Well folks, there she is:
Whaddya think? and which photo do you like? You can click them for a detailed view.
This piece leaves me feeling a bit spent so I don’t really know where to start to write about it. It has been a seriously time and labor intensive piece and I have to say I’ve actually enjoyed the process.
Now the big question…price. Oh, and I have enough leftover links to make a nice bracelet, I think.
I’m loving the pace that my new work is taking. Since becoming the interim Director of Membership for the ISGB I have been playing catchup learning all of the systems and somehow ending up on a bunch of committees. Needless to say, I have had less time in the studio.
waiting for the electroform bath
To be fair, I’ve have also cut away studio time by taking up hot yoga three times a week. It was high time I found some balance, no pun intended.
I have taken my focus off of beads and bead shows. That doesn’t mean that I won’t have beads or do bead shows (although I’m down to two shows now) it just means I’m in fun mode. Making what I want, not worrying about if it will sell, but still having hopes that people will like the new work enough to purchase.
I am finding that I am really liking what I’m making and it’s taking less work. I mean, the work is in the pieces but it’s taking less brainpower, less struggle, less energy. In other words, it is going well and I am liking the process as well as the outcome. What more could I ask for? Oh yeah. Sales.
The way I need to do this now though is to not ask for sales. Not think about that and just know that that part will come when I’m ready. Or not. And that’s ok.
What I am liking the most at the moment is working on multiple projects simultaneously. I like that I get one part done then it has to dry, while another piece is hanging in the electro form solution, another is soaking up some ammonia for a patina and yet another project is starting in the kiln.
You would think that I’d feel more accomplishment sticking to one piece from start to finish but this feels so much more productive. Maybe that was what was lacking with just making glass beads. You start, you finish. Not much choice there. I suppose you could do finishing techniques but, nah.
So, that’s where I am and once again, just as I get going it’s time to leave the studio for a long weekend. I already can’t wait to get back and finish up some of these things!
I am working on something to enter into the ISGB Gathering exhibit in July 2013 called Awakening the Vision – Creative Discoveries. The guidelines: “Artists are asked to challenge themselves to rediscover their vision, play with new techniques, and explore unique ideas outside of their normal creative circle.”
This is an interesting thing for me because I know if I would sit down to make something totally new and different (without lots of time to let it percolate, like, say, years?) it would not be something that would be chosen for a show, that’s for sure.
Part of my ‘new’ challenge. Individual components for a ‘new’ type of piece using the micro-mosaic technique. These are the start of eyeballs.
It also brings up thoughts about those criteria…while trying something new is an awesome thing to encourage…how different from an old style should it be? It gives an example of trying a new color. But, is that really stretching it? Is that really challenging yourself? That answer is rhetorical and a personal one. Maybe using that silver glass that has been sitting on your shelf IS a challenge to you because you’re intimidated by the price and you can’t bring yourself to possibly waste it. In that regard, that challenge could be way greater than trying a whole new, foreign technique.
Using red lines instead of blue on a bead design I already make all the time isn’t really a challenge…it’s more of a detour to see what happens. Things like that can be worked out in a quick sample before committing to something complete. So I ask myself, am I changing the color to get into the exhibit or am I really taking the challenge and trying something new for me?
Eyeballs, liberated from the rod and ground flat on the back.
Take what I’ve been doing lately…micro mosaics. I’ve been doing them for about a year. In that time I have had to take breaks from it due to show inventory because my micro mosaic work wasn’t a fit for those shows. So, time put into the mosaics is probably more like 6 months. Is that still considered new or do I need to push something in out of that envelope to be considered new now? Are my color discoveries and technique tweaks along the way new? To me, yes but not new enough to be considered a challenge. It’s just part of the process of creating. Trying new things just to see.
Here you see the starts of something “new”. The dilemma I face is that word. New. I have had ideas that will make up this piece for years. Desires to create something using the techniques, convey the feel I want. So, in my head, it’s not new. Coming to fruition, is the new part.
While this is all a stream of consciousness I know that what I am doing is ‘new enough’. It’s not something you see everyday. It will be new to a lot of the people who see it. The others being you, my readers, who follow my process. I really don’t concern myself with all of the above however, the thoughts go through my head because I can’t help it. Anything I fret or worry about wouldn’t be on my blog…that’s just way to personal and revealing. Something to think about though… and maybe to stimulate thought elsewhere too.
So, are you trying something totally new for this exhibit entry?