YIKES! news

Valerie McCaffrey of Ballard Street Studios looks over pieces at Luna Form in Sullivan, Maine

Road Trip

Last week was pretty busy with getting ready for shows, having company and a birthday party for a friend of the family. Did a little road trip "downeast" to Luna Forms in Sullivan with my best girlfriend Valerie of Ballard Street Studio. Valerie is a sculptor who creates wonderful planters, called appropriately, "Garden Guardians," from concrete. Luna Forms also creates their pieces from concrete and we got to see the workshop and works in process during our visit. It is a wonderful place. Very Asian in feeling. The pieces are huge and gorgeous! Maybe one day they will trade us a piece for an ad in the Gallery Guide!







Studio News ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++



Sea Candy

Coming up with some really cool shapes in reference to pods and crazy looking underwater forms. Here is the first piece fully assembled, though not quit done. This piece will probably under go some changes.

I've been blasting through some awesome color combinations=violet+goldish orange+metallic browns+pinks. Sooo fun!!

Next week it will be time to seriously work on the display overhaul!

spring in the woods

 

Is this a trillium? Most amazing flowering plant. All about the number three.

Summer Collection

Preview of New Jewelry for Spring & Summer!

Getting ready for the retail season has been a blast. I have been working with lots of bright colors and great combinations. The big color combinations out this season seem to be in snappy, happy pairings of pinks, oranges & bright greens. Very bold, very fun.

bold;">IndiePublic is another site for people like me who like to make things and try really hard to sell them!
This is a slide show from IndiePublic that features some new earrings-- Feista!


Find more photos like this on Indiepublic


Galleries
Dropped off pieces for Stable Gallery in Damariscotta last Saturday. The Stable Gallery is gorgeous, situated in an old carriage house. My work will be one of the featured artists next month with an opening in June. Looks like they are putting together a wonderful collection of artists and I am looking forward to seeing the gallery with all the work displayed.

life imitates art.... or vice versa....

New Paintings!!

Spent a wonderful weekend painting. Worked on doing abstracts from the canes that I make for my jewelry work. It was a very interesting process and one that i plan to continue to explore. The canes are mostly abstract anyway and give me a good jumping off point for the paintings. I found that I am using many of the same approaches to the paintings that I do in the jewelry work. I love building form and shape from color. I have a natural inclination to certain shapes like pods, stalks, circles, etc. I feel like there are some pretty cool paintings yet to be done!

I can't wait to get painting again!

"geocircles," acrylic on canvas, 28 x 36

"from the deep" acrylic on canvas, 6 x 10



"deep in the bones" acrylic on canvas, 28 x 36

This painting is from the journey series that I had been working on a while ago. I never knew till this weekend how to finish the painting. I realized that it needed more of an "ending" and added the bleached white sticks around the edges to represent bones. I am happy with how it turned out. It has many meanings to me and I hope to others as well.

Gearing up for Show Season!
Getting all my ducks in a row for the busy time of year and happy with all the new and colorful pieces I will have out for sale. Also doing a revamp of the YIKES! show display and the web site! No one said this would be easy but i love it. I look forward to seeing all my returning and many new customers this summer.

Web-ly Wanderings

Web Findings

I am always interested in seeing insects and little sea animals so this really caught my eye. It's a short interview with the wonderful Isabella Rosellini discussing her Sundance channel short films where she investigates the sex lives of insects & sea creatures. She's such a pleasure to watch and listen to. Thanks to BUST Magazine for this video.

Exploration continues

I have been having an interesting time continuing my exploration into social networking sites. So far now I am maintaining pages on Twitter, MySpace, Facebook and IndiePublic with the new addition of SoulPancake (not quite a social networking page, but intends to be one someday). It is a lot of work and very time consuming but pretty fun. I certainly don't want to be spending this much time in front of the computer everyday though!

IndiePublic is another site for people like me who like to make things and try really hard to sell them!
This is a slide show from IndiePublic that features some new earrings-- Feista!


Find more photos like this on Indiepublic

new ways to market in the viral world

Hello,

While on vacation (really, I don't think I could ever leave my jewelry work and YIKES! behind) I have also been having some fun exploring twitter and other social networking sites and info. All eyes seem to be turned to this kind of marketing posibility. Like all marketing though, it takes time and careful planning of which I seem to have little(time) when it comes to this kind of stuff. One thing I do know is that it is a great way to offer my clients and potential clients some great ways to keep my work in their radar and generate some extra interest if done right.

Auction

I am looking at the possibility of having an online auction of one of my pieces. Something along the lines of a nice piece with a minimun bid and then the winning bid gets it! I think it might be fun and interesting.

