The old dog can learn new tricks

   I'm more computer savvy than I realize, but still feel inadequate in the area of computers.  Don't ask me how to do something on the computer.  I have to "show" you.  Sometimes I don't know what I do.   I just do it.  

    This morning I decided it was time to figure out how the blogs and websites of people you admire can be added to my blog.   A little poking around, a little experimentation and WOW..... I did it.  Don't ask me how.   I hope I can do it again.

  Anyway, check out the website of a friend ( my PPP teacher and conference roommate ) Sarah Triton.  She just got her website up and running and it is nice.  Way to go Sarah!!

(Now I have to figure out why this font is so big..... it's always something.)

Open House

Here's some photos of my Open House.   I dragged almost everything out of my studio and tried to set up an inviting display.  The rings gave me a problem as I wanted to hide the ugly tags.  I set them on snowflakes and hid the tags underneath the snow flake.  It worked for a while, but as you can see it didn't last long.  I won't be going to this extent the next two events.  I'll set up displays but not as elaborate.  

Visitors and Guilds

        My studio is fun to work in but it is more fun when there are people to work with and I've had lots of visitors the past few weeks.  

     Besides the Designing Women from Tennessee,  Dorothy Psuty from Titusville, Pa. treated her daughter Ingrid to a mini-introduction to PMC class.   Check out Ingrid's website at www.ingridpsuty.com to see some of her fabulous pieces.  Her jewelry pieces based on the work of famous artists are my favorites.  (Must be influenced by all those years of teaching art history.)

   Yesterday, the Western Pennsylvania Metal Clay Guild held their November meeting at my studio.   Four members from Pittsburgh made the two hour trip up to Oil City (which I really appreciate).  There were six members in attendance and two guests.  We started out with show and tell, then eagerly heard about Jan Durkin's experience in her certification class with Celie Fago.  From then on we just played and had a great time!  The longer meeting gave us plenty of time to complete a project from start to finish.  Everyone brought such a variety of snacks that we didn't have to stop for lunch.  We did make a short trip to the gallery downstairs though but then it was back to work (I mean play.....  when work is fun it is called playing.)    A benefit of a longer meeting is that the extra time gave us more of a chance to get to know our guild members better.  

   For anyone doing metal clay, joining a guild is a great way to share experience, knowledge, tools and fun with other people who do what you do.  I recommend seeking out a guild in your area.  You won't regret it. 

Everyone does it once!

Stainless steel shot is what is used in the tumbler to polish and work harden the metal clay pieces after they are fired.  The tumbler I use holds about two pounds of shot, plus the burnishing fluid and the pieces.  Now shot is little teeny tiny pieces shaped like bullets, balls and space ships and one pound of shot has thousands of these little teeny tiny pieces.  (Do you see where I'm going with this?)  I've heard of people doing this but up until now I've had a clean record with my shot.  But that all ended today when the shot exploded all over the floor as I tried to pour it back into the tumbler barrel.  Thank goodness my studio has carpeting.  The shot only "shot out" in a circumference of about six feet.  A hardwood floor would have been worse.  Darn it, my studio has carpeting.  The blue gray berber wasn't going to give up the pieces that easily.  First the little teeny tiny spaceships were darn hard to see.  And secondly, the carpet fibers wanted to grab those little teeny tiny pieces.  So, I spent part of my day in the studio, on the floor, picking up little teeny tiny pieces of shot.   (I repeated little teeny tiny pieces many times so you could experience what I was feeling.  Did it work?)

Yesterday I spilled the liver of sulfur mixture.  I'm not sure which was worse.  The pungent odor of sulfur running all over my table or those little teeny tiny pieces of shot, bouncing all over the floor.  

No one ever said it would be easy! 

Leave it be!

Here's some pictures of my studio.  Most everything is finished, but there are still a few things to do.  


Finally spent some major time at the studio yesterday and today.  Yesterday was a day to show my studio off to friends.  Becka came in the morning.  Haven't seen her for a long time so we blabbed for several hours.  Then went to lunch at the Howling Dog (a cute place) and blabbed some more.  In the afternoon my friend Carol, from Pittsburgh stopped by and we blabbed too.  Basically all I got done yesterday was blab.  But it was good!!

Today I was there until 7:00.  I was there all by myself as the building wasn't very busy today.  It is rather spooky in that big old building when no one is there.  I shut the door and focused on working.  But, Oil City is a pretty noisy place and the studio has old single pane windows. All the traffic, and there is lots, plus the sirens (and there are lots) filter right through.  Usually I play music and that is how most people find my studio.  They follow the music.  But today I just felt like silence.  I had some problems with some things I was working on and was getting frustrated.  Talking to myself helps, when that happens .  I talk to myself as if I were talking to one of my students.  But, I did get some earring components made.  Nothing major but some fun, quickie little pieces.

The reason I was having problems today is because I can't let it be.  I think that every step of the process has to be perfect.  So, I work on things too soon or too vigorously.  Many pieces can be perfected by sanding, once they are dry.  But, no..... I have to try to smooth them too soon or straighten the edges too soon.   I know that!  (Just like my husband knows that his drives in golf are better if he doesn't try to kill the ball.  But does he always take a nice smooth swing? You guess!)  

Case in point is a beautiful piece of beach glass (beach ceramic, really) that my husband found on the shores of Lake Erie.   I tried my first bezel made from lump metal clay.   (That process is a whole different story.)  To cut it short, when I put the piece in the bezel I tried to level it up using polymer clay (didn't know then about using saw dust).  It actually was pretty level, but it wasn't perfect.  So I took a hammer and lightly tapped on it.  First tap was fine.  Second tap was fine.  But of course the third tap did the trick and cracked it right in half.  I still wear it because the crack isn't all that noticeable and the piece has an antique look.   Will I ever learn to just leave it be?