Great Show in Bangor!

Wow, it was great to be out and seeing everyone in Bangor this past Saturday. The Designing Women show at Husson University proved that Bangor can really turn out for a high end craft show. I don't know what the count was for attendance but the women from the Mable Wadsworth Women's Health Center seemed happy with the turnout (the Center was beneficiary of this year's admission charge). My booth was hopping all day long and I had many wonderful people stop by.

Studio Makeover
I have outgrown my crowded little studio and my very helpful and accommodating husband Anthony is helping me redo it into a more usable space. I will be very excited to get it done and open for the December Open Studio I am planning. Will announce the date in a few weeks.

Suzanne

The New Center for Maine Craft

New necklace showing at the Maine Center
for Craft in Gardner Maine

This November sees the opening of the New Center for Maine Craft in Gardiner Maine. Located in the new West Gardiner Turnpike Authority rest stop, the Center will offer year-round retail opportunities to juried craft artists in Maine.

Don't Miss the Center for Maine Craft Gala Opening!
Friday, Nov 14, 5 - 7 pm
Work by Over 225 Artisans for Sale
First Annual Exhibition of Members' Limited Edition Holiday Ornaments
Refreshments & Music & More

Beginning Friday, Nov 14, the Center for Maine Craft will be open to the public 7 days a week from 10 am - 8 pm. So, if you miss the opening event, you don't have to miss out on all the great shopping for the coming holidays!

Directions:
From Maine Turnpike 95 South Exit 103,
From Maine Turnpike North Exit 102, From I-295 Exit 51

The Center for Maine Craft is inside the new West Gardiner Travel Plaza
located on Rt 126.




I am working like mad in my chilly studio get everything done in time!

Joining the Guild

Red pendant in silver bezel with glass bead tassel

Fun Meeting
Last Saturday I attended my first Maine Polymer Arts Guild meeting. It was so much fun and very informative. I learned many new things and got to meet like minded, crazy for clay, people. What a wonderful way to spend a Saturday and a much needed break for me from production work. Hope to have links here soon to member's web sites.



These are really much more red than the picture shows.
Set in silver with Swarovsky cyrstals.

Posting of some new works
While creating my pieces for the Work of the Hand show I got to further explored the use of silver with polymer clay. I feel a real union of these materials and hope to be using the silver fabrications more and more frequently. These are the higher end pieces though and I still am devoting a majority of my time to the production pieces for my regular shows and customers. It is important to me that i have a line that is affordable to everyone as well as the more "art" pieces.



Multi patterned polymer set in silver

The show has ended but the CMCA will be carrying my pieces in the gift shop through the end of December.

COMING SOON
Hope to see you soon at the Designing Women Show at Husson College in Bangor Nov 1.

My work will be at the new Center for Maine Craft in Gardiner opening in Nov. Will provide details soon.

MECA/SEA Holiday sale in Portland Dec 5,6,7. East End Community School

Show at CMCA and other events

George Pearlman, at Center for
Maine Contemporary Art, Rockland

Last Friday night was the preview party for the show at the Center for Maine Comtemporary Art in Rockport. There are many beautiful pieces in the show by 40 artists. Some of my favorites were the fantastical pottery of George Pearlman of St George Pottery, Stephanie Sersich's hand blown glass bead jewelry and Jan Owen's gorgeous wall hangings. Gabriella d'Talia's monochromatic wall hangings are also intense and beautiful. The show only runs till Oct 19.

Working on a wholesale order for the new Maine Center for Craft in Gardiner. REally happy to be in on this new opportunity for Maine crafts people who are very serious about their work. I will have a variety of new work for sale there.

Designing Women show is just around the corner now. It will be At Husson College again on Nov 1. This is a fun local show with the Mabel Wadsworth Women's Healthcare as the recipient of the money raised. I will have lots of new work at this show so check it out.

new computer to play with

some of my favorite new pieces



My computer has a camera!
Since I was having a very rare good hair day I took a picture :)

Havin too much fun-Studio time is awesome!

As the summer comes to an end and fall is very much in the air, I am, as usual trying to keep up with everything that is due or needs my attention--lovin' it though! Its all good.

