Santa..suggestions from a bunch of smiths

Here it is! the 2009 Metalsmiths Unite official Gifts for the Metalsmith List !!

I was thinking of helping all of our significant others, giving them a sort of master list to look at for Metalsmith Gifts... I asked for input from the Metalsmiths Unite group and blog, and here is the list we generated----please feel free to add your wishes!

MBZ
   1. world peace/ the end of hunger
   2. really good hand cream
   3. a cool apron for the shop
   4. a bench mounted band saw
   5.  a coupon for 100 solitary hours at my bench

Roberta said...
    1. Rolling Mill
    2. Paragon Kiln
    3. Hydraulic Press
    4. Bigger Studio
    5. Time to use them
   
DeAnne said...
    1-Bigger Studio
    2- New Torch
    3- lots of metal to play with
    4- a reason to quit my day job so I have more time to play with my presents
  
Kalicat said...
    1. lots of gemstones
    2. gold, frankincense and myrrh
    3. vouchers at favorite suppliers
    4. time
    5. chocolates, many boxes
    6. storage
    7. master classes

Dana/WiredDesign said...
    OOh - I love DeAnne's #4 -
    "a reason to quit my day job...
    Although - I have lots of reasons, just need some courage to go with them!
   
JorgensenStudio said...
    1. set of Fretz hammers
    2. rolling mill
    3. new torch
    4. new tables for my booth
    5. a week workshop at arrowmont, pendland or appalachian ceter for craft
   

juliesanford said...
    1. A stump with a big anvil
    2. A nice bench shear
    3. A New belt sander
    4. Blades and bits that don't dull or break
    5. Heat
  
Eddie (aka Erkki Kokko)said...
    Dear Santa...
    I got some wishes too...
    1.Metal lathe
    2.A milling machine
    3.Lots of materials to play with...
    4.Time to play with my new tools :)
    5.What else? ...hmmm... oh yeah, world peace!
 
Maureen BZ said...
    I just thought of another one-
    I was just thinking...
    instead of a gift-
    how about making a donation to an arts organization on someone's behalf?
    (I know I'd love to make a more significant
    donation to Haystack)the arts are suffering from lack of funding as usual- so maybe we could make a list of orgs that need more support from our community...
    hey, I'd be super happy with a membership renewal for SNAG! :-) just saying

Randi said...
    I'm still thinking in terms of a jewelers bra - with a nice little shield to protect my sternum when I tighten my saw. Is that too much ask for?

Eddie (aka Erkki) said...

    To Randi...
    If you take close look of my "interview pic" you can see, that i have reinforced my leather apron's left hand side with a piece of thick rubber.
    It is handy when i tighten my saw!
    No more chest pain! :) :)
    -Erkki- (Eddie) :D
  
Taueret said...
    Great idea! My santa list has on it:
    1- rolling mill
    2- set of alphabet stamps
    3- set of really good needle files
    4- set of really good hand files

Gwen said...
    Ooooh... my list would include...
    1. Some of that "invisible glove" hand cream that gardeners use... Makes cleaning up after polishing a breeze.
    2. A custom made logo stamp.
    3. A long enough holiday to let my nails grow long enough to paint them (for the first time ever)
    4. Tough enough fingers after the holiday to be able to work again without major finger damage...
    5. Some clothes without acid holes in them.

  Art of the Firebird said...
     1. A big ol' tree stump for pounding things on
    2. Several texturing hammers
    3. A small but sturdy rolling mill
    4. Someone to come in and organize my studio
    5. Time to work in the studio once it's organized

Kikka Las Vegas' holiday wishes

Kikka Las Vegas
Originally uploaded by cosmosmoonjewelry

My cat Kikka is a washed up showgirl from Vegas.
She's still pretty, but has put on a few.. well, let's call her extra fluffy...
She spends her days in her fluffy slippers watching stories, eating bonbons and writing to her "penpal" in prison.

She made me take this picture for all her admirers..and she wanted me to write "Kikka hopes that you are having a purrrrfectly lovely holiday"..... what class!

she let me add this:
:-) sending warm sunshine from southern AZ
(where I had to change into a thinner t-shirt today it was so warm)
happy holidays to you and yours-
ciao- Maureen

home

Annie was transported back to Tucson last night by medical transport-
She was put in a Neuro unit at one of our  Tucson hospitals- They plan on moving her to
the rehabilitation hospital in 2 days, once she has rested from the trip and they are happy with her
stabilization and vitals.
I got to hear her voice on the phone when she called me this morning- she sounded tired, but
was as spunky and humorous as ever. She wanted me to bring Cosmo by to see her tonight, so I drove there after picking him up from school-
Unfortunately there is a ban on children under 13 in all hospitals in AZ until March , due to H1N1...so I called up to the room and had Wizard come down and stay with him while I went to see princess blue eyes.
She had me take this picture of her to show Cosmo that she is on her feet again (incredible, isn't it? she broke her neck in 2 places!) and we think that she resembles a Pokemon...not sure which one, but I'm sure that will be sorted out soon.
It will be many weeks until she is released from the hospital, she has a long recovery ahead of her.
I'm so thankful to all of you for your prayers and wishes-
we can count ourselves lucky to have this bright star still with us
I'll keep posting Annie's progress- and I will send your good wishes her way.

ciao- Maureen

Holiday Gratitude

Last Friday my dear friends Annie and Wizard (Jack Doyle) went on a trip driving to Pennsicola Florida from Tucson, in anticipation of a new grandchild on it's way...They were driving a rental car at night and had gotten as far as Deming NM when the car blewout and rolled. 

