Lynette Andreasen

These are a few of my favorite (handmade) things...

2012-01-13T11:10:00.000-07:00

I've been meaning to post this for a while. We got a TON of baby gifts before we had the baby, and though I loved and appreciated all of them, I wanted to post some of the handmade ones on here. Of course I went through a little nesting phase getting ready for the baby to come and had to make some stuff for her room (above). I've always wanted to learn how to sew so I made it a little project to make some scalloped bunting for her walls. I also did the little yarn wrapped letters of her name that hang over her crib. In my dream world, everything would be handmade...from her clothes to all of her toys to her furniture. But yeah...thats not reality. She does have some amazing handmade things from people I love though and I'd like to share a few of them with you. Some of these are gifts, and some are things we bought, but all are awesome in their handmade craftiness!

This gift was totally awesome and so special to me. The picture really doesn't do it justice at all, its so cool. My graduate school professor, Becky McDonah, made this baby spoon shaped like a shovel. It's sterling silver and copper and the coolest spoon you will ever see in your life!!

These awesome little bandsaw boxes were made by my friend Ellie, who I just happened to name my baby after. Check out her etsy shop here.

This crocheted blanket was made by my friend Allison and matches the colors we chose for the baby's room.

My grandma Hanson made this quilt for Ellie and it looks a lot like the quilt she made me when I was born. Its hand stitched and quilted with so much love you can feel it in the fabric:)

And this amazing quilt I dont even have words for. I LOVE love love love love it. My super talented and creative friend Debbie made it. I wish you could all see it and feel it in person. She used a mix of new and vintage fabrics and it is just so sweet.

She also made this darling banner for Ellie's room. It makes me happy every time I see it.This is me with Debbie and the gifts she made for us. Seriously, this is one talented lady and she is also an amazing mom. I want to be a mom like her.

I made this whale out of old jeans for Ellie for Christmas. The one pictured above is from the tutorial I followed here, and the one below is the one I actually made. Its pretty cool. Now I want to make a whole fleet of ocean creatures out of old blue jeans. Maybe this summer:)

Thats all for now!

Collecting Pulls

2012-01-09T09:21:00.002-07:00

I started collecting antique drawer pulls a couple of years ago. This is a small part of the collection, but these are all cast brass pieces. I'm planning on using them for some new work in the very near future...just wanted to give you a sneak peek before you see them made into new bling!

Year in Review

2012-01-05T07:57:00.001-07:00

2011 whizzed by in a blur and I really felt like I didn't accomplish much in my first year out of grad school. So, I decided to sit down and write out a list of my accomplishments, and when I did, it really surprised me how much I actually got done. Here is my 2011 year in review:

The biggest thing I did this year? I had a baby and survived to tell the tale:)

I celebrated 8 years of marriage.

I was published in 2 books: 500 silver jewelry designs, and Hiding Places:Memory in the Arts.

I participated in 7 exhibitions:

Contemporary craft exhibition at Mesa Art Center

Charmed at the Society for Contemporay Craft

Hiding places memory in the arts at the Kohler Art Center

Broche del noche at Equinox Gallery

Alchemy at Arrowmont

10x10 Benefit show at Mesa Art Center

Trunk show at snag

I taught a total of 18 classes!!!

I travelled to Seattle and Forks Washington.

I spent countless hours planning the 2012 SNAG conference (I am serving as a co-chair)

I did a BUNCH of home renovations (mostly while hugely pregnant).

I went dairy free for 4 months.

And, I bought a new car.

Thats pretty much the big stuff. Not such a dull year after all.

Spring Classes

2012-01-04T08:46:00.001-07:00

This semester I will be teaching a new round of classes at Mesa Art Center. Info here.

Marriage of Metals
Findings and Finishing Touches
Tips and Tricks in the Jewelry Studio
Soldering Techniques
Earrings
Pins and Brooches
Fabricated Chains
Filigree

I will also be teaching 2 classes down in Tucson at Pima Community College West Campus.
ART 170: Metalwork I Jewelry
ART 270: Metalwork II Jewelry
Sign up Here.

Holy smokes am I going to be a busy girl. Good thing I LOVE my job!

2nd Place

2012-01-03T13:51:00.004-07:00

Just wanted to share that my booth won 2nd place at the Mesa Arts Festival:) It was a great weekend, beautiful weather, lots of shoppers and my last big thing before Christmas. Great way to hit off my month long break from work:)
Thank you to all my friends, family and students that came out!

Oh, and I should mention that it was baby Ellie's first art fair. She was a great sport and charmed all my customers! My husband had this little onesie made especially for the weekend. So CUTE. Made by my friend Randi.

Mesa Arts Festival THIS WEEKEND!

2011-12-07T15:07:00.002-07:00

I am participating in the Mesa Arts Festival this weekend, please come by and check it out. See details below!

Mesa Arts Festival

When:: Saturday, December 10 - Sunday, December 11, 2011
Where:
Mesa Arts Center
Time:
10:00 a.m-5:00 p.m.

The 2011 Mesa Arts Festival is the premier place to find unique gifts for the holidays! The annual festival will feature original works of art for sale from local, regional and national artists in various mediums; live entertainment showcasing local and national talent on two stages; live artist demonstrations; a variety of children's activities and an array of culinary delights.

Kick off the holidays at Mesa Arts Center and experience this fun and exciting community event!

Click HERE to download complete Entertainment Schedule.

Click HERE to print complete Weekend Program.

For more information call 480-644-6627.

Event Admission and Parking are FREE!

La Broche Del Noche

2011-11-13T14:19:00.005-07:00

I made a new piece, I made a new piece! Sorry...its just been awhile since I've been productive in the studio:)

I am participating in the show, La Broche Del Noche at Equinox Gallery, coming up in December.
Curated by Jillian Palone, Gary Schott, and Laura Wood, this exhibition will feature one hundred jewelry artists from all over the nation who celebrate the brooch! This exhibition will be accessible online in addition to the Gallery.
http://www.alejandrosifuentes.com/
See pics of the brooch I made for the show below, as well as the show announcement.

If you are in the San Antonia area, be sure to attend the exhibition!

Website Down

2011-11-04T19:15:00.001-07:00

Just wanted to post and let you all know that my website is temporarily down. I am working on getting it back up and running as soon as possible.

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-31T20:20:00.004-07:00

Happy Halloween from the whole Happy Meal:)I feel like a real mom now! I made Halloween costumes:)
Now if I could just get some jewelry made too...

It's that time of year again!

2011-09-21T11:46:00.000-07:00

It's time for the annual 10x10 benefit show and sale at Mesa Art Center!

Here is the piece I made for the show. Its made from laser engraved poplar wood, paint, and features a detachable brooch in sterling silver, bronze, embroidery, and a freshwater pearl.
It can be yours for $100! Just come to the show, info below!

When:: Tuesday, October 4 - Monday, October 10, 2011
Where:: Mesa Contemporary Arts

Mesa Contemporary Arts' (MCA) is pleased to announce its Third Annual 10 x 10 Benefit Show & Sale, which features the work of more than 100 artists from Arizona and beyond. Participating artists are asked to create an original work (2-D or 3-D) of art in keeping with the 10 x 10" theme. The competed pieces will be on display at MCA from Oct 4-9 and sold at the reception on Oct 10. Each piece will be available for $100. First come, first pick! Doors open at 7pm sharp! All proceeds benefit MCA exhibitions and educational programs.

Reception & Sale: Monday, Oct 10, 2011, 7-9pm

- $10 per person at the door

- MCA Members (and one guest) get in free and 10% off their entire purchase*

- Sweet treats will be served
- Cash Bar

Custom Order

2011-09-18T21:13:00.004-07:00

Just wanted to post a picture of this custom order I just finished up for an etsy customer. She wanted a brooch made to match these earrings.I love how it turned out and think I may make more! Feels good to be making something...even if its just a little something! This whole being a new mom business is hard work! I feel like all I get done all day is feeding a baby. Oh, and speaking of the baby, here is a picture of little miss ellie at 8 weeks!

Fall Classes

2011-08-22T14:37:00.001-07:00

I've got another session of classes starting up next week! Sign up now!

