Catching Up

So, again, it's been a long time since I posted and there's been a lot going on. First we had a bad storm that they're now calling "Superstorm Sandy". You all know how horrible it was in the north east, so I won't complain too much about the snow that we got. It was too early and that's my only complaint. I got about 4 inches here on the east side of the county, but the west side got a lot, with high drifts. The wind was scary and I prepared for a power outage, but that didn't happen.

Here's a delightful "small world" story for you. Last June I met fellow jewelry artist Donna Whiteside at the PMC Conference in Cincinnati and after the conference we Facebook "friended" each other. Earlier this week she posted that she was camping near Boone, NC. I posted that she was near me and to contact me if she wanted a list of fun things to do. Then another friend of Donna's, Jeanne, piped up and we discovered that Jeanne has known my friend Brenda (who also lives here) for 30 years. So this morning  Brenda and I met Donna and her wife, Linda for coffee and talked to Jeanne on the phone. How cool is that? Wasn't there a movie, Six Degrees of Seperation, that said that everyone is just six steps away from knowing every other person in the world?

Linda, Donna, Me and Brenda

I finished teaching my last class this week. It was bittersweet, but I know I made the right decision to stop teaching, at least through the University. I have a group of women coming in January for private lessons here in my studio and a couple of the students from this last class said they might be interested in individual instruction. That's the way to go for me if I want to make any money at it.

Since I had to fire student work every week I actually got quite a bit of my own work done. I made four more pendants in my flower series, three with glass and one with an opal. I don't know why I love making these little suckers, but I do.

And a few others, to boot. Upper left has a pink sapphire, which didn't turn out so great in the picture. Upper right has a blue topaz. Lower left has a black onyx bullet and I think this would look good on a man. Lower right has a lab ruby and my mixed texture.

I didn't post much about the election here, or on Facebook, because it's all so exhausting to me and I'm horrified by our country's lack of control over campaigns. But, I will say that I am over the moon that we are keeping Barack Obama for four more years. It's great to have a smart, kind and compassionate man running the country.

I have a trunk show coming up in a few weeks, so those of you in Charlotte be on the lookout for details on that. I think that over the next few days I'm going to be on this computer a lot. I need to edit photos and get the ole Etsy Shop ramped up for the holidays. I've decided to sign up to take gift cards and for the direct pay option. We'll see if that helps sales.

I hope y'all are having a great day and I'll try not to be away so long again.

Smooth Sailing

I read my horoscope this morning and it said:

"Today you should have a very strong sense of well-being. Your inner self is functioning harmoniously, and you do not feel emotional turmoil or strife. You are not in the mood for adventures, challenges and major changes, nor is it necessary to be so."

Nice, huh? And it's true. There really hasn't been a lot on my mind, and definitely nothing that would put me in a mood like I was in a few weeks ago. I seem to be at the top of the wave right now, and it feels good.

I have been in the studio because it finally feels like what I want to do. I've just been moseying along doing what inspires me. Here's a few of the new things:

Three new pieces with the beautiful dichroic glass I got at the Gem Show last July.

This one has a lab ruby.

I'm going to try and do an Etsy Shop update this weekend. I've found some more studio stash that I'd like to get rid of and I'll list some new things, too. Maybe I'll list these four!

Have a great holiday weekend, everyone, and stay safe!

Friday Foto 3/9 and GIVEAWAY!

I haven't done this in awhile and I'm feeling like spreading a little love. I'll be giving away the earrings pictured above in a contest I'm calling Spring Bling! They're made from fine silver (metal clay) and have sterling silver ear wires. Even though we haven't had a bad winter, I'm still ready for warm breezes through open windows, birds chirping, and flowers blooming. All you have to do to enter is leave a comment on any blog post between now and the day of the Vernal Equinox. Tell me what your favorite season of the year is and why. I'll draw a random name on the morning of March 20. Good luck!

Still a lot of studio stash for sale

Awhile back I did a studio clean-up and decided to sell a lot of the things that I had been keeping "because I might do something with them someday". I just want everyone to know that there are still a lot of deals to be had. I've listed them at the silver price I paid at the time, so there are some really good bargains. Go to My Etsy Shop and check it out. You can see all of these items at once if you click on the "Components, Studio Stash" section over on the left side of the screen.

I'm really surprised that this one hasn't sold yet:

Apatite set in sterling silver. Click here to go to the listing on Etsy.

