I'll Pay You a Movie Tomorrow for a Blog Post Today!

I promised myself a selection from Movies-On-Demand if I wrote and posted my blog tonight. (It's 10:22pm--I had better work fast!)

And I promised myself that from now on, I only had to write a paragraph with each blog post.

I foster deals between Strong-and-Successful Brenda and Rather-Sit-on-My-Duff Brenda to motivate both me's. I mind-murmur things like "You only have to run to that far mailbox, but you do have to run to it." or "Since I had that chocolate shake this afternoon, I'll have ice water instead of a Coke just now."

[Alright, well technically I'm already three paragraphs in . . . but, that's sort of the point, I just need to get over the initial hump of starting something, then I'm fine.]

But, enough of that.I have been meaning to tell you about the workshop that I took with Dean Ebben at Kathy Malkasian's Valley Ridge Art Studio (located here in what Richard Salley describes as bucolic Wisconsin).

Dean's an amazing artist--and it takes an amazing artist to get me to break free from taking non-jewelry workshops. (Since the new millennium, Micheal deMeng's the only other victor in this regard). Long story short, I was blown away. I expected to be wowed, but instead I was mesmerized. Star-crossed. Hooked.

And guess what? You may just be seeing some cyanotype art jewelry pieces come out of this studio soon. They'll look similar to these exposures I did during the workshop:

 Leaps and Bounds

Pirouette Skirmish

 

Kewpie Gets Spit Curls

Escaped

And here's a little photo summary of what will become a draped cowl neck piece that I absolutely love (scroll down Dean's Workshops page a bit for more of the same):

 After all the sun's work and the rinsing is done,
I prepare the piece to be hung on the line to dry.
(Domestic Brenda--take a good, long look!)

 Reminds me of wash day at my Grandma Mae's.

 My Vally Ridge friend Janet Eskridge.
(We met at a Keith LoBue workshop at VRAS in 2008.
I'm the proud owner of three pieces of her work!)

Janet and the very wind-blown me.

A very BAD hair day (not you, Janet!) makes for a very GOOD art day!

[And I'm all done! I've earned a movie, but it will have to wait since it's now after midnight. It'll be nice to bank that movie reward for another time!]

A Study in Contrasts: Benchtop Sneak Peek

Last week's blog post may have you believing that my studio is quite clean and organized. Poppycock! Just a few feet away is the chaotic workspace of Brendita-the-Spastic-One! And so comes my theory of balance. 

First, a left-to-right (now top to bottom) scan of the main workspace in my studio:

  

 

 

(Now, a moment to rest your eyes and regain some composure.)

The lesson here -- at least what works for me -- is that having an organized starting block is important to getting one off and running in the creative process. For many creatives (including moi), beginning is probably the single most important thing we face. But the messy, everything-up-in-the-air part is where the genius comes in.

In the chaos, you'll find new juxapositions of objects you may never have thought of combining before. In the pile, you'll gain a clarity that comes from being able to work multiple projects at once. In the jumble, you'll gain a momentum that has you producing more.

These two works have recently erupted from the hot bed of disorganization:

 

I guess (for me) slow, steady, and cluttered is what wins the race!

The Fine Line Between Creativity and Clutter

There's a fine line between creativity and clutter -- and I walk it every day. Sometimes I'm on the creativity side, sometimes I'm on the clutter side -- mostly I straddle them both. 

Since I've recently had the excellent talents of my technical designer brother Jeremy at my disposal (he's since taken a full-time job in addition to his growing business and abandoned me, but that's another story), I took full advantage. I waved my arms around to explain my ideas of creating systems that would support my work, and he interpreted those dreams into realities of wood, hardware, and paint! (I'm so grateful to have his shaman-like ability tempering my creative visions with his engineering-ness -- and encouraging me in the process. I LOVE this guy to pieces!)

You saw the Wall-o-Jars that I posted a few blogs back. Well, here are two more ideas that have already boosted my ratio of creativity to wallowing-in-stuff-I-can't-get-to:

Precious Finds at a Glance: A set of shallow and narrow shelves that hold all my one-of-a-kind found bijoux. Since I work my found objects in jewelry sizes (smaller goodies than my assemblage buddies), I could afford to gather them in one area where I could see the whole collection at a glance. The shelves' placement in my studio also serves to engage my moodling mind with future projects each time I walk by.