Being back in the studio is truly wonderful. I spent the last month preparing for the NOLAProject which was fine but not my true calling which is working on little bitty things to wear and playing with clay!




NEW WORK-MECA Auction Invitation

Wanted to post my latest in the navigational series --deep water amulets.

This piece is going to the MECA auction. It is a caned polymer clay amulet that opens to reveal a little image inside. A fine silver "charm" dangles from the bottom. Circled by sweet lime green wool roving from a Maine farm the amulet hangs from a hand dyed silk cord. The colors and patterns are very organic and flowery and hopefully evoke a sense of mystery and awe at nature and the deep cool watery pools of summer.

the black hole that is colorlovers.com

Going further into colorlovers.com i have found this bit of beauty.
Please turn off the sound at the bottom of the blog page before watching!



Advanced Beauty 2 of 18 / Directed by Carl Burgess from Universal Everything on Vimeo.

Advanced Beauty is an ongoing exploration of digital artworks born and influenced by sound, an ever-growing collaboration between programmers, artists, musicians, animators and architects.

This collection of films is the first in a series of exhibitions, with upcoming commissions for the Victoria & Albert Museum, London and galleries in Europe, USA and Japan.

Color Lovers Web site!

I just found the fun-ist web site ever. It is colorlovers.com. You can create infinite palates and patterns. I only just played with it the first time today and plan to go back and play some more. There are thousands of downloadable patterns and palates free to use.



Two patterns I quickly found that i liked a lot!

Though i never have a problem coming up with ideas, I can see lots of inspiration happening here for my beads.

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STUDIO NEWS

Beginning to get work together for the NOLAProject show at the Bangor Library to hang Sept 1. Coming up on the third anniversary of the hurricane and i am thinking a lot about it and following up on some stories from New Orleans. Will be updating the NOLAProject blog soon.

--Suzanne

New Pieces and Preparation for BELTEK Aug 1-3

NEW WORK
Pictured are 2 examples of my newest pieces. Very excited about these two lovelies. Feeling the need to be more three dimensional and to build forms. So many possibilities!!



Sterling silver, polymer clay, silk cord



Hand fabricated sterling silver bezel,
handcrafted fine silver bead and polymer clay

NEXT SHOW-BELTEK
Very busy getting ready for BELTEK which happens next weekend Aug 1-3. Making glow jewelry, grab bags, new pieces, signage, costumes etc!!! This is a challenging but fun bunch of stuff to accomplish by friday next week. whew!



Camping at BELTEK (its free to all) Been awhile since I have been camping and Anthony hasn't been camping since his boyhood days so we are preparing for that as well. So much to do in a short amount of time. Hope the tent is still good. Will the non-stop rain will come to an end by then??

Best, Suzanne

So sweet

FREE Hugs!

Sorry about the two tracks of music playing. Choose either to turn the volume down on the movie or at the bottom of the blog page. Either sound track will work!

A BIG Thank you!!

First of all, I want to wish every one a big thanks for stopping by my booth at the Belfast Art in the Park fair. The show was a big success and lots of fun over all. I enjoyed talking to every one and it was so nice to hear all the really great compliments on my work. After spending so many long hours in the studio it is invigorating to bring the work out to the public and hear so many positive comments.

Since sales were so high at the fair I will need to again get right back to work! And that is great as it is my life's joy to be doing what I love. It is my wish that everyone should find something that brings them as much happiness and play as my work does for me.



My next venue will be the BelTek festival in Belmont Maine, Aug 1-3. ***non-stop fun for 48 hours!!! Oh my, I hope I am not too old for this! Really looking forward to the experience. I will be sharing a big round tent with Chris and Michelle Ruin (sp?? sorry C &M!). There promises to be lots of great DJ's spinning tunes to people of all ages from all over the country into the wee hours. There is plenty of free camping for all.

Planning to have some special glow-the-dark jewelry esp for the event.

Hope to see you all soon.

New Work and Show Schedule

Sterling silver and polymer earrings

Greetings from Lucerne! Its been a long winter, a sluggish spring, but the flowers are blooming and its May, finally!