Weekly Classes:
Introduction to Jewelry: Fabrication Basics
August 29th-December 12th, Mondays 9:30am-12:30pm

Forming Shaping and Embossing
Fridays, September 2 - October 7, 2011, 9:30am-12:30pm

Creative Entrapments/Cold Connections for Found Objects
Thursdays, September 1 - October 6, 2011, 1:30-4:30pm

Filigree
Fridays, October 14 - December 16, 2011, 9:30am-12:30pm

Hand Fabricated Chains
Thursdays, October 13 - December 15, 2011, 1:30-4:30pm

Weekend Workshops:

Acid Etching
Saturday, September 3 AND Saturday, September 10, 2011 , 9am-5pm

Marri age of Metals, Patterning and Inlay
Saturday, October 29 AND Saturday, December 3, 201, 9am-5pm

Holiday Ornaments with the Hydraulic Press
Saturday, November 12 OR Saturday, December 3, 9am-5pm

Ellie Juel

2011-08-17T17:06:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to announce the birth of my little girl, Ellie Juel Andreasen. Born 7/19 at 10:28 am. It's amazing how much my life has changed in the last couple of weeks. I love this little baby girl, and I probably kiss her at least 7000 times per day...just so you know:) Here are a few pictures just to make sure you get your daily dose of cute:)

Hiding Places: Memory in the Arts

2011-07-12T16:02:00.007-07:00

The "Hiding Places: Memory in the Arts" exhibition at the John Michael Kohler Art Center is now open! There is also a catalog of the exhibition which I am sure will be available for purchase soon.You can find me on pages 72 and 78. Click on the images to view larger.

SNAG - The Conference: Seattle 2011

2011-07-12T11:05:00.010-07:00

Attending the SNAG conference this year was really different for me from the other years I have attended. Since I am co-chairing the conference here in Phoenix next year, I went to this years conference with an entirely different perspective. Looking at everything from the angle of planning it made me see everything in a different light. I also spent a lot of time in meetings, so I missed out on some events I wanted to attend, and really missed out on socializing/networking in between sessions and such. I'm not saying it wasn't a great year, just different from my past experiences. In some ways it was a lot better. The first year I went to the conference I was totally overwhelmed. There were so many people, and so many big names. I felt so tiny, insignificant, and kept asking myself what on earth I was thinking attending such an event. Afterward though, I realized how important the experience had been, even if I was shy and didn't fully take advantage of all that was available. I knew I wanted to go back the next year, and I did. Each year I've attended I've gotten more out of the experience. Learned more, absorbed more, observed more, met more people, come out of my shell more, and its been wonderful. I fully believe that attending these conferences is important. It's important to know the other people working in this field, important to make friendships, important to see the work in the exhibitions in person, important to listen to the talks and expose myself to what is contemporary metalsmithing. I always leave the conferences feeling totally invigorated and ready to get back into the studio!

Anyway, this year was no different in that regard...it was a great experience. I just leave the conference every year wishing I had had time to experience a little more, do a little more, see a little more, talk a little more, etc. I guess that is why I keep going back!

The Seattle conference kicked off with the traditional pin swap. Everyone makes tons of pins to trade and then walks around trading and meeting people. I didn't make trade pins (major bummer, but I just didn't have time) but I did get to walk around handing out promotional magnets for next years conference here in Phoenix, so I met lots of people that way. It's always really fun to meet people that I am so familiar with online, but have never met in person. Strange almost, to know so much about someone without ever having met them...but I guess that is what the internet has done to us!

Anyway, the next day I listened to the speakers, Glenn Adamson, Lola Brooks, and Damian Skinner.
Lola Brooks (above) was amazing. Her talk, "Love and Other Indoor Sports" was one of my favorite presentations at the conference. Hilarious, well spoken, engaging, shocking, intelligent...I was in awe and hung on every word. The lady has some serious hoarding tendencies, but she knows it and I have to say, her collections were pretty incredible! Also, prior to the conference I was very familiar with her work, but had no idea really what the context was, so it was wonderful to hear her talk about the ideas behind the objects.

That night we went on the exhibition crawl and I walked until I could barely move! Being 9 months pregnant at the time of the conference (and not used to hills) I was huffing and puffing my way around downtown Seattle! But, I managed to make it to several of the exhibitions (unfortunately not all of them) and was not disappointed. The exhibition crawl for me is always one of the highlights of the conference. So much great work packed into such small spaces. I always go home dreaming about it...always wishing I had a photographic memory! There is never enough time to absorb it all.

On Saturday I attended the professional development seminar and saw speakers, Valeria Vallarta Siemelink, Masako Onodera, John Grade, and Miel Margarita Paredes.I have always liked Masakos work (above and below), but had never had the opportunity to hear her speak about it. I love getting to hear from the artist what their work is about, and about their studio practice. I especially enjoyed hearing about her material choices and her research into Urushi Lacquer.
John Grade (above and below) is an artists whose work I was not familiar with before the conference. The beauty of his images and his honest and open dialogue about how he goes about making the pieces and what influences him sucked me in right away. I am always totally in awe of these artists that undertake such huge projects that require dozens of people. My own world is a much tinier place! Also, the temporary nature of his work was really intriguing to me. I spend so much time focused on how to make my work last forever that making work to last only a short durations is a completely foreign idea to me.
Miel Margarita Paredes (below) is a metalsmith whose work I pretty much worship. That lady has some serious talent. And after listening to her speak (although it was already assumed) it was obvious that she has a killer work ethic as well. It was really interesting to hear her talk about how she has taken her metalsmithing skills with her into a career making steel armatures for an animation company. How cool is that? One of my dreams is to someday be involved with making a prop or costume accessory for a movie. Miels talk gave me a little hope that it may even be an achievable dream!
Saturday night was the exhibition in motion (below). I have to be honest here...usually this event is one I really like, but this year it was...weird. The whole idea was to combine jewelry/wearable metalwork with dancers who would sort of animate the work. Apparently the dancers never saw the work they would be performing with until the night of the exhibition (or at least that is what I heard, and judging from the performance I think it was true). The dance was all improvised, modern, I don't even know what to call it...other than strange. The work in the exhibition was great...I think I would have rather just seen it sitting on pedestals though. The music was weird, the dancing was even weirder, and it seemed to go on and on forever. The dancers were performing with several pieces all at once and it felt really chaotic. And, I'm pretty sure a couple of pieces that were supposed to be in the exhibition got completely forgotten and weren't performed with at all. I'm sure it appealed to some, but I have to say that this years exhibition in motion was not my thing.

Sunday was the last day of the conference. I listened to talks by Lori Talcott and Stacey Lee Webber (below).
Lori Talcott (below) was my other favorite presentation. She talked about her background and the fact that she is a 4th generation jeweler. 4th generation!! That's amazing! She talked about her influences, inspirations, and what motivates her personal work. She showed some wonderful images of historical and folk jewelry that still have not left my mind. She talked about different mourning rituals in different cultures and it got me thinking about how important research is to fuel our work. I would be willing to bet that she spends as much time researching historical work as she does making her own work. She talked about a mourning ritual in Papa New Guinea where the people wear 100 necklaces and remove one each day until their mourning period is over. Her talk left me feeling so motivated to get home and read, get in the studio, and then read some more! It was so interesting...I soaked up every bit and wanted more, more, more!
That afternoon was the trunk show, which turned out to be a huge success! I had little to no expectations. This was the first year they held the trunk show, so really there was no precident. I didn't have time to make new work, so I took a lot of older stuff to sell. I didn't imagine I would sell much since pretty much all the conference attendees are jewelers, but I ended up doing really well. I sold more in 2 hours than I normally do in a 2 day art fair. Crazy! And it was really cool because I got to see my work go to people I knew, or knew of...its so nice knowing that my jewelry was going to good homes!
The conference ended with the final night party. They held the "Passing of the Torch" ceremony where they passed the torch on to Tedd, Becky and I as the co-chairs of next years conference. Of course, we had to dress the theme (matching t-shirts, sunglasses, chili pepper necklaces, and cacti props) We are pretty excited about everything we have planned so far...SNAG 2011 was great, but SNAG 2012 is going to be one HOT conference!

Sightseeing in Washington

2011-07-05T10:00:00.006-07:00

So, I'm horribly behind in posting about the SNAG conference and my trip to Washington, but what else is new? I've been awful at blogging lately. Actually I'm behind on everything lately. This baby is sucking the life out of me...literally! She is due in two more weeks and I am hoping that I get some of my energy back then...but I know the next stage is extreme sleep deprivation, so you all will just have to stick it out with me! Sorry:/

Anyway, I went to Seattle a day early with some friends to do some sightseeing before the SNAG conference got started.We rented a car and drove through some really beautiful parts of Washington. We headed to the Olympic Peninsula and stopped at a beach along the way.As a desert girl not used to seeing big huge trees or logs, I was totally fascinated by all the wood on the beach!We also stopped and did a little nature walk through part of the Quinault Rain forest, which was amazing!

