Promise kept

I said that I would blog today and I refuse to not keep this commitment.

A blog that I love and read this morning discussed professional jealousy - yep, been there and felt the monster growing inside too. Also been on the receiving end too. Either way, it's a pretty unpleasant experience.

The challenge presented to me by the read this AM was this: how do I handle it when I am the jealous monster? The answer: Not well, not well at all. I run, I hide, I sulk, I bemoan my seeming lack of skill and promptly retire into a funk from which I have to kick myself in the seat of my pants to refocus and motivate myself.

It seems that we are not alone in this either. David has been having an ongoing email conversation with a childhood friend and a fellow artisan for the past couple of days. She's been there too, both as a giver and receiver. The problem with jealousy is that this not a situation where it is better to be a giver than a receiver either.

Maybe this jealous streak is pretty normal in the arts world, otherwise what would inspire to try 'new' things and to stretch beyond our comfort zone? What would inspire the willingness to compete?

If you have a different answer, let me know.

The best solution that I have found for me with this problem, when the monster arises, is to be thankful. It's the quickest cure for me and it is the most humbling and often constructive. When we feel it hit, and it usually does by knocking us straight back on our behinds, is to start being thankful for the opportunities that we have and will have, for the talent we already have and will polish, for the recognition that we have received already for our work and for what we will receive, even if it is only to acknowledge that pay-day is Friday. We start to realize that we are better off than some folks at that point and that is a 'good thing'.

Finally dusting myself off after a poor weekend and starting to feel more capable already.

Cheers,
-C

Busy

Being busy helps - I find that it sooths the spirit.

The more spinning plates, the better. It means that I have to focus, that I am working towards a goal. I have less time to be frivolously distracted by fun but useless things. Busy is good.

Some people that I know don't particularly care to be busy, it bothers them and it's not necessarily because they are lazy - I am lazy - it's just that busy overwhelms them. It doesn't give them time to think and they just don't like that. I find that the less time I am left alone with my own idle mind the better.

Right now, we are working on a series of pieces for an exhibit that opens in just over a month. I have a couple of group exhibition deadlines coming up - an idea might stick & something good might get made before time runs out on them.

There are 2 back-to-back shows in Halifax over the next 2 weekends. Ones a regular show and the other we haven't done in a couple of years so we are looking forward to going back. Those shows will give us the opportunity to fine tune the booth & see what we need & what we forgot.

There are a couple of board & committee meetings for the area chamber of commerce in the next short while too. Being on the committee & board has been good for me. It reminds me that I have very little patience for some processes & it teaches me to let go and let it happen in its own good time, it will work even if it looks funny. The platypus was designed by committee.

There are other seminars and gallery openings on the event calendar for the next couple of weeks and I am looking forward to all of it.

We are currently finishing up designs on a wholesale - limited production - line of jewelry. Have to have it 'juried' in 2 weeks and then be ready to go for wholesale in 3 months, and in between, build a lot more one-of-a-kinds for the Nova Scotia Designer Crafts Council show in 3 weeks and the Ottawa Originals in December.

The benefit of busy is the focus. It makes elimination of non-productive habits and time very easy. It just seems to highlight what is truly important to me as an artisan/business. I appreciate that.

Cheers,
Cynthia

Get Out of the Studio

This is a note for all of us that private studios: i.e. we do not share space in a building with other artisans or share a studio with room with other artists.

Nothing can be created in a vacuum. I'm sure that you have heard that before and I know that it is true.

Without social interaction with other artists we have a tendency to forget what it is that is good about our work and I say this because we just had the opportunity to spend two and a half wonderful days in one of Fredericton's landmark artists' buildings. The upstairs houses a record store (yes, with real vinyl LP's), a photo studio, a wonderful "pop-art" artist and 2 more visual artists and a mixed media fabric artist. It's not a lot of artists by some standards but it is more than I see on a daily bases.

The joy of this interaction, including going to the Art Trek opening on Friday night is that for the first time in ages, we had a real social time with other artists, not a show where we are all concentrating on prices and money and customer service and mailing lists and unpacking and setting-up and tearing down and packing-up... but just concentrating on the art and the person who made it. What a change. I know that visitors to show concentrate on the art and the artists but as artists, it just seems that we never have much time for that. It feels good.

It feels good to discuss line, and colour and uses of negative space and to see how other artists react to each others' work and how they apply 'art-speak' to the work. I know that for me, it brought me back around to the more subtle aspects of what we do, not just the technical aspects of construction or the business side of it but the real artistry of well made and wearable jewelry as art, or at least fine craft for those that argue the art/craft thing that could take days.

I love having the private studio now, I can work anytime of night or day, as necessary or as the spirit moves me, I have few interruptions, except what I allow, I do not have to explain what I am doing at that moment to anyone who walks in the door, as hardly anyone ever visits without calling first to make sure that 1) I'm actually in and 2) that I am not wearing my PJ's to work. BUT I love getting out of it too.

I love meeting new people, especially like-minded. I love hearing the critical reviews of the works being shown by myself and by other artists which keeps me on my toes and keeps me thinking about how to better use space and colour and line. I get another person's opinion of what works and what doesn't in our jewelry. And besides, most artists are really great and only tell you what they really like and why and that tells you everything you need to know by omission.

So, when you are feeling isolated and unsure of the work, get out of the studio, go to an opening, find an art group, just do something social that relates to your chosen art. It's like blowing a hole in the side of a dungeon to let in the light and fresh air and provide a way in and out. Just make sure that when you leave the studio that you are carrying your business cards and that you are willing to talk to people that you meet. The opportunities to make good useful connections with your fellow artisans abound at these events.

If you don't normally do this at least once a month, try it this month and see what happens, you might like it.

-C

WE WON!!!

The most amazing thing happened last night. We won.

We received The Frank Phillips Award of Excellence for our "Ribbon" entry at the Metal Arts Guild of Nova Scotia annual exhibition and competition. This is as good as winning the lottery in many ways because we are always surrounded by exceptional craftsmanship at one of these events and to receive this award for technical excellence is really outstanding.

This is a short post there is a lot of work to finish up in regards to getting the press information out and it is already afternoon.

You can read about it here: Current Release and see the piece at the bottom of the page.

More later,
Cynthia

Fall has more than one meaning

Every once in a while a crafts-person or artisan has the opportunity to do a show that is a real learning experience or at least a really good reminder of a lot of things that we forget and take for granted when we are working with certain show promoters and organizers that we have come to trust and we have the chance to work with someone new.

We forget to double-check whether or not the organizers are genuinely interested in helping the artist or just themselves. I know that realistically we are all in it to make a living, including the organizers when they are a commercial entity too.

