may 25 2010 Kathy D's button11

may 25 2010 Kathy D's button11
Originally uploaded by cosmosmoonjewelry

I had a visit from a new friend from out of town today (who I met this year during the Spring Open studios ) She surprised me with a gift of a couple of bags of vintage Czech glass buttons from her old bead and button store in the Seattle area.
I thought it fitting that today's ring be a button ring-
"for Kathy D"- leather, Czech glass button and a brass rivet
:-) thanks friend!

Ring a day - inspired by you

Tell me your ring size! I'm looking for inspirations for the ring a day project- and I'd love to design a piece in your honor.

These will be fast and fun- I will take inspiration from what I think I know about you- and I will post an image of the piece here on my blog when it is done (and on your Facebook page if we are connected through Facebook)

I cannot promise that I will get to everyone-(but I'll try) I will be picking the names at random during the duration of my ring a day year (2010) . I make rings for this project during the weekdays only  and I am currently on ring #88.

So...what do you say? :-) let's make some rings!

YUMA 3- relay

Day 3 has two artists presenting in the morning, and the big closing presentation after lunch. Then comes one of the funnest events in the History of events- The National Saw, File and Solder relay.


Seriously...this is the way to have fun!!

In Teams of 3, it goes like this.... one runs to the end of the course (LOL, the bench is  only about 25 feet away from the finish line)  saws out a long oval, the next files it and shapes it into a ring, then the third runs down and solders the seam and shapes it into a circle....then runs back and jams it on their teammate's finger.
 
It's a relay often with full costumes, and the requisite free Tequila and limes from the back of Greg Patranos' car. Wildly fun- this year we even had a new challenge- soldering in the RAIN! (now I know all about wet strikers...never had that experience before)Trophies are handmade and fantastically designed by various artists each year. I have yet to win one.....(Note to self..must train harder!)

The Final night festivities hearken back to the roots of the Symposium. A big Barbecue is held for all participants- there is music, dancing, laughter and even a few tears, because the next day we know we'll have to wait a whole year before we can do it again.

I really want to acknowledge the Genius of this event- It's not only one person, but a group of dedicated makers who really know how to throw one hell of a party. Thank you particularly to Pete Jagoda and Neely Tomkins  for your vision and dedication.

that's it for this year- but in approx. 350 days you know where you can find me......
heading out to the deserts west.

ciao- cub reporter Maureen Brusa Zappellini signing off now!:-)

Connect with your Muse

This month's Etsy Metal team blog Carnival topic is ......

"20 things to do to kick start Creativity"

I thought that it would be fun to try to list some tricks of the creative process....here's my list- randomly...off the cuff...

#1- Do an assignment in a random, off the cuff way....LOL

#2- make ridiculous limitations to your process, like drawing with your feet or writing when you're really tired (like I am now)
#3- make something intentionally ugly.
#4- try using a new material
#5- take a "walk" or go skipping around the block (it's impossible for me to skip without laughing)
#6- read a random part of a reference book
#7- stretch and drink a glass of water (we are often dehydrated here in Arizona)
#8- set a time limit on your current work (get it done and out of your way...there are so many creative ideas just dying to come forward!)
#9- write a poem
#10- do a bit of gardening- be tactile- smell the soil
#11- watch a favorite movie- notice why you love it
#12- Road trip! Go see something you've never seen before in your area- even if it just means driving/ walking/ biking etc down a new street.
#13- go to the library
#14- make random stuff with your scrap materials-
#15- realize that you might not be making a masterpiece, and get over it
#16- take a nap
#17- go to the hardware store and pick a few materials that you think might be fun to play with.
#18- Try to make a list, and put it on your blog
#19- don't erase/ delete your "mistakes" -sometimes the irregular is more interesting!
#20- when all else fails....Chocolate. (maybe that should be the first one!)

well, that's my list for tonight- I'm sure I'll think of more- (including the exact perfect one that I'll be kicking myself for forgetting) Here are the other Etsy Metals team members who have created a list...