After finishing up the Gallery Guide (my husband and I publish the Maine Gallery & Studio Guide- a yearly guide to Maine art with web site and blog.) I am beginning to get my start in the production of pieces for the summer show schedule. I have many new pieces to bring out this year and a couple of new shows that I have never done before. Should make for an interesting summer.

I am excited to be doing a show with my best friend Valerie McCaffrey of Ballard Street Studio who is doing some fantastic cement garden heads. We will be both at the Woolfe's Neck Farm Art Fest June 28th. I plan to have paintings in this show as well as jewelry.

I am venturing into some unknown territory by doing the BelTek music festival in Belmont, Maine this year. It is a free 3 day 24 hour techno music dance extravaganza Aug 1-3. I will have some far out earrings and pendants just for this crowd as well as for the Old Port Fest. June 1 in Portland.

Designing Women show in Bangor is on again for this year. That show is at Husson College in Oct.

I will again be at MECA/Sea show in Portland for the Holidays.

Currently I have 2 pieces in a show at Daniel Kany Gallery in Portland. That show will run through June 1.

Hope to see you at some or all of these shows!

Best wishes,
Suzanne

busy season

It has been a very busy time here at the studio. I have had so much to learn very quickly in order to present my work the very best I can

....not to mention lots of show forms to fill out.

IN The STUDIO
I am working on a series of little containers and learning to do transfers. Building the containers with little lids has opened up (literally) a whole new way to work for me. Having to make things fit together has been fun but difficult for me. I am working on two at the moment and am including transfers as part of the design. I have many ideas now but not a lot of time to spend on them. Such is life i guess.
Will post picts soon.

WEB SITE reBUILT again!
I have rebuilt my web site to be geared towards jewelry instead of painting. I will still post paintings here on this blog from time to time but have found that the majority of my sales have been in jewelry. I will be concentrating on the jewelry more than painting at this time and that is perfectly ok.

Do, however, intend to get the NOLAProject paintings done soon. Have an idea on how they will be done --mixed media on canvas.

New

Pendants on Silk




Conical shape necklace

Beads

Perfect for Fall. Handmade beads in browns, blues
with faceted carnelian and sterling silver.
Hand forged sterling silver clasp. 16" (sold)




Greens and Blues. Long necklace of handmade beads, silver chain,
faceted blue quartz, swarovsky Austrian Crystal and opal glass.
Hand forged sterling silver clasp. appox 26"




Shell and Petal Necklace. Asian inspired in a combination
of handmade beads and pendant with sterling silver,
handmade precious metal clay shell, pink opal glass and seed beads.
Hand forged clasp. 16"





Pink and Green. Handmade large beads (approx 20 mm)
with varied fun patterns strung with copper, dyed jade
and Swarovsky Austrian crystal.
Hand forged copper clasp. approx. 20"

RECENT WORK
Posting a few pictures of some recent beads and necklaces.

NOLA Project
Things are going well with the fund raising bracelet. I have raised almost enough to cover my travel expenses! I will still need raise funds for materials, framing and publicity for the shows. Thanks to everyone who has so generously supported me!

SHOW IN BIDDIFORD
I will be having a solo show of my landscapes at the Biddeford Savings Bank, Biddeford, Maine Oct- Dec

~Suzanne

I am happy to announce that I now have an ETSY site where I can sell my jewelry and paintings online. At this point I only have the "Home" bracelet listed on the site to support my trip to New Orleans. Please check it out sometime.

Suzanne

Art in New Orleans--The Nola Project

I would like to refer everyone to my new project that is explained at www.thenolaproject.blogspot.com.

Please feel free to leave me some comments and buy a bracelet to support this worthy cause!

New Work
I am off for a quick overnight trip to see some art and do some pastels. We are going "downeast" as Mainers say. This refers to going up the coast of Maine, north of Bar Harbor. Perhaps some of these works will make it into the WLBZ sidewalk art show Aug 4 in Bangor.

Thanks for visiting--Suzanne

"Moss Covered", Pastel 9 x 12

Thank you for your interest in my work.

Living on a beautiful Maine lake has offered me the wonderful opportunity to paint what I see right out side of my studio or just down the road a bit. To have this presented to me is like receiving a gift everyday. I am very happy to be able to share this beautiful place through my paintings.