Or, this one:

Carnelian in a sterling silver setting. Click here to go to the listing on Etsy.

And these - all cut out and drilled and ready to use in your own project:

Set of five sterling silver triangles. Click here to go to the listing on Etsy.

These will stay in the shop until they expire - I won't be relisting them. At that time they'll go to the scrap pile. So get your bargains while you can!!

Earring-a-palooza

In the past week or so I've made 31 pairs of earrings. Earrings are my LEAST favorite things to make, so when I do them I do a LOT of them all at once. I make the silver parts all along and when earring inventory starts to dwindle I sit down with all my silver bits and beads and ear wires and do a batch of earrings. Some have beads, some are plain silver. Some are oxidized, some are shiny. This should replenish my stock for the rest of the season and now all that needs to be done is to match up the pairs, put them on cards and price them. Whew. Now I can move on to the fun stuff.

Finished Pieces

Here's a few of the finished pieces from that kiln load in the last post. First, some dichroic glass goodies:

And, a couple with dangly beads:



And some of my signature "Toggle/Focal" pieces:

It will be awhile before I can get these listed in my Etsy Shop and the "Toggle/Focal" ones are destined for the Little Art Gallery in Raleigh. Apparently, Raleigh ladies love this design. In the meantime if you see another one above that peaks your interest just contact me and we'll make a deal!

Whining's Over, Let's Move On

I've been working on filling up this kiln shelf for almost a month. For some reason I like to have a full shelf before I fire the work, and maybe I'm being over efficient, but that's just how I roll.  And, it's so satisfying to not have any leftover clay in an opened package. It just all worked out perfect this time. Kind of like having just enough chips to finish the jar of salsa, you know? The firing is done now and it's time to tumble, patina, polish, assemble, price, inventory and photograph. All that should keep me busy for the next week or so. I haven't felt like working in my studio for a long time, so this feels kind of new to me. It's nice to feel productive again. It took me a month to fill the shelf because I still can't work for long periods at a  time.

I only have two packages of silver clay left. If my class that starts in September gets enough students enrolled to make I'll have to order more then and I'll get extra for myself. In the meantime I'll just keep my eye on spot prices and hope the government gets its act together before the metal speculators put me out of business. I was freaked out two years ago about $16 silver prices. I never imagined it would ever get over $40 like it was yesterday. Unfortunately, the price of my jewelry has to increase, too.

I've still got a lot of stash in my Etsy Shop. Pieces and parts and things I've made that I'll never use. Go see if there's something that will work in one of your designs. I've listed them for what I paid for the silver, so there are some incredible bargains.

Lola's showing off her jewelry today. See the gold cuff bracelet on her arm?

More Miscellaneous Stuff

• I'm continuing to clean out the studio and list things at bargain prices in my Etsy Shop. I have so many things there now that I realize I should have opened a separate shop for this stuff. Oh well. If they don't sell by time to renew the listing I'll take them down. It will be obvious by then that no one wants them. I can always scrap the silver.
• I had to do an emergency house cleaning yesterday morning. I had asked a friend of mine to give me an estimate on pressure washing my house and sealing all the wood and his wife called to say they were coming over so he could look at things. If it was just an ordinary contractor I wouldn't even let him inside the house. But these are friends and I couldn't let them see how I normally live! That's OK - my sister is coming to visit and I would have had to do it eventually anyway. It's not that I live in squalor or anything, but housecleaning is not at the top of my list of things to do. It's usually just me around here, so who cares?
• I've actually spent a little time in my studio over the past week. (Gasp!) I've had a couple of ideas I want to try out and sales in the co-op galleries have finally started to pick up for the season. I realized that I have a "mini show" next month, then rather large ones in September and October. Better crack that whip and get back to work. 
• My garden is getting ready to burst into all it's beautiful awesomeness. Too bad I haven't felt like keeping up with it this spring because the weeds are pretty impressive, too. There's so much that needs to be dug and divided and I just don't have the energy for it. We've had a rain storm nearly every day for the past month, so everything is lush and green and gorgeous. THIS is why I endure the harsh winters here!
• My hives are still around for no reason. They get better, then they get worse. Today they're pretty bad and I feel a little sick. It may be time to check out a local homeopathic practitioner. It's about the only thing I haven't tried yet.
• It seems like I've had to deal with a lot of idiots giving me the run around lately. It makes me feel like an old curmudgeon. I don't have a lot of patience, especially because this is an issue that's been hanging around for several years. Every time I think it's resolved it rears its ugly head again. So frustrating.