There was green everywhere!!I couldn't get over the furry trees. So weird!
This was a gorgeous lake somewhere along the way.And of course, we had to stop in Forks. HAD to.Its so strange to me when I go to places that get that much water. Phoenix averages about 8 inches of rain per year. Per YEAR. I'm such a desert girl!
Anyway, sightseeing was super fun and totally worth going a day early. I will post about the conference soon!

Trunk Show at the SNAG Conference in Seattle

2011-06-09T19:10:00.006-07:00

I had a great time at the SNAG conference in Seattle! The trunk show was a huge success, I'm so glad I participated! Here are a couple of pictures (sorry I didn't get better ones!) of the event. It was so crowded, it was awesome! Anyway, I did really well for a 2 hour show and found great homes for some of my favorite pieces of jewelry. I get so attached to things that it makes me really happy when my work goes to good homes!

I also have a lot of jewelry left over which I will be posting in my etsy shop sometime in the next week so keep an eye out! Thanks to all who supported me at the trunk show, the love is much appreciated!Oh, and more posts from my Seattle trip coming soon as well:)

Trunk Show In Seattle!

2011-05-22T20:12:00.003-07:00

So, I realize I've been terrible at updating this lately. And the reason for that is that I've been insanely busy...and that I have a ton of things to post! I just finished teaching for the session (I have the ENTIRE summer off) so I will have lots of time to redeem myself shortly and show you all what I have been up to. But, before I do that, I have to jet off to the SNAG conference in Seattle. While there I will be participating in the first ever SNAG trunk show. I hadn't actually intended on participating (because I knew I was too busy to make the inventory I would want to take) but someone had to drop out and I got asked to fill in. Soooo, I will be participating in the trunk show with some older pieces and a handful of new jewelry to sell. Lets hope I can make a ton of new work between now and Tuesday...(hahahaha).
I will try to post pics before I head out but I am not making any promises...

CS7

2011-04-13T17:37:00.004-07:00

I just participated in another EtsyMetal Charm Swap. These are the charms I made (sterling silver, copper, freshwater pearls, etched, oxidized, riveted, fabricated). They are two sided so these pics show both front and back.

I can't wait to get my charms from the other participants in the mail! There are some pretty awesome ones. Head on over to the Etsymetal Blog if you want a sneak peek!

Hiding Places: Holding Memory Exhibition at the John Michael Kohler Arts Center

2011-04-05T09:20:00.001-07:00

HidingPlaces 1 from John Michael on Vimeo.

I have work in an upcoming exhibition at the John Michael Kohler Arts Center. The exhibition is entitled, "Hiding Places" and is work by artists all dealing in ideas of memory. My work will be included in the "Holding Memory" portion of the exhibition. See the above video for a sneak peek of some of the work in the show.
If you happen to be in the Sheboygan area while the show is up, be sure to check it out!

John Michael Kohler Art Center
608 New York Avenue
Sheboygan, WI 53081
P: 920.458.6144

Here is the info from the JMKAC website:

HIDING PLACES: MEMORY IN THE ARTS

June - December 2011

Memory is embedded in everything around us—in our culture, beliefs, possessions, relationships—it is a central component of human nature. Memory’s reach can be lifelong or fleeting. We define ourselves through memory, yet it can deceive us when we are least prepared. We continually search for new and inventive ways to keep memory alive: creating, preserving, and sharing memories through Internet databases, oral and written accounts, and visual records. All of this is in an attempt to keep memory out of the mind’s deep hiding places—to master time, hang on to things we no longer possess, and share recollections we hold dear. Many fear losing their memory, while others long to forget.

Hiding Places will draw on this complex and fascinating topic, breaking new ground in cross pollinated programming and engaging limitless audiences. The memory project will serve as a foundation for hosting intergenerational exchange, fostering new thinking about the aging process, finding new ways to apprehend and approach the Autism spectrum, examining the formation of personal and shared memories, and much more.

Because memory is a broad and inclusive topic, it is divided into four thematic components: From Memory, Holding Memory, Forget Memory, and Shared Memory. The exhibition and accompanying book will delve deeply into each of the four areas. Artists involved in other programming areas—Performing Arts, Connecting Communities, and Education—will dovetail with the four components in various ways. The profusely illustrated book will include original writings by the exhibition’s curators and prominent scholars with expertise in savant syndrome, age and community, American culture, and art history.

FROM Memory

Artists featured in this section call on their capacity to remember to make their art. They record the world with uncanny precision. Some are endowed with so-called photographic memory, while others feel compelled to explore the depths of memory without the aid of this particular mental facility. They share an impulse to catalog objects, people, and ideas in a visual manner, effectively releasing these thoughts from the mind so they may exist as external memory banks.

HOLDING Memory

Intangible memories are captured in tangible objects in this section of the project. Objects have long been recognized as containers of memory, vessels that manifest the timeless importance of commemorating life.

FORGET Memory

Personally touched by the effects of memory loss, a number of artists confront the topic of dementia. In innovative and precedent-setting ways, they seek to maintain a connection with loved ones who no longer remember. This section of the exhibition features just two artists, both of whom will create expansive, site-specific, and multifaceted installations that mirror the complexities of the mind itself.

SHARED Memory

Each of us recalls events large and small with great clarity: a first movie at the theater; the championship game won or lost; or the precise moment of a national tragedy. Whether these events are experienced with family, community, amongst cultural groups, or as an entire nation, our personal memories become interwoven with those of others, creating a variegated but converging terrain of shared memory. This section of the exhibition explores this powerful, shifting, and emotional territory.

Lucem Ferre

2011-03-31T09:30:00.000-07:00

Just finished this new little blingy ring! Its made from sterling silver and an antique chandelier crystal. Measures about 3.5"x1"x.5". Thanks to my buddy Nathan for coming up with the title Lucem Ferre ‎which according to him means:

(Morning Star): the name of the morning appearance of venus (goddess of love), Also is the origin of name of Lucifer (showing the duality of such a cumbersome symbol of love). Also means 'light bearer' which is another way of saying chandelabre (candelbrum, candela etc.), WHICH is an origin of the word CHANDELIER!

He's such a smartypants.

500 Silver Jewelry Designs

2011-03-30T09:12:00.003-07:00

Got my copy of the new "500 Silver Jewelry Designs" book in the mail the other day! It's loaded with some pretty awesome jewelry so be sure to check it out! I am so excited to be a part of this collection of contemporary silver work, I can't even tell you!
My piece in the book is:

Did I Mention...

2011-03-19T13:17:00.003-07:00

That we found out we are having a girl?

Excited? Yes.
Scared? Absolutely:)
Here's a shot of my belly (almost 6 months pregnant!) at the Amococo Exhibit at Mesa Art Center. There's also a profile picture from an ultrasound we had done at 11 weeks (about 12 weeks ago).
The clock is ticking!!! Duedate is July 18th:)

EtsyMetal Charm Swap 6

2011-03-18T11:35:00.004-07:00

A few months ago I participated in another charm swap with a group I belong to called Etsymetal. The charms I made are pictured above. The charm swaps are so fun and I love getting the charms in the mail! I kept waiting to post this thinking I would take pictures, but I realized that is never going to happen. So, I stole pics from other etsymetal members. Enjoy!Image from Victoria Takahashi aka experimetalAbove and below images are from Nina Gibson of NinaGibsonDesigns.You can get your very own bracelet of all the charms in this swap here.

Filigree

2011-03-16T22:04:00.004-07:00

I just finished teaching an 8 week Filigree class at Mesa Art Center. Part of the fun of teaching is getting to make samples and play with techniques myself. Here are a few images of some samples I made to prepare for my class. I'm slowly listing these pieces in my etsy shop.

See the work my students created here.

LovetoKnow Jewelry Interview

2011-03-02T09:14:00.002-07:00

I was recently interviewed by Adrienne Warber of LovetoKnow about my personal history, my work and process. If you are interested in reading the full interview, check it out here.

Want

2011-02-12T17:07:00.005-07:00

All the charms in the Charmed Exhibition have been posted on the Society for Contemporary Crafts website. Make sure to check it out, you can view all the charms and shop online!