When you, as an artisan, rent a booth, you have obligations to fulfill. You are expected to show up on time, have adequate wares for sale, treat the clientele with respect, have a nice looking presentation that should meet the standards set in the show guidelines which are in place to help the image of the show, help your own image and promote a good appearance to other crafters and the visitors to the venue.

As artisans, it is our expectation that the organizers are fulfilling their end of the deal by providing us with what they have detailed in the show promotional material that elicits the sale or rental of booth space to us. We expect that they will have reached out to the local art/craft community and promoted the event to local artisans, who should be able to book space. We expect that they will be familiar with local businesses that can be of assistance to the attending artisans, such as locations for the hardware store, stationary store, grocery store, good restaurants, nearest bank, etc. These are services that are sometimes needed at the last minute as it is inevitable that someone will forget something. We also expect this very important thing: ADVERTISING. We expect that they will have adequately promoted the show to the community and surrounding areas in which the show is being held.

I'm not saying that you should ask to see the contracts with the various media outlets that the promoter should be using, but it may be of benefit to directly ask them to tell you what kind of advertising they are doing, and where and how much of it they are doing. If you don't think it's enough then you likely shouldn't book the show.

I bring this up because we had the fortune to work with a new-to-us show organizer this past weekend. We have heard both good and bad things about them from other artisans in the past few years, which is not unusual, as not all shows work for everyone, but decided to give this particular event a shot as the marketing materials that were sent to us were terrific and sounded really positive about this 'established event'. Turns out the the fall fair in this community was indeed well established, but the show was not. It was a first year event and thankfully, for our egos, we were not the only seasoned craftspeople that attended. There were many others with as much, if not many more years of experience in the crafts industry. They were not amused at this turn of phraseology as well.

The lesson here is that if you have not attended the event yourself in the past, or have not heard of the event before, ASK questions, lots of questions. Do not depend on every promoter to be brutally honest in saying it a first year event in the promotional paperwork if they can find a way to word it otherwise.

I don't like picking on first year events, even the best shows had to have a first year, but a new show in the hands of less than aggressive promoters will almost always fall flat.

The fall, or autumn season, is not all that active for craft show in this region so when there is one, there are a lot of us that are willing to go. We know that fall is an in between time of year, tourism has slowed and the Christmas spirit isn't quite upon us yet. Sales can fall or drop off this time of year, so for those of us who are trying to keep business up and are working full time, we are willing to consider new opportunities to fill in the fall calendar.

There are obviously those of us who will fall for a good line when we hear one. Since there is a fool born every minute, there is a lot of us that will get got by someone at some point in time. It's not a good feeling to know that you have fallen for a good pitch that has little substance regardless of what it is that you fell for.

To get to the point for those of you who book shows is that you do need to know your promoter.

Ask you colleagues what they know about them, if they have any experience with them as they can tell about the quality of their jury system, the crafters that they attract and the leniency that they permit in regards to show booths. Some promoters say they jury and then permit obvious commercial resale enterprises, ask for pipe and drape and never enforce it so that you can't really tell where one booth stops and another begins.

Ask the promoter about the show, how long have they been running it, how many years has the event been operating as a volunteer board for a community event may have been organizing it for the past number of years, has the "door" or attendance been rising or falling and how many have attended the event, you want to ask if this is the maximum number ever or if it is last year's numbers. That is another line that we are sometimes given as show attendance might have peaked eight years ago and has been in steady decline ever since.

You want to ask about the scope, type and frequency of advertising. You want to know who they are targeting with their ads and how far afield they are advertising. If you paint fine art and the ads aren't running in places where the purchasers of your type of work might see them, then it likely isn't going to work for you.

You should know if they are familiar with the area, both in terms of demographics and supporting businesses that you will need to use, whether a restaurant or hotel or stationary store. They should also be able to tell you something as seemingly unimportant as whether or not this is a pay-week for the majority of the industries, businesses or institutions in the area. We all know that a show that is not on a pay-week can be a poorer show than one that is.

They are all things, that because this show provided ample social time for all the exhibitors, that we were all able to remind ourselves of once again.

And sometimes there is a promoter with a consistent reputation. As an artisan it is your job to find out what it is before you book.

You never want to be in the shoes of the gentleman who remarked, "I told my wife last year that that was the last show that we would ever do by these people, and stupidly we're here. This time I told her to just shoot me if I ever booked another one of theirs so that she could put me out of my misery sooner..."

Thankfully it's Monday,
Cynthia

Good news after taking a plunge

Like many folks, I like good news, especially when it is a good surprise too.

We received a call from a colleague in the Nova Scotia Designer Crafts Council and of the Metal Arts Guild on Sunday evening. My initial reaction to someone calling is often "what did I do now?" as compared to "what did I do right?" and I usually do not hesitate to ask.

It turns out that what we did right was submit a piece to an upcoming gallery exhibition called The New Cartography of Craft at the Mary E. Black Gallery in Halifax, opening on October 25th. The jury passed and accepted the piece to the show. She was calling to tell us the good news.

What we really did right overall was be adventurous enough to stretch just a little bit, make an unusual piece that isn't really the norm for us, and get off our butts and toss it in the ring and risk the possible rejection of the item as not being 'suitable' for the exhibition. It's wonderful that "A Connected Necklace" is good enough. (I'll be able to post pictures of it after the gallery opening so be patient)

There were several things required in the call for entry for this piece, excellence, a relevance to theme both in regards to the idea of New Cartography, and for the Neocraft conference that this exhibit runs in conjunction with, a deadline, an artists' statement, and a return envelope. Some if the bits were easy to do, some took a bit of effort, and actually putting the postage on the envelope to send it took the most effort. The work paid off. This also met another of our goals for this year: participating in more than one group exhibition opportunities.

There are lots of opportunities out there for all of us in the arts/fine crafts field. Some are handed to us when we are approached by a store owner who is genuinely interested in carrying our work, some come to us through our affiliations with various arts/crafts groups that we can join, and others are posted in the backs of magazines or on online forums. Sometimes we have to dig for the opportunities. Sometimes we have to dig within ourselves to find the inspiration and the nerve to move on the opportunity and that can be the hardest dig of all.

Other good news from the past week includes having an image of one of our pendants included on the Fredericton Arts Alliance Art Trek poster, coming up on the 13th & 14th of October; and our colleague from Sunday evening's call also told us that "it would be very worthwhile" (that's code for you may have won something but I can't tell you what) to come to the opening of the Metal Arts Guild annual exhibit and competition at the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia in Halifax on the 2nd of October.

