Metalsmithing Org (no dot)

As many of you know I am out of commission right now due to a painful nerve condition in my neck and shoulder. I AM going in tomorrow for the installation of a test for the spinal cord stimulator which is supposed to be a very successful treatment, so we are very hopeful that I will find relief and be able to get back to my life soon.

newly bundled student tools and some tools awaiting the bundling.
I love this fab Mexican Oil cloth - totally easy to clean and great to look at!

One of the things I am looking forward to doing is Teaching. I have not had a class for a few years now, and I really miss it! One of my big problems is getting a larger class together on the time frame that Tucson Parks and Rec has scheduled (Monday mornings?!!) . It's not an easy time to fill, and I totally understand, I think I would not want to take a leisure class on early Monday morning either!
So-

I've decided to take my show on the road and offer much smaller classes (3-4 students) on a much easier time commitment (whenever it fits into your schedule- for 4 hours at a time, within 5 miles from the U of A in central Tucson-). I will offer these mini classes to my friends and Facebook friends- They are meant to be fun activities for you and a couple of your close friends to get together and try over a glass of wine and loaf of bread.
Have a short class, make a pendant, chat, visit and learn something new.



Meanwhile I'm on the threshold of healing from this awful pain- I get a trial run of the spinal cord stimulator tomorrow and possibly will have a full install within a month or so.  While I am working on my health and re-gaining my strength I will be organizing my tools in preparation for my next phase of my career in metalsmithing.
This week I spent sewing some tool folders and color coding my tools-
Blue red green yellow are student tool packs.
Orange? Pewter.
White? studio tools.

Lime Green? Those tools are MINE!! (keep yer filthy mitts off of them!)

Ciao, Arrivederci, so long, fare well...
May the flux be with you
MBZ

Metalsmith Fashion

http://skreened.com/metalsmithstees/hammer-time

One of the things that I've been working on while I'm recuperating is making T shirt designs for my metalsmithing group "Metalsmiths Unite 2.0". (If you are a metalsmith and on facebook you may want to check out the group- it is really hopping!)

I've been enjoying this change of medium, and now want to share them with you- here is a link to this design, "Hammer Time"

The shop is called, "Metalsmithstees" and it is on Skreened.com . I am adding new designs, and announcing the new designs on the Metalsmiths Unite 2.0 wall. I have enjoyed having them to wear to the studio, and to the Tucson Gem show. (where I got some beautiful beautiful stones!)

Go check out Metalsmithstees at: http://skreened.com/metalsmithstees (and stay tuned for more designs)

ciao- Maureen

Request for advice re: plating

I'm thinking about buying a set up for plating/electroforming. Metals prices are just not helping me these days, and I found that my bronze pieces simply don't sell as well as my silver- BUT my silver is getting more expensive, and I'm seeing a drop in sales. :-(
so I thought I'd try plating my bronze pieces silver, and my silver pieces with gold.

I was thinking about getting a plating set up- one that also can do electro-forming and was looking at the one offered by Rio- http://www.riogrande.com/MemberArea/ProductPage.aspx?assetname=335600&page=GRID&free_text=plating
I wanted to know if any of you have this set up, and if you like using it-
also , does it work as a plating set up as well? How about anodizing niobium? I have a bunch of Niobium from a past workshop that I'd love to use...
thanks in advance for your advice-
ciao - Maureen

bench pins

A bench pin is one of the most custom tools in a metalsmith's toolbox. They start as an ordinary piece of wood and become a tool as individual as the artist themselves.

I've seen many different forms and ways of modifying them. the one from the Flickr image is an old one of mine (I swap them out every few years as they become too mangled for me to be happy with them just as a personal preference)How to start? simply saw into your bench pin- (I'd go about an inch deep) if you think a notch will help you make a notch....don't be afraid to change it around to something that looks different than everyone else's...we all are individuals, and work in many diverse ways.

here's a  a pic I took of a bench pin at a well known jeweler's shop I visited last summer....it was the first time I saw pegs attached to a pin, so I had to get a pic...
see? pretty different, but perfect for what he was doing...and quite a cool piece of sculpture too if you ask me :-)

one thing that is helpful as you sit at a bench pin is your positioning- I recommend to have the shoulder of your dominant hand (right for me) lined up with the bench pin--just shift your chair to the left slightly instead of having the bench pin straight on-- this simple adjustment in your positioning seems to help many 'smiths-beginners and more seasoned metalsmiths alike.

(this image is also the avatar for my Facebook Metalsmithing group called "Metalsmiths Unite!"  it's an informal, friendly, non-competitive community of metalsmiths...come and join us if you are looking for a group of friendly 'smiths!)