  (There are 15 other Etsymetal metalsmiths blogging on the same topic today. Please go and check out their articles, they will all be sure to get your creative ideas flowing!!)

http://www.chris-parry.blogspot.com/ - Chris Parry

http:
//www.sarawestermark.blogspot.com/ - Sara Westermark

http://www.kmjewelrystudio.blogspot.com/ -Katie Miess Kohlhagen

http://www.amandaconley.blogspot.com/ - Amanda Conley

http://wildflowerdesigns.blogspot.com - stacey

http://www.evemmetalsmith.blogspot.com - Esther Eve

http://www.jewelrytutorial.blogspot.com/- 2Roses

http://www.fluxplay.blogspot.com - Maria W

http://cosmosmoonjewelry.blogspot.com

http://vtakahashi.blogspot.com/ - Victoria Takahashi/Experimetal

http://lunatic-art.blogspot.com [Berenice Schaltegger]

http://brookemedlin.com/blog (Brooke Arin Medlin)

http://metalriot.blogspot.com (Thomasin Durgin/Metalriot)

http://bcyrjewelry.blogspot.com - Beth Cyr

http://catherinechandler.blogspot.com/ - Catherine Chandler

Enjoy!- Maureen BZ

Ring a day 2010

This week I started participating in the Ring a Day group that was started by my friend and Etsy Metals team mate Nina Dinoff. I was initally hesitant to take on a challenge like this one- I thought- OH MY...a ring a day EVERY day for a whole YEAR?? pretty daunting challenge, I thought initially...... however....

I pondered the reason behind my hesitation- thinking about a Year- what a Year means....it's a measure of time- that's all. and we have ways of measuring time in smaller increments too....A month, a week, a day, an hour, a minute, a second, a moment.....

It's not that we don't have time- it's that we get overwhelmed by the apparent size of the task (365 rings)  and we think about the size of a year (365 days) and we all roll our brains around this and think...... well, that's just too much! you mean every day- we make something- and it will take how long??

 hmmm.... let's see the equation would go something like this...

365D+365R=1Y x life = time /work + play = OMG

AH, wait- there's the problem- we can use our measurements of time and amount in a different scale- break it down into bite sized chunks- and have a better view of the possibilities. so instead of "OMG a ring a day every day for a whole year!!" you can say "Today I'm going to make a ring. I know how much time I have to play today, so for __________ amount of time I will make a ring that reflects what I am doing- or what I feel like. I will give myself permission to listen to my muse and play today.

 so.... 1D+1R=life+play=possibilities

And tomorrow is another day, when I can make a choice to play or not. No penalties. No grades. No judgements. Only possibilities. And what could be better than that?

ps- here are a couple of my rings from the project

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

Annual Telescope Trek

Last Saturday we went to visit the telescope that my husband works on- it is located in Safford Arizona, on the top of Mt. Graham.

The Large Binocular telescope (or LBT as it is commonly known) is just beginning to gain acclaim in the astronomy world and beyond, It was one of the featured telescopes in a recent National Geographic magazine (click here). Guido has been working on this project on and off since 1990- both for the Italian team in Florence Italy (where he grew up and went to university) and also at the University of Arizona (Tucson) where we live today.

The Annual friends and family gathering is usually held in October- just after the scorching southern Arizona oven is turned down for the fall. The drive there from Tucson is a couple of hours of desert, followed by an hour and a half of mountain road. Our son Cosmo is learning how to deal with car sickness on that road.....now, thankfully, he knows to request a short stop - so we pull over and get out of the car until his tummy stops swirling and we get a good breath of mountain air.

We reach the summit through an iron gate flanked by yellowing fall aspens- and from there it's a short drive, past the Vatican telescope, and the German SMT (Sub Millimetric Telescope) to the tippy top, where the imposing 200ft tall LBT telescope is seated.

