Tucson Artist interview: Rameen Ahmed

For a new subject, I thought it would be interesting to introduce a few of my Tucson Artist friends!
The following is a short Q&A with my friend Rameen Ahmed.

MBZ: Rameen and I met while working at Krikawa, a local indie jeweler here in Tucson- where we worked as goldsmiths together for a few months. We have kept in touch over the years and have been able to enjoy time together recently as roommates at the 2012 SNAG conference. I consider her to be a good friend, and a fine metalsmith- her designs are whimsical, architectural and modern.
Here is her interview:

Me and Rameen at the SNAG conference in Scottsdale last spring

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MBZ:How would you describe what you do as an artist?
RA:I take what I have learned in art and architecture and give it a 'wearable form'.

MBZ: what inspires your designs?
RA: Ideas, materials, mental acrobatics with form

MBZ: how long have you been involved in this type of making? (how did you start?)
RA: 10 years. Recent recollection of a long ago question, "What do you do with dolls?" Answer, "Play with them!" Mystified and proceeded to take apart my metal belt and making doll jewelry at age 7!!

MBZ: where are you located?( email if you want to share, or city/town that you live in)
RA: Tucson, Arizona. rameen@rameenahmeddesigns.com

MBZ: do you have a website?
RA: yes, it's at  www.rameenahmeddesigns.com

MBZ: what other ways do you market your work?
RA: Trunk Shows, Art Shows, Juried Submittals, Galleries, Membership(ADC, SNAG), Online Membership (LinkedIn, FaceBook, Crafthaus), Snailmail Postcards... working on making FB work page! (MBZ aside: Wow! that's great Rameen! you have to help me get more organized!)

MBZ: do you teach? if so, where?
RA: Mostly visual arts, architecture/landscape design. Part-time at Tucson Museum of Art, elementary & middle school - local Montessori & Rameen Ahmed Designs.

MBZ: Rameen, do you have any sage advice for newcomers that you would like to share?
RA: Yes! Let your passion lead you...

MBZ: where do you envision your work going in the next year? (artistic direction)
RA: Fearless deliberation, I hope!! By that I mean pushing ideas that are/have been percolating.

MBZ: anything else you would like to share? (your choice-how we met? What you wish for as a holiday gift? any good jokes? you can even put your flickr/twitter/blog links here too)
RA: One of the best parts of working at Krikawa was connecting with you and other 'benchers'. I do appreciate the opportunity to have improved my technical skills quite a bit at the bench there.
What else, let's see... I'm terrible at punch lines! But, here's one of my favorite quotes from the Dilbert Principle, "Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep."
MBZ: I love Dilbert! Thanks Rameen! :-)
Ciao, and May the Flux be with you! - Maureen

ps- yes, it was funny to work with someone who has a name that sounds like an echo of your own...Rameen, Maureen! LOL it's all good

the cat story- on Creative process

On creative process- one of my favorite stories.....
Joseph Campbell had a story that he would share about a calligrapher that was commissioned to do a painting of a cat......
Every month, the client would go to the artist's studio and ask if the piece was ready and the artist would say no. finally, after many many months the client went to the artist studio and demanded that the painting be produced for him or he would arrest the artist. The artist then calmly took out paper brush and ink and in one fluid motion created a sublime painting of a cat. The Client, aghast at the beauty of the piece, turns to the artist and asks, "Why did you make me wait so long?" The artist then turns around and opens a cupboard, and thousands of drawings of cats come pouring out.
I relay this story to all of my students- it illustrates perfectly the hours of meditation trial and errors that every artist goes through when making their visions come to life.
I hope you are all having a great summer and are making lots of sketches for your cupboards :-)
ciao- Maureen
ps- if you aren't familiar with Joseph Campbell I strongly urge you to click on his name, which takes you to the Wikipedia article on him- he is one of my favorite mentors on living a creative and blissful life. <3

Musings...

Heading to the hand/shoulder
expert on Monday-
cross fingers they will figure this out
ASAP.
Meanwhile, it's ice
every night and most of the day.
I believe I am turning into permafrost
or the tundra,
but where are the stinkin' reindeer?
*









Maureen Brusa Zappellini
Creative jewelry for creative people
http://cosmosmoonjewelry.etsy.com

November December news!

