New Retailer

I'm pleased to announce that my work is being displayed at the Blue Skies Gallery located in Hampton, Virginia. Blue Skies Gallery is located across the street from the Air and Space Museum in downtown Hampton. Blue Skies is a fairly large gallery with a number of artists on display and events throughout the year, including a Holiday Open House from November 11 to 13. If you're in the area, be sure to stop by!

Last minute show schedule update

Just last night I wrote that this weekend marks the end of the outdoor show season for me. Then I get a call from the wonderful people from Hope House to offer me an open spot in the Stockely Gardens Arts Festival on October 15 through 16. This is a very well-known show in the Hampton Roads area and it is always full of artists vying for a spot. I had managed to get on the alternate list back in August, but as most artists know, getting off the alternate list when a show is that popular can be pretty slim. So imagine my surprise at getting that phone call this afternoon when I had written only last night that this weekend was my last outdoor shows! Just goes to show that things are never set in stone!

So, just a reminder, take a look at the 2005 show schedule here. This list reflects all of the shows I'm currently confirmed for. I am also in the process of finalizing my schedule for 2006 and will be posting that within a couple of weeks. You can return to the show schedule page to keep up to date, but a simpler way is just to sign up for my mailing list and get updates every time the schedule changes.

Outdoor Show Awards

This weekend marks the end of the outdoor show season, with a two-show doubleheader; the 10th Annual Art on the Avenue show in Alexandria, Virginia on Saturday, October 1 and An Occasion for the Arts in Williamsburg, Virginia on Sunday, October 2. With the end of the outdoor season eminent, I would like to make a brief rundown of some of my most memorable shows.


The Picture Perfect Locale Award- The 4th of July Celebration, Yorktown, Virginia

This show had the prettiest location of all my shows. Located on the Chischiak Green on the bank of the York River, I had a great view of people in their sailboats cruising up and down the river, people sunning themselves on the beach, and had a great breeze to counteract the scorching 4th of July in Virginia heat.

The Bug Attack Award- The Hanover Tomato Festival, Hanover, Virginia and Princess Anne Arts and Crafts Show, Virginia Beach, Virginia.

This category had a two-way tie between the Hanover Tomato Festival and the Princess Anne Arts. Bugs and all manner of creatures are inevitable when doing outdoor shows, but their presence in these two shows are quite memorable.

Ever heard Japanese beetles? Around these parts, they are called June bugs for reasons unknown to me. In case you've never seen one, June bugs are big dark green beetles that fly about as if they have no of sight or direction. You can hear one coming since they have a buzz like a miniature chainsaw. And the only way you can hurt these suckers is if you hit them with something heavy...like a bank safe. Seeing one fly around is interesting...seeing a swarm of say 500 is something a little more than interesting. At the Hanover Tomato Festival, swarms of these bugs flew all over the field in which the festival was held in which they dive bombed festival goers, landed in people's hair, and fell in and drowned in people's drinks. People were seen swatting at the bugs with the cardboard fans festival officials handed out and some were seen actually running from these clumsy pests. Several customers were chased out of my booth when a pair of June bugs flew in and got trapped as they buzzed from one end to the other. One lady actually had one fly into her mouth, and I had a bug hit me in the back of my head while I was talking to a customer.


The other Bug Attack Award has to go to the Princess Anne Art and Craft Festival. My body has an interesting reaction to mosquito bites. When mosquitos bite me, the bites turn into huge bright red welts which in time fades into dark bruiselike areas on my skin. The picture above is a picture of what my legs looked like after I did the Princess Anne Festival when I got bitten approximately 3 dozen times by some pretty vicious mosquitos. I had forgotten the cardinal rule of outdoor shows and had arrived without a pair of long pants or some type of bug repellent. This moment I stepped out onto the show grounds, I was promptly attacked by swarms of mosquitos. Within five minutes, I was running to a neighboring artist begging for bug repellent, which he graciously allowed me to use.


The Shiny Happy People Award- The 3rd Annual Festival of the Grape, Powhatan, Virginia
Generally, the crowds at most festivals and craft shows are typically in a good mood, especially if the weather isn't too hot and they didn't have to park too far. But I've never seen a happier crowd than the one I saw at the Festival of the Grape. Of course, the fact that it happened to be a wine tasting festival may have had something to do with it. As the day wore on, people steadily got friendly and happier until they began to dance on the courthouse green. This was actually one of my favorite shows of the year because not only was everyone friendly and watching the festival goers was great fun, but as one other vendor had put it, people buy anything when they're drunk enough.