Inside the building we go to the control room and kitchen, where everyone (and their goodies) are gathering- We then commence to pig out on all the treats that the scope folks bring. The control room is open for viewing, with a scientist there to explain each computer screen and image- Soon people start to go up to the scope chamber-
right at sunset the show begins!

sunset w pope scope
Originally uploaded by cosmosmoonjewelry

We have a chance to walk around, go to different levels (even on the top observation deck, where I took this picture) then, once we all are
inside and ready for a show, they begin...

The walls of the telescope chamber begin to open........
then...the telescope begins to move....It is breathtaking, even now after I have seen this many times, how smooth and fast the scope rotates! Well, at that point everyone is really impressed, but it's not done yet....the third and fourth walls open (along with the cieling of the chamber) and then.....the building begins to rotate!

It goes around and around, with the scope moving, and the sunset brilliant in the distance...and we see Science and Nature, Technology and Trees...the beauty of nature from the earth and heavens.
and it is a wonder to behold.

strap bracelet secrets

strap bracelet fall 094
Originally uploaded by cosmosmoonjewelry

I love making these pieces- they are a collection of diverse components made with differing techniques- I work on them in a peculiar way...

first of all, the shapes are almost always soft organic forms- the idea came from looking at stone walls and how they are constructed...

then I play with different techniques...roller printing, chasing, repousse, filigree, cloisonne, wax carving, inlay, mokume, hollow construction, etching, wire work...I tell people that I "binge on techniques" I play with them until I've scratched the itch of curiosity in my mind.

After I have completed and am satisfied with the quantity of components I sit down and compose a line of approximately 10-12 components, thinking about the way they will wrap around the wrist.

I have made a belt buckle by carving it in hard wax and then taking a mold of it so that I can produce it when I need it- I have a casting company make my buckles for me- but they are my own design, the original made by my hands, and cast exclusively by my order for my work only.

The buckle is set on the leather strap by a tube rivet (my design also)
and the components are then "strung" on the bracelet and locked in place.

By using this process of sampling techniques and composing after the pieces are complete I keep my work fresh and interesting- and, more important- UNIQUE! each bracelet therefore is one of a kind - I could make them all the same, but what's the fun in that?!!

I'm hoping to find some time this month to put together a few more bracelets- they do take a long time to complete, so this may be a challenge! Currently this piece is the only bracelet I have in stock- I will be happy to take special orders, and holiday requests. (send your honey this link so they can get a gift giving hint)

OK- I'm off to the studio- metals await! Have a great week- stay tuned, and please send me comments! (I love to read your responses!)
ciao!- Maureen BZ

Decisions decisions

I'll confess, when I first heard that I got into the 4th session of Haystack this year I actually had some doubts that I would even go-

My first pick was to go and spend a week with Andy Cooperman (one of my favorite metalsmiths) and do his popular "Zengineering" class, (which pares down stone setting to a Zen-like simplicity)

I've been lucky enough to know Andy for years, as he comes down to the Yuma Symposium on a regular basis. The thing is, I've never been able to take one of his workshops- I was either out of the country, pregnant, or chasing after Cosmo in his toddler years..so I thought his Haystack session was my chance!

I received the acceptance letter in late spring..Congratulations! -it said- you have been accepted for session 4, Metals....(which was my second choice) with Fred Fenster and Hiroko Yamada...
"pewter for the table"..OK, I thought..steady now...
You see, I've never done any tableware before (having been mostly self taught) and Pewter?
well, I did read Johnny Tremain when I was a kid, and I knew someone who did some cast pewter here in Tucson...So I guess you could say that I was a complete and total Pewter virgin.
I had a question in front of me....do I accept? YES YES YES!

It only took a few hours of contemplation...I decided to go based on a few things...
one- Fred Fenster is a hugely popular instructor, one might even go so far as to say legendary (although Fred would scoff off any accolades) I usually get nervous when I meet such admirable people, but my friend Kristen assured me that Fred was as genuine as they come- both and Hiroko gave great demos and are phenomonal instructors.