 (Here's a close-up: noisemakers, vintage buttons, toy wheels, pipe-cleaner chicks and Eight Balls galore.)

 

On-Deck Works: I enjoy playing with a number of projects simultaneously. I group components for budding  jewelry pieces in these black trays where they audition (this is my friend and studio assistant Becky's term). They remain there until they "get the part"  to work on a portion of them at a time. Some never make the cut and their components go back on the narrow shelves or into beading inventory.

Note how the trays slope down from the wall (like the magazine racks at your local library), so that they, too, are in prime moodling position!

 

Am I more productive with these systems in place? Sure, if you agree that  freeing up my studio floor for little things like walking help! Now I'm ready(er) for loads of jewelry makin'!

Smiley Face Watch

I've shared this image with my Facebook friends along with a post something like, "this piece just makes me smile." It's true. I've seen some fabulous resin work that traps unexpected things inside (isn't that 90% of what makes us goofy about resin -- the trapping part?) like big, fancy pearls and even a mouse (ewww!). That's what inspired me to try my hand at my own version of freezing stuff in time!

My friend KaKO recently gave me a big box of goodies from her past -- kind of like a 3-D scrapbook of her life. I spied this 80s watch from the middle of the pile. It probably just needed a new battery, but I decided I'd rather not know so I could be fearless in trying this idea. I prepped a frozen food tray with some release and went to town positioning the watch and carefully pouring the resin.

After it cured enough to pop it out of the tray the following morning, I noticed a bubble at the 10 o'clock mark. Rather than ditching the project (I tend to try to save just about anything with even a little potential), I thought I'd enhance the even-numbered hour marks with chatons. (Just so happens my friend Debbi Simon has been working with these sparkly bits lately, so I gave her a jingle.)

Another little glitch worked out as well, after I hit an air pocket (that darn 2 o'clock mark this time) while drilling the chaton divots. After I carefully removed the drill dust, I filled the pocket with resin one drop at a time. Then I used the resin to not only set the other five chatons, but add a high polish to the face of the piece. (I waited until the resin at the 2 o'clock mark set and thickened a bit before adding the last little glitz-bit.)

I learned three things about resin during this work: that it has a longer pour-time before setting than I thought; that matte surfaces can be glossed up with an additional resin skimcoat; and that mistakes are easily repaired with some patience and precision.

All-in-all, this watch-let was a pretty quick project. It makes me smile and feel happy every time I look at it -- a new take on the smiley face watch from the 70s!

Funny How Baby Steps Can Span a Mile (or More)!

Sometimes I just sit and wonder at how simple studio play-time can translate into something bigger and better (and longer-lived) than I would have ever imagined! Take this wonderful chunk of seaglass I received as a barter from a doubly-wonderful client! I was just putzing around one Saturday afternoon, experimenting with how to capture the piece in steel wire. I twisted and turned, bent and unbent (yep, steel's like that -- you can "erase" bends!).

Soon after, I attached the pendant to a funky-found-dog chain-turned-necklace, and wore it to lunch with friend and Art Jewelry Associate Editor, Jill Erickson. It just so happens AJ was planning a green trend issue (see May 2009) and a full-fledged (capture pendant) article was born!

Now, rewind a few years to the debut of my first book, Junk to Jewelry. The fabulous Matt Quandt of Kalmbach got me a podcast gig with Alison Lee's Craftcast to help get the word out! (That was an amazing opportunity that I still have to pinch myself to believe.)

Some full-circle-to-now math: 
    Art Jewelry feataures Alison Lee in their current issue
+ Capture article popular with AJ readers
+ Craftcast interviewees' work used to enhance new article
= More fabulous publicity over a little bit of quality time between me, my wire, and my junk.

Ain't life grand?

What's Your RL/EO Quotient?

Sometimes I astound myself (in a not-so-good way). You'd think after 47 years, I'd know me pretty well. And to be honest, most of the time I'm pretty astute about what makes me me and what I can and cannot do. But this last little task I took on just hammered home the point that I'm a little dense in the what-can-be-accomplished-in-real-time-and-space world (a.k.a. what you can get done in real life).

