1st Friday at Alaska Heritage House

Spring ~ or break-up, anyway ~ is coming fast to Fairbanks. My studio is fragrant with the scent of green leaves and grasses, as I've been working on new embossed cuffs, pendants and earrings. The oils from the leaves, crushed as they pass through the rolling mill, evoke memories of warm sunshine, wildflowers and leafy branches against a blue sky.

I hope you'll join me this week for 1st Friday at the Alaska Heritage House in Fairbanks. Not only will I have new jewelry to show for the first time, but this is a great opportunity to explore one of Fairbanks' most historic houses. Stop by anytime between 5 and 8 p.m. Friday, April 2. If you need directions, click here for a map.

These are two of the new pieces I'll have at the show. The first, the Uchiwa Pendant, is part of the Forest Floor series. Uchiwa is a non-folding Japanese fan, very similar in shape to this pendant. The copper shows the ribs of baneberry leaves and is accented by sterling silver and malachite.

The second photo shows a chased copper lily brooch accented with sterling silver balls. Click on the photo to enlarge it so you can see the detail. The brooch was first cut freehand from a thin copper sheet and then worked on a sandbag into three-dimensional shape with dapping tools and hammers. It features a tie-tac type pin back rather than a traditional brooch finding; this way it can be worn on the lapel of a winter coat as well as on a sweater or blouse.

These pieces are not in the Artfire shop. After the 1st Friday show, these or similar ones will be, so if you're not in Fairbanks, don't worry. (And feel free to get in touch to let me know you're interested now so I can plan to make them for you.)

Also for 1st Friday, please do stop by The Alaska House art gallery at 1003 Cushman Street. They've got a huge selection of my work in a beautiful display up front. With more than 60 pieces, there's a lot to see.

Next time I take a break from the bench, later today or tomorrow, I'll post the photos illustrating how real leaves are embossed into metal for the Forest Floor jewelry.

The missing link

You know, I know that I'm an exceedingly lucky person. I love what I do, and I love where I do it. Even after living in Alaska for 14 1/2 years, I am still facinated by its utter difference from Georgia, where I grew up, and I know there are few other places in the world where I might encounter lynx or bears or moose on my own property. The Aurora Borealis still stops me in my tracks — freezing or not — and the Midnight Sun still gives me a huge energy boost.

Of all the "jobs" I've had — from newspaper reporting to state government work to selling office furniture to providing respite care for elders — making jewelry is what I choose to do for the rest of my life. I can't imagine ever growing tired of it or disliking it or wanting to give it up.

Still, I sometimes feel there's something missing.

And this year, I've finally realized what that missing link is. It's you!

I spend almost all my time alone, which does suit me. I like quiet — or I like cranking up the Talking Heads or B52s on the stereo. (Egads, I just dated myself. Most of you will have no clue who those bands are.)

You've heard the phrase "spark of creativity." Well, it's hard to create a spark in a vacuum.

At the new year, I decided I wanted to break out of my shell a little bit and work on developing new relationships. And like magic, as soon as I made the decision, opportunities began coming my way. (The blog has helped a lot.)

I'm thrilled to have made new connections with people who've bought my jewelry, with people who've admired my jewelry, with other artists and artisans. I've got a great email correspondence going with a couple of you, I've spoken with several of you on the telephone, and I've met more than a handful of you for coffee and conversation. One of you generously offered to help me make a banner for the blog (which is progressing beautifully), and someone else is considering photographing my jewelry on live models.

And to a person, you have inspired me. You've given me new ideas and suggestions, you've asked me for a special piece for a special occasion, you've shared your reactions to my work and even pushed me to try something different. Every time I meet one of you — whether in person or by email or on the phone — I come away with renewed energy, eager to get to the bench and make something new.

Thank you!

This Saturday (the 25th) I hope I'll meet lots more of you at the Spring Break-Up Bazaar on Eielson Air Force Base. If you're in Fairbanks, it might seem like a long way to drive, but hey: It's gorgeous out there, and all of us artists are finally stirring from the winter doldrums, brimming with enthusiasm and creative spark. Please stop by my booth and say hello!

If you're nowhere near Eielson, how about Homer or Denali or Anchorage? I recently sent a small shipment to Fireweed Gallery; I'm working on the first order of the season for the Magic Carpet at Denali (opening in mid-May); and I'll be sending a package off to Portfolio in Anchorage next week (after a bit of a hiatus, so this is particularly exciting).