This is a pic I took of them during out Thanksgiving celebration this year- just a few weeks ago- (I saw a picture of Annie in the hospital today and it's just too heartbreaking to post)

Luckily, they were both wearing their seatbelts- Wizard escaped with some bumps and scratches,
but little Annie ended up in a much more serious state- with lacerations on her head
and trauma to her neck.

By chance the first person who stopped to help was an EMT and he was able to get
assistance to the crash immediately- He then stayed with them as the ambulence drove up.

to Quote Wizard "Perhaps we got our luckiest with the arrival of the ambulance about 10 minutes after the accident carrying a young Hispanic EMT known only to me by his radio call sign of "Hidalgo 24".  With no knowledge of actual severity of Annie's injuries, he felt increasingly uncomfortable during the 70-mile transport to the hospital in Deming, NM. 

He just did not want to drop her at a "level 3" hospital;  he worked his radio the entire trip and got the life flight helo inbound from Las Cruces to meet us on our arrival and immediately lift Annie to the regional trauma center in El Paso.  Then, he refused to abandon me in the middle of nowhere and somehow found me the only rental car in 2500 square miles (from a "mom & pop" operation) and got me on my way to El Paso.  

The EMT's gut feeling got Annie to the right place for the proper care hours, perhaps a full day ahead of what might have been. 

What a great call sign, "Hidalgo 24" sounds like the Jolly Green who comes and pulls you away from the bad guys behind enemy lines.  He was all that and more on Friday afternoon.  Annie and I will track him down sometime in the near future.  We've been blessed by wonderful care from wonderful professional and caring people."

As I write, she is in El Paso, with a Halo scaffolding holding her head in place, to help stabilize her neck, where she has fractures. She is  in a huge amount of pain, but is putting on a brave face, even trying to crack a joke here and there- I just got a call saying that  the doctors to gave her the OK for medical transport back to Tucson tomorrow, where she will be in the rehabilitation hospital for many weeks of therapy and healing.

Our Annie is the axis of many wonderful friends-
she is the one person besides myself that has been at Both of my weddings and I was able to be present at one (of many...lol) of hers- the one a few years ago to her devoted and wonderful Jack aka Wizard.
The one thing I will take from this is gratitude - Grateful to have such wonderful people in our lives, and grateful that they will be with us this Christmas.

Hold your loved ones close and let them know how much they mean to you-
because life does those dances that are sometimes terribly unexpected.
Wishing you all
Peace + Health- Maureen

Interviews up at Metalsmiths Unite! blog

Just a note to let you know that I am now publishing short interviews of metalsmiths of all shapes sizes and skills on the Metalsmiths Unite! Blog...

So far I've posted my interview, one from my Finnish Metalsmith friend Erkki Kokko, fellow metalsmithing mamma Julie Sanford, the fabulous Harriete Estel Berman, AZ goldsmith, teacher and friend Michael David Sturlin , and the latest interview with British master goldsmith James Miller-


lots of talent there! and more to come....
so drop by, have a good read and enjoy the incredible artwork! Metalsmiths Unite!
ciao- MBZ

I want my studio time!!

Last week I spent most of my work hours updating my image files and posting new pieces on my etsy and artfire shops. It's amazing how long it takes to write good descriptions!

I'm also trying to lighten up some of my images...I have a tendency to go dark on my photos...or too complicated...so now I'm experimenting once again with backgrounds and diffusion methods.
I've been up for critique from my etsy metals peers this week, and I've had
a few good suggestions on how to get the most from my shop-
One thing I am going to look forward to is the gradient papers I am ordering for backgrounds of my work. They are great backgrounds that give metals a nice atmosphere to sit on and I'm hoping that adding them as my background will bring a more polished look to my shop.
well, that's my update du Jour-
I'm heading to the studio as soon as I get the workers out of my house (they are working on the hearing this morning...believe it or not, we actually do use heat here in AZ in the winter..a couple of days, that is!)
OK, ciao for now- M

seriously busy

Yes, I'm seriously busy these days...
holidays, kids stuff, events and general hubbub
too busy to really sit and express my thoughts in print..
I will be writing something brilliant and interesting soon.... <:-)

in the meantime, I thought I'd share this cool image I took the other day
of some flower petals wrapped in plastic-
(it was from a shipment I was sending to a friend in a colder part of the US...
I thought I'd send her a taste of the warm AZ winters)

If I didn't love metals so much I would be seriously pursuing photography...
now it's just super fun!
ciao-M