friend of mine said it best -- "it's part studio, part gallery, but most of all it's all you."

Movin' On Up (or Down)

2009-06-30T23:48:00.015-04:00

When I moved to North Carolina eight years ago, my family and I visited Artspace. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine that four years later, I would have a studio space within the centerpiece of Downtown Raleigh's vibrant art scene.

Four years ago, I was juried into Artspace. About two months later, I moved into the building, sharing Studio 217 with fabulous fiber artist Sharron Parker. When I first moved into Artspace, I was first exploring image transfer techniques on polymer clay. Over the last four years, partially inspired by the creative energy that surrounds me, I have ventured into metal clay, enameling, porcelain, and mixed media. In the process, I have outgrown my shared studio space.

So, this month, marks my last days in Studio 217. As of the middle of July, I will be moving into my own studio, on the first floor of Artspace in Studio 109A. The new studio has been the office of Raleigh Ensemble Players (REP) for over 10 years. REP is moving to 213 Fayetteville Street, becoming a visible resident fully invested in the Downtown Raleigh renaissance.

Although I welcome the opportunity to put my mark on a studio space of my own, I will miss Sharron Parker. She is one of the original Artspace Studio Artists, having been in the building since the beginning (that's over 20 years). She has been a friend and ally for the last four years, and I will miss her company. I wish fiber artist Addison Paige of Raven Rock Artworks the very best in Studio 217. She will be surrounded by the creative energy of not only Sharron, but also of Linda Ruth Dickinson, Max Halpern, and another newcomer to Artspace, Shaun Richards. I hope Addison will be as happy as I have been at the end of the second floor of Artspace.

I must admit that I am a little nervous leaving the comfortable (and messy) nest I have made for myself in Studio 217. Converting Raleigh Ensemble Players office into an art studio and showcase for my jewelry presents its challenges, but I know in the long run it will be well worth it.

So, come visit me for my last First Friday in Studio 217, this Friday, July 3rd, and be sure to mark your calendar for August 7th, my first First Friday in Studio 109A. I look forward to seeing your there!

The Bain Project

2009-05-18T22:05:00.029-04:00

Last weekend my family and I had the pleasure to step back in time. For the last two weekends, the Ernest Bain Waterworks Plant was re-opened. Originally built in 1939 in true Art Deco style, the plant closed in 1987. After twently years of neglect, 12-artists, including Marty Baird, Luke Buchanan, Jen Coon, Tim Kiernan, Stacey L. Kirby, Lee Moore, Lia Newman, Sarah Powers and Dana Raymond, "cleaned out, dug up and revamped areas of the Bain plant to convert it into an installation art exhibit, using the whole location as one big found object." IndyWeek.com

An electrical engineer, my husband's favorite part of the exhibit was the power distribution and the controls. My favorite part was the filter gallery and the hidden rooms up the winding stairs that housed much of the installation. In some of the rooms it was hard to tell what was art and what was the result of age and neglect.

My only critique of The Bain Project is that it only lasted two weekends. We were there on the last day, along with hundreds of people and I felt like the word was just getting out. Apparently there are plans to renovate the building and turn it into shops and restaurants. For at least a weekend though we had a glimpse into the past.

The Lives Our Mothers Leave Us

2009-05-05T22:06:00.010-04:00

“Even if our mothers are gone, they are never gone from us. If we search our internal landscapes, we find them—sometimes etched as delicately as a watermark, sometimes as deep as an engraving.” Patti Davis, The Lives Our Mother’s Leave Us

Over the last few years, I have had the pleasure of meeting a number of fabulous artists. The one common thread amongst them all is that they all credit their mothers for inspiring their creativity. So, on this week when we honor our mothers, I felt it was only appropriate to dedicate this week’s post to my mother.