As an artist/fine crafts person who is working to build a positive reputation and identity in metal and stone, I have to tell you that it involves a lot of risks. It would be very easy to sit at the benches and work away making things all day, every day and to never leave that space and face the 'real' world. The real world involves everyday issues of marketing and commerce, and inevitably that means some form of judgement, whether it is someone making a decision to purchase a piece of work, a gallery prospect deciding if the work is the "right fit" for their clientele, a juror deciding if your images of your work or your actual work itself is "good enough" for the show or exhibit... Every time we put ourselves or our work out there we are at risk of a judgement.

I have been finding that learning to live with and coming to love the risk makes the time that I spend making my jewelry far more valuable than it would be otherwise. It's one thing to make it, and to do it well, but it is so much more rewarding to know that I am not the only person enjoying it.

There is joy in sharing,

Cynthia

Wow - The Hip in Concert

As a post concert wrap-up, I have to tell that that was a fun evening. Like everything in Fredericton it started late 8:15 vs 8 and was opened by the Sadies a fun foursome in great suits with a funky heavy rock/country kind of twinge.

After a 15 minute break to clean up the stage at 9, The Tragically Hip took over and rocked the AUC. As always, Gord was front and center showing off.

The draft beer flowed freely at $5 a cup and sweet scent of aromatic and illegal herbs wafted through our seating section. David, who sports a haircut, that I refer to as a cop-cut, since he uses the same barber shop downtown that has been trimming Freddie's finest for decades, managed to scare the pot-smoking children in our section right out of the section. They lit-up and then took a look at him looking down his nose at them and promptly left the scene, only 10 minutes into The Hip's onstage act. Go-figure.... & I wonder where they hid.

The interesting thing about a group that has been recording and performing for 20 years is that they do span multiple generations. I started listening to them in university just after the release of their first recording. There were parents with their teenage children, parents without their children, moms & dads obviously expecting children in the near future, and the usual group of parent-less high school and university kids. The Hip play a good assortment of old and new songs and you can tell when people first 'discovered' The Hip in their lives by the songs they do and don't know the lyrics of. It was funny watching some of the younger folks not be able to identify the music and it was funny to look at us older folks and realize that because we did, we are older than we once were even if we don't like to admit it or even feel it most days.

And yes, I don't regret going a bit. I won't miss the ticket money later this month. I would have missed going much more.

The lesson of this is that we can't give up every pleasure or opportunity that presents itself even if it seems to be an illogical choice to take advantage of it. We may feel too old or too broke or too some other damned excuse to do it, but if we don't, what then?

Keep asking the "what then?" question when something seems illogical and see what happens. Ask about the regret if you decide in favor of the logical choice. If you will honestly feel no regret and you feel that passing up the opportunity is a sound choice then do it but otherwise, go with your heart and go dance on the edge.

We did last night and I wouldn't trade that for anything now.

Cheers,
Cynthia

I'm a Whiner

I'm back to whine some more about my pathetic life.

Just reading that sentence makes my adult self laugh. My reality hits me square between the eyes that it is of my own making and the good and the bad have been invited into by me.

Also, the concept of our inner egos is again confirmed. That we each have a responsible adult ego, a nurturing inner parent ego and the inner child ego, and the child is whining bad today.

And yes, we are responsible for our situations - 100%!

What brings on this slight bemusement is the fact that months ago we knew that The Tragically Hip, one of my favorite bands, will be playing a concert just minutes away from home tonight. And months ago the tickets went on sale and months ago we put off buying tickets and months ago we made some decisions about the business that would substantially change the cash flow situation for the summer. And through the past few months we have maintained a positive outlook that things will get better, they have, but here we are now with no tickets, no way to really justify buying two of the few remaining tickets at the box office either. And remember that I said "better" and not "great".

I mean I could justify it in a 'we deserve this' type of move, but I can't come up with a real reason why we really deserve it.

The problem with responsibility and logic is that they can override the emotional appeal for FUN and it's my fun-loving child self that is whining at my responsible adult self. The usual litany of "it's not fair" and "it's all ..... fault", even though I can not come up with anyone to blame for this, has started in my head and I don't like it. My nurturing adult self now has the job of soothing the inner whiner.

As an aspiring artist (doesn't that sound important) my inner child gets to play a lot. It is who draws the designs and puts colours together and is always trying new things at the bench. My adult self gets shelved for a few productive hours until it is time to do paperwork and dole out rewards for good behavior. It's just that those rewards had better be cheap and $48.00/seat tickets aren't it this month, not with business cards and graphics for the booth on order and hotel fees for the show coming up on the 21st.

Now try explaining that to a disappointed child who has been hoping since April that just maybe, this time, they can go see their favorite band.

Now imagine trying to take this same child and trying to get it to co-operate and go colour in it's colouring book.

Now you know who an artist is when they are not happy with what is going on around them.

And since the child is already whining, I might just as well deal with it and let it whine and go do some responsible mundane adult stuff until it calms down.

In the hopes that you are better at soothing your inner child than I am, have a great day,
Cynthia

The creative adult is the child who has survived. - Ursula K. LeGuin

P.S. Husbands are a funny thing. They call and ask your advice and then still go and do the total opposite. He bought the tickets today.

Crap Happens

I have a short fuse when it comes to personal failure - I mean my personal failures for whatever reason - I have no problem when other people fail, I am understanding and forgiving, often quipping that 'crap happens' and letting them off the hook for any subsequent problems. Not so for myself. I still expect perfection.

Today's little failure has to do with the digital camera that I have used successfully for well over a year. It came with a 128mb card and we bought a 1gb card for it this summer. It works well on the 1gb card, but the USB card reader that came with it doesn't. I finally figured out why a few minutes ago, it only reads up to 512 "DOH!". I mean really, if the camera works well with the card, why wouldn't the reader? It's a fairly normal assumption I figure, except that on page 106 in a 119 page manual, there it is in small print...

We do have a laptop that will accommodate the 1gb card but that means that the laptop has to be here and not at the office with David to make this $50.00 piece of technology useful. And since patience is not one of my stronger points, I throw little fits like I did this morning. I tried the reader in both desktops, found a mini-USB cable and discovered that not all mini-USB cables are the same.... threw a fit.

I discovered, once again, that when something that is supposed to be simple becomes complicated for no apparent reason that I can't stand it. I have no patience with it or myself for not being able to figure why this seemingly simple thing has become so difficult so I go off on an "ain't I stupid crying jag" that would be downright embarrassing if anyone were ever to see it. I am also pretty certain that I am not the only person in the world who 'over-reacts' to small failures though.

The thought is this, why do we make such a huge deal out it? Why do we carry-on as though a solution to the issue is near impossible and that it is near fatal to our daily existence? Why do we allow these little failures to overshadow so many of our other daily successes?