Oh, and if anybody out there wants to buy me a present, here are my favorites:
"Start Something" Charms by Becky McDonah'Iron-Clad, Polka-Dot, Heart-Charms by Tedd McDonah

Fin Charm by Angela Bubash
Cysts and Symmetries Charm by Vina Rust
Her Charming Smile Charm by Margaux Lange
Cast Crystals Charm by Sarah West

A few more classes this spring...

2011-02-07T16:17:00.004-07:00

I'll be teaching a few more classes at phoenix center for the arts this spring, click on each one for details. Don't wait to register, these classes fill fast!
Findings and Finishing Touches
Marriage of Metals and Solder Inlay
Forming, Shaping, and Embossing (working with the hydraulic press)
Creative Entrapments

Charmed 2011

2011-02-02T22:04:00.005-07:00

Finally finished my charms today for the Charmed Exhibition at the Society for Contemporary Craft in Pittsburgh. The show opens Feb 10th, so if you are in the area be sure to check it out. If not, they will be listing all the charms online so you can view and shop from wherever you may be. More info coming soon, for now, here are my charms!

Charms all made with sterling silver, fine silver, antique chandelier crystals, pearls, and each about an inch in size.

The group, some viewed from the front, some from the back.

Charm #1 front above, back below.
Charm #2, front above, back below.

Charm #3, front above, back 2 below.

Charm #4, front 2 above, and back 2 below

Charm #5, front 2 above, back below

Field Work

2011-01-25T19:43:00.003-07:00

Go see my friend Ellie's show. Field Work: A Traveling Exhibition at the Harry Wood Gallery from
January 24th – February 4th 2011!
Master of Fine Arts candidate Ellie Richards presents her Thesis Project as a whimsical campsite filled with curious objects, material, and structures. The exhibit is made up of knock down furniture, stackable boxes and take apart structures all of which will travel in and out of the gallery on a 4x8 trailer – visit more than once to see the gallery in various states of construction!

Harry Wood Gallery
ASU Art Building
More Info: www.playbuildmake.blogspot.com

Event Image:
Campaign Table 1/10 - detail
18’x18’x3’

32nd Annual Mesa Contemporary Craft Exhibition

2011-01-20T16:47:00.002-07:00

DON'T MISS MESA CONTEMPORARY ARTS' OPENING RECEPTION!

Highlighting the finest in contemporary crafts from across the country, Mesa Contemporary Arts' Annual Contemporary Crafts exhibition has become a benchmark for innovation and quality. Representative of traditional craft mediums including ceramics, fibers, basketry, metals, wood, glass, jewelry, papermaking and book arts, this exhibition showcases 47 artworks by 37 artists, representing 18 states.

Friday, Jan 21, 2011 (6-8pm)
Free and Open to the Public!
- 6:30pm Artist Talk by Stephanie Trenchard
- Musical Entertainment by Tommy Eggleston Trio
Light Refreshments and Cash Bar- Light Refreshments and Cash Bar

Premiering Exhibitions:

32^nd Annual Contemporary Crafts
A national juried exhibition of all craft media
Jan 21-Mar 6

Memory is a Strange Bell--
Stephanie Trenchard
Narratives in Sand Cast Glass
Jan 21-Mar13

Mesa Contemporary Arts at Mesa Arts Center
One East Mesa, Downtown Mesa, Arizona
480-644-6567
MesaArtsCenter.com

500 Silver Jewelry Designs

2011-01-19T12:22:00.004-07:00

My work will be included in the upcoming Lark Publication, 500 Silver Jewelry Designs, available for pre-order now on Amazon.com. Check it out here. It should be out sometime this spring...I can't wait to see it!

Classes I'm Teaching this Spring

2011-01-03T12:22:00.003-07:00

In case you are interested in taking any of my classes this session, here is a list of what I am teaching (sign up asap, some classes start next week!):

At Mesa Art Center
Filigree
Introduction to Fabrication Basics, Beginning Jewelry
Hand Fabricated Chains
Sawing, Filing, Sanding, Finishing
Making Ornaments on the Hydraulic Press
Sawing and Piercing
Colorful Patinas on Metal
Low Tech Casting
Making Reticulation Silver
Creative Entrapments/Cold Connections

At Phoenix Art Center
Hand Fabricated Chains
Reticulation
Surface Textures

Surprise!

2011-01-01T22:50:00.003-07:00

This Year is Promising to Be Huge. Well...it will be huge at my house at least:)

Happy New Year Everyone!
(Oh, and in case you are wondering, the due date is July 18th)

American Craft

2010-12-22T18:03:00.004-07:00

In case you haven't seen it, I'm in the "Voices" section of the current (dec/jan) issue of American Craft Magazine. And I know I've been terrible about updating lately...I promise lots of posts are on the way!

Debuting a few pieces from my new production line, this weekend only!

2010-12-10T19:41:00.002-07:00

A while back I posted about a new production line I was developing to be released this fall. Well...my trip this summer kind of threw that off track and I wasn't able to release the new line on time. I am much closer to having the line complete now and hope to release it this spring. I decided to debut a select number of pieces from the new line at the art fair at mesa art center tomorrow. They won't be available in my etsy shop or anywhere else for a while yet, so if you want them, come to mesa art center this weekend! See details in post below.

Art Fair This Weekend!!!

2010-12-05T19:07:00.003-07:00

Come check out my booth this weekend at the Mesa Art Center Holiday Art Festival!

Look Mom! I'm on TV!!

2010-11-19T18:56:00.004-07:00

Ok, well not me exactly, but there was a few shots of my work!

Last Night, Thursday, Nov. 18, 2010 at 7 p.m, the Small Metals Big Ideas exhibition currently at Night Gallery was featured on PBS Channel 8, Arizona ArtBeat.

To watch the episode online, visit the Arizona Horizon Website here (skip ahead to minute 17:52 for the beginning of our section).

Two New Shows, Opening This FRIDAY

2010-11-04T07:28:00.001-07:00

I have work in two shows opening this Friday. Check out the details below!

Hope to see you all at the receptions!

Cutting Edge: The 2010 Annual Exhibition of Jewelry and Metals

November 5th-22nd, 2010
Phoenix Center For the Arts
1202 N Third Street, Phoenix, AZ
OPENING RECEPTION: Friday, Nov 5th, 6-8pm

(The necklaces I posted yesterday are in this show)
Small Metals Big Ideas
November 4th-28th, 2010

Night Gallery, Tempe Marketplace (Rio Salado and McClintock), Tempe, AZ

OPENING RECEPTION: Friday, Nov 5th, 6-9pm

Back in the Saddle (Its about time...)

2010-11-03T20:23:00.009-07:00

So...I'm ashamed to say that it has been more than 6 months since my thesis show and I am just now finally finishing some new pieces (I haven't made a single thing since my show besides teaching samples!!!). It really seems like my show was just yesterday, but when I count back the months its embarrassing! After my show it seemed all I could do to just make it to graduation...summer followed and I started teaching, and then I took my trip...and now its 6 months later! Eek. Well anyway, here are some new pieces I just finished up this week. It feels good to be back in the saddle!
You may or may not remember, but a few months back I scored this awesome lot of antique hardware on ebay. Well, these five necklaces I just finished are all made with these old antique wood drawer pulls. I sand off the old paint, inlay them with silver wire, make some pretty chains to hang them on and many many hours of labor later, here they are!"Worn" Series

sterling silver, found antique drawer pulls, fine silver inlay, pearls

Day of the Dead Festival Pictures

2010-11-02T09:50:00.000-07:00

The Dia De Los Muertos Festival at Mesa Art Center turned out to be a great success! Thanks to all who came and said hello!

Dia De Los Muertos Festival at Mesa Art Center

2010-10-30T00:21:00.006-07:00

Sorry for the last minute notice but there is a very exciting event going on at Mesa Art Center this weekend that you won't want to miss! I will be doing torch fired enamel demonstrations at the Dia De Los Muertos Festival. I got a bunch of copper skulls waterjet cut so that people can decorate their very own copper enamel sugar skulls! It should be really fun. See details below!

These are how the skulls came after the waterjet company cut them.
It was a very late night tonight sanding and filing them to prep them for enameling.A VERY late night.Anyway, come make your own enameled sugar skull! Details below...
When:Saturday, October 30 - Sunday, October 31, 2010 (I will only be there Saturday but the event is both days)
Where: Mesa Arts Center
Start time:Sat 10:00am / Sun 12:00pm
End time:5:00pm both days
Ticket Price:Free Festival

Join Mesa Arts Center for its fourth annual Dia de los Muertos Festival! Mesa Arts Center ignites in a celebration of departed loved ones in the traditional manner observed for centuries in towns across Mexico. The Mercado features vibrant colors, an assortment of traditional and contemporary merchandise, jewelry, Mexican arts & crafts and more from local artisans and vendors. Live entertainment, food, family and fun will be abundant! You won't want to miss this one-of-a-kind cultural tradition!