You see, this girl's an eternal optimist. And, she's a little slow on the uptake when it comes to committing to deadlines. She says "yes" automatically before weighing a project's actual doing-ness. I blame it on my analytical side -- the side that on a scale of 1 to 10 (10 being the largest) is a .5.

So, next time I nod my head to drawing 70-plus sketches of 30-plus projects (which guide readers through the process of making the jewelry in say a book called something like Steel Wire Jewelry), I'll say I need two months instead of one. And I'll really draw sketches instead of schematic models that look like they're from an engineer's drawing board. And I'll start the project before there are only two weeks left to deadline. Ahem ... did I say that my procrastination quotient of big projects is also a .5?

What's your Real Life (RL) vs. Eternal Optimist (EO) quotient?

What's in a Name Anyway?

Well, I'll tell 'ya -- more than one would think!

With today's emphasis on marketing and search engines, and -- well that's about the crux of it, marketing and search engines -- things (book titles, that is) need to be straightforward, simple, specific, and (yes, I'll say it) boring! That's okay though, 'cause a good, minimal title is weighty enough to counterbalance all of my uber-creative copy inside (which frankly, confuses even me at times!)

What am I droning on about (you analytics ask)?

I just received the formal title for my next book. It's moniker is Steel Wire Jewelry. The equally important and obviously encoded subtitle is: Stylish Designs, Simple Techniques, Artful Inspiration. You got it! All very good words to describe exactly what is inside the book -- style, design, simplicity, technique, art, and inspiration. There you go, and there you have it.

I'm not complaining. Or, am I? The early-career marketer in me says, "Yep! Get it out there, and get it far and wide." The creative-type in me says, "Good God, can't anyone think a little? Would it kill them? Do we have to spell out things at a fourth-grade level all the time?"

Then I pan back a little, take a few breaths, and envision my little book ... on the Barnes&Noble shelves ... among tens of other wire books ... hundreds of other jewelry books ... thousands of other craft books ... and millions of other books books ... and, that's just one store. And then I say:

"I LOVE simplicity. I LOVE the name Steel Wire Jewelry! And, I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE search engines!

(And I'll "wow 'em" on the inside!)

Thank you, Title Team!

xoxox!

(Pssst! Next comes the fabulous cover art . . . !)

Where'd the School Year Go?

Seems like I just submitted my proposals to teach at the 2010 Bead&Button Show (actually, that was last July -- time flies) and now the Show's almost here! I'm kidding, really. (Thank goodness that June is several months away and the boys' school year has three more quarters to go -- plenty of time to raise those first-quarter grades!) The good news is that Marlene and crew at Kalmbach Publishing Company have recently announced the classes and workshops we teachers will be offering.

I am super-psyched to present four iron wire classes and one surprise! I get to teach a three-day Fundamentals in Resin workshop early in the week! Look for the complete catalog late this month and sign up in January!

Here's my roster:

Maniacal Jewelry Pound
A three-hour wacky and wonderfully loud pounding of iron wire: a great chance to try the medium in a shorter time-frame.

Found and Captured

Create custom captures (bails) for all your fabulous cabochons and found objects.

Create Your Style with Swarovski Elements presents Winterfrost Pod

A beautiful combination of iron wire and flashy crystal.

All plain-loops! Simple-dimple!

A Pound(ed) Heart

Try your hand (and hammer) at forging 12 gauge iron wire. Grrrr!

Fundamentals in Resin by Brenda Schweder

A three-day intensive play-date where

 you discover and/or re-explore resin, resin, resin!

What's Tangled and Mangled and Colorful Throughout?

Peek of the Week No. 2, that's what! It's been a month since I shared Peek of the Week No. 1 on September 10th. Today I'd like to introduce Peek of the Week No. 2. In true Brenda form, you may have guessed it involves two of my favorite things -- Irish waxed linen and (of course) iron wire. But what gauge? How is it tangled? Is it a bracelet, an earring, a brooch? I'm such a trickster for keeping you guessing!

Smokin' Mirrors & Inquiring Minds

Not everything is as it seems. Sometimes it's better; sometimes it's worse. Sometimes it's both if we step back a bit.