I did succeed in taking the required photographs in a timely manner. The photographs look good for having been quick point & shoot. The only real failure here was in not finding the small print on page 106 of 119 pages as this 'problem' has only occurred once before and we never bothered to investigate the why.

This failure has derailed most of my morning, either in trying to find a solution, trying two desktop machines and hunting for cables and failing that, reading the book.... (now I know that you are giggling over that and that is OK, I'm starting to giggle about it too).

The point is that most of us seem to react far more to our failures than to any of our successes. We discount all the times that we have done well at something and dwell in the moments where we didn't achieve what we wanted. We forget that just being to get up and go to work can be considered a success, that getting there safely is another, that getting through the meeting with the boss without referring to them as a PHB (Re: Scott Adams' Dilbert) to their face is another, that taking time with the kids is another, that being able to put food on the supper table is another, that... you get the picture.

We need to remember that all of the good little things that happen are our successes and part of our story. We are not comprised solely of failures and we should all be glad of it. We are so much more.

So now that I am over my fit, and have read page 106 of the instruction book, I can understand why we would not be able to figure this out intuitively. I am glad that the pictures look good on the camera's LCD screen and I know that sometime tonight after 8PM we will have time to get them off the camera and that the email that needs the pics will get sent. I know that the friend, for whom I am doing this favor of taking pics and sending an email for them will understand. I know that I have also just forgiven myself for this failure and will be trying to remember that it is not what defines me.

Now I'm off to count my successes for the day,
Cynthia

Way too long - keep blogging

It has been awhile since I have written. The reason is that I figured that I could work more efficiently if I was not 'distracted' by the computer. The experiment didn't work well.

The interesting thing about blogging is that it is akin to journaling, only in public. The benefits of journaling (just search that word string and sites like this will pop: http://www.appleseeds.org/100_Journaling.htm ) have been well documented, the benefits of blogging less so, or at least there are some differences in the nature of the media being more directed to business uses rather than personal but one thing that they do share is that some blogs users will indicate that writing the blog "helps to focus the mind".

Now how was that for a run-on sentence?

The joy of this as a medium for myself is not just that I have the potential of communicating with an accidental audience, as some of us still tend to randomly access blogs that may be of interest, who may share similar interests at the moment of reading. The joy is that sometimes when reading a blog I am delighted to realize that I am not alone in my experiences anymore, that someone else has overcome a similar circumstance, reveled in a like moment of excitement, or shuddered at a similar fear of impending disaster. For those of us who work from home, or in this case, a studio/shop across the drive from home, or who often work or live in isolation, this contact with someone else through a blog page is heart-warming whether they know it or not. So to answer the question, keep writing, keep blogging, you are communicating and touching someone else's life in a meaningful way, even if only for one moment in one post.

Back to the experiment for a moment: Not writing every few days does not help clear my mind, it does not help me effectively monitor my activities, it does not allow for a clear objective in my short-term plans, it does not help construct and analyse my 'to-do' list, nor does it allow my mind to rest.

The reality of the situation is that if something works for you - do it, don't deny it.

As promised weeks ago, here's pics of some new items:

A Swarovski Lavender Gem and sterling silver neck piece

and a hematite cabochon and bead neck piece

If you happen to be in the Fredericton area this weekend the New Brunswick Crafts Council show starts Friday at noon and you can see these lovelies in person. For updates on what is happening and where to find us check here http://www.mboot.net/WheretoFindUs.html.

Cheers,

Cynthia

Getting Caught Up

We're back. Been out running the roads for the past while.

We had the pleasure of doing a small craft show in Windsor, Nova Scotia last weekend. Knocked their socks off, meet some great folks, and made a couple of really good contacts on the jewelry side of things. Stayed with my great-aunt and spent a bit of time touring the back-roads and finding spots where they dead-end on the Bay of Fundy. That makes rock-hounding very enjoyable. Park, walk to the beach and sit on the pebble-strewn beach, dig through the pebbles for little gems of stone and let the tide come in around us. Can't beat it. A great mini, 5 day, working vacation.

Yesterday we were up-river in Woodstock for a small art-show. Beautiful weather to sit by the bank of the Meduxnekeg River.

The benefit of doing the smaller venues is that we are able to fine-tune the display. I am just now (after years) getting a better feel for how much stuff on display is too much stuff. I have to thin out some of the display boards before the show in Fredericton and this is after having already culled the displays earlier this summer.

I spent this morning getting caught up on some of the book-keeping and I have gotten caught in figuring out the next round of deadlines. To coincide with the New Brunswick Crafts Council show in Fredericton (31 Aug - 2 September) there are 2 exhibition submissions to finish and mail-out. I'm running out of time, but I have always been good at coming with stuff at the last minute. Being able to function under pressure has its benefits.

Last week after getting back I got caught up in finishing a couple of pieces that I left on the bench. They look very cool so I will photograph and post them.

On the home front, the new wood shed is half-finished, just have to pick up some more materials. Got the kid out for back-to-school clothes on Saturday. She's not a shop till you drop person so it's a bit challenging for those of us that are to accommodate the short attention span for shopping. Had to start early too because she is off on a few more road trips with family & friends.

The unfortunate thing about this particular post is that it really doesn't have a point except that I could say that sometimes taking a mini-vacation is all that is necessary in order to restore one's humour and positive sensibilities. Hope that you take one if you need it too.

Cheers.

Got the Blues

The last few days have been different. I have felt a certain lack of ambition and am decidedly lackluster in my efforts.

It is not a comfortable place to be even though I have been getting a few pieces made at the bench.

Some people would tell me that I have a case of the blues or that I am wallowing in self-pity. The problem with this particular state is that I really am feeling nothing except frustration with feeling so little.

I am looking for a reason for this melancholy. I want it to be a real reason not just something that I can construe as an excuse.

Having done a fair bit of reading about artists, past & present, and their temperaments, I have learned that many of them suffer from melancholy moods, if not other more serious psychiatric illnesses. They also never seemed to need a reason for their mood or state of mind, it was a part of being.

Ironically, the thought that crosses my mind with that, is perhaps I just don't always like the state of being. Wry humour at work. And also with that thought comes the realization that I haven't had a lot to laugh about lately and that more than anything, I need some social time. I need to get out my studio and out my own head.

Being in the studio is one thing but being in a decent frame of mind to get some work done in an enjoyable fashion is another. A few days away to visit an aunt, do a one day show and spend some time away can hardly come soon enough now.

Just the thought of a change lightens my mood a bit.

Cheers till later,
Cynthia

It's Application Season Again

I hate application season!

...and I totally love it too, because it is exciting to try to write something that sells yourself to a jury without setting off their BS sensors.