Open studio and Holiday Sales

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Hi there- Now that the candy and costumes are behind us I thought I'd take the time to update you on the goings on here at Cosmo's Moon...

Cosmo's Moon studio has New designs for Fall/Winter 2011- This season I've added Sugar Skull designs (straight from the desert southwest) , Snails Lady bugs and Monster heads (for great kid's gifts) a beautiful Cuff bracelet featuring scenes from the Holidays in Florence Italy (available in Brass, White bronze, and Steriling Silver -by special order) and for our foodie friends a Bottle and Goblet design called "in Vino Veritas" (In wine, truth).

Plus, of course I also have a new collection of my classic strap bracelet, cuffs and chain bracelets, a variety of gear pendants, unique handmade rings and one of a kind designs.

In November I will have a few events that you may want to mark on your calender.

the first it the annual Tucson Open Studio Tour, which takes place Nov 12 + 13 from 11-5pm both days. I will be there in my garden studio (which will get it's annual cleaning for the occasion) and I'll have a large selection of work for sale - in fact, this is kind of the preview to my larger sale (at the Tucson Museum of Art ) the next weekend. I will have the largest inventory during Open Studios - If you have your eye on something, you may want to pounce Now or during the Open studio event- because after Open Studios, I'll be at the Tucson Museum of Art annual Artisan's Marketplace (the TMA sale) for three days of busy craft market!

The TMA sale will be held from

Nov 18, 2011 through Nov 20, 2011
10:00 am - 5:00 pm

New this year! Tucson Museum of Art's annual Holiday Artisans' Market is newly expanded featuring more artisans, food vendors, a kids play area, a live music stage, and more! Museum galleries featuring the highly anticipated exhibition: Who Shot Rock & Roll: A Photographic History, 1955 to the Present will be free and open to the public all weekend. Bring the whole family for a fun filled afternoon at the Museum!

The following weekend ( November 24-27th) is Thanksgiving weekend- I will be enjoying this with my friends and family in Tucson this year. I will have work available for sale by appointment only on "Black Friday" and throughout the Thanksgiving Holiday weekend. If you want to schedule an appointment to come and shop at my studio please contact me at MBZmetals724@gmail.com and we can set a time and date!

And my final sales event this season will happen on Saturday December 3rd at the Tucson Waldorf School's Holiday Craft fair. This event is near and dear to my heart- Our son Cosmo goes to this wonderful school, and I cannot say enough about how much we love it there. This fair will be a perfect outing for the family- there will be games and activities for children, handmade crafts and family friendly homespun entertainment. This event is also a great opportunity to learn about the school and to see the beautiful new buildings on the River road campus.

After all of those events, I will be taking a break, taking care of myself and family - and will have my work available only through my online shop at http://cosmosmoonjewelry.etsy.com through the Holiday season.

Dates to remember:
Nov 12-13....................Tucson Open Studio Tour
Nov  18-20...................Tucson Art Museum Artisan's Marketplace
Nov 24.........................Thanksgiving
Nov 25- Dec 2..............by appointment and online sales
Dec 3...........................Tucson Waldorf school Craft Fair
Dec 4- 20.....................online sales (mailed in time for Christmas)

Thank you for your interest in my Creations!
Edgy, earthy, handmade jewelry direct from the artist's studio.
Indie design meets old world craftsmanship and quality,
influenced by the beauty of Arizona's Sonoran desert and the cobblestone streets of Florence Italy...that's Cosmo's Moon.

ciao- Maureen Brusa Zappellini- owner, designer, metalsmith

June's Box a Month

Here are a few images of the latest in my "Box a Month" series 2011. 

I have given myself a personal challenge to create a handmade metal box or container every month this year- It is a challenge I created for myself to stretch my metalsmithing and design skills to a different (larger than jewelry) scale. I also am keeping my pewtersmithing skills sharp by re-visiting my pewter bench on a monthly basis. I'm enjoying the challenge of working bigger, and am hoping to continue this project throughout the year. My wish would be to have a show that exhibits my box a month collection at the end of the year.