The Dry Shirt Award- 21st Annual Christmas in September, Richmond, Virginia

Summer in Virginia can be a hellish experience. Visitors to my booth constantly remark on the energy draining and debilitating effects of humidity and heat and ask me how I can stand it. If you do outdoor shows, you pretty much just get used to it. After about the third or fourth show of the year, your body and mind adapts to the heat and you remember to carry plenty of water. But no matter how much you get used to it, you still go home at the end of the day hot and sweaty with your shirt plastered to your back. So it's always a treat when the weather turns tolerable and you have a nice pleasant day like the one I had last week at the Christmas in September show. With weather in the seventies and no humidity I went home with a dry shirt that day.

Honorably Mentioned

This weekend during the 26th Annual Princess Anne Festival, I received an honorable mention for my work. While I always have a great time at shows, it's always a thrill to get some recognition. My thanks to Caroline Ansel of Virginia Beach Parks and Recreation Special Events and all the volunteers who made this a great show.

It must be great to just work on the weekends...

One of the reasons I enjoy shows is because it gives me an opportunity to meet my customers. It's a thrill to get feedback on your work. There are many changes I've made to my work that is due to a particularly astute suggestion by a customer or a remark made by a show attendee. I do get sourpusses at shows from time to time, people that offer criticism that is hurtful or even downright insulting. Fortunately those are in the minority and veterans to the circuit learn not to let these sourpuss ruin their day.

But addition to suggestions and criticism, both useful and hurtful, are remarks that leaves many a working artist either scratching their heads or suppressing an ironic grin.

Here's an example of such a remark. At my last show, after spending several minutes deciding on a pair of earrings, a lady selected a pair of Paper Bead earrings to purchase for a friend. While I tallied her order and boxed the earrings, she chatted about how much she liked my jewelry and how much her friend will love the earrings. I smiled at her and told her how much I appreciated her compliments. It's always a good feeling when someone compliments your work, and I always appreciate positive comments and helpful suggestions. Then as I handed my new customer her package, she said, "It must be wonderful to only have to work only on the weekends and to have free time during the week." Inwardly I said, "Hah!". To my new customer I said, "Well, shows do give me an opportunity to get out of my studio for a change. I always have a great time at them," and thanked her for her purchase.

A saltier artist may have taken this comment as an insult or as a sign of the lack respect for the arts and would have used this as an opportunity to inform this lady on the trials and difficulties of being an artist. Personally, I don't believe in chastising customers for remarks such as these because, 1) People come to festivals to have a good time, not to get a lecture on how hard it is to be an artist and on how art is under-appreciated in the world of Wal-Mart and cheap goods from Asia, 2) Many people have this romantic vision of what life is like as an artist, and I really hate to burst their bubble, and 3) I've learned to decipher the difference between what people say and what people actually mean.

I found out that what most people actually mean when they say "It must be wonderful to only have to work on the weekends" or "You must have some much free time during the week" is that "It must be great to be able to make a living doing what you love and to have the freedom to set your own hours...I wish I could do that." If you scratch the surface, most people do realize that artists do have to work on weekdays too. Most of the time, they are expressing their fascination with the concept of the artist's life. The fact that artists can be creative and do something that they love and make a living at it.

I've been in and out of the craft industry for fifteen years on a part time basis until very recently and had daydreams of sitting in my studio with my dogs at my feet making jewelry in the middle of the day instead of when I could scratch out time after work or on the weekends. With these daydreams came the thought of, "If only I could afford to do this full time, then I'll get a lot more work done and I'll have time to expand".

Then in late January this year, I was told that my full time job of web designer was being eliminated and just like that...I had the opportunity to make my daydreams into a reality. I wasn't completely naive, I knew that being a full time artist wouldn't be all fun and and games and that it would take a level of discipline and sacrifice.

It's true that I now spend many a day sitting in my studio with my dogs at my feet making jewelry. But that's only about 40, maybe 45% of the time. The other 55 to 60% of my time is spent sitting in front of the computer making out budgets and marketing plans, logging in sales and expenses, filling sales taxes, updating my web site, and answering email. It's also spent talking on the phone with customers, chasing new wholesale accounts, and ordering materials. It's spent processing and packing orders, taking daily trips to the post office, biweekly trips to the bank, and monthly trips to the half dozen local galleries to check on sales and to fill orders. In other words, 55 to 60% of my time is spent doing the same things that other small business owners do, actually running a business. In reality, I'm actually working much harder than I ever did when working at a full time job. Instead of working an 8 hour day, I typically work a 10 to 13 hour day and sometimes longer if there is a show coming up or a large order due.