The deadline for the next big show that we regularly apply for is August 13 and since there is always a lot of competition in the jewelry catagory the pictures have to be great (not just good or ok but great) and the text that accompanies each application has to be truthful and interesting and compelling.

That can be a challenge when sometimes the most interesting thing that pops to mind when asked to say something interesting about myself is "I make jewelry". Whoopee, & so what, so do a lot of other folks and just what is it that makes you so special?

...and that is the part that I hate.

Fortunately the process has changed a bit for this year, it is simpler. They no longer want a CV, a seperate bio, an artist's statement, and press coverage to go with the step-by-step how do you do your thing documents. This will save me a lot of paper, but not as much as it will some others I am sure.

This year they want a product price list with step-by step description of the process and to tell them who else in involved in the creation and how. To get cheeky, I wonder if I should give credit to a supreme being for making the pretty rock that we use? And they want a Biography where we tell them about our education and training and where we have shown & sold our work and then they still want to know about us. Isn't knowing all the rest of it enough? Do they really need to know that I own 2 cats, am occasionally neurotic, a bit paranoid and periodically bounce between a need for immense social contact and the desire to be left alone to 'concentrate' for hours on end? And that my partner borders on manic bursts of energy that propell him through projects that last for 48 hours straight? Or do they just want to know why we make art?

I don't know because sometimes I get caught up in trying to figure out what I am really being asked for.

The problem with artist statements and biographies is that some of the ones I have read are TMI!! Really too much information. I like to know the artist. I like to know what makes them make art, I get uncomfortable when I find out that they are in the middle of a huge family free-for-all because grandma left her diamonds to her other daughter-in-law, or that they paint real private-parts as an after hours kink, or that they collect toe-nail clippings...

So in taking the time to write this I have concluded that they really don't want to know the literal us, they want to the know the figurative us, the pretty part of us that makes one of a kind jewelry, they want to know the why behind the how.

And we are back to the Why question. Why do we do this? Excellence and the need to achieve. Guess I better go add that to the bio page.

Wishing myself luck with this application,

Cynthia

The Edge

I have a friend, we've been buddies for 20 years. I actually do have more than one but this is about one in particular who likes to live dangerously and I am so envious and admiring of him.

Somewhere, back in our distant past at university we met, ate a lot of pizza, shared some good books, laughs, a few beer, sad tales and some movies. I did the safe thing and found what I thought was a stable and employable guy and got married. He didn't; he went to grad school, went to Germany, wrote a book, got it published, got a PhD, and went on to teach at a rather specialized Canadian university and he still writes, gets published, travels to really interesting places and specializes in war zones. I got divorced and remarried and finally started on the road to being the person I want to become with the support and absolute devotion of my partner.

The failure of human nature is that we often make comparisons between ourselves and other persons that we admire and we often beat ourselves down in this futile exercise instead of doing what is necessary: make the comparison, draw from it the inspirational bits and realize that in order to live a fuller life that we must be active in it.

My buddy inspires me. It wasn't until I read his latest cover story in the great Canadian weekly news rag that I figured this out. I mean I got a lot from his last book, it was a great read but it didn't really spur me to any great A-HA moments and it's not like there was a great philosophical charge from the magazine article either. It's not like I am going to jump on plane and go rescue the indigenous population of a foreign land half a world away that has been in chaos for over 30 years but I am going to rescue myself. Let's just say that this idea finally 'clicked' with me.

To go along with recognizing that conservative decision making doesn't get me where I want to go I also add this. We are likely familiar with the old expression "charity begins at home", well, it's true. When we are willing to admit to ourselves that we are not 100% happy with our lot in life and we accept responsibility for it by recognizing the decisions that we have made that have placed us here or have continued to leave us here, then we are in essence recognizing that our "home" is in need of help. I know that my mind is a wonderful and creative tool and that I can use it to help myself be a better person, I just have to be brave enough to step outside of my comfort-zone and to do some things that are unusual for me. I have to give to myself too, not just to my family, or my friends, or forum associates, but to myself. I have to give myself permission to be brave, to try new things, to fail and to try again, all without comparison or judgement. That is the greatest of gift I can give to myself.

My buddy doesn't live a "safe" life. There is nothing terribly conservative about him. He is willing to put himself out there and take risks and it seems to pay off for him. What I realize in looking at him for inspiration is that if I want to achieve the level of recognition and success that I want, that I too have to stop making comfortable and safe decisions and to act more outrageously, to give a lot more of myself and really step out there on the edge. I have to become active in my own life and really own my actions.

My buddy revels in dancing hard on the edge. I know that for him, living away from it is more deadly to his spirit than all the weeks and months combined over the years spent in various war zones. I know that he is always alive in the moment and I know that it took a lot of time and effort on his part to get there too. I also know that it didn't happen because he made "safe" decisions that would protect him from failure.

Crawling to the edge and hanging on as I peer over it might be a good start but eventually standing and dancing on it is where I want to be too.

I'm ready to crawl, are you?

Cynthia

Slow Leaks

Life is full of them!

They are the small things from this morning's discovery of a small leak in the fish tank filter to the time that we spend doing useful but non-essential tasks and then there are the useless drains (a tale for another day).

The leak in the filter was capillary action and the fact that for some reason it was no longer straight - hence the capillary action of water seeping around the filter cover, down the outside of the bookcase (thankfully not into the bookcase), under the mop board and into the chimney closet, the low point beside the wall that the tank is near. This was an easy clean up really, but it still took time. Since the tank is the 14 year old's and she is "responsible" for the clean-up and for making sure that new filter sponges and charcoal inserts are here, and because she doesn't always, David had to pick up the filter inserts at the pet shop this morning while he was at the office. He took another hour out of his morning to drive them home & return to work. A slow leak in the time of his day.

Instead of writting earlier this morning, like I had planned, I replaced filter parts as darling daughter was already off with her grandparents for a few days. Another odd job, like spending time grooming the very easily knotted up 17 year old long hair cat that I have, which I already did a few minutes ago after finishing off with the fish tank, and have suffered the inevitable consequences of caring. A couple of bites and a scratch.

Somehow, these real slow water leaks are a real parrallel with slow time leaks. It is almost 11 now, and somehow, when I was figuring out my schedule for today, last night, I figured that I would be blogging by 9 and be done at 10, but...
Here I am with a clean floor, a clean closet, a clean fish tank, 2 loads of washed laundry drying on a clothesline on a lovely breezy sunny day, and a partially groomed cat. Not bad but not great either.

I have yet to get into the studio to get anything made, and I still have more unpacking from the studio move to finish too, but at least the studio is neat enough that I have space to put the rediscovered finds.