Well, that's about all the news from the lane. I hear thunder in the distance so I'd better get this posted and unplug the computer. What have you been up to?

Listing, Listing, Listing

I've been spending lots of time listing all the studio treasures in my shop. For days now, I've been listing. I hate that it takes so long to photograph and list each item. For this Great Studio Clean Out and Stash Purge I'm not worrying too much about taking Grade-A pictures. I just want to get the stuff up there so it will find a good home. A few things have been mailed out today, but I'm surprised that this

 hasn't sold yet. C'mon! You can't get a better deal at $20.00 for a sterling silver bracelet. I actually have four of these.

This carnelian stone set into a cast sterling silver pendant is still around, too. This one is only $35.00 and is ready to hang on your own chain or cord.

I've listed about 20 things so far and I'm not even half way done, so go see if you can find a bargain or two for yourself! It's never too early to shop for Christmas, you know.

Listed So Far

Here's some of what I've put in the shop so far. (I just realized that the Etsy Mini above will change every time I add a new item! How cool is that?) Click on any item to be taken directly to the listing. I hate that it takes so long to list each one! I have so many more to go. Keep watching!

Finally! Some new jewelry.

I made this ring as a custom order for my friend Lyn. I hope she likes it - she's been wanting one for a long time.

While I was in a ring making mood, I made this fancy ring with four amethyst cz's across the top. It fits me and I might keep it. Or, I might wear it for awhile and decide it's not my style. We'll see.

This necklace is a toggle with a lapis cabachon set into it.

And the necklace part is lapis and sterling silver beads:

The pendant below is another in my flower series.

And it hangs from a hand forged sterling silver chain:

I'm still having a hard time getting into the groove. I just can't seem to find my muse for jewelry. We have another week coming up with predictions of snow for several days, so I guess I'll give it a shot. Sometimes it helps to just get out the material and stare at it and see what emerges. I hope it's something interesting!

The Last Week of the Year

Whew! Christmas is over, and what a whirlwind the last couple of weeks have been. Here's a few random thoughts of what's been going on with me:

I started experimenting with polymer clay, and it's not as easy as I thought it would be. It's so totally different from metal clay, and even after watching videos and reading about it, I still don't have anything worthy to show. One thing I discovered was that I was just not using enough of the clay. It's not expensive, so I don't have to be stingy with it like I do with silver clay. Another thing I've discovered is that although there's a lot of information out there about polymer clay in general, there's not much about polymer clay jewelry specifically. Of what I have found, there's only a few people doing exquisite work. Most is cheap and cheezy looking. Liz Hall sure sets a high standard!

I went to Raleigh on Christmas Eve and spent it with my Dad, Sister and Brother-in-law. In the three years since my Mom passed away and my Dad sold the house we grew up in, we've been trying to keep traditions alive as best we can. We gather at a friend's house and cook standing rib roast and Yorkshire pudding just like Mom did. It's always nice and we all get along fabulously, but it's just not the same without Mom. I got to see my step-son and his family while I was there, too. My two granddaughters just get bigger and more beautiful every time I see them.

On Christmas Day I drove up to Lynchburg, VA to spend time with my step-daughter's family. There was a huge snow storm predicted for most of NC and VA and I arrived just as it started coming down. They only got a couple of inches of snow in western Va - enough for her two boys to try out new sleds and snow boards - but the whole east coast got slammed, including Raleigh. I had originally planned to come home on Sunday, but knew that it was going to snow here at home so I extended it to Monday. Then I got word that there was a blizzard here, so I ended up staying until Tuesday and I was glad I did. The roads were clear and I got to spend more time with some fabulous people.

I ate lots good food, played many video and board games, and gave and received lots of nice gifts.

I decided to place an order for supplies today so that I could include it in this year's books. Silver is so freaking high that the total bill took my breath away and my poor credit card is groaning under the weight.

Etsy sales were good this holiday season, but there were a lot of glitches with shipping. I was offering free standard USPO shipping and a couple of packages didn't arrive. One was returned and had to be re-sent Priority Mail. I had to send out a replacement order for the other one. And, with the horrible weather, it was hard for me to get to the post office on time. I'll have to re-think this next year.

