The End of Semester Woes and Some Random Babbling
I hate the end of Spring semester. All my ambition to do well just vanishes with the first slightly warm day of the year. I have about 4 more weeks left of classes. In those 4 weeks I have a presentation on working with homeless adolescents, a paper on Mozart, and a paper on utilizing behavior modification techniques on clients with schizophrenia. It doesn’t help that the winter here in Maine has been so ridiculously long and nasty this year either. Now, we’ve had a string of days with temps above 40 degrees, and I just don’t want to do anything but lay outside. I went a little psycho on one of the last remaining piles of snow in my backyard, and now it’s gone. That’s a good thing.
I’m even finding it hard to focus on building up my inventory. I think I’m going to hire a web designer to help get my site looking a little better.
The show that I’ve previously mentioned is going to be at Artascope next month. It’s not so much a “show” in the regular sense. I’m going to be the featured member for that month, and get to have my work in the gallery. But I’m calling it a show anyway, cause it’s still rather exciting for me. And there’s an opening. If you happen to be in or around Portland Maine, the opening is Saturday, May 10, during the Second Saturday Art Stroll. Stop on by, I’d love to see you
Actually, I’ve also started stewarding at the studio as well, so if you’re ever in the area, stop on by. I’m there Saturdays from 2-7pm, and often on Sundays as well.
New Ring and an Idea
While I was toying around in the studio the other day, attempting to recreate a design I had seen elsewhere, I came up with this:
I’m rather proud of it. The seam isn’t great by any means, but add some creative photography and the fact that I have no intention of selling it, and it works out very well. I was showing it off to someone, and they suggested that I make a series of them, with the symbols of the zodiac, instead of the scrolls. Sounds like a good idea to me…what do you think?
Been Busy
So, obviously no big surprise, but I fell off the face of the blogearth again. My time hasn’t been spent meditating in the void this time, however. Before the “Big Whipe”, as I like to call it, I had previously mentioned taking a class at Artascope Studios. Well, I’ve taken a couple more, and was considering getting a membership. A friend of mind got me a gift certificate there, and I used that to start my membership. I’ve been going in pretty regularly on Sundays, and working for a few hours, and have stopped in a couple times during the week as well. They have a full metalworking studio, which is where I’ve been spending most of my time. It’s really great to be able to just work. When I’m there, I’m not tempted to sit and watch my inbox for new email, or surf randomly for hours, or spend hour after hour grinding trolls on WoW. All the equipment and tools I could possibly need are there, and I get a 20% discount on all supplies for being a member. The first class I had taken was “Wire-Wrapped Seaglass Pendants”. I had done some of that before, but really just wanted to get in there and take something. Next I took “Fused Glass Jewelry” and “Hammered Silver Jewelry”, and a few weeks ago I took “Soldered Silver Ring”. I have to admit that I was a bit intimidated about using the torch for soldering, but it’s so much easier than I expected. Here are some pics of a few of the items I’ve made. For more, check out my Flickr. Most of these will be listed in my Etsy shop soon, if they haven’t been already. Comments and criticisms are very welcome!