The point of this is, and the parrallel, is that leaks happen. We don't plan them, and we sometimes can't prevent them. The consequences of managing the leaks is that our time gets chewed up by them. If we didn't care enough to fix the leaks when first discovered we could find the almost all the water in the fish tank drained onto the floor and the fish, if still living, swimming in very shallow water. The slow leak could easlily become a lesson in crises management and I really prefer to avoid those lessons as they are really time consuming.

Given a choice, I'll deal with a slow leak anyday over a crises even though it can still put me behind schedule a little.

May all your leaks be slow,

Cynthia

Back to the "WHY"

WHY - why do people buy what we make, why do they buy anything that is not useful and a necessity of life for that matter?

The simple and so obvious answer is: because we can.

We do it because we want the feelings that doing it gives us. We want to be told we made a good choice. That our aquisition is impressive. That we look trendy or our stuff is fabulous. That is why we will be discriminate shoppers for dish soap and toilet paper too, because one brand is marketed as a more impressive or elite than another.

How does toilet paper compare to art, and fine crafts like our jewelry? It does because in order to sell it we have to market it, and that means building brand recognition and finding a way to make our work more desirable than someone else's.

I'm going to refer you to this article from Guerrilla Marketing: Why_People_Buy that passed over my desk awhile back. It does a good job of explaining the whys for a multitude of product types. As I read through it I realized that certain things applied to our jewelry and could certainly be used to help market our work by reaching a potential client's real reasons for making a jewelry purchase.

Comfort - we try to make really comfortable jewelry. Not too heavy. Not to small. Shape the items using appropriate mandrels so that neck pieces and bracelets and rings all sit well on a person. Which leads me to the concept of FUD (fear, uncertainty and doubt) which would be a good topic for another time.

Getting Compliments - We know that what we make is one-of-a-kind and that is attractive and we know from talking to many of our clients that they often get compliments on the jewelry they have chosen from us. They sometimes buy an item because they know it will get attention and they want that. This can increase their enjoyment of life, afterall, for a moment it makes them the center of it.

Owning a thing of beauty - Which is subjective and always in the eye of the beholder. When we see something beautiful we often admire it and sometimes it speaks to our soul enough that we have to own it.

Keeping up with or surpassing the Joneses - Yes, it's not just you that has them, we do too and so do most other people. There is always someone who sets the standard and sometimes we buy so that we can meet that same standard and sometimes we buy items that they haven't yet aquired, like work from an emerging artist, so that we can say: I saw it first.

Opulence - We sometimes buy items because they are rich in texture or appearance and we want that opulent experience in our lives.

Youthfullness - Who isn't bombarded with anti-aging ads and the idea that 50 is the new 40, etc? We sometimes make the puchase of an item because it may appear youthfull in nature and we want to wear that idea in the hopes that we now appear more youthfull for it.

Friendship & Love - A reason for giving the item as a gift. We may also be making the purchase because we feel a kinship with an artist too and we want to befriend them and show them support, and this visceral support is always appreciated along with compliments and praise.

Pain and Trouble Avoidance - If you don't buy her a nice gift because... you went fishing, golfing, watching football with your buds, went on a business trip, etc... well guys, you know the rest of the story and you are just trying to avoid a potentially painful situation.

Stylish and Trendy - This is also a form of pain avoidance as few of us like being unstylish and we do want our frineds to notice that we are in touch in with the trends if not setting them already.

Acceptance - This comes back to the idea of fitting in, being stylish and keeping up with the Joneses.

The Power of Attraction - We want to attract attention, and love and friendship and sometimes we purchase items with the sole purpose of garnering this attraction, even though it may not be something that would typically fit with our lifestyle or personality.

Emulation - We sometimes buy items because someone we admire has one just like it and we want to be just like them.

Superiority and Status - Surpassing the Joneses and setting the standard is why status symbols of wealth or success are sought.

Excitement - For some people there is a real thrill in making puchases and in owning new items. This is a form of excitment with entertainment value.

Impulse - I read somewhere that 90% of jewelry is an impulse buy as are a lot of other things we bring home. Perhaps for some, other than being in that moment and capturing it in an object there is no other reason to own it.

Popularity - We all like to be included and sometimes owning the "IN-Thing" will allow is to feel that inclusion in the "IN-Clique", and we all know that high school was painful as hell and none of us were in the IN-Crowd but the desire is still there and it still drives us, even just a little.

Individualism - I still think that this is the finest reason to own a really unique piece of jewelry, but a person really has to want to show the world that they are a wonderful and strong individual. Not everyone is prepared to do that and not everyone is willing to be assured that they are an individual even though everyone is.

A Legacy - Collectors of bodies of art leave legacies. It is human nature to want to leave some kind of impression behind of ourself, whether it is through our children, our life's work, written word, recorded song, art that we make or items of value that we collect.

The next step for me is to examine these reasons for purchasing more closely and to develop our new marketing material with the idea of answering the why, as well as to observe our clients in action and to affirm their why and let them know that our work does answer it.

In the meantime, think about how the whys of the article apply to your product and as well examine the real reason behind some of your more recent purchases. It can be very surprising and even a little scary.

Cheers,
Cynthia

PS: a quick update on other things - Summer show season is underway and the studio is still under some reconstruction but I can get some work done in there now. Currently cleaning and checking all our jewelry over again in preparation for the NB Crafts Council Show this coming weekend.

Making Progress

It is a great feeling to know that something is happening and it is better still when it is all good.
Kid 1 of 2 has graduated high school, and has already left for a good paying summer job. The paint & wallpaper job in our bedroom is all done. Looks great! Kid 2 of 2 is getting ready to leave for a trip this weekend with her Pathfinders group. We start our new market in St. Stephen on Friday and the long range forecast is promising sun - at least for the moment.
The new studio space is finally taking shape. The work benches are in and we have the lapidary gear in place. It is still a tight space but it looks like the space will flow OK. This is real progress to move into a space that is available and usable 12 months of the year. It is also good that this is a bit ahead of schedule as July looks like a busy month and we do a lot of stock to build for the Originals Show as well and a solo exhibit to plan for in December and a couple of group shows and competitions to build for this fall.
I know that I am impatient about getting the job done and that this produces some frustration for me - I like instant gratification - so jobs that take a few days or weeks drive me near crazy and inturn I drive David near crazy too but we are making progress.

Too much coffee

I had way too much coffee today. It’s past 4 am, I know that I have been awake for over 2hours. My mind is spinning with things I need to do and things that I could do nothing about. I decided that since meditation wasn’t working and breathing exercises had failed that the only solution was to get up and do something. Anything!

I decided to write and deal with the past and put it to bed so that I could really concentrate on the now.

The past 2-3 months have been a bit hectic and not because of the quantity of things on the schedule but because of my own lack of good planning and a few speed bumps in the road. The speed bumps are only problems because of lack of planning.