If you read last week’s post, you know that I credit my grandmother for my love of ephemera. The creative gene, however, comes solely from my mother. As a kid, she empowered me to try, while giving me the permission to fail, always reminding me that she would be proud of me either way. When I wanted to host my own teenage talk show at the age of 16, she told me to go for it. As a junior in college, when I wanted to go to New York to intern for a network television show, she encouraged me to apply. So, it should have come as no surprise that when I became an artist, she was right there cheering me on. She was there for my first art show five years ago, braving the freezing rain under a flooded tent as we celebrated selling my first bracelet. Two years later she accompanied me to my biggest show to date, the American Craft Council Show in Baltimore. As a kid, she never missed a recital. As an adult, she never misses an opening. Even if she can’t be there in person due to the miles between us, she always lets me know she is there in spirit with a bouquet of flowers and a perfectly penned note to calm my nerves.

I remember as a child, my mother’s paintings hanging on the walls of our house. When I was a little older, she converted our garage into a studio and dabbled in stained glass and photography. When I was a teenager, she started her own party planning business and designed custom invitations using the finest papers, ribbons, fabrics, die cuts, and foils. She designed her own line embossed papers long before the scrapbooking world made embossing trendy.

My mother always told me that when I win my first Academy Award I should remember to say that I owe it all to her. The fact is, I do owe it all to her. She not only inspired my creativity and my entrepreneurial spirit, but more importantly, she taught me how to be the mother that I am today. So, Happy Mother’s Day to a great mom! I love you.

“We form inside our mother’s womb, far from her arms but right beneath her heart.” Patti Davis, The Lives Our Mother’s Leave Us

More About Me....

2009-04-27T19:13:00.014-04:00

Last week, a senior at NC State asked to interview me for a report he was doing for an art appreciation class. He asked some very good questions, so this week I am posting his questions and my answers.

What is your medium?
Although I make jewelry, I would consider my medium to be mixed media. For most shows, I am juried in as a jeweler, but last year into the Coconut Grove Arts Festival in Mixed Media and won second place in the mixed media category.

What is the process necessary to produce it? What can you tell about the famous polymer clay?
Polymer clay is a synthetic modeling material which bakes or "cures" at a fairly low temperature to a hard surface. You can sculpt it, carve it, stamp on it, texture it, sand it, buff it, or paint it. Most people know polymer clay by the brand name “Sculpey” or Fimo. Sculpey is primarily a kids’ clay. I use Premo, which is the artist grade form of Sculpey for my work. For my process, vintage images are transferred to polymer clay (using alcohol and a color copy) and formed into beads. The hand-formed image transfer beads are then cured, sanded, and buffed to a satin finish. The finished beads are woven and twined with crystals, pearls, vintage glass beads, and found objects to form one-of-a-kind pieces of wearable art. A couple of years ago, I started incorporating Precious Metal Silver Clay into my work to create one-of-a-kind clasps into my designs. Precious Metal Clay results in objects containing .999 pure silver or fine silver. Last year, I started incorporating porcelain clay into my designs and started experimenting with bronze clay, which like its silver counterpart, results in a metal object.

[Right - Darfur Nightwalkers, example of Precious Metal Silver Clay; Center - For Frida, example of bronze clay; Left - Criss Crosswords, example of porcelain clay]

Why jewelry?
I never thought about it before, but I think I initially started making jewelry because of the scale. It was easier for me to wrap my mind around making a piece of small jewelry than a painting a large canvas or something. I also like jewelry, though interestingly enough I don’t wear a lot of it. The interesting part of making jewelry for me, which I didn’t know at the beginning, is the connection I make with my customers and the connection they make to the jewelry. There is something very personal about a person putting on a piece of jewelry that you have designed, connecting with it in a personal way, falling in love with it, and then making a decision to buy it. The person, in essence, becomes my “frame”, similar to a fine artist finding the perfect frame for their painted canvas. While I am designing and making a piece of jewelry, I typically don’t know who I am designing it for, however, when the right person puts on the right piece, I instinctively know. The other thing about my jewelry is that each piece tells a story. Typically, customers will project their own story onto a piece which is part of their personal connection to it. For example, when I first started making jewelry, one customer fell in love with my Cigar Label Necklace. She explained to me that it was so meaningful to her because her grandfather used to wrap the cigar bands around her finger like a ring when she was a little girl. She ended up buying it. It was the second piece I ever sold. The first was purchased by Nicole Kennedy, a local artist and gallery owner. [Below, one of my first pieces, The Cigar Label Necklace]