I have no plans for New Year's Eve. My neighbors will inform me that the year has turned over by setting off fireworks and shooting guns. I'll probably wake up, tell Lola happy new year, and go right back to sleep. I really don't like being out on the roads with a lot of drunks.

I now have a head cold (from being around a lot of people, especially children, I'm sure). And, as my grandpa used to say, a "hitch in my get-along" from sitting in the car too long. I'm ready to go back into hermit mode and get some jewelry made.

I hope you have a happy, healthy and prosperous 2011!

The Shop is LOADED

Click on any item above to be taken directly to that listing in my shop.

I've put everything I can imagine up in my Etsy Shop. The gallery above is not even everything that's up there! It's time to promote, market, advertise, and nearly spam you poor people to death, so that you'll think of me when you're making out your holiday shopping list. I apologize. It's exhausting. And, I hope not too annoying for you, but this is what has to be done in order to be at the top of the lists when people are googling for jewelry. This is how I make my living.

Yesterday was "Black Friday". When (and why) did we give the day after Thanksgiving a name? I suppose some advertising guru determined that it was the start of holiday shopping and therefore retailers would be "in the black" (making a profit) for the year. And then we were told that we had to go shopping on this day. The idea of standing out in the cold in the middle of the night in front of a big box store waiting for some kind of incredible bargain on an item made in China just totally escapes me. A man in Buffalo, NY was trampled yesterday, for God's sake!

Today was "Small Business Saturday". I like this idea much better. I'm told that if you spend $100 at a small local business, $45 of that will stay in the community. Of your $100 spent at Walmart, or some other large chain, only $13 stays local. And small businesses provide between 60% and 80% of new jobs.

I worked at Hands Gallery (one of the cooperative galleries I belong to) yesterday and we had a very busy day. We didn't open until our usual time, 10:00, and we've never had a sale. Everything in the store is made within 50 miles and it's ALL HAND MADE. Here. In the USA. We surely didn't make as much money as Target did, but we had a very good day. And 85% of the profits are returned to the artist members who make the merchandise. 60% to consignment artists. Now, don't you think this is a better idea?

So, I think tomorrow is "Come To Your Senses Sunday" and then on Monday when everyone goes back to work it's "Cyber Monday" when people buy online what they didn't get over the weekend. I hope they shop at zoenelson.etsy.com , because, like I said,  this is how I make a living.

Don't forget that you can get a 10% discount by entering the coupon code BLOGREADER.

Ramping Up the Etsy Shop

Just a few of the things that I've added lately to my Etsy Shop so you can start your holiday shopping right now! You can click on the photos above to take you to the listing, or the widget to the right scrolls through all the items and you can click on the ones you like to take you directly to that item in the shop. Let's get this party started! Tell your friends! I'm adding new things every day.

Autumn Musings

Photo courtesy of Ken Thomas

I've never seen so many goldfinches in my yard as I have this year. Right outside my back door is a large stand of purple coneflowers that have gone to seed and they obviously love, love, love eating them. I counted between 15 and 20, some hanging upside down feasting on the little black seeds. When I go out the back door there's a flurry of yellowish feathers (they're starting to wear their winter plumage) and they fly off to enjoy the next course in their meal of the thistle and wild sunflowers across the driveway. Their sweet "beep beep" voices make me smile every time.

Today was a day to knock things off my steadily growing to-do list. I got some car maintenance done that was over due, and got my flu shot. (I'm always a little amazed that they can shoot some goo into my arm and I won't get sick this year.) Then I went to our new Michaels store and did the WalMart frenzy with all the other crazy people. All done, home and unloaded before the cold rain set in.   

I spent part of the day yesterday taking photos of some more finished jewelry. Here's a few samples:

My furnace has been coming on and it's a day for long pants, long sleeves and socks. The leaves are starting to change and will be at their peak in another couple of weeks. Frost can't be too far away.  I'm feeling a little achy from the flu shot so I think I'll make some soup and hit my pillow early tonight.

I hope you're enjoying the cooler Fall weather where you are. Thanks for stopping by.