So- My advice to newbie smiths is to dig in and have fun...and don't be afraid to get your bench pin a little messy :-)
happy 'smithing!- MBZ

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

logo a go go

bzap logo circle
Originally uploaded by cosmosmoonjewelry

My maker's mark - or Logo....Mark this one up as another thing that I've put off and delayed and never could decide....For the past 10 years I have gone without, making my mark on my pieces with a hand engraver, which works ok but is not the level of craftsmanship I want for my work.

I had a stamp for my metal work made years ago...it was from my years with my original last name- and fine for that period of my life....but ... (yawn...) boring design, and wrong initials as of Dec. 1995 (when Guido and I got hitched)

with a last name like Brusa Zappellini you can really Design something!
But what???I decided that I would work with my abbreviated signature. "BZap" and make it similar to how I initial my work currently...

BUT...can I be certain that I am going to like it / use it for the foreseeable future?what if I get sick of it? would it look like I want it? do I have an extra chunk of money to get this made? Questions...uncertainty...and the monster- INDECISION!

ahhhh indecision! be gone!

yeah, that's right indecision...I've got weapons against you now! HA! First I pull out my EtsyMetals team...a gaggle of talent and design wizards they are...and I ask opinions on my two designs from them.....
(the votes are coming in - but I won't divulge the preference just yet, as to not sway the vote)

Then, I get my twitter tool going and post a couple of links to these images I posted on flickr...(still waiting to get response...sometimes it's like that..)

and of course, I am a Facebook addict, so I post these to my profile.
But I wasn't done yet! here's my chance to glean a bit of blog power too!

Yes, I'm asking for opinions here as well- sorry to make you work and read, but I'll make it simple- you can comment simply by saying circle or letters...and that would give me your vote-
And with this, we can work together to beat back indecision, and celebrate professional progress!

once more into the blog good friends! tally ho~ M

Potter USA Machine Shop- Tucson

About a year ago I founded the Facebook group "Metalsmiths Unite!", partially as a way to feel connected to my community and partially as a reaction to feeling "left out" at a metalsmithing event. Thankfully, my bruised feelings mended quickly and I decided to take Metalsmiths Unite in a positive direction: more about creating community than griping about it.

Along the way, my little pet project has grown to a viable international community of over 260 members. Most members are Metalsmiths, some are glass lampworkers, some are business owners, collectors, enthusiasts, and students. And then there are the Machinists...working with tools as big as wildebeasts, making tools , sculpture and jewelry in their wonderful grease monkey way.....(I say that lovingly)

Speaking of machinists......Yesterday, I went to pick up my new Hydraulic press that I purchased from Kevin Potter, a member of Metalsmiths Unite!

I've been wanting a press for a long time, and have even gone so far as to purchase one from Rio, only to back out of it a day later (it was on backorder) and buy metals instead. At that time, I didn't have any time to play with new tools, and I figured that gold was gold, so I traded materials. (very strange, by the way that a small piece of 18 k is equivalent to such a big and heavy tool!)

I met Kevin through a jeweler friend, Craig Dabler (a prominent Tucson jeweler), who brought Kevin into the Metalsmiths Unite! fold, and introduced him to me at my recent open studio. 

While at my open studio we started talking about making pancake dies to cut some of my designs....it took me a few months to be ready for them, but a few weeks ago I met with Kevin at his machine shop to see his shop and make an order. ( I know,

 I could make the die myself, but at his price it was much more sensible to phone it in.) 

This was a test run for him to make these dies: he has a friend who is a hot rodder and cad draftsman who put the files together, and they sent them to another friend who has a plasma (or was it laser?) cutter. In any case, the experiment in die making was greatly successful, and I now have a new set of dies for some of my flat designs. So happy!

Kevin is primarily working as an independent machinist these days,

 working out of his own shop. But his development as a toolmaker also included years of study at the University of Arizona's (now defunct) metals department. He worked for many years as a gallery Jeweler, mostly working with Gold and precious stones. This training has given him the unique angle of understanding how jewelry tools work and what Jewelers and Metalsmiths need for tools in a small shop.

(above, My favorite tool in Kevin's shop, a 1940's milling machine that I have dubbed "the Rhinoceros")

His Jewelry tool production includes a nifty small scale Hydraulic press (because let's face it, do you really need a 50 ton press in your small shop?) he makes forming stakes, leather shot bags , chasing tools, and of course dies for the press.He will be marketing much of his tools through Otto Frei. (he is at the SNAG conference in Philly this week, showcasing his tools)

Thanks Kevin for becoming a member of Metalsmiths Unite! (and thank you for making sensible tools for my small shop!) If you see him at the SNAG conference, be sure and say hello from me-

ciao- Maureen BZ 

metalsmith/ designer 

"Cosmo's Moon"

and founder

"Metalsmiths Unite!"