Counting Down the Days

You may have noticed my count down ticker over to the right and wondered what that is all about. I belong to BBEST, Boomers and Beyond Etsy Street Team and a group of us are getting together in Boston very soon for a weekend of fun, shopping, art and silliness. Beth of BethPeardonProds and Katzie of Katz's Kreations have worked hard to put this weekend together and I am really excited about getting to go and meet some of my Boomer teammates. I know we will be taking lots of pictures so there will be stories and pictures posted after we get back.

After the Boomer gathering I will be staying an extra day and meeting with some of my friends from another etsy team, EAST (Earthpath Artisans Street Team). We will be spending the day playing tourist in Salem.

It will be so much fun to meet all these wonderful artists and I am really looking forward to the chance to get away for a few days, meet new people and visit Boston again!

Creative Glass Guild of Etsy (CGGE) and the etsyBEAD Street Team Creative Collaboration Challenge

I belong to the etsyBead street team and we recently joined forces with the Creative Glass Guild of Etsy (CGGE) in a collaborative challenge. According to the information from the listing the Helping Others Street Team (HOST) created using the piece I worked on:

"The Creative Glass Guild of Etsy (CGGE) and the etsyBEAD Street Team have joined forces for a creative collaboration challenge. CGGE members have created gorgeous glass cabs, beads, and pendants for etsyBEAD members to turn into beautiful pieces of finished jewelry. These pieces are being donated to the Helping Others Street Team (HOST) in order to raise money for those fellow Etsyians in need."

I created the piece called Pink Catkins seen to the right. It can also be viewed and/or purchased here http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=11193022 .

I had such fun creating this piece using a stunning glass focal by lawatha (www.lawatha.etsy.com). She handpainted this piece with fusible enamels and permanently fused them onto a base of lime green glass. The design will NOT wash or rub off. A silver plated bail is attached. I combined the beautiful focal with beads of new jade and rhodonite on 20” of tiger tail bead cord and added a silver plated tierra cast lead-free pewter leaf and vine clasp.

For more information on HOST please check them out at http://helpingothersstreetteam.blogspot.com/

ACEO Bounty Challenge on etsy

Now this is just plain cool. A group of ACEO* artists on etsy have started a challenge they are calling a bounty challenge. According to the rules of the challenge:

"The resulting ACEO artwork created will be listed with the key words of “ACEO Bounty” in the title (when searching please use quotation marks [“] to ensure the most accurate list of the “ACEO Bounty” items).

The Ultimate “ACEO Bounty” Prize consists of all “ACEO Bounty” listings on Etsy at the closure of the competition.

The Ultimate “ACEO Bounty” Prize will be awarded to the last person to post to the “ACEO Bounty” thread when all other post activity ceases for a period of 24 hours …or such time as the Participating Artists choose to end the competition by way of a “Count Down” (see Final Release Clauses)."

You can find more information on this challenge here:

http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=5566696&page=1

This sounds like a lot of fun. I have issued a challenge to create a depiction of Light vs Dark. It can be in any medium and any context so I am looking forward to seeing what people come up with. I think I am also going to try my hand at making some ACEOs for this challenge.




*ACEO stands for "Art Cards, Editions & Originals". They are miniature works of art with one main rule, they always measure 2.5" x 3.5". They are an inexpensive way to buy original or limited edition art.

Another day, more stuff...

I have been adding to my blog. I added links to some other interesting blogs, including the four etsy street teams I belong to and those of some of my etsy friends and teammates. I will be continuing to add to this list over time so be sure to check it out.

Some of my pieces will be for sale in Indianapolis on April 26 at the Bead Bonanza at the Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art in Indianapolis. Chic Velazco (creator of Chic Beads, many of which I have used in my pieces) will be there selling her work and has graciously offered to include some of my pieces which use her beads. I am very excited about this opportunity to get my work seen!

Pondering....

Ok, so have this blog. Now I need to actually do something with it.

I have been trying to decide whether or not to narrow my jewelry style down. I love doing the beads but just haven't come up with any ideas I like of late. I have so much more fun with the steampunk, vintage and filigree pieces so I am thinking about focusing on those, as well as the 3d artwork (shadowboxes, nichos, assemblages and ACEOs). I still haven't quite decided but it is definitely something I will be pondering in the coming days, perhaps even weeks.

I have posted pics of several of my pieces just below the About Me section.

If anyone has any thoughts on this topic, please feel free to leave a comment.

Kat

An Introduction

Ok, so I am going to try this blogging thing. Not sure if I will be able to manage to keep up or not, or if I will even be able to find much to write about, but we will see.



So.....