Press and Pictures: You Look Fabulous

2010-10-27T08:38:00.010-07:00

The "You Look Fabulous" show opening reception was a great success! Check out the video above and some shots of the opening night below (taken by photographer Josh White who did an amazing job!) And special thanks go out to my wonderful friends for modeling my necklaces for me!

If you haven't checked the show out yet there is still time, it comes down October 31st.
You Look Fabulous
Night Gallery
Tempe Marketplace at McClintock and Rio Salado
Hours: Tuesday–Sunday, 6–9 p.m.
Closed: Monday

Filigree Class

2010-10-23T21:11:00.005-07:00

This Thursday was the last week of the filigree class I was teaching at Phoenix Center for the Arts. I had a wonderful group of students this time around...we had so much fun in class! Here are just a few of the pieces they created...(the piece above is by Mona Nigohossian)
See the rest of the pieces here.
Roxie DeverRoxie DeverLinda NelsonLinda NelsonCheryl Brogdon

New Publication: Jewelry from found Objects

2010-10-22T07:31:00.003-07:00

Just wanted to let you all know that this book, Jewelry from Found Objects, contains a couple pieces of my work and is now available for preorder on Amazon.com. Check it out!

Going Presidential

2010-10-10T15:26:00.003-07:00

The Society of North American Goldsmiths is having a fundraiser!! The fundraiser is an auction of work donated by a prominent group of artists, all former and current presidents of SNAG. Check it out here. Bidding ends tomorrow at midnight!

10x10 Benefit Show and Sale at Mesa Art Center this Sunday!

2010-10-07T08:30:00.006-07:00

It's that time of year again! It's time for the Mesa Art Center 10x10 Benefit Show and Sale! I just barely finished my piece...whew! See details below.

When: Tuesday, October 5 - Sunday, October 10, 2010

Where: Mesa Contemporary Arts

Mesa Contemporary Arts' (MCA) is pleased to announce its Second Annual 10 x 10 Benefit Show & Sale, which will feature the work of over 100 artists from Arizona and beyond. Participating artists are asked to create an original work (2-D or 3-D) of art in keeping with the 10 x 10" theme. The competed pieces will be on display at MCA from Oct 5-10 and sold at the reception on Oct 10. Each piece will be available for $100. First come, first pick! Doors open at 2pm sharp! All proceeds benefit MCA exhibitions and educational programs.

Reception & Sale: 10-10-10 (Oct 10, 2010), 2-4:30pm

- $10 per person at the door

- MCA Members (and one guest) get in free and 10% off their entire purchase*

- Catering by Creative Hands of Mesa

- Cash Bar

Here are some progress shots of my piece. I decided to keep in the same theme that I used for my piece last year and have the 10x10 be a sort of display for a wearable piece of jewelry. I originally painted the canvas gray, but then it seemed too boring so I drew this pattern on and started painting again. It took me like 6 hours to paint the pattern on. I am SO not a painter!

Then I made these copper hands that double as hooks to hold a necklace.

They protrude just a little bit from the canvas to add some depth.

The necklace is three strands of individually knotted freshwater pearls and garnet teardrop shaped beads, tied on red silk.

I hope someone likes it enough to buy it!

Etsymetal Charm Swap 6

2010-10-06T08:05:00.007-07:00

I just finished some charms for the latest etsy metal charm swap! They are copper, silver, silk, pearls, and turquoise. Everyone that signed up for the swap makes 22 charms, and then we all get one of each. Its so much fun! I loved participating in the swap last time, so I had to get in on it again!

Here are some of the other etsy metal members charms...I cant wait to get them!

By Tuizui

By Rubygirl

By ReaganHayhurst

By NinaGibsonDesigns

By KathrynRiechert

By InbarBaraket

By FluxPlay

By HartleyStudio

By CreativeDexterity

You Look Fabulous

2010-10-01T23:44:00.003-07:00

I know I haven't posted about my trip to Japan yet...I will soon! There are just so many photos to go through (like thousands) and I've been super busy since I got back to the states! Japan posts coming soon.

Meanwhile, I have a show coming up that I want to share! I will be exhibiting my steel necklaces in:

"You Look Fabulous"
Sculpture, fantasy and fashion collide on the runway in the You Look Fabulous exhibition where functionality takes a side step to concept and dialogue. Metals, textiles, even objects found in the environment are used to create bizarre and unique art for the human body. Experience You Look Fabulous Oct. 7–31 at the Night Gallery. A fashion show (catwalk style!) opens the exhibition Oct. 8 at 7:15 p.m.

Where: Night Gallery, Tempe Marketplace, McClintock and Rio Salado, Tempe AZ
Exhibition: Oct. 7–31, 2010
Opening Reception: Oct. 7–8, 6–9 p.m.
Fashion show: Friday, Oct. 8, 7:15 p.m.
Night Gallery hours: 6–9 p.m., Tuesday–Sunday
More info here.

Food

2010-09-26T14:46:00.000-07:00

While on Guam we had some great food. This post is dedicated to the BEST of that food!

Our favorite places BY FAR were Meskla Uno and Meskla Dos. Both Meskla restaurants are owned by the "Outdoor Chef" (tv show chef on the food network). Meskla Dos was a really great burger place.

Here is my favorite meskla burger with bacon, fried egg, and ranch, with sweet potato fries!

Meskla Uno was a fancier restaurant that had a variety of what they called, "chamarro fusion" food. This dip above was a clam bake dip, with spinach, hearts of palm, cheeses and spinach. Sooo good!This amazing dish (above) was salmon cooked in a soft phyllo dough, stuffed with peppers, onions and mushrooms. It was served over a basil cream sauce that was to DIE for!

For dessert we had sweet chocolate rice creme brulee and deep fried cheesecake (Im still dreaming about it!)
Being on an island, also meant some great sushi. This pic above is the BEST spider roll I have EVER had! The restaurant I got it at was also cool because they had perfectly round ice cubes!

I also had way too many desserts at the hotel cafe. Red velvet cake and chocolate cupcakes make the best breakfast!
I fell in love with milk chocolate toffee covered macadamia nuts. I ate sooo many!!

I learned how to make "coconut candy" a popular chamorro dessert.

I need to figure out how to make this banana lumpia (deep fried banana). While we were on guam I could never get enough of this stuff!

The food on guam was great but its nice to be back home in my own kitchen! I brought back a chamorro cookbook so I can practice some island cooking. We'll see how it goes!

Mount Lam Lam

2010-09-26T13:01:00.003-07:00

One of the last things I did while on Guam was hike Mount Lam Lam (Lam Lam means lightning in Chamorro).

Mount Lam Lam can be considered the highest mountain in the world due to the fact that it rises from the nearby Mariana Trench (which is the deepest part of the ocean in the world). From the bottom of the trench to the top of Mount Lam Lam is the greatest change in elevation on earth in such a short distance.

Here is the view from the trail head.We made our way through high grasses and slippery mud...hiking in the jungle is fun!
Here are some views from the summit.We could see the entire island from the top!

One more trip...

2010-09-05T07:50:00.000-07:00

Today I leave to go to visit my friend Kazumi in Japan for a week. I won't be blogging while I'm in Japan, but when I get back to the states I will blog about the last days of my trip in Guam, and of course, all about Japan. Traveling to Japan has been a life long dream for me so I am so excited to have this amazing opportuniy, and so grateful to my friend Kazumi for hosting me.
Check back in a week or so to hear about the last week of my trip!

Stuff We Bought in the Philippines

2010-09-04T19:48:00.006-07:00

Here are pictures of some of the stuff we got in the Philippines. It was amazing how inexpensive everything was compared to the states...it actually made me feel really bad. But, we came home with some great gifts and souvenirs.
A little jewelry pouch made from embroidery and banana leaf fibers.

chains made from woven palm

a brightly colored beaded necklace

Hand carved ebony figurine (wearing jewelry)

coral and bone necklace

coral teardrop shaped beads

a large mabe pearl

a few strands of small freshwater pearls

some table linens, including place mats, tablecloth, and napkins

a really cute shirt with embroidered floral pattern

leather fish coin purse

handmade paper bead necklaces

silver filigree jewelry

handmade newspaper basket

hand carved ebony nativity set

7 Years

2010-09-04T16:47:00.003-07:00

I forgot to mention that my husband Scott and I celebrated our 7th wedding anniversary while we were in the Philippines. We were married August 30th, 2003. I am one lucky girl and I love this man! He makes me happy like nothing else! Its been an amazing 7 years and I know that our life together will just keep getting better and better.