We dig for answers when things seem picture perfect. We want to know that others are like us -- a little less than perfect. We spend money to know the truth about other people's lives (my husband Jim's Granny Aurelia was a longtime National Inquirer subscriber), we research and Google! any little curiosity, and we take back stage tours to get an inner sanctum glimpse at how things really work on the big stage.

I got my own little peek at the "better and the worse" of my work this week when I visited Deone Jahnke's photography studio. We (she worked, I "assisted") shot six of my better pieces for the gallery section of Iron Wire Jewelry (coming out Fall, 2010).

The shoot went like clockwork, but I got a chuckle when we prepped this necklace (Scrapyard No. 1) by dangling it from a pole with gray duct tape (see evidence, lower left). VERY classy! Check out the little mirror propped on a tiny box with paraffin wax (another photog trick to bounce light around) and the adorable Ms. Jahnke's left hand and camera zoom lens.

Funny how the before (what the camera shows us) and the after (the "bigger picture") vary a teeny, tiny bit! Just thought your inquiring minds would want to know!

Third Time's the Charm

And, Three Moons is the third time -- or the third design I submitted to Lark's upcoming 30-Minute Necklaces on the third of this month.

Of course, even though I've had designs swimming through my head since I discovered the call for artist entries some weeks ago, I was (literally) hammering away at the first two ideas the very day they were due. Ferociously. Hammering.

Numbers one and two came to fruition, but they were lacking. I couldn't put my finger on what may be missing, and I hadn't given myself the luxury of time to "moodle" out the answers. They had to go in. (Now, after a few days "clearance," I like them a lot when I see them layered one atop the other -- a clue.)

Then, I ate. I chatted with my husband. I hit "reset" on my (left) brain and returned to the studio. Thirty minutes later, I photographed this new piece that flowed out of my head, down through my arm and out my hammer-holding fist. It was "the charm." Simple. Elegant. Fun. Me.

My bet's on this piece being the one of the three to be accepted (notice how I'm using positive thinking? . . . I think I can, I think I can, I think I can!). I'll report on my status (or should I say my necklaces' status) in my next blog.

Which will it be? Number 1, Number 2 or Number 3?

The Cobbler's Children, They Have No Shoes!

You've heard about the cobbler's children and their lack of leather footgear? How about this former marketer's inability to properly promote herself? How long have Bead&Button Show classes been available for their frantic filling by way of the online registration site's 'buy' buttons? You guessed (or already know) it. Since January! (I'm only two-ish months late.)

But, enough self-deprecation and onto some shameless self-promotion. There are still a few spaces left in my three Largest-Retail-Show-in-the-World classes! Two explore my new favorite medium, iron wire, (Calder Meets Carrie Cuff [upper right] and Maniacal Jewelry Pound [below left]) and the third is a waxed fiber repeat (High Fiber Diet [bottom right]) back by popular demand from '08's offerings.

Check out the B&B Show website for more info and to click that 'buy' button (not-so-subliminal messaging here) for yourself!


And, see you in June replete with shoes (and bells on them).

PS For those of you linking in from the Art Jewelry blog, thanks for taking part in the Found-object pendant: Do you know what this is quiz. Your thoughtful responses tell me you're a foundling too! What a Pop-pop 'toot!'

I'm a Tree Hugger!

Little did my parents know that they raised a Green Girl! Here I thought I was just a cheapskate with a capital CH!

But it's official! My newest published article is out there in print for the world to see. May's Art Jewelry is hot off the press and available at a newsstand near you (that is, IF you don't already subscribe, which you should surely consider doing).

Anyway, I'm back from my diverted writing path. The article title is Capture found objects with low-cost steel wire (page 64). I'm proud to say that I own a whole six pages of the mag's prime real estate with my second AJ article (the first was an applique piece in their inaugural issue: How Fish Fish. It was the very first piece I did in Sr. Rosemarita's summer school jewelry class at my alma mater, Mount Mary College).

For added fun and frivolity, Associate Editor, Jill Erickson, came up with a fun quiz you can take on their newsletter link: ArtJewelryMagazine@maillist.kalmbachmail.com. Take a guess what the featured found-object pendant once was! Over 200 people have already ventured their answers -- and some have even entered takes of their own! Yippee!

Reuse, Reclaim, Up-cycle!

-b, the redheaded eco-designer!