Upcoming Art Shows/Festivals

Oct 2
Simplymega - First Fridays - South Bend, IN

also through oct 15 Simplymega will be part of the Ringmaster 09 show at Quoil gallery in Wellington NZ


October 3-4

Kathryn Riechert - Norcross Art Festival - Norcross, GA


Ashleyjewelry - River Art Show - San Antonio, TX


Maggiejs - John C Campbell Folk School Fall Festival - Brasstown, NC


Bijougirldesigns - Walden Artisan Market - East Nashville

Etsy Metal Finds 9/30/09

Since many of us are already weary of the early barrage of both Halloween and Christmas decor (and there will be much, much more to come over the next few months), I thought it might be soothing to the soul to ogle over some of Etsy's unsung treasures, like beautiful, hand-crafted, solid-wood beds, tables and home furnishings. There is absolutely nothing like an aesthetically pleasing, well-made piece of wood furniture.

I was really surprised to see so many amazing furniture craftsmen on Etsy, and here are a few of my favorites. I've also listed some honorable mentions below--both Etsy and non-Etsy sellers.

paulus: Sunburst Bed

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mstrf: Abaci Black Coffee Table

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Paulus: Oceana demi lune

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eastvoldfurniture: Floating Credenza

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Honorable Mentions

Etsy
jalexstudios: L-Modern Vase

upcycler: Humilitas Table
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Non-Etsy
Probst Furniture
www.probstfurniture.com

Furniture X Design
http://furniturexdesign.com/

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posted by tgendesignstudio

Upcoming Art Shows/Festivals

Metalriot - September 26, Nuts Over Art Festival - Memphis, TN



Maggiejs - September 26 - Mountain Heritage Day, Cullowhee, NC



Stankwytchbaily - September 25-27- Peoria Art Fair, Peoria, IL

The Next Etsy Metal Jewelry Challenge: Project Runway Season 6-Episode 6: "Create a Character!"

Here are our fabulous "eleven" EtsyMetal
participant entries from last weeks'
"Newspaper" theme!

But first, for those of you who are just stopping in for a peek, EtsyMetal is holding a fun freestyle Jewelry Challenge that is coinciding with Project Runway episodes. Every Friday we will post the video snippet (see bottom of this post) of the latest PR challenge, then we post all the submissions from the previous weeks challenge. (as seen below)

#1~ Alisa Miller "Fashion Headliners"
Alisa says, "Mine is paper mache with shades of blue. Then I
put a cut out flowery shape over it with the newsprint
pattern." Alisa's Blog.

#2~ Shannon Conrad "untitled"
Shannon says, "I was inspired by the paper chains I used to
make when I was a kid. I used 26 gauge copper and decoupaged
newspaper to it and folded the metal in a woven pattern. Multi-chain necklaces are so popular right now and I thought
it was fun to take that trend into a different direction by
making one of the strands as a paper chain." Shannon's Flickr.

#3~ Thomasin Durgin "For Heinlein"
Tomi says, "It was inspired by the novel Stranger in a
Strange Land. The text comes from an article on the Chase for
the Sprint Cup. I cut a sheet of silver in a way that reveals
some words and conceals others. The back is copper and the
piece is joined with brass nail head rivets." Tomi's Flickr .


#4~ Nina Gibson "untitled"
Nina says, "Financial Times newspaper (which is pink) and
black watercolor and mod podge and copper wire armature.I wanted to make a piece of jewelry using that hard shell. I
built an armature for a bangle bracelet using copper wire and
paper mache over that using wheat paste glue. The shape of
the armature turned out really well, with a ruffle at one
edge and a wider lip at the other. I wanted it to have the
look of a ruffled sleeve." Nina's Blog.


#5~ Mike Stromberg "untitled"
Mike says, "Newspaper on copper armature with red and copper
spray paint, Sterling Silver bail, Rolled newspaper neck wire
bound with copper and Sterling Silver Skulls. Mike's Flickr.

#6~ Jesse Danger "untitled"
Jesse says, "The newspaper shreds are from the Seven Days
personals section, one side of the page had "just friends"
ads and the other side had "kinky only" ads, thought is was a
fun twist. One side of the page had the "two 2 tango" section
for just friends and dating and the other had the "hot 2
trot" section for full on kinky hook ups. Be careful what you
look for in these clippings!" Jesse's Blog.


#7~ Sara Westermark "St. John's Passion"
Sara says, "I used an old score from Bach's "St. John's Passion" for the paper. It killed me to use a score, but this was a modern adaption by a former choir director who basically edited it and then printed out the scores at a copy shop. It was a score in progress, so there were still edits being made, so it was okay to destroy it." Sara's Blog.