It’s almost mid-June now and if I go back three months that puts us in mid-March, which was looking pretty good except that we had a meeting with our leaseholder in mid-February that took it’s toll on my good nature. So I’ll start there with a smidgen of background.

We used to rent a working studio space and retail space from a local corporate entity. It was open to the public and situated near the entrance of a beautiful historical 1850’s style park. Lots of tourists in the area for the summer months and it looked like a good idea when we took up space 2 years previous. It didn’t quite measure up and there were various and sundry small issues that arose periodically because of the age of the building and because there are now 3 general managers for the same institution in as few years. This will inevitably cause a certain amount of loss of continuity in planning. It was this lack of continuity that became the thorn in my side in February.

Under a previous GM we were making move to increase our corporate identity in relation to the space, our “corporate” colour and signs. We really wanted to increase our visibility in the space as we felt that the tourists to the area were obviously missing us, especially when there were folks commenting that they couldn’t find us when we were talking to them later at some other event in some other part of the region. To cut this short, we feel that we essentially got told that our identity had to go, including our colour, and that we were in all effects competing with the gift shops run by the leaseholder which is the historical park next door. Their gift shops carry a lovely assortment of items purchased at larger wholesale trade shows and sport a wide selection of extremely affordable goods not made in North America, let alone Canada.

The good news of all this is that locally handcrafted goods can prove to be enough competition to be considered problematic to marketers of mass-manufactured and third world wage import products. Enough of a problem as to call you competition and enough that they would seriously discourage the building of your own marketing identity for your handcrafts.

After this February meeting I got very vitriolic. My husband, David, who is extremely patient with me, asked if we wanted to give notice at that time, but after investing a small fortune (in my mind) in the joint through rent already paid, new props bought for the place in January and being big on commitment and/or the flogging dead horses, I determined that I had the fortitude to last out another 135 day work week, or the summer season as the park delicately calls it.

My fortitude began to weaken during and after the open studio weekend at the end of March. It was a disaster. There were more visitors present at that event than ever before. One of the managers for the lease holding park decide that a craft fair in their building would be a good idea. After getting nailed as competition, they decide they want more of it, I have to wonder. Our visitor ratio was down, as were our sales for the weekend over the past 2 years. Not insurmountable by any stretch except that after the event we once again got told “We couldn’t find you” or “We had no idea you were there” by folks that we encountered at different business events and ironically at a seminar on marketing and promotion. This didn’t bode well.

The good news is that everything is still on schedule for this time of year. The big show applications had been mailed and I hadn’t missed a deadline for anything, so it all looked manageable from there.

April is the cruelest month. I missed a deadline for a group exhibit called “Achieving Beauty” at a metal arts gallery out west. The only thing of beauty that I had was my muse and I think that it went west. I totally botched my daily calendar and missed a business seminar too. I was getting a bit distracted by the “to do” list for the studio and the fact that the place is not heated in the off season and the weather was crappy and too cold to work in the place to redo the interior and get things tidied up to start the summer. So all I did was make some ordinary jewelry and muddle along until the end of the month when we got an email from the lease holder to indicate that there would be more changes, over and above what was discussed in February.

Being that I hate surprises but love change, I excitedly asked what it was. The answer was a 15% increase in rent because the brand new, just appointed GM wanted one. So in the excitement over this, another group exhibit opportunity got missed. Instead of dropping off the item that I made for it to the appropriate locale, I went to the leaseholder’s meeting with David, my very patient and extremely diplomatic husband (someone has to be and it’s rarely me) and the co-tenant of the building, a potter.

It didn’t go very well. There were a lot of issues discussed. There was little determined to be negotiation points and since we were told, “the lease has already expired, so we aren’t bound by past agreements” we took that as an indicator that we weren’t either. I hate numbers, but I went home after this and “crunched numbers”. I didn’t like the answer. I did it again. The answer was the same. It was grim, 15% at that place, with the drops in tourism that the area has had, the lack of visibility for the place… we were screwed.

We reached an executive decision later that evening, slept on it, I slept well that night. The decision still seemed sound the next morning, so we started packing our bags, boxes, and pick-up truck. We moved out, lock, stock and doorstep, since we built it. 4 days later we had stuff in the shed at home, things piled in the den, borrowed space at my mother’s work shop, and realized that we had no place to work from yet, except the same table in the den we had been using all winter, which was now buried. The potter came to the same conclusion I might add, and her mother bears the brunt of it too.

In the midst of this I missed another business seminar, a repeat session of the one I missed in April. I guess I was a little distracted.

The up side is that we have now saved a small fortune in rent and that gave us half of the money we needed to pay for the booth at the Originals show in Ottawa in December. Oh, yes, the good news is that just after we moved out of the rented space we got our contract for the show. It’s the first time doing it as we got wait-listed last year. The exciting part is that we get to go to our nation’s capitol for 2 weeks to a huge Christmas fine craft market and we currently have no working studio space except the table in the den. We also did a one-day show in Woodstock the day after we finished moving out, with the new booth set-up, and it went great. People loved our “corporate” colour. It was extremely noticeable and sales were super. It seems they could find us. They said the same thing in Nackawic at the beginning of June, which went well too.

May was blur. It was spent fretting over the possibilities of the meeting for the first week, moving the second, vegetating the third and doing housework and laundry that had been thoroughly ignored for the past one, catching up on paperwork and accounting stuff as well as writing a several page document to the GM of our former lease-holder detailing all of the ongoing issues with the premises and offering potential solutions to the same as well as explaining our decision. My parents taught me that you shouldn’t about the government unless you voted in the last election and you can’t complain for the sake of it, unless you are willing to offer a solution. It appears that it was appreciated; he sent a “Thank you” note.

By the end of May, the flurry of emails regarding the place had stopped, all the promotional work and web-links we had in place for it for 2007 had been cancelled, the phone disconnected, and a real sense of freedom had started to descend. The problem with the freedom is that I feel that I have not been using it wisely.
Fortunately, I thought, the business seminars for May had already been postponed to June. The problem with June is that it is June and we have a grade twelve student in the house that is graduating and going away for the summer. Guess what happens to his room when he leaves in another 2 weeks…

June is almost half over, but I have not missed any deadlines or meetings yet, including the board meeting for our chamber of commerce. Yes, I joined the board, and not because I feel like I can contribute a lot, but to warm a seat and drink free coffee and maybe get to the point that I have learned enough to actually be helpful and contribute to the community that gives to us.