Painting From Life
Painting in the natural environment has taught me how to see light and color. Living on a lake I am always fascinated by the water itself. The never ending patterns, color and reflections.




Cierra, my painting compainion of 11 years!

Life Influences Narrative Paintings
My narrative, more abstract paintings are created using what I have learned while painting from life. These paintings portray an idea of voyage, journey, transformation and self-actualization.

A transformation through difficult times or navigating changes can often be seen in the water and kayak paintings. The kayak is metaphor for the journey. The water can be treacherous or calm,
frozen solid or changing over from frozen to liquid. The going is
often difficult with a hopeful, positive place (island) as the
destination. The kayak, being a pod-like vessel, can be seen as
containing hope, desires, potential.




"Binding" acrylic 18 x 30 (in process)


Figurative Paintings
My figures are about the same kind of journeys with perhaps a bit more of a literal portrayal. My heroines or heros as I think of them, have changes to go through and difficulties. I seek to portray them as peaceful and strong individuals. Their faces serene.

COLOr~!
I use opposites in the paintings like warm and cool colors and complimentary colors (across from each other on the color wheel, such as purple and yellow, blue and orange). These opposites are used to try to push and pull the figure into and out of the canvas. These opposites work to point out the dicotomy in all humans between the feminine/masculine, the good/bad, strong/week etc. Also, to me these figures are still struggling and have a long way to go.

In all, it is my intention that they seem positive and the viewer feels optimistic about the outcome.




Visiting the Studio
My studio is open by appointment. Call anytime to arrange for a visit.

New Work and Show Schedule

Lately I have been working with soft pastels. It is an interesting switch from the oil pastels I have been doing. These are all 9 x 12, done on location.





Lonely Kayak Series


Lonely Kayak #2 -moving toward contentment, acrylic on canvas



Lonely Kayak #3-Journey-landscape in flux-ice changes to water, acrylic on canvas (SOLD)

These paintings are really exciting for me and the response to them has been fantastic. I think working from life has helped to inform me on how to do the more "inner" paintings. This theme is very interesting to me. I love the shape of the kayak. It is a pod, very organic and yet not. I am painting a lonely journey. I don't know the outcome yet. There are many more paintings to come on this. I can't wait to get some more canvases and more cadmium yellow light paint!

Working on the lonely Kayak series




My Dog Cierra, acrylic on paper




My new beads! I have been exploring bead making and boy is it fun. I will be featuring these new necklaces at some of the shows this summer and fall.



Collaged pendant with lavarock, swarovsky austrian crystal,
yellow jade and skulls necklace. The skulls are fun and make
the jewelry seem primative and magical.

Schedule as of 6-27-07

Every thurs in Bangor, 4-8, at the Kenduskeag Stream. Mostly jewelry with a few acrylic paintings on board.

WLBZ 2 outdoor art show, Bangor, Aug 4, paintings and jewelry

Art at the Beach, Lincolnville, Sat. Aug 11, 10-4, paintings

Designing Women, Oct 3, Husson College, jewelry

United Maine Craftsmen, Brewer Auditorium, Nov 23-25, jewelry and paintings

Maine College of Art Holiday Show, Portland, Dec 7-9, jewelry and paintings

Thanks to everyone who attends my shows and a special thanks to those who purchase my work. It is my wish that you absolutely love it!

Whats happening at YIKES!-A lot!

Haven't had much time for writing this blog. Ahhh... writing is not my thing but I find that I have to do it a lot more than I care to.

Wanted to make a note here about my very new and very very interesting beads (to me anyway) I have delved into the world of polymer clay and am totally addicted to the stuff. I am so thrilled to be able to use color and pattern in my very own beads!! It has been a lot of experimenting and I have so many ideas going through my brain. Can't make things fast enough.

Will have scans here for viewing soon.

Also, have started a new body of work in pastels of all things. Though I have always liked oil pastels, the chalk pastels never appealed to me before. It is very interesting to work with them. It is like the opposite of the oil pastels in that i am always bumping up the color as opposed to bring it down when using the oil. My work has loosened up.