The Philippines: Day 3 (Last Day)

2010-09-04T06:17:00.002-07:00

Our last day in the Philippines, we spent driving around the city of Manila and seeing some of the historical sites. We also got to see a lot of the city.

One of our stops was Fort Santiago, a Spanish fort within the walled city of Intramuros, built in 1571 when the Philippines was under Spanish control.This door isn't an original, but is in the original style, with very translucent shells instead of glass in the windows.Look how awesome this huge chain on the anchor is. The links are graduated so they get smaller in size towards the end of the chain.

Within the fort there was a shrine to the Our Lady of Guadalupe.

This is a memorial to the Philippine National Hero, Jose Rizal. Jose Rizal was an important figure and martyr in the Philippine Revolution, when the Philippines liberated itself from Spain.

This is the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial. It is the largest cemetery in the Pacific for soldiers killed during WWII and holds 17,206 graves, of which 36,282 are unknown for soldiers who were missing in action. It is so sad to see this many graves in one place and to know that it is only a fraction of the lives lost. As we have been traveling, I have realized more and more how grateful I am to be an American and at what a high cost the freedoms I enjoy have been paid.

This chapel at the memorial had a beautiful mosaic that was probably at least 25 feet tall.A view of Manila from the cemetery.

This is at Saint Augustin's Cathedral. It was closed so we didn't get to go in, but I was happy just to be able to see these doors. The cathedral was built in 1607, and these are the original doors. They are hand carved from Narra (local variety of mahogany) and are over 400 years old. They were beautiful.

This is inside the Manila Cathedral. Catholics sure do know how to build beautiful churches. I could look at the stained glass windows forever.This mosaic was beautiful. I wished I had been able to get closer for photos, but there were some women praying there and I didn't want to be disrespectful. I already felt bad taking pictures inside a church.
This carved wood cross was exquisite. There was a tiny relic in the center, but I don't know what of. I do know this cathedral houses some relics of St. Therese, but I'm not sure where or what they are.

I love all the stained glass windows, but I wish they had cheat sheets of the stories so I knew better what the images were depicting.

This mosaic was especially gorgeous. The gold of the tiles was really luminescent and seemed to glow.

These were the carved wood outer doors. I'm such a dork, but all I could think about when I saw these was what great examples of relief sculpture they would be for my three dimensional design students!
We packed a lot into this last day and had a great time. Overall, out trip to the Philippines was wonderful.
I do want to tell you about a couple of random, but funny stories from our trip.
Our driver was very catholic (80% of Filipinos are). He asked us a few times if we had children. We said "no, not yet." He asked why not. We just told him that we would soon. Well, when he dropped us off at the airport for our flight back to Guam, his last words to us were, "Well, you don't know, maybe you made a baby in the Philippines!"
I of course burst out laughing because I thought it was so funny, but he was dead serious and didn't even crack a smile. It was Ssooooo funny.
Another funny thing that happened with our driver was when he asked where we were from. We told him Arizona. He was silent. We said, "The USA".
"Oh" he said, "Where in USA?"
We replied, "Arizona".
Silence.
He asked, "Is that an island?"
We said, "Um...no, its surrounded by land. Its a desert. We have very little water."
He seemed unable to fathom the idea. "Well what do you eat?"
We told him that we didn't eat much fish, because we had no nearby ocean. He could not even understand. Unimaginable to him was the idea of no fish.
He still had no clue about Arizona. Then he asked, "What is Arizona's Baseball team? I like Baseball."
We told him the diamondbacks.
Then all of a sudden he knew something about Arizona. It was so funny.
He asked us how far it was from New York. We told him about 3 or 4 days driving. He seemed like he thought it impossible and I'm not sure he believed us. The idea of being able to drive that far was crazy to him. He had a hard time imagining life not on an island.
I too had a hard time imagining life in a place like the philippines. What would it be like to live in a place where you really could live off the land? Coconuts, pineapple, mango trees, banana trees and a bunch of other fruits I don't even know abound. They grow wild. You could just pick fruit whenever you want. What would that be like???
We enjoyed the conversation.

I loved our trip to the Philippines and will not soon forget our experiences there. It is nice however, to be back on American soil. There really is, no place like home (even if I'm still on Guam and not back in AZ yet).

Stay tuned to see what we brought home!

The Philippines: Day 2

2010-09-03T04:55:00.001-07:00

Our second day in the Philippines we decided to head out of the city and see some of the countryside. We booked a tour with avanchor tours to go to Taal Volcano, in the province of Batangas, near the town of Tagaytay.
Taal Volcano is actually the smallest volcano in the world, and is located inside a much larger and older volcano. Inside Taal Volcano is a lake, with an island in the middle. Taal Volcano is actually also an island on a lake. So, we went to an island on a lake, on an island on a lake, on an island in the ocean. Confused? So were we. These maps will help clarify. The map above shows southeast Asia on the left, and the Philippine Islands on the right.

This map (above) shows the Northern part of the Philippines (Luzon Island). You can see a large lake towards the middle of the map. That is Taal Lake.

This map (above) shows Taal Lake, with an island (Taal Volcano). The large lake is actually in the caldera of a much older and larger volcano. The island in the middle is Taal Volcano, which is the smallest volcano in the world, and one of the Philippines most active volcanoes. You can see a small lake in the center of the island, that is at the top of Taal Volcano. There is a tiny island in this lake. And there you have the island on the lake, on the island on the lake, on the island in the ocean. Crazy.

Our tour took us out of the densely populated city of Manila, into the province of Batangas. We took a scenic drive through hills, mountains, forests and grasslands, with slopes ranging from 10-20% gradient (steep). We went through Tagaytay city which was very pretty. In the province we saw many vendors on the side of the street, but we went through one area that had dozens of furniture shops on the side of the road. I really wanted to stop but I was too chicken to ask the driver. They make furniture from Acacia, Narra (a local variety of mahogany) and ebony.

These people were just making all kinds of furniture outside on the side of the road. It was cool. I really wish I had asked to stop.We also saw a lot of pineapple farms.
I had never seen a pineapple grow before...its kind of weird.This is overlooking Taal Lake (the large lake in the old caldera of the inactive old volcano). Its huge. They have a lot of Tilapia farms in this lake.See all the fish farms in the water?

This is the boat we took across Taal Lake to Taal Volcano.

This is a village at the bottom of Taal Volcano (one of the most active volcanoes in the Philippines). Their main source of income comes from tourists visiting the volcano. They charge a fee to hike the trail, and they offer horse rides at the bottom.

We read that the hike was only about 1 mile, so we decided not to get the horses and just do the hike ourselves. Well, our guide walked about a million miles an hour. The horse owners also decided to follow us on the trail. Every few feet they would say, "Want to ride the horse? Only 500 pesos (about $10) up and back). It was annoying. I felt like they were taunting us. Not only were we walking about twice my normal speed, we were walking up a very steep incline (the side of a VOLCANO), which was really really HOT. There was smoke coming out of crevices in the rock in some places. My willpower didn't hold out for very long. Between the heat, the crazy fast pace, and the taunting from behind, I gave into the horse ride pretty quickly. And after seeing how steep it was at the top, I'm glad I did.

The villagers other source of income is that they produce charcoal and sell it in the town. We passed many horses carrying charcoal down the side of the volcano.

This is at the top looking down.

This is looking into the sulfurous lake at the top of the volcano. You could see smoke, steam, and bubbles coming up in the water. It smelled bad and was really really hot. They said the water is too hot to touch in most places.
This is Scott taking a rest at the top with our guide, Ed.

See the little tiny island in the lake?

Looking back down the trail.

This is back at the bottom. Look how tired my poor horse looked. Ive never seen a horse stick its tongue out like that. I felt like such a fat spoiled American after riding these horses. It was sad.

Crossing the lake to go back.Back on the other side of the lake they served us fresh tilapia from the lake with rice and mango juice to drink. It was delicious.Our second day in the Philippines was AWESOME!!!