We have gotten to the seminars, did the show in Nackawic, been to a visitation and subsequent funeral for David’s Uncle Bob, gotten tied up in grad stuff that spans 3 weekends and finally culminates in graduation on the 22nd, and went to a meeting for a community market in St. Stephen, so that I now have something to do every Friday that we are not away to a show from the 29th of June through mid-September. I also ended up repackaging every pair of earrings and every ‘cheap’ pendant that we have made because the card stock that I had made promoted the now former summer location. I just couldn’t imagine leaving the house again with this stuff and not having that 3-day job done, of printing, cutting, re-labeling and packing done. Especially since we have a contact in Nackawic who would like to carry the same in their store. I have to go see them this week – there’s still 3 days left – and get this started. I also have to finish up a couple of small custom orders.

I did remember to get our notice of intent to participate in the One-of-a-kind Showcase in November into the Nova Scotia Crafts Council before the deadline too.

In retrospect, I realize that it has been productive, busy and chaotic; that I am not as far behind as I thought earlier this morning. There has been progress and there is still a lot to do but I have to remember to look at the short term for a while instead of trying to get to far ahead of myself, which can be over-whelming.

Time to refocus on the immediate needs of the business and to take some constructive personal time too but after I get those images emailed to Heidi and the picture CD dropped off to Shasta and … I'm blaming this on the medium double from Tim's for the drive home from St. Stephen tonight.

WHY?

Why do I do this stuff?
Luann Udell asked why this past week in her blog and I now feel compelled to answer the question.

Sometimes we think that the obvious reason we do something is the potential for monetary gain, but I’ve already determined that money isn’t the real why, it’s a superficial why and besides, if that was the real reason for making art/jewelry then doing it is a really bad idea.

Other obvious answers are the ones about colour and fun; and it is colourful and it is fun and we do enjoy making it. This is still a truth but it is a shallow answer.

I frequently find myself asking why I do what I do, which is try to be an office manger, book-keeper and creative genius all in one and I frequently avoid answering the question. There is a truth in what Luann was saying; we are scared of our own reasons for doing some things.

We often try to make it sound like we are doing or art/craft for the benefit of others. I know that I am willing to tell you that we do it so that we can share the beauty of these stones, trapped in basaltic formations for millions of years, with the world. Isn’t that generous of us, but it’s not the real truth either.

Making art is not an altruistic activity. It is actually a very selfish act, which I think is why it is so hard to tell the real truth behind it.

The real truth is that I am not nearly as organized as an office manager needs to be, but I fake it real well and so long as you believe that I am capable, then there is no reason to replace me with a real one. I really don’t like bookwork, in fact I hate it but I do it because I am too cheap to hire it out. I do like making jewelry though, but not for money and not because I want to share it even though I like sharing and money.

No, the real reason I do this is selfish: I want to succeed.

I can hear you saying “Succeed, well duh, that’s a no-brainer! We all want to succeed.”

Yes, we are driven by our real needs and mine is wrapped up in the word “succeed”. Success is the word with as many meanings as there are people in the world. The real nature of success is as unique to me as I am as a person, which is why your definition is different from mine and as different from that of the CEO of a Fortune 500 as it is to a doctor, to a farmer, to a… I know you get the picture.

You can see that I am avoiding the “WHY” again already and went of on a little tangent. It is scary to have to tell the whole ugly, bare-naked truth.

I make jewelry because I want to prove that I am actually excellent at something. I don’t know what it will take for me to really believe that I am excellent or have achieved excellence. I don’t know how many awards I will need to win or what skills I will need to develop or how many top-notch shows I will need to be accepted to or how many compliments I will need to receive in order to believe that I am good enough at what I do to be considered excellent.

You are also starting to think that I am a few facets shy of a well-cut stone too… So let’s face-it, the truth is ugly, but the need for success is within each of us, and some deep-rooted childhood anxiety is likely what drives it.

As a child/teen/young adult I did a lot of things reasonably well but I never really worked at being excellent. I never went out of my way to strive for excellence. I have come to realize that for me, success equals excellence. Excellence can manifest itself in a lot of ways, awards, publication, money, various accolades, but it is a personal measure of my own insecurities. The more I deal with facing them, the less I have to do to be excellent.

Why do I make art jewelry? Because I want to be excellent. I want to tell the little voice inside of me that I am OK and actually have it shut up and believe it for good. I want to free myself of my own insecurities that keep me a wallflower and I do that by making bold jewelry that cannot possibly be worn by anyone who is looking to stay in the background and never get noticed. My day of success will be the day I wear my work without being scared of it and the attention it brings.

It’s a pretty selfish reason to make art but it’s the real reason. Besides, it’s colourful and fun to do, and I really like doing it and being able to show it to people and talk about the pretty rock and the techniques and I like becoming a more self-confident person who is becoming excellent.

Luann also asked why you should care. I guess I have to figure that out next.

Cheers,
Cynthia

A Rainbow for Trevor

This piece is a special one that I likely won't part company with. It is a memorial piece for an acquaintance who was killed this month in Halifax, NS. Trevor was a really friendly person with a great personality. He had a real gift for caring, lifting the spirit and entertaining. We only knew him from his job at a Halifax restaurant which we frequented whenever we were in town for shows. He was one of the reasons we kept going back. We will miss him too.

The tragedy of this story is that Trevor was one of three victims killed by a young man in need of mental health assistance. Two were gay men in Halifax, the third was a man in New York state. The murderer is a victim of schizophrenia and a victim of provincial health care policies.

This neck piece represents the rainbow, a symbol that Trevor sported openly, using a lab-grown ruby, garnet CZ, heliodor, simulated peridot and topaz and an amethyst CZ. Clear Czech crystals form the 'rain' that falls into the rainbow as well as being used in the chain. The setting was made using sterling silver.

There are more pictures of this piece here on our web.

Leafy Blue Thingy

As someone who often gets called an artist for the type of work that we do, we often end up thinking that we should be naming the jewelry. That is the hardest part of the design and crafting and obviously I'm not working that hard at coming up with a name for this.

The actual neck piece is has a front close with a clasp that is hidden by the tassels. The construction is copper with Czech glass beads. It started out as a simple project just to experiment with twisting beads onto wire and it evolved into a rather complex leaf like construction on one side and a double strand of beads on the other. The entire form is supported by 18 gauge copper so that there is little movement in the piece. The earrings are based on the tassel idea and have sterling ear wires. The bracelet was a throw together of leftovers just for the heck of it.

The neck piece and earrings are for sale on our web as a set and the bracelet will also be for sale as a separate item.

Cheers,
Cynthia

something new

Welcome to the blog for ...and now for something completely different... jewelry or MBoot Studio. We handcraft one of a kind jewelry items, often with sterling silver, karat gold, or even copper or other coloured wire. We cut and polish a lot of our stone, especially Bay of Fundy Agates and use these for our settings.