"Octo Krakken Portal Box" June 2011
It's hand fabricated in pewter with a domed and patinaed copper hinged lid. and resin coated pewter tentacles
This piece has a hidden compartment inside the box (a box within a box) to hold secret treasures/ valuables.
Measurements are 4 1/2"x 5 1/2" round

opening the portal

This container has a hidden "Box within a box" compartment, shown here- I always love to make a little surprise in these pieces- I feel that it adds a special-ness to the object (similar to how cool it was to find a hotwheels car with doors that open...you know that feeling, right?) here are a few images that show the hidden compartment...

Oh, and one more thing about this piece...I developed a latex allergy halfway through completing this box. I found out about it after spending 20 minutes with latex gloves on (while working with the resins on the box's tentacles). I worked those 20 minutes- closed my studio and went to bed- when I woke up the next morning my hands were bright res and blistered! I've heard of allergies "coming out of nowhere"- and now I believe it!

Anyhow- here's a pic of my hands (and the bottom of the box) one week after the initial reaction...Yikes!   I'm happy to say that my hands are now looking much better- 10 days after the fact. I've thrown out my latex gloves, bought some nitril gloves instead, and am looking into allergy websites to get information on what I should now avoid because of this new reaction.

I'm learning something new all the time! All's well that end's well-
ciao for now- Maureen

PS- yes, I will be listing these box a month pieces in my etsy shop soon- I will announce their posting in my Facebook fan page at http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/cosmosmoon
Come join Cosmo's Moon fans by clicking "like" on the Facebook page, where I reveal sales, open studios, Etsy discounts and coupon codes and introduce "sneak peeks" of my latest designs!

Open Studios

It's time for the Spring Open Studio tour here in Tucson!

to find a comprehensive list of participating studios please go to Zocalo Magazine online- where you will find maps and info about the studios that will be open to tour.

I will have my space open on SATURDAY ONLY-
I'm tidying up my studio today, so that it will be spiffy clean - believe me, you don't want to see it in it's normal unruly state!

 If you are in Tucson, come on by next Saturday (the 16th) from 11-5 to see where all the magic and metalsmithing happens :-) I'd love to see you!
ciAO- Maureen

Floral confection

Why I love this piece:
I consider this piece to be pivotal in connecting my craftsmanship and solid jewelry skills with my more eccentric painting and sculpture fine arts background.
This is the work that I have been creating for over 25 years.
This piece represents the culmination of a design journey starting with cardboard and Styrofoam  sculptural paintings that I made during my art school years- to my current jewelry lines and aesthetic. (integrating both my whimsical one of a kind work with my production line and paintings)
Anyways,
that's a bunch of words that just mean I think this is a really cool piece.
I just listed it in my shop tonight- you can find it at:
http://www.etsy.com/listing/63043586/floral-confection-sculptural-art-brooch

ciao!- M

OK, I love my dog

 

here's my sweet

little Pit mix rescue dog, Daisy- 

she's healthier and much more vocal than

6 months ago when she came into our lives, sick with Valley Fever , covered with Ticks

and with a cut on her pink eyelid that was making her miserable.

Now

She's on her Meds, recovered from Tick fever fighting Valley fever

 gained  weight and is eating willingly,

sleeping in luxury (yes, on my bed) and sports a pink argyle sweater in

the mornings when the desert air is a tad chilly.

I

couldn't imagine life without her

I

am grateful.

❤

Handmade Benefits

What are the benefits of buying handmade designs from the artist vs. assembled or mass produced jewelry?
Original designs...Craftsmanship straight from the artist... a knowledge that your piece was produced by a person, not a machine...the possibility that your piece's value will increase as a piece of art (and it possibly could end up being requested for a retrospective Museum show some day)
Plus** beautiful handmade craft proves that "They REALLY DO make things like they used to!"**

Cosmo's Moon Jewelry is my online outlet for handmade, original, eclectic and edgy jewelry designs. Now stocked with pages of colorful original handmade jewelry and accessories
Just sayin' :-)