Coupons
I plan to continue with the newsletters that will include special coupons and deals. I will be sending one out soon to highlight the summer shows and perhaps a drawing will be in the works.

Hope to see you this summer

Great time to be an artist

exerpts from Art Issues blog by Barney Davey

..the argument that this is the best of times for artists

"This is a great time to be an artist. I go beyond just saying it's great timing to be a visual artist, which encompasses fine artists, photographers, digital artists and graphic designers. It arguably is a great time to be a musician, an actor, or a writer, too.

Technology has made so many things possible, like this blog, for instance. Print-on-demand technology and increasing advancements in video and audio recording all put tremendous power in the hands of individual artists. Couple those advancements with the ability to deliver their creative output via the Internet and other digital distribution methods and you have a strong argument for this being the best of times. I think it is easy to forget that in the good old days breaking in as an artist in any genre was tough. It still is. What is different now is that artists of all stripes can make their own luck in ways not available to previous generations.

Don't stop now

Technology is not a tool to make the works of hacks and amateurs passable. In the hands of the most talented, it will lift us and inspire us in ways we have yet to imagine. To my mind, it is the worst of times to be a pessimist and the best of times to be an optimist. It is a time to cautiously go forth with one's best plans, and to be cautiously aware those plans will need to be monitored and adjusted to inevitable changes. If you are like everyone else, you have already slowed your roll a bit, which is natural and prudent. I do admonish you, however, to keep on moving and leave you with the wisdom of the Great Depression era's best humorist and philosopher:

Even if you're on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there.
Will Rogers (1879 - 1935)"

here here

the wierd and wonderful web

When You're Smiling... from David OReilly on Vimeo.

Really, there is so much interesting a mind blowing stuff being done!
I have been looking at animators tonight and wanted to post something i found. There are others by David OReilly that are so worth watching on his site ("Please Say Something" is amazing). They are a little long so I didn't embed here. His web site is davidoreilly.com

Also looking at something called Datamashing. First used by OReilly, though he doesn't care for the term or the potential overuse of the effect. OReilly says it is like seeing the brush strokes of a painting in a digital video form. Chairlift uses the effect in their music video and its stunning in a psychedelic way.


1000 Bills (In Imago Speramus) from Alex Itin on Vimeo.


Why is a polymer clay jewelry artist blogging about cool animations? 'Cause i get my influences from everywhere and anywhere!

Some New Works

Just a quick posting of some newer pieces. 

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Mama Cash

Come to my dinner party at Mama Cash and support women activists in developing countries! Find recipes, post recipes and have fun checking out this worthwhile global cause. So far Mama Cash has contributed about 30 million euros to women's issues.

Dead of Winter Open Studio Day

ONE DAY SALE
One day only, before going into production for 2009, I will be opening the studio to anyone who would like to stop by. Many items will be on sale and it will be the last chance to get them!

The Studio will be open Jan 10, 11-5
207-843-6344

Holiday Greetings

Thanks for all your business, the wonderful comments and support for my work! It has been a really great year, and in 2009 I will continue to offer the funniest and funkiest jewelry of all, at prices that everyone can afford.

I look forward to seeing everyone at the 2009 shows!

Link to Map

Hope to see you at the OPEN STUDIO Dec 13 & 14, 10-5!
We are located on Phillips lake in Lucerne, on Rockridge Rd, (link to google map)

OPEN Studio Dec 13-14

Its final, the YIKES! Studio open studio holiday show and sale will be Dec 13-14, 10-5. I will have many sale items to make way for the 2009 pieces. Time to clear it out!!

I plan to post a map here soon but you can always google directions.

The studio is also open by appointment if you can't make this date.

Please stop by and have a hot chocolate or an espresso! I am excited to show off my new studio update.

Holiday Sale and Open Studio Plans

MECA/SEA Holiday Sale--click to see larger version

HOLIDAY SHOW
My next show is the holiday show in Portland. Its a wonderful show with lots of funky and fine stuff made by MECA students, alum and SEA artists. The show is a Christmas tradition for me as I have done the show for about 6 years. It never feels like Christmas til the MECA holiday show.

OPEN STUDIO
My studio is cleaned up and redone and ready to open for the YIKES! Open Studio Holiday Sale. The date will most likely be the weekend of Dec 13 -14, 10-4. Come by for hot chocolate, espresso or cappuchino, lots of jewelry, paintings and drawings. Many on sale!!

Suzanne

Congrats to US!

Happy happy day today!! Obama wins with ease and the elections are almost flawless. It truly is a new day for America.
Yes We CAN!!!

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