Do I get to set my own hours? Sure, I can choose what part of the day to work my 10 to 12 hours. Do I get to make a living doing what I love? Well, I get to do what I love and I hope to one day soon be able to live off it. I'm quite lucky to have a spouse that has a regular job with medical benefits so that we have at least one steady paycheck and medical insurance until the day comes that I can equally support the household with my jewelry. The number of artists without medical insurance is pretty staggering and many must take part time jobs to get by while building their business. Art is pretty much a feast or famine enterprise. Do I get to do work that excites me? Most of the time, yes. If an artist is lucky, the type of work they love to do and that type that sells are the same thing.

Perhaps what the salty, lecturing artists most want their customers to know is, yes, it's great to be able to set your own hours and to go to the gym, the bank, and the store at 10 a.m. on the week days., and to not have to punch a time clock, to be able to decide the course of your own destiny, and to be able to work on what you enjoy. Yes, all those things are great. But life as a successful working artist is not for the faint of heart. It's not for the lazy and undisciplined. It's not for the thin skinned and for those who lack perseverance. That the myth of the temperamental, suffering, starving artist is just that, a myth (well, it's mostly a myth). And most of all, life as a working artist is not for those who don't have a passion for what they do.

Hello Again!

It's been a long while since I've written in my design diary. A lot of time and a lot of changes have taken place between now and then. Including a brand new lines of jewelry, two brand new retailers and and a schedule of retail shows.

In late March and early April, I've acquired two new retailers, Crossings at Carnegie in Zumbrota, Minnesota and woodbloom in Portland, Oregon. These two retailers are particularly exciting for me because up until now, most of my retailers have been located on the East Coast. With these new retailers located in the Midwest and West Coast, I have the opportunity to introduce my work in these areas. Much thanks to Marie Marvin of Crossings and Ken Kane of woodbloom for this opportunity!

I've also created a new line of jewelry and expanded the Ojos Series. The new line of jewelry, tentatively called the Beaded Chain Series is a line of bracelets, anklets, necklaces, and earrings of handmade beaded chain. Beads in the chains encompass a variety of materials, wood, Czech glass, Swarovski® crystal, and semi-precious stones. My most popular line in the Beaded Chain series is the Birthstone line which includes earrings, anklets, earrings, and necklaces made in gold, sterling silver and Swarovski® in each of the twelve birthstone colors. I also include custom mixing and matching of crystals to create personalized jewelry...a very popular gift item for Mother's Day. The bracelet shown below is the October Birthstone Bracelet in gold.



I've also expanded the Ojos Series to include rosaries and necklaces. The necklaces shown below are my first designs and are made of sterling silver.




The Ojos Rosaries are made of sterling silver and gold and beads made of a variety of materials including wood, crystal, and a a variety of uncommon materials. The rosary shown here is made of sterling silver and Buri Nut beads.



You can find my Ojos Necklaces at Vincent Hester Gallery in Portsmouth, Virginia and at any of my retail shows. My Beaded Chain Series and Ojos Rosaries are available only at shows.

And speaking of shows, the 2005 craft show schedule is now in full swing. My first show of the year was hosted by one of my favorite retailers, Elizabeth Sorrell of The Leaping Lizard. Dubbed the "Creating Woman Art Show", this 1st annual show is the brainchild of Cathy Smith and Elizabeth Sorrell. This show featured over 25 women artists in the local Hampton Roads area (including myself). Cathy is currently working on a book about women artists called "Creating Woman: Her Art and Spirit at Work in the World", and she and Elizabeth struck on the idea of having an art show at The Leaping Lizard that feature all women artists. Not only was I fortunate enough to receive an invitation from them to participate, but I was fortunate enough to meet a lot of talented female artists and to share exhibition space with them. Despite the threat of rain and thunderstorms, a perpetual hazard of outdoor show life, the day was a smashing success! The show even got a mention in The Beacon, the local newspaper for Virginia Beach. The show was such a success, we lady artists are lobbying for a 2nd Annual Creating Women Art Show. Not a bad way to start the 2005 show season!

You can take a look at the 2005 show schedule here. This list reflects all of the shows I'm currently confirmed for, but I will be adding to the list once I get more confirmations. You can return to the show schedule page to keep up to date, but an easier way is to sign up for my mailing list...then you'll get updates every time the schedule changes.

A New Retailer- The Leaping Lizard

I'm pleased to announce that my work has been accepted by a new retailer, The Leaping Lizard, in Virginia Beach, Virginia.



The Leaping Lizard is located on Shore Drive minutes away from the beach and only 15 minutes away from the popular Virginia Beach boardwalk. From Memorial Day weekend to Labor Day weekend, millions of tourists visits Virginia Beach and the boardwalk. Shore Drive is one of the main roads leading to the beach and is lined with a variety of shops and great restaurants. If you're summer plans include a visit to Virginia Beach, be sure to take Shore Drive and stop by The Leaping Lizard!

