Thanks

for being a friend- for the times you stopped what you were doing in order to help-
for knowing when to listen- for your sense of humor- for letting me have a bite of your cookie-
for knowing not to call before 9am- for the push I needed- for opening new worlds- for accepting my imperfections- for teaching me how to cook a turkey.....
for all this and more- I thank you, husband, son,  friend, sister, nieces, aunties, mom, dad
Have a wonderful thanksgiving
gobble gobble!
M

All Souls Procession

Every year in Tucson we all are waiting with baited breath for Halloween- It is the time that Tucsonans  look to for many reasons-

One, yes, is that Halloween is fun, and there is candy and costumes and parties. BUT That's the way it is all over the US- so it's not particular to Tucson....

Another reason is that Halloween (late October) is the time when our temperatures finally drop to reasonable levels. It is when we are able to go outside for longer than 10 minutes without risking heat stroke. (and for that we all are thankful). I for one am looking forward to spending more time in the garden.

The big thing that many Tucsonans look forward to isn't candy or coolness- It is the chance to honor their departed loved ones during Dia de los Muertos and the All Souls Procession. Dia de los Muertos is a Mexican holiday that is a beautiful (slightly macabre) way to honor your ancestors.

We celebrate DDLM in Tucson with our own flair- many people hold remembrance dinners, shrines are created and tended, and one glorious night, Tucsonans gather at the All Souls Procession- draped in their skeletal finery. The procession is now in it's 21st year- starting out as a small group of friends, it is now a major event- with thousands of participants and even more spectators. The procession is for everyone young, old, live  or dead. It's path meanders through Tucson's downtown area- ending at a vast open space- where Flam Chen's fire performance and the burning of the giant urn (in which participants have placed remembrance prayers for their loved ones) truly amazes even the most cynical arthags.

I'm looking forward to the procession- preparing myself to deal with crowds (being 5'1" makes it a bit difficult to be in a throng of people) And prepping my wardrobe to take part in Tucson's way of honoring our dearly departed.

Sugar Skull jewelry

In the spirit of the season, I have created a limited edition line of sugar skull pendants and earrings.
They are made with embossed and painted aluminum- the earrings have sterling findings. Now available in my etsy shop and in person at Bohemia gallery, Tucson.

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

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

Art at the Ranch-

Hi there! I will be showing my work this Saturday at This event in Amado Arizona- (just 30 miles drive south of Tucson, near Mt Hopkins and the historical artist community of Tubac AZ)
I was invited to participate by the organizers,
who used to run a craft gallery in Tubac AZ , where I used to show my work- Before I moved to Italy and had to change around my galleries...but that's another story

This will be my first outdoor event with my new canopy and tables- I am going to be
"bare bones" this time- just a couple tables on risers with tablecloths and jewelry displays-

I have visions of what I want my booth to eventually look like, but now I will be happy
just being able to set up and enjoy the day-
with a no frills booth, and a plethera of beautiful jewelry to sell!
I will take pics of each incarnation of my booth as it develops- I hope to have a really good developed design- fully outfitted by the end of the summer-
(so I can have great images to use for show submissions next year)

I hope to see you in Amado this weekend- In any case, if you cannot make it to this event please

mark your calenders for Dec 13th-from 1-6pm,  when I will be hosting a holiday sale at my lovely Tucson garden studio (aka Cosmo's Moon World Headquarters!) I'll be updating this blog about that event in the near future- so keep tuned!

Have a great Thanksgiving - (and to my international friends- have a great weekend!)
ciao- Maureen

Gifts for the Metalsmith

Gifts for the Metalsmith

As holidays are coming up, I have been thinking about gifts.

Every year my husband struggles to figure out what he wants to get me for a gift-
he is baffled, as I really do not need anything traditionally girly..
and he knows what kind of reaction he would get if
he hung up his brain and went to Kay Jewelers
to get me a (yikes) heart solitaire locket
or some other commercial crapola..

Metalsmiths have lots of hammers, so you can guess what the
outcome would be...something would get ...forged. :-)

So I was thinking of helping all of our significant others, giving them a sort of master list to look at for Metalsmith Gifts... and I'd love to have your input! I'll gather a list of our wishes, and post them on this blog later in December- (and I'll announce it on the Metalsmiths Unite! facebook page)
Both practical things like tools / books and ideological things like world peace are welcome on this list

I'll give it a start-

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

I could go on and on...but I'll let You have your turn- to add to the wish list simply leave a comment on this blog, or if you want to do it privately you can message me on Facebook and I'll cut and paste it (anonymously) to the master list.
then..
I will publish the list in December- and will announce it on Facebook -
Have fun with this,( I look forward to seeing the end result.)
happy 'smithing everyone!
ciao- Maureen BZ

End of the year..holidays.. intentions..and beyond

So it's just about time when most of the western hemisphere comes to a grinding halt. The winter holidays are upon us again, (funny how they do that every year). And, like most of you,

I am busy trying to keep it all in the air!