The Philippines: Day 1

2010-08-31T20:27:00.001-07:00

Early Saturday morning we left Guam for a short trip to the Philippines (returning early Tuesday morning). We figured since we were already halfway around the world we might as well take advantage of the opportunity (and a great airline/hotel package offered by a local travel agency). The flight was just over 3 hours.

Getting in a bit closer we were able to see hundreds of fish farms in the waters surrounding the islands. It was pretty amazing to see how densely populated some of the islands were as well.

Upon arrival, I got my first stamp in my passport. I've been waiting my whole life for that stamp. It took 26 years but it finally happened! I hope to accumulate many more over the years to come.

After checking through customs we loaded into a taxi and headed for our hotel. That taxi ride was the most terrifying experience of my life. Hands down, no exaggerations. I really thought it extremely likely that we would die or be seriously injured. It was insane. The driver drove so fast and wove in and out of lanes with no regard to the lines on the road or the other drivers. He drove on the wrong side of the road when traffic on the right side was too slow. He came so close to other vehicles and pedestrians I thought for sure we would have an accident. Little did I know that EVERY taxi ride in the Philippines would be the same way. One driver explained to us that the lines on the road were just for decoration.

We zoomed through the streets of Manila and arrived at our hotel a few minutes later.Upon arriving at the hotel (the Dusit Thani) our taxi was searched for explosives by two policemen (along with every other car entering the hotel.) We were also sniffed by dogs at the hotel entrance for explosives and manually checked for weapons by guards. This was both reassuring and worrisome.
The interior of the hotel was lavish and probably the nicest hotel we have ever stayed at. Definitely worthy of it's 5 stars.

This girl played different instruments in the lobby. Her costumes were so beautiful and I wished so badly that I could get really up close to examine her jewelry. It was gorgeous. I felt bad taking pictures of her though and didn't want to get all up in her face so I didn't.The view from our room.

Our room was nice and fairly large. The only bad thing was the bed. It felt like plywood with foam stapled to it. It was so hard!

The first thing we did was change our American dollars to Philippine Pesos. The conversion is about 45 pesos to 1 dollar. Money goes very far in the Philippines. I also always love looking at foreign currency. I always think its a lot more beautiful than our own money in the US. I love all the color and detail and decoration.

After checking into the hotel we bravely (or suicidally?) got into another taxi and headed for Greenhills Shopping Center. Greenhills has over 2000 vendors and is a huge marketplace selling everything from handbags, to fancy electronics like Ipads, to pearls and jewelry, to local handicrafts. I think you could walk around in it for a week and not see everything. This was the one thing I knew I wanted to do for sure in the Philippines because I had heard that it was a great place to buy pearls.The stalls were so small and close together and there were so many people that the experience was incredibly overwhelming. Still I was determined to go home with some pearls so I persevered and found the pearl market in the labyrinth of shops.I didn't go crazy like I could have, but I did come home with several strands of great quality freshwater pearls. I mostly bought small pearls that I've been using for the new production line I've been developing. I wish I had bought some large pearls strands just because I was there and will probably never have the opportunity to buy them that cheap again, but I went conservative and bought very little. I did make one luxury purchase on a large mabe pearl that is beautiful, but I have no idea what I will do with it. I'll do a post soon just on all the stuff we bought with pictures so you all can see.
There were so many vendors, but we found some great stuff. We weren't very good at bargaining, but it seemed wrong when the prices were already pennies compared to what we would spend if we were buying these items in the states. We did do some bartering but probably could have paid a lot less than we did. Despite that, I was really happy with how we did and what we came home with.

After leaving greenhills satisfied with our shopping, we headed to a local Philippine and seafood cuisine restaurant called Zamboanga. They had entertainment that depicted the evolution of Philipine traditional dances. See video below.

This shows the bamboo dance, which is a crazy dance in which the dancers have to step quickly in between moving bamboo rods. They went so fast it was incredible!

The restaurant also had a great little trio that serenaded us with songs from the Beatles, the Eagles, and Kenny Rogers. It was a great end to our first day in the Philippines.

Philippines

2010-08-26T19:45:00.003-07:00

(photo from here: Banaue Rice Terraces in the Philippines)

Tomorrow we leave for the Philippines. We are just staying in Manila for the weekend.
The Philippines are located in Southeast Asia in the Western Pacific Ocean, and consist of over 7,000 islands in the Pacific Ring of Fire. With a population of 92 million people, the Philippines is the worlds 12th most populated country. Manila alone has a population of over 20 million people. That's a lot coming from Phoenix's measly 4 million people.

(photo from here: Manila)

I was really excited when we were talking about the trip in abstract...you know, "Ohh, it would be cool to go to the Philippines...its cheap and we are already so close, we will never have this chance again..." Now that I have my airline ticket I'm more nervous than excited. I read too much on the internet about all the bad things that happen there. The first thing I read was the US travel warning for Americans traveling to the Philippines. The recent tragedy in Manila didn't help calm my fears. Most of the internet sites are like, "As long as you don't look like a tourist you'll be fine". Well...I have RED HAIR. I'm pretty sure I may stand out.
As a fairly sheltered girl who has NEVER been outside the country (with the exception of Mexican border towns that don't really count), I have to say I'm pretty freaked out. I've definitely never been to a third world country where I speak not a SPECK of the language. The place is foreign, the money is foreign, the food is foreign. I know it will be fun and beautiful and exciting and all that...but I can't help but focus on everything that could go wrong (thanks mom and dad for raising me to be so paranoid). I just registered with the US Embassy and that actually relieved a lot of stress. Not sure why. I guess knowing that if something did happen to me, my country would look out for me. That's a good feeling.
We don't even really know yet what we are going to do when we get there. We have some vague ideas but the only thing on our agenda for sure is going to a large pearl market (which I am REALLY excited about). We are also thinking about just taking a drive of the country outside the city, and maybe going to a volcano.
Yeah, so after re-reading this I realize I'm being a bit irrational and ridiculous, but its my nature. I hope it turns out to be a great trip. Say a prayer for me k? I'll report back on Tuesday when we return.

Cultural Night: Food, Fire Dancers, and Fun!

2010-08-24T07:37:00.000-07:00

We've been attending a branch of our church in the village of Dededo since we arrived on Guam. I like going to church here. The branch is small (maybe 80 people) but it feels big. There is so much culture. The people here are from so many different places and backgrounds. I have learned so much in the few weeks we have been here. We have been welcomed with open arms by everyone. We have made friends I know I will miss when I leave. The people here are so kind and generous. We have met people from Tonga, Samoa, Pohnpei, Chuuk, The Philippines, Fiji, Guam, Japan, Liberia, etc. These people have come from very different cultures, upbringings, and places from us, but we all share the same faith. It's strange to come from so far, and yet still have so much in common. The feelings I have about this are overwhelming. Its an amazing feeling. It’s amazing to me that I can have so much in common with someone who is so different from me.
Anyway, the church had a cultural night on Saturday. Basically it was a big party (they call them fiestas here) where people set up tables about the countries they were from, shared foods from their land, and told others about their culture.

There were also dances from many places. Above was a dance from the island of Pohnpei.This was a warrior dance.They taught dances to the whole crowd.A married couple also did a fire dance (in the rain). It was awesome.
Scotts favorite table was the Mexican table. He misses guacamole. The horchata they made was amazing!My favorite was the Guam table. They showed many things about the coconut tree.
These are the various stages coconuts grow in. The top center is the youngest stage, then they are laid out counterclockwise in stages of growth.The coconut is also just a big seed, and this shows how they sprout.Coconuts ready for drinking the juice (I declined).Woven coconut leaves.The brown coconuts they use for many things, but a favorite is "Coconut Candy".They use this handmade tool to grate the inside flesh of the coconut out.Then they mix it with sugar and cook it until it becomes a sweet treat. See recipe below. I liked it, but think it would be better as a topping on other things rather than all by itself.There was sooo much food.
I got to try breadfruit!
It wasn't nearly as exciting and delicious as I thought it would be. It tasted like potato. Above is bbq breadfruit, below is dried.One family made an imu (whole pig wrapped in leaves and cooked in a pit with hot rocks). They wove a case for it from coconut leaves. The meat was really good.One of my new favorite foods is lumpia (deep fried banana, its the thing that looks like an egg roll). Sooo good.
Desserts. Yellow= breadfruit. Pink=mochi. The dark brown thing was a brownie and the light brown thing was a Philippine dessert that sort of tasted like peanut buttery mochi. It was made from sweet rice.We had so much fun!! Going home will be hard.