I'm in a magazine!

February seems to be a rather good month so far. I've just received word that my jewelry has a mention in the March 2005 issue of The Crafts Report.



No...I'm not on the cover (can't have it all I suppose...), a photo of one of my bracelets, Untitled #1 and a brief interview is on page 14.

The Crafts Report is the trade magazine for the professional crafts art industry...yep..we're an official industry :) Each month, the magazine focuses on one particular medium, be it ceramics, jewelry, woodworking, etc and invites working artists to participate in showing their work. I'm one of 11 jewelry artists being featured in the jewelry issue for 2005. Take a look if you happen to see a copy of The Crafts Report at your local bookstore.

Another New Retailer- The Peninsula Fine Arts Center

I'm pleased to announce that my work is now being displayed at The Peninsula Fine Arts Center Gift Shop located in Newport News, Virginia.



The Peninsula Fine Arts Center or PFAC as it's known in Hampton Roads is a fabulous world of sculpture, paintings, photographs and ancient artifacts. Once a week, PFAC host's the PFAC Cafe, an evening of music, wine, and conversation. For those of you interested in naval history, The Mariner's Museum is located right beside PFAC, so you can make a day of cultural and historical fun. If you happen to be in Newport News, be sure to swing by PFAC for some culture and art and don't forget to stop by the Center gift shop!

P.S. Thanks to the wonderful managers at the PFAC gift shop!

A blast from the past, pt 2

The 1990's seemed to be the height of the faux finish craze in my town, especially that "crackled paint" finish.



The above set was my "homage" to crackle paint finishes. After making my first set painted paper beads, I decided to try using faux finish on my beads. Again using scrap paper for the beads, (this set was made out of an old term paper), I first painted a base coat on each bead. After that dried, I applied a layer of "crackle" paint to each bead. Finally, I added the top coat to the "crackle" layer. As expected, the top coat crackled quite nicely and I let that top coat dry before doing a final coat of clear acrylic to make the bead shinier.



This turned out to be even more labor intensive than just the plain painted beads. I took me about two weeks to do my first painted paper bead set. This set took about a month.

A blast from the past, pt 1

Digging through some of my old photographs and slides, I found some pictures (albeit bad ones) of some of my earlier experiments with paper beads.



The above picture is the very first jewelry set of a necklace, bracelet and earrings that I made that was designed entirely of paper beads. I made this set in 1991 and it was mostly experimental. I had bought a small little craft gadget called a "Bead Crafter" that was basically a jig for making paper beads. When I first got the tool, I experimented with wrapping paper, ripped out pages from magazines, even scrap paper. The results were interesting, but they weren't exactly what I envisioned and I was worried of course about durability. Wrapping paper made for a rather flimsy bead.

Later, I experimented with painting the wrapping paper beads with a kind of clear acrylic coating to protect the beads and make them a little harder. A light bulb snapped in my head, "What would they look like painted?". I made a bunch of rolled beads out of scrap paper (I believe this particular set was made out of an old chemistry exam) and hand painted each of them with acrylic paint. The result was paper beads that had a sort of plastic look. They were still light, but much harder and much more waterproof. That set spawned a small series of painted paper bead jewelry.

A new retailer- The Chrysler Museum of Art

I'm happy to say that I just got a new retailer to carry my work. The new venue is the Chrysler Museum of Art Museum Shop located in Norfolk, Virginia.



For those of you who love taking cruises, you may already know that Norfolk, Virginia is a port of call for all kinds of cruise liners. If you happen to be taking a cruise and your ship stops in the fair city of Norfolk, shake out those sea legs and visit the Chrysler Museum for some of the most fabulous art collections around. And on the way out, don't forget to visit the Museum Shop, which is filled of all kinds of beautiful goodness, not the least of which, some of my work! :)

P.S. Thanks to Diane of the Museum Shop for taking the time to check out my stuff!

Untitled #1

The above bracelet is called Untitled #1, the first in my series of Paper Bead Bracelets. This bracelet is made out of one of my favorite papers. It's a dyed cotton rag paper that has some really nice uneven dyeing to it. The paper also has random silver geometric shapes silk screened on it that really sets off the blue marbling. The freshwater pearls give the bracelet some amount of heft, as many of these bracelets are rather light. But it's a pleasant kind of heft.

Untitled #1 is on display at Vincent Hester Gallery in Portsmouth, Virginia. If you happen to be in the area, go take a look!