I have had a good year, 2008. I did a little of this and that.We survived our first year of public school (barely... there's a story about the after school program that lost my kid), Opened an Etsy shop, traveled to Italy, had some joyous times and sorrow (with the passing of my 93 year old grandfather ).

I am eager to see what the future will bring. I'm planning on keeping my son home from school on January 20th to watch the inauguration of our new (and promising) President. . I imagine many families will do the same!

About a month ago, I read someones blog and it had this great idea... to take an image a day. It didn't matter what image, (family, art, whatever) just take an image and post it.. I intend to start this exercise January 1st. It seems simple, but I can't help wondering if I will let it slide, like taking a vitamin pill.. I know it will be good for me, but somehow...LIFE happens and I get sidetracked. Let's see if this exercise can help me stay on track. (At the least it will give me an excuse to go out and see the world more! )

here is an image from my world last year..

Mount Lemmon Highway, from Windy Point Vista Tucson Az 2008

I hope you all have great holidays, and I look forward to hearing from you in the upcoming year!

The Sweater Nanas

I wanted to share with you today about a heartwarming tradition that was carried out in my son's class this morning. It is a perfect illustration of grace and generosity, carried out by dedicated crafters and benefiting everyone in the tree room community.

Thirteen years ago one of the students in the (K-1) tree room shared that she had a nana (grandma) who loved to knit. This Nana spent all year knitting, even during the sweltering Tucson summers. She knit, knit, knit....

What was she working on? This incredible woman was knitting for all the kids in her grandchild's classroom! In December, before holiday break, the "sweater nana" came to the class and presented each boy and girl in the classroom with a handmade sweater, gloves or hat, to keep and cherish for their very own. The children were delighted!

For the two years that the girl was in the tree room, the sweater nana knit each child a special piece, and each year they had a "Sweater Nana" day just before the holidays. Then, as all kids do, the little girl graduated to her next classroom.

So, December rolled around once more.. and, just before the holidays, the sweater nana showed up at school, to the tree room like before with knitted offerings for each girl and boy in the class!

The sweater nana had chosen the room, and a tradition lived on!

The sweater Nana continued her knitting grace and generosity for many years. Then, eight years ago she passed away. The tree room had lost this generous soul and everyone was very sad. Until, one of the Nieces of the sweater nana said, wait! I am carrying on the tradition. And with that, her generosity lives on.

Today there are seven "Sweater Nanas" ( four were able to come to the school this morning) and they spend all year long knitting, thinking about the generosity and grace of the original nana. They think of the children as they knit, clack clack-ing their way through each sweater with love and dedication.

After the "Sweater Nana" story was told this morning, a unique sweater and hat set was laid out for the kids to choose. And one by one, each child rose and selected their love letter.

Happy Holidays.

Metalsmiths in Action Holiday Promotion

Hi everyone and Happy Thanksgiving!

As many of you know I am involved in an online community of craftspeople. Most of us have shops on ETSY, which is a great collection of handmade and vintage sellers and enthusiasts. I have a shop there since early September 08 called "Cosmo's Moon" where I sell my one of a kind jewelry as well as a new line of affordable chic handmade silver.

One of the ways that Etsy works for sellers is that they offer a sense of community through the possibility of forming and joining teams. I am a proud member of the Etsy Metalsmithins in Action team, (which is one of the larger metals teams,) which is today kicking off it's

Holiday Promotion. here is a link: http://metalsmithsinaction.webs.com/contest.htm

(pictured above is the piece I am offering in the holiday promotion for MSIA)

I encourage all of you to bookmark this promotion and participate in the contest! If you look at the wonderful pieces offered to prizewinners you will surely understand why. Please send this along to anyone else in your life who you think might be interested in Handcrafted gifts. (you could even give your friends a hint about which shop you want to recieve a gift from....)

By the way, for my own shop (Cosmo's Moon) I have a Holiday shipping sale. Free shipping to U.S.A. addresses, and only $5 shipping anywhere else, internationally.(ending January 1 2008) Many other Etsy shops are offering similar promotions!

thanks for your continued interest and support!

Have a Safe, Relaxing and Happy Holiday season