Dededo Flea Market

2010-08-23T07:59:00.000-07:00

On Saturday we went to the village of Dededo for the flea market. It was like a swap meet/farmers market in one. There were tons of produce stands with all kinds of fruits and vegetables I've never seen before. There were also stands with fresh fish and seafood. It made me wish I had a kitchen so I could learn how to cook here and try out all these new unfamiliar foods. Living in a hotel is nice, but I do really wish I had access to a kitchen.

Instead of exotic produce, I came home with a cute new skirt. There were 2 others I found that I regret not buying. I'll be going back to the flea market before I leave here!

One of Many Firsts: Coconut Juice

2010-08-22T15:29:00.005-07:00

I've been trying out lots of new things for the first time on this trip...one of them being coconut juice.

I think the pictures say it all, but I'll elaborate for you. Looks can be deceiving...we all know that. This coconut looks refreshing, exotic, fruity, delicious. In reality...I took a sip and it was like betrayal. It tasted disgusting. NASTY. YUCK. I will not be having another. Scott was a better sport.

Treasures to Bring Home

2010-08-20T13:32:00.000-07:00

Just a few of the many treasures I've been collecting while on Guam. Can't wait to get these little gems home and turn them into some new bling.

Breakfast

2010-08-19T22:38:00.003-07:00

I love vacation. Its been a long time since I actually took one.
This Guam trip has been so nice and relaxing (especially after spending the last almost 8 years in college).

But I'm getting fat.

Classes I'm Teaching this Fall

2010-08-18T15:46:00.002-07:00

Just a quick update (non-Guam related!) to let those of you who are interested know what classes I'm teaching this fall session.

At Mesa Arts Center:
Introduction to Jewelry: Fabrication Basics
Hand Fabricated Chains

At Phoenix Center for the Arts:
Beginning Jewelry
Filigree
Holiday Ornaments in Metal

Click on any of the links to see class descriptions, dates, times, etc.

Ritidian Beach

2010-08-17T19:16:00.002-07:00

This weekend we went to Ritidian Beach. Its on the northernmost part of Guam. The beaches in this area are b.e.a.u.t.i.f.u.l.

They are uncrowded, clean, with crystal clear water, pure white sand, and lush vegetation.
They are definitely off the beaten path, as you can see from the picture of the road above. You know its bad when its better to drive off the road rather than on it (due to crater sized potholes).

Coming from Arizona where vegetation is sparse and scrawny, I am just fascinated by how overgrown everything is here.

Unfortunately this beach isn't good for swimming, the currents are too strong and there are warning signs all over that say people drown here. I obeyed the signs and only braved dipping my feet in. We spent a couple of hours just walking the beach discovering treasures washed up from the sea. This is such a foreign landscape for me, I love looking at all the broken shells, the seaweed, even the color of the sand.

I thought these lines in the sand were really cool. They were like the ghosts of each wave washed up on shore, leaving a trace of their presence behind.The sand on this beach is an orangish color due to all the broken shell from the coral reef.
I think crabs are kinda cool but kinda creepy. They look like spiders to me.I like the beach, but the island is small and I'm starting to miss home a bit.

Boonie Stomping: Pagat Caves (Sort of)

2010-08-16T07:45:00.002-07:00

On Saturday we went hiking, or as the Guam locals call it, boonie stomping. The hike was tough, but not too bad. It was probably somewhere between 1 and 2 miles, but it was pretty steep and half of it was climbing over a lot of jagged volcanic rocks. A few locals we've met mentioned this hike to Marble (Pagat) Cave and said that it was really awesome. It has a freshwater swimming hole with cold water inside. The pictures online made it look pretty neat. So, we did the hike with high hopes of discovering the beautiful cave and pool inside. Drenched in sweat, we reached the cave with exhausted muscles (I'm out of shape and totally not used to this level of humidity.) I don't know what I was expecting, but whatever it was, that is not what I found. The cave was a big, dark, scary, rocky hole in the ground. I was NOT about to climb down there. Not even for a refreshing swim in ice cold water. NO WAY. It was dark and creepy looking. I told Scott I'd wait for him at the mouth of the cave. I'm a chicken...my daredevil days died when I graduated high school. I think he was disappointed, but he didn't go in without me. For me, hiking is all about the journey. I hike slowly. I enjoy looking around and taking pictures of things as I go. I look at the flowers, the rocks, the little lizards that keep darting across my path. I get fascinated by the smallest things. I'm probably pretty infuriating to hike with actually. For Scott, the hike is all about the destination. He hikes fast, he wants to get there...to the whole point of the hike. We are opposites in many, many ways.

Anyway, luckily for both of us, the trail kept going and eventually led to the coast. We had some spectacular views of the ocean off the rocky volcanic cliffs. It was worth the hike.
This was actually the second hike I've taken with Scott that led to a cave I refused to enter. Hopefully now he has learned his lesson. Most likely, I'm not crawling into scary black holes in the earth. Take another boy.This is what your pictures look like when you are in 90% humidity and your camera lens fogs up.This was the drive to the trail head. The roads here look like they are going to be reclaimed by the dense jungle at any moment.
Yay! We found it.
The easy part of the hike.
Look, red dirt! Just like at home!See what I mean about being easily distracted? These tiny vines covered everything. I couldn't stop looking at them.
Why hello there?! You are a very scary looking spider.
The not so easy part of the hike.You want me to go in where? Yha...I don't think so.The scary looking cave entrance.
Continuing on through the super thick jungle.The hole in the jungle we emerged from to spectacular ocean views.Oh, and while watching the ocean from these cliffs, I saw a SHARK in the water. A SHARK people. He was just having a good ol' time swimmin' around looking for something to eat. Something like ME. I have irrational fears of sharks...they scare me to death. Thank goodness I was on land!!
The views of the ocean were beautiful. Its not often I get to stand on the shore, breathing in the scent of sea and salt and listening to the waves crash on the rocks. I love it!

Chamorro Village

2010-08-15T12:15:00.002-07:00

Last Wednesday night we went to Chamorro Village. The village is actually just a cluster of shops, but every Wednesday night they have a public outdoor market that is a taste of the islands culture, lifestyle and cuisine. Vendors sell everything from clothing, crafts, coconut milk, to sea shells, etc.

We got some great BBQ chicken skewers.

For dessert we had mango smoothies and deep fried bananas. Yum!

In the village there was a jewelers shop that I want to go back to and check out more. It was too crowded the night we were there. I sneaked a peek and there were jewelers working in the back but I didn't get a good look at their benches.

There was also a local blacksmith that had some handmade tools on display. I wish he had been there to talk to. Im going to go back and try to catch him sometime this week.

If you can't see the label on this anvil it says, "Pre-war anvil used by goldsmiths and silversmiths."
Most of what he had were a lot of knives and blades.
This was a beetle nut cracker.There were so many vendors we didn't really get a chance to look at much. We plan on going back again this week. Who knows, maybe I'll come home with a moo-moo.

Fish Eye Park and Dolphin Watching

2010-08-12T16:30:00.011-07:00

On Saturday we went to a place called fish eye park. The park is an underwater observatory that is housed in a World War II bomb hole in the coral reef a couple hundred yards off the beach in Piti. During the bombing of Guam during WWII, a number of bombs dropped on the coral reef surrounding the village of Piti. An abundance of coral and marine life abound in these craters which have been designated a marine preserve. The 71 foot Fish Eye Park marine observatory extends 31 feet below the surface into one of the bomb holes and offers a 360 degree view of the underwater life there.

Have I mentioned yet that most of the tourists are Japanese? They are. The tour guide had to give us a special english translation, which for some reason, he found hilarious. It was pretty funny.We climbed 72 stairs down into the observatory.

The water was so clear. It cast this eerie bluish light on everything though. Our lips looked purple and our skin was a scary shade of like...death color. The fish were pretty amazing though, and there were tons of them.After Fish Eye, we took a bus a bit further up the coast and got on a boat to go on a dolphin watching cruise. We drove for about 25 minutes before we found a small herd of dolphins. They swam and played in our wake for about 10 minutes before another group joined us. We got to see a baby dolphin in the second group. We drove around in slow circles letting them jump and spin in the wake before heading back to shore. It was pretty awesome. They weren't quite as acrobatic as the dolphins at Sea World, but it was way better to see them in real life...in nature.

Mama and baby dolphin!