Would you make jewelry with other media or use ephemera to do something other than jewelry?
Probably not. I think like a jeweler, and I love creating wearable art. Last fall I did experiment with some mixed media wall pieces. My customers were telling me that they were leaving their jewelry pieces out so that they could look at it and enjoy it even when they weren’t wearing it. One of my customers even bought a leatherette bust from me to display her necklace. So, last year I created a series of pieces called “Out of the Box”. These were mixed media wall assemblages in which an element could be removed, worn, and then put back on the wall. Artistically, I think that these pieces represent my best work, however, none of these pieces sold. So, this year, I have gone back to basics and I am focusing on making beautiful, one-of-a-kind, polymer clay jewelry. The interesting thing about the wall pieces, however, is that they have opened me up to a whole new audience. Audiences who never took an interest in the jewelry before, really like the mixed media panels, and vice versa, my customers who have liked my jewelry from the beginning, have mixed feelings about the wall panels. [Below - Skinny Bitch Brooch, example of mixed media wall panel]

What is your main artistic inspiration?

I would say my Grandma Betty. She saved everything… every menu, every photograph, every matchbox from every restaurant she and my grandpa ever went to. When I was in college, I interviewed my grandmother to do my family tree. I asked her about her any my grandfather (who had already passed away). She took this big Burdines department store box out of the closet and in it were all of these things… all of which represented the story of their life together. I didn’t know the name for it at the time, but I suppose that is when my fascination with ephemera began. In fact, my first art project when I moved to North Carolina six years ago was a tablecloth covered with image transfers of my grandmother’s photographs and artifacts. I reproduced this tablecloth for Home and Garden Television a couple of years later, and the response was tremendous. I had people from all over the country e-mailing me how to make their own heirloom tablecloth, and to think that it all started with that department store box full of memories. [Below, Grandma Betty and Grandpa Ralph on their wedding day; Heirloom Tablecloth as seen on HGTV (click on the HGTV link for directions on how to do this project)]

When/how did you decide to do this as your full-time occupation? Did you study art in a formal capacity?
I guess four years ago when I moved into my current Artspace studio. That was the catalyst that transformed me from being a kitchen table crafter or hobbyist to a professional artist. In many ways, it was the start of my professional career and being there has opened doors for me. As far as formal training, I am a self-taught artist. I was a journalism major and theater minor and never took an art class (not even an art appreciation class) until after I moved to Raleigh and became a professional artist.

How hard is it for you to sell your work (in a “normal” economy)? How much marketing do you do?
In the beginning, it was hard to sell my work because I was an unknown. Using my journalism background, I launched a public relations and marketing campaign. I sent out a press kit to every magazine and newspaper I could think of. The first article landed in Lapidary Journal in 2004. Since then I have been lucky enough to be featured in Ornament, Our State, American Style, Cary Living, The News & Observer, Southern Living, and on Home and Garden Television (all of which except for one were the result of a press release I sent). I think that is one of the hardest things about being an artist… that is that you have to wear many hats. You can’t just be a designer. You have to be a business manager, sales person, and marketing professional. In fact, I work much harder now than I ever did when I had a “real job.” Even in a bad economy the jewelry sells. You have to be more creative at marketing in a bad economy.

Arts Stimulus: Ten Small Action Steps You Can Take Right Now

2009-04-21T20:41:00.011-04:00

The economy is bad. That is a fact. Many artists, including myself, are struggling to make ends meet. In fact, the arts as a whole are suffering.