Two- Pewter made me nervous....I just didn't feel comfy with reaching for a soft metal...and wasn't sure that I would enjoy it..but then I remembered Haystack- what better place than this sanctuary of creativity to try something new and reach out of your comfort zone?

Three- Place...I mean really, what Tucsonan wouldn't give their eye teeth to spend 2 weeks in coastal Maine in the summertime??

Pewterpalooza 09

So- when that first bill came, I paid in full.. held my breath and jumped into the deep end...

to be continued....
(next installment=Love)

My Dirty little Secret

Ok, well perhaps it's not dirty , and more of an omission than secret, but here it goes.

After over 20 years of working as a metalsmith, I have never participated in any Craft Sale.

Yup, that's it, I know, it's SHOCKING. (;-)....

So what have I been doing all this time? mostly selling through galleries and shops for my own work, and 'smithing for other (more business minded) artists. And teaching Metals at all different venues.

And How is that working? well.....um....I guess if it was perfect then I wouldn't be here, declaring with knees shaking, that I am throwing my hat into the Craft show/sale ring.

(some of the work that I will be showing)

On November 22nd I am joining other Local artists here in Tucson at a Craft Sale. It is my hope that this will be a good introduction, and will encourage me to participate in more sales to come (I have my eye on a couple in the spring).

I am defining a new path.

It's a little exciting I must admit, to try something new. I could have done this 20 years ago, but something has always stopped me.

Here it is..I have convinced myself that I cannot sell water to a dehydrated man. AND NOW I DECLARE PHOOEY on that kind of "stinkin thinkin".!*! If I'm a little shaky, I'll get over it. If I'm tongue tied, I'll smile, I will remember to breathe.

as Tim Gunn says, "make it work!"

Because we need to be courageous in times like these. So, (as a Leo) I will envoke the cowardly lion ..and find my sales roar.. at least Purr a little bit.

the end.. or the beginning

Introduction? thank a mentor

Here's the thing- I jumped in to blogging without a plan other than to start. to dive.

Like I jumped into metalsmithing....innocent to the path it would lead me

Now I realise that I should at least introduce myself! I'm going to give a little history of my involvement in metals..

(in installments, so it's not as daunting a task)



so, here goes nothing----"the early years"

It all started By Chance and My Mother's Lament over my immense un-hire-ability

Metalsmithing discovered me back in 1986 when I couldn't get a job during summers home from college. The owner of my mother's favorite jewelry store took pity on a scruffy artsy punk rock girl and offered to take me in as an apprentice..




I worked my bondoonie off. 6 days a week that first summer, driving 30 miles each way from my home in New Hampshire to the coastal town Ogonquit Maine, and Perkins Cove. Summerwind Silversmiths' owner, Mel Reisz would spend a couple of hours each week training me to perfect my techniques. Believe me, I went through a Huge amount of silver that first month! (thank God for refining) All summer I mostly made silver chain and earrings..nothing too exciting but great practice. Invaluable.



I hauled my sorry butt every morning to my rickety Gum-and-Wire-Hangers Ford Fiesta and trekked to the cove, shaking myself awake all the while. (the car helped shake too) My shoulders ached from forging and my teeth suffered from the presence of the penny candy shop next door..One night my hand slipped while I was cutting 10 gague wire, and I ended up with 10 stitches holding my finger together...(middle finger) It was rough at times...



BUT- By the end of that first summer, I could solder like a madwoman and forge chain like a pirate!



I look back on that summer and see the impossibility of it all. One of those moments where I think, well, "what if?" and I think I owe gratitude to my early mentor for giving me a chance.



Now that I have " a few links under my belt" I enjoy teaching metals to beginners..and have seen the excitement when my students start to become proficient...My hope is that 20 years from now one of them is passing their passion about craft on to an apprentice as well....



Thanks Mel.