Plodding Along

Photo by Marty Hulsebos

Sometimes life goes smoothly, thank God! That's where I am right now, and I'm grateful for the ordinary-ness and the mundane. No deadlines and plenty of inventory so upcoming shows aren't daunting. In fact, I have a show this coming Saturday and I'm really not freaked out by it at all. I'm ready. The only thing I'm a little freaked out about is loading up my car for the show because there are still several black snakes living in my shed, where all my show equipment is stored. I don't like to go in there and especially don't like to move things around that snakes might be hiding in or behind. And there are no galleries breathing down my neck wanting work. No stress. Ahhhh.....

Monday night was the second week of the Metal Clay class. I've only got four students, which is both good and bad. Good because it makes class very easy on me and everyone gets a lot of personal attention. Bad because my pay check is smaller, but a small check is better than none at all. The last session was cancelled because only one person enrolled. Jim, who teaches the fabrication jewelry class, said his class is small this time also. We used to over flow into each other's classes. If mine was full, the registrar would suggest that they take Jim's class, and vice-versa. Anyone out there have an opinion about why enrollement is down, other than the pat answer of "the economy"? Are there any other Metal Clay teachers out there experiencing the same thing?

Since the University still doesn't have a kiln I can use for my class, I have to bring student projects home and fire them in my kiln each week. ("The economy" again - University spending is restricted.) Between classes I've been making a few pieces to add to the kiln load, but I have nothing hanging over me. My only deadline is to get the kiln fired each week before class on Monday night. And I'll have to do it again the following week, so if I don't get a piece ready to fire this week it's no big deal. It's nice to be able to take my time and think about every step, to try out something new and to just let the creativity flow. Below are a few things that I've managed to complete. You might recognize them from this post.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Etsy Sale!!

I just finished uploading the last of the sale items into my Etsy Shop. Lots of goodies, lots of bargains, so check it out.

It's time to let go of some of these and let them find good homes. It's time to make some money so I can buy more metal clay and make new things. These pieces have been a burden on my inventory for too long now and I need to clean house so that I can let my creativity flow without my inner voice saying "you already have enough inventory". Help me out, won't you?

Click here to go directly to my shop, or click on the scrolling widget to the right if you see one that you like.

More Etsy Listings

I've listed these pieces in my Etsy Shop over the last few days. I'm trying to freshen it up with some new things, just for YOU! Enjoy.

Sparkly!

Sometimes when you fire metal clay you get the "Sparkly Effect" when it comes out of the kiln. I fired the above pieces today and they're REALLY sparkly. This is an effect of the silver particles fusing together and forming crystals on the surface. It's random and I don't think anyone really knows for sure how and when it will happen. And no one knows how to make this happen on purpose. These were not all the pieces in the kiln. The rest of them came out white, like they usually do. Vickie Hallmark wrote a blog post about this recently and went in to great detail about why this might happen. You can read it here, if you want a scientific hypothesis of why this might be.

My question to you, dear readers, is do I polish these to a  shiny surface and then put on a patina, like I usually do, or leave them rough and sparkly? Polishing esentially flattens down the crystals and light doesn't reflect off of the peaks any more.  I'm not sure I like it and I don't know how it will wear over time. What's your opinion?

Shopping for Jewelry Supplies

I went to Ashevile yesterday to the Gem and Lapidary Wholesale show. I usually buy most of my non-metal clay supplies there that I'll use to work on new things this winter. Unfortunately, silver has gone up so much that a lot of what I wanted to buy was beyond my budget. I did manage to find some things that were on my shopping list, though:

Some tiny (2.5mm) round stone beads. Citrine, amethyst, clear crystal and garnet. Not sure how these will be used yet. They could be crocheted into a lovely (but terribly expensive) neck chain for a PMC focal piece, or maybe just strung in some way.

An assortment of bead caps, cones and bails in sterling silver. No intended purpose for anything but the cones. I use them for the ends of my multi-strand seed bead necklaces.

Some interesting new sterling silver chain from SII Findings. You gotta watch out for this guy! He's young and cute and has an uncanny ability to talk me into buying a lot more than I asked for in the first place. I'll use it all up eventually, though.

And, lastly, a bunch of watch faces. I've been intending on making some more watches, so this should keep me busy for awhile!

The best part of the day was that after I was done shopping I had lunch with a friend who I haven't seen in about 12 years. I found her on Facebook and it was sooooo much fun getting caught up. It seems that we have run parallel lives since we last saw each other, and the connection was there as if no time had passed at all. Thanks, Cheryl!