Renee Phillips, Director of Manhattan Arts International writes: "Although historically the art market is far less sensitive to economic crises and geopolitical events than other assets, we are currently living in a new global economy... Jill Conner keeps a close eye on the art market. A critic based in New York City and a Contributing Editor to Contemporary magazine and other art publications, Connor points out that sales in the third tier galleries started to dry up in the summer of 2008, followed by the second and first tiers. She reminds us that numerous galleries in major cities like New York City are facing demise, and several art magazines have had to delay their publication schedules due to a drop in advertising revenues. Art museums are reacting with freezes on hiring and spending cutbacks. Yes, it’s just the tip of the iceberg, and it’s going to be a long, cold winter." Art Calendar / The Business Magazine for the Visual Artist

So, what can you do to help? Here is a list of ten small action steps you can take right now.

1. Participate in your local, regional or state arts councils. Here in North Carolina, we have The United Arts Council and the NC Arts Council. The United Arts Council lists volunteer opportunities on their website.

2. Whenever possible, wear or carry something handmade.

3. Buy handmade from local retailers.

4. Go to a craft show. This Saturday, I will be showing at Spring Daze in Bond Park in Cary, NC. On May 16th and May 17th, Artsplosure takes over Moore Square in Downtown Raleigh. Admission to both Spring Daze and Artsplosure is free.

5. Expose your children to the arts. Your children are our future art collectors. Take them to the North Carolina Museum of Art. Bring them to Artspace. Visit the Rocky Mount Art Center. Admission to the Rocky Mount Art Center and Artspace are free. In fact, on August 23rd, Artspace hosts Family Fun Day, a one-of-a-kind carnival for the whole family.

6. Join an arts organization. Many arts organizations offer memberships for families for under $100 annually. Two organizations I belong to are Artspace and Piedmont Craftsmen. Family membership at Artspace is $60 and includes priority registration and discounts for classes (including the Summer Arts Program), workshops, and special events. More importantly, membership support ensures that Artspace continues to be one of the region's leading and most unique cultural institutions. Established in 1963, Piedmont Craftsmen represents the highest standard of contemporary and traditional craft. Over 400 exhibiting members from throughout the Southeast have been juried into the guild. The organization conducts workshops, mounts exhibitions, and operates a gallery and shop at 601 North Trade Street in Winston-Salem, NC. Supporting membership starts at $50.

7. Donate to the arts. You don't have to donate a lot to be a patron of the arts. On April 2nd, Artspace hosted a "Give and Take" event in which 50 works of art were donated by local artists and sold for $50 to support The Summer Arts Program. The event raised over $5000 ($50 at a time).

8. Host an open house. When I first went into business, I hosted an open house just in time for Christmas. I created a display in my dining room featuring my work and the work of several other artists. I provided a comfortable, casual place for my friends and the neighbors to socialize and shop. It was a fun and successful event.

9. Take a class. The City of Raleigh Parks and Recreation (Sertoma Arts Center and Pullen Arts Center), The Town of Cary, and Artspace all offer adult arts education programs (in addition to their children's programs and camps). I have had the pleasure of taking three jewelry classes at The Pullen Arts Center, including enameling and two other metals classes. These six week courses (all of which cost under $100) helped me explore new techniques in a safe, comfortable, and casual atmosphere. In August, The Crafts Center at NC State will re-open its doors. The Crafts Center at NC State University functions as an art school specializing in crafts. Classes are offered each semester in various craft media such as pottery, photography, woodworking, fiber arts, lapidary, glass, jewelry, metals and more. Classes are offered for all skill levels from beginner to advanced and are open to NCSU students, faculty, staff, and the general public. The Fall 2009 class brochure will be available in July. Visit The Crafts Center at NC State online for more information.

10. Get involved. Make sure your state and federal representatives know that the arts are important to you.

So, for the rest of the week, I will be in my studio getting ready for Spring Daze. I hope to see you there on Saturday between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. in Bond Park in Cary. Have a good week.

The Road Less Traveled

2009-04-16T19:46:00.010-04:00

I was born in Miami, Florida and moved to Raleigh eight years ago. I always tease my husband and say that, "I moved to Raleigh and became an artist... Who knew?" Although I have been to the mountains of North Carolina and to the coast, like many of us, I very rarely venture beyond the 15 mile radius between my house and my studio at Artspace.