If you're nowhere near Alaska, I've got some ideas percolating in my head that should come to fruition after the bazaar, and I'll be taking photos and writing about them here. You can always get in touch if you see something you like. Please do! Because I've just realized how much I need you all.

Here's a hint of one of the new things: A couple of weeks ago I picked up a book on metal embossing techniques, and I was so enchanted with it that I started looking on-line for some embossing tools. I almost decided not to fiddle with it because the new tools seemed expensive, but how's this for serendipity: I found a set of antique Japanese (I think) embossing tools in a lovely case on eBay and got them for a song. Here they are:

From Tin Cup Designs Handwrought Jewelry

From Tin Cup Designs Handwrought Jewelry

After this week, I hope I'll have time to play with them. My ideas about how to incorporate embossing into my jewelry are a bit hazy at the moment, but the seeds are there, and I can't wait to see what blossoms.

Happy Spring!

(P.S. Wow... It's been a month since I posted, and I have a lot more to share. So next time, look for an update on my purchases for the Stone Soup Challenge, plus a couple of new designs.)

Swiss cheese, anyone?

From Tin Cup Designs Handwrought Jewelry

Or perhaps a lunar landing?

I don't make these very often, but I always have fun when I do. Dropped them off at New Horizons yesterday, along with some very shiny, very curvy thin cuff bracelets.

Still playing with brooch options for the Leaf Moth. Nothing's quite right yet, but I dreamed about it last night.

A Taste of Art

We all need hope — and sometimes a little help, too.

I hope you'll mark your calendar for February 21 and make plans to attend A Taste of Art, to benefit Fairbanks Counseling and Adoption. This year's theme is "One Heart, Many Faces." The fundraiser includes silent and oral auctions, dinner and entertainment. Scroll down for details, but first, take a look at my Circle of Hope necklace, which could be yours... if you submit the winning bid...

I apologize for the poor quality photo, but in scrambling to get to town to deliver the necklace, I forgot to take a picture. This is from my camera phone. However, isn't Danere Hanna, FCA's secretary, a lovely model? (Hint: You might find yourself in a bidding war with Danere's husband if you want this one-of-a-kind piece.)

The necklace is sterling silver. Both the hammered round-linked chain and the large circle focal point are incised with lines, which create real sparkle when polished (and will make an interesting, almost tribal, pattern if you prefer to let your silver oxidize naturally over time).

You really should go to the auction and get a good look at it for yourself. Here are the details.

A Taste of Art

6 p.m. to midnight February 21

at the Westmark Hotel Gold Room in Fairbanks.

All proceeds benefit the programs of Fairbanks Counseling and Adoption, which provides counseling and support for families, pregnant women and girls, as well as adoption services.

For more information and tickets, please call 456-4729.

I'd love to hear from you if you're the lucky winner of the Circle of Hope. I will be happy to make earrings to match!

Well, hello there!

After much prodding and a few well-placed (but gentle) boots to the figural behind, I'm starting a blog for Tin Cup Designs. I don't know why it has taken this long, because I've always wanted to share my creative process, new designs and upcoming shows with you. And I certainly want to hear what you think, so please let's make this a conversation.

First of all, I'm headed into Fairbanks later today to drop off some jewelry at Artworks and New Horizons Gallery. Stop by if you need a quick gift for Valentine's Day — or just a pick-me-up for the JanFebs. (That's what I used to call the winter blues before I moved to Alaska and discovered that winter can last from September until May or June. And with the temps headed towards 50 below right now, if you're here, you probably need a boost.)

The pendant at the top is one of the new pieces I've just finished. There will be more very soon, I promise.

This one is called "Chained Heart." It's a repoussé copper heart attached to a matte-finished sterling silver trapezoid with hammered edges. The heart swings back and forth on a tiny silver chain attached by a copper rivet. 

I've been thinking a lot lately about the paradoxes of loving anyone or anything deeply: How love can make your heart soar, free as a bird — and then tether you before you get too far away. How the bonds of love can be a comfort and, sometimes, an uncomfortable limit. Most of all, how love truly is the energy that fuels the Universe, and that when I'm really working — when the hammer sings and the metal dances — I'm filled with it.

Have a lovely day!