#8~ Beth Cyr "untitled"
Beth says, "I'm pretty happy with this week, although, I kind
of wish I'd started on it earlier. This was my original idea
and I kept procrastinating as I didn't feel it was very
creative. I played around w/ some other things trying to get
a different idea and when at the last minute, nothing - I
went back to this one! My favorite part about it is the view
from the back - how you can see the silhouetted tendrils
through the paper." Beth's Blog.

#9~ Cynthia Del Guidice "Safe News"
Copper sheet fold formed into a vessel with sterling silver wire rolled up into balls. Cut and crumpled up newspaper tucked into its interior. Pin made of surgical steel. The piece was also oxidized and buffed with beeswax. The piece represents the state of news and mainstream media, especially print newspaper, in the world. Cynthia's Blog.

#10~ Rachelle Stromberg "untitled"
Rachelle says, "this is a nest of newspaper with some little pearl eggs on a Sterling Silver ring. Rachelle's Flickr.

#11~ Victoria Takahashi "Polyporus Brackets"
With this piece, I pretty much worked this one as I went. It is made of pages from an Asian book. I lightly whitewashed and glued the cutouts, burnt, painted, stamped, laminated, riveted and then attached to a copper plated steel bracelet. To see WIP photos and previous jewelry challenge pieces please go here.


And one lovely GUEST submission!
Two pieces submitted by Tiffany Nelson.
Tiffany makes 2 paper pieces this week.
Sadly they are not made of newspaper, but they are still really fun and colorful!
1~tissue paper necklace 2~star pendant

Now for Episode 6: Jewelry Challenge-Video snippet "Create a Character!"

Hello Designers! This weeks challenge is based upon 5 different film genres. I ask that you pick 1 genre and write a short story(paragraph) about a character in that genre who would be wearing your piece. Next week I will be posting your short stories along with your jewelry picture.

Also ETA, if you are feeling adventurous, you might ponder your approach to this exercise with creating the "story" first. Then create the piece, maybe it will be the same, or maybe it will open new avenues to your creativity?! I mention this as I caught something the judges were saying in their critique about the designers approach to their pieces, it caught my ear and I thought it might be something important to think about....

Action Adventure

Film Noir

Science Fiction

Period Piece

Western

Now "Carry On!"

*guidelines for guest participants: The pieces you submit should be pieces that are made specifically for the weeks show. Please then post your links in our comment area, then cross-post this to your blog, Flickr, Etsy, etc. And please tag your photos this week with "EMJC-PR6.6-Create a Character". Currently we post your name with a link to your piece on our blog. If we get more participation from our lovely guests we will start posting pictures of your pieces on the blog too! We can't wait to see what you will come up with! Remember, the deadline for submitting your link is always on Fridays, 12 noon, Pacific Standard Time.

Studio Songs - What we're listening to while we work

Andrew Bird

PJ Harvey

Tom Waits

Brooke Waggoner

The Meteors

Mose Allison

Kate Rusby

The Next Etsy Metal Jewelry Challenge: Project Runway Season 6-Episode 5: "Newspaper!"

Here are our fabulous "nine" EtsyMetal

participant entries from last weeks'

"The Customator" theme!

But first, for those of you who are just stopping in for a peek, EtsyMetal is holding a fun freestyle Jewelry Challenge that is coinciding with Project Runway episodes. Every Friday we will post the video snippet (see bottom of this post) of the latest PR challenge, then we post all the submissions from the previous weeks challenge. (below)

#1~ Thomasin Durgin “Cosmic Sprout”

Customator picks: “ring-wood-organic/nature”

Tomi says, "My challenge was to make a ring incorporating wood and a natural or organic theme. I painted a wooden bead and set it like a pearl with balled silver wire. I am calling it Cosmic Sprout, as it's more space age organic than earthy organic." Tomi’s Flickr.

#2~ Catherine Chandler “untitled”
Customator picks: “ring-fabric/thread-upcycled/green

Catherine says, “My ring is made from recycled silver scrap (with exception of the base and bezel), and upcycled vintage material. I was inspired by my Great Aunt Dorothy, who the material once belonged to, as she was a contessa in Italy and wore fabulous costumes. The ring fits between two fingers, rather than around one, to give it a more modern aesthetic, and is very comfortable. I wanted to create something that could be worn to a gallery or gala event and be noticed (similar to the goal for the models in the episode).” Catherine’s Blog.