Today, however, I had the pleasure of visiting The Rocky Mount Art Center. Located about 60 miles outside of Raleigh, The Art Center is located in The Imperial Art Centre for the Arts and Sciences in Downtown Rocky Mount. Occupying the combined former sites of the Imperial Tobacco company and old Braswell Memorial Library in downtown Rocky Mount, the complex houses an Arts Center, Children's Museum & Science Center, and community performing arts theatre. The 135,000 square foot facility involved the historic restoration and renovation of the old buildings which had been dormant for more than 50 years.

Now, when you are traveling with children, first thing is first... The Science Center and The Children's Museum. Once we were done with that, however, we wandered over to the art and fine craft galleries in The Art Center. The Art Center features an impressive display of fine craft in its exhibition halls and permanent collection gallery. Current exhibitions on display include Handcrafted, A Continual Journey: Jewelry and Objects, and Within.

The exhibition I was most interested in was Robert Ebendorf's Jewelry and Objects. When I first started making jewelry, I saw Robert Ebendorf's Off the Street, From the Beach necklace (pictured on right) in a magazine. This necklace is made from a collection of colorful plastic objects found on the boardwalks, parking lots, and sidewalks of Santa Monica. I could say that he was the inspiration for me to explore found objects in my own work. His work is included in some of the most celebrated museum collections in the world including The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, The Victoria and Albert Museum in England, and The Mint Museum of Craft and Design in North Carolina (Charlotte). Currently, he is the Carol Grotnes Belk Distinguished Professor in East Carolina University's School of Art and Design, which in my opinion makes him a North Carolina treasure. On display at The Rocky Mount Art Center are over 80 pieces spread out between the North Carolina Gallery (downstairs) and the Artists Gallery (upstairs), including the From the Beach... necklace. Ebendorf takes the ordinary and makes it extraordinary proving that he is truly master of the medium. A Continual Journey: Jewelry and Objects will be on Exhibition at The Rocky Mount Art Center through May 17th.

Also on the second floor of The Rocky Mount Art Center is Andrew Fullwood's Within. Like Robert Ebendorf, Fullwood makes the ordinary, in this case a "promising log", and makes it truly extraordinary. His sculptures are created from single pieces of natural wood and transformed into complex sculptures through the use of chainsaws, chisels, files, rasps and fine grade sand paper. He says, "With my sculpture, I want to generate curiousity, allurement, and excitement, and I want there to be an element of surprise." That he did. To my unexpected surprise, this exhibition was highlight of my visit to The Rocky Mount Art Center. Within runs through May 24th.

Admission to The Rocky Mount Art Center is free. The Art Center does have a children's area with creation stations in which the children can create their own masterpieces. There is even a play stage and costumes in case the kids want to try their hand at the performing arts. There is a nominal admission fee for The Science Center and Children's Museum Tuesday throught Saturday, but on Sundays, admission to The Science Center and Children's Museum is free.

So, I encourage you to take the road less traveled and journey beyond your 15 mile radius this spring. You never know what affordable treasures you might find right in your own backyard.

Flea Market Finds

2009-04-13T10:43:00.026-04:00

I am often asked, “What inspires you?” My answer is… everything. For The Ephemera Collection, my first jewelry collection, I was inspired by old labels, posters, advertisements, and postcards… fleeting bits of a vanished or vanishing time. For the Beyond Neverland Collection, I was inspired by the movie Finding Neverland and J.M. Barrie’s relationship with Sylvia Llewelyn Davies and her five boys, his inspiration for what later became Peter Pan.

So yesterday I went to the flea market at the North Carolina State Fairgrounds. I wandered into Debs’ booth. Debs’ booth had bins and bins full of vintage hardware, buttons, and knick knacks. Handing me a treasure box to hold my fabulous finds, Debs warned me that the longer someone stays in her booth, the more the creative juices start to flow. I filled the treasure box with a pile of rust… screws, hinges, pins, and keyholes. Some might see these things as uninteresting, utilitarian, or a just plain junk. I see transitory treasures that I can reinvent into a brooch, an art doll, a bezel, or a pendant.