#3~ Kathryn Riechert “Tribal Necklace

Customator picks: “necklace-leather/fur-tribal/ethnic”

Kathryn says, “This necklace is a twist on a traditional strand of pearls. It features freshwater pearls, chrysoprase beads, and leather. I cut the leather into leaf shapes and placed one inbetween each pearl. A green bead adds a splash of green. This necklace can also be worn flipped the other way around, where only the leather and pearls show.” Kathryn’s Blog.

#4~ Shannon Conrad “Vine and Leaf Bangle”
Customator picks: “bracelet-organic/natural-steel”

Shannon says, “Vintage steel "leaves" and coral "flowers" have been riveted to a heavy sterling bangle. Sterling silver "vines" are woven around the bangle for additional visual interest.” Shannon’s Flickr.

#5~ Nina Gibson “untitled”
Customator picks: “tiara/hair ornament-glass-industrial/steampunk”

Nina says, “I have glass cabochons - one of my absolute favorite materials to work with - and for the sake of steampunk, I focused on black. The floral cabochons I have seemed too soft and feminine to work with this theme and when I noticed the faceted one sort of looked like a bug eye, I got excited as I had picked up the vintage brass flies the day before. They just had to go together. This is the first time I've made a barrette and making the mechanism to snap in and out of hair was a good lesson in construction for me. I see more barrettes in my jewelry making future.” Nina’s Blog.

#6~ Beth Cyr “untitled”
Customator picks: “ring-aluminum-victorian/byzantine”

Beth says, “Part of my goal has been to create pieces that all work together and still look like me. When doing a little research on victorian or byzantine jewelry, I thought that my organic vine collection might work fine as 'Victorian" with the lacy and tendril-y look.For the aluminum - we had been talking about how to treat the metal underneath clear stones and one suggestion was aluminum foil. I thought the textured effect of tightly crinkled foil would give an extra dimension to the ring. I am really happy with the effect” Beth’s Blog.

#7~ Delias Thompson “untitled”
Customator picks: “ring-plastic-upcycle/green

”Delias says, “The seed beads are old plastic beads from a bracelet my sister made me a long time ago. The ring band is upcycled from an old ring that was sitting on my work bench that I screwed up so I cut out the fold where the stone would have sat. I upcycled wire from my scrap box for the wrap.” Delias’s Blog.

# 8 ~ Victoria Takahashi “Patience”
Customator picks: “bracelet-wood-industrial/steampunk”

This was a very diffucult and challenging challenge for me this week. It is a disassembled and reassembles music box. I had it set in my mind I needed functioning parts for the steampunk aspect. Well I aborted this project about 5 times. But my saint and unreasonably patient bf kept prodding me forward and telling me not to give up and saying you can do it, one thing at a time. Well. If it wasn’t for him I would not of, so thank you honey. I named this “Patience” as it took a lot of it. I learned a lot from this one and it was all worth it!

to see a short video of the music box, and past PR pieces here.

#9~ Sara Westermark “Nostalgia Cuff”
Customator picks: “bracelet-victorian/byzantine-bone”

Sara says, “Sterling Silver, 18k bezels, Fossilized Bone and Diamonds. I did some research and this hinged style of cuff was quite the rage in the Victorian Era. I used the same square wire reinforcements on the edges to add to the strength. Sara’s Blog.

and one lovely GUEST submission!

by Tiffany Nelson

Customator picks: "brooch/pin-wood-tribal/ethnic"

Now for Episode 5: Jewelry Challenge-Video snippet "NEWSPAPER!"

OK designers! WOW, this weeks challenge is the most straight forward one yet! I am adding one element to this one, pre-printed book pages can be used as well for this one. So all we need to do is incorporate some newspaper in a piece of jewelry and voila! Can't wait to see all your crazy creative creations! Now, "Carry On!"

*guidelines for guest participants:
The pieces you submit should be pieces that are made specifically for the weeks show. Please then post your links in our comment area, then cross-post this to your blog, Flickr, Etsy, etc. And please tag your photos this week with "EMJC-PR6.5-Newspaper". Currently we post your name with a link to your piece on our blog. If we get more participation from our lovely guests we will start posting pictures of your pieces on the blog too! We can't wait to see what you will come up with! Remember, the deadline for submitting your link is always on Fridays, 12 noon, Pacific Standard Time.

Upcoming Art Shows/Festivals

Kathryn Riechert - September 18-20, 2009 Arts in the Heart of Augusta - Augusta, GA



Metalriot - September 19, Copper Young Arts Festival - Memphis, TN