I think one of my favorite teachers, author, metal artist, and award winning jewelry maker Susan Lenart Kazmer says it best:

“The magnitude of energy carried with the found object from their previous lives can be seen felt and touched. When you close your eyes and hold the object in your hand you can feel whether the user has enjoyed, neglected, or cherished it. Fear, happiness, struggle, and strength are also feelings embedded in an object. My job as an artist is to take the found object and present it in a new and unexpected way.” Susan Lenart Kazmer

When a found object becomes found art, it captures the imagination of the beholder. Old keys drape from my luggage label necklaces. The key itself is not interesting, but on the necklace, the key becomes the story, and the wearer of the necklace usually becomes the storyteller. It gives me great satisfaction as a designer when someone sees my jewelry, makes the connection, and becomes the storyteller. It means I’ve done my job as an artist.

So keep coming back to see how I transform my flea market finds into found art. It might take some time, but I will post them here when they are finished. And in the meantime... What inspires you?

Constrained Chaos

2009-04-09T18:40:00.000-04:00

Two weeks ago I took a class with Dan Cormier, a polymer clay artist and master craftsman. After the class was over, he walked down the hall into my studio and upon entering my workspace said, "your studio is a mess". As he looked beyond the mess to the work hanging on the wall he said, "I admire your ability to constrain chaos into such refined work."

This isn't the first time someone has commented on my messy space. Usually I respond by smiling and saying, "this is a working studio". Some of you may have been to my Artspace Studio in Downtown Raleigh's City Market and know that I work in an open studio environment, which means my studio is open to the public five days a week. I sometimes compare the experience to being in a fish bowl, however, my process and my work space is the same as it would be if I were working in a home studio. In fact, my work space at Artspace is more contained than my home studio ever was, since I only have a little more than 200 square feet in which to work.

I will say that at this point I do not have a home studio. All of the components that go into my pieces are made at Artspace. When I am in production, that is getting ready for craft shows or exhibitions, I will bring the finished components home and string bracelets and necklaces at my kitchen table.

Long before I set up my studio at Artspace, I attended a workshop with polymer clay artist, friend, and mentor Irene Semanchuk Dean. The workshop was how to sell and market your work and as part of the curriculum Irene talked about how to set up a studio. I did implement many of the principles Irene talked about in her workshop when I first set up my home studio, namely having a specific area set aside for each process. It wasn't hard because I was only working in one medium, polymer clay. I had an area for conditioning the clay, working with the raw clay, curing the clay, and sanding and finishing.

I tried to set up my studio at Artspace the same way. However, since I moved into Artspace four years ago, I have become an adventurer... diving into new mediums and exploring new dimensions in jewelry design. Now my one work table, which started out being used solely to condition and work with polymer clay, is now also used for painting, enameling, Precious Metal Clay, BronzClay, and porcelain. A couple of years ago, I did put in a jewelers bench, but I only use that for fabricating metal. My studio hasn't gotten bigger, just my ideas, which is part of my growth and development as a professional artist.

Notwithstanding the other forty or so studio artists in the Artspace building, most of whose workspaces I have seen, I went online to see if I could find pictures of other creative workspaces, and I realize that I am not alone in my chaos. While some artists have neat and organized workspaces, like my studio partner Sharron Parker, many are like me. After viewing photos of other artist creative workspaces, one blogger wrote of his own workspace, "I am the kind of artist who brings order from chaos."

Workspaces aside, I think most artists have the ability to constrain chaos into art, which is fundamentally how I think our artist brains are programmed to work. We take all of information that is flinging towards us (at home, in the news, in the world) and filter it, interpret it, and ultimately translate it into a work of art.

I suppose a more organized studio would streamline the artistic process, however, I would submit to you that my ability to constrain chaos into art is an intregal part of my artistic process.

If you have a creative workspace that you would like to share, e-mail me a picture at lauren@onlylauren.com and I will post it here.

To view other creative workspaces and home offices go to: http://parkablogs.com/content/creative-workspaces-and-home-offices