Winter News

Ah winter in Maine....good time to work on projects like updating the web site (coming soon!) taking photos, gearing the Esty site up for sales and teaching classes.

Brandon and I have been working hard towards generating more online sale opportunities on Etsy. I hope to pass more of the online YIKES! responsibilities on to Bran over the coming year.

Teaching my first class in Beginning Polymer Clay and I am really enjoying my students. I will have more opportunities for night classes within the next couple of weeks. My insurance does not cover classes at my studio so other arrangements will have to be made at this time

I have been busy lining up shows for 2010. Starting with the Portland Flower Show in March and then Beads and Baubles in April. These are both new shows for me and I am really excited to be starting the season off a little earlier this year.

Keep warm!
Suzanne

2x the fun+YIKES!Studio

AND

2 great venues for all your shopping needs. YIKES! will be at both. Lots of jewelry at each location. Come meet my assistant Brandon and my husband Anthony. Both will be helping out this weekend.

day after...

Designing Women show yesterday in Bangor




"harvest pin"




"jumpin' jax"

I am writing, tired and excited at the same time after the Designing Women show in Bangor yesterday. It was a lovely show with many old friends showing up and visiting. I was really impressed with how strong the work was and how supportive and nice all the women exhibitors are.

In my recent e-newsletter I talked about how really honored I am when my customers choose me for their holiday gift purchases. At the show yesterday many such customers were getting a start on their holiday buying. One very nice and very interesting woman, who is a writer, spent quite a while in my booth buying a gift for every female person on her list! It was a big purchase. It is such a nice validation of my hard work to have that kind of response.



Booth makeover

I am very happy with the way my booth is shaping up! I guess there is always some anxiety (like waking up and freaking out at 5:00 am on show day) around making changes when things are going so well. I love maniquins and am happy with the new ones in my booth. The pedistals are really great too!

Will spend the rest of today getting ready for trip tomorrow to Maine Center for Craft in Gardiner to work out wholesale order and do some ordering of supplies. No rest for me today!



Next weekend I will be at "The Gifted Hand" in Ellsworth. See the awesome write up in the Boston Globe about The Gifted Hand show and the Brewer Thanksgiving show, of which I am also doing! What an exciting time it is.

Hope to see you there.

Suzanne




"fruti fruti"

Review: The Work of the Hand exhibit is just as much 'art' as 'craft' | Portland Press Herald

The Work of the Hand exhibit is just as much 'art' as 'craft'
| Portland Press Herald

My work got a nice mention in this review by Daniel Kany.

"While "Work of the Hand" focuses primarily on craftsmanship and strong design, there are some bright flashes of fun as well. I particularly like Suzanne Anderson's polymer clay jewelry. It is witty and uplifting, and it looks even better when worn than on display."

Last minute add on!

Had last minute opportunity to add on the Designing Women show at Husson College . I am happy to be a part of this great show again this year. Looking forward to seeing my local customers and friends again.

Yikes in MUD and CMCA

I have spent the last month in the studio getting ready for the "Work of the Hand" show at CMCA and I am really excited about the direction my work is going in. Its been awhile since I have not been in production and instead focused just on developing the higher end work for a Gallery show. I am exhausted and energized at the same time!



"Fall nesting" polymer clay caned and formed, embellished
with Swarovski crystal and glass seed beads.

This is a brand new piece. I call it "Fall Nesting" because it really reflects my feelings about fall and how I just want to hunker down more than ever and get really focused. The colors are influenced by the beautiful Maine landscape in the fall. Catching my attention are crisp blue skies with bronzes, violets and yellows in the folliage This piece is for sale at CMCA
along with many other fabulous new works.

2 shows for YIKES opening this week.
My work will be in 2 shows this month "Work of the Hand" at CMCA in Rockport and "Mud" at Pearson Legacy Gallery in Deer Isle. I will be attending both openings and perhaps I will see you there.

Work of the Hand- Center for Maine Contemporary Art
Event Date: 10 October 2009 ends 19-October 09
Each year, approximately 50 artists present their fine contemporary crafts in this highly-anticipated juried show and sale. This year, Work of the Hand will be celebrating its 20th year as one of Maine’s most outstanding crafts shows, and will run from October 10 through 18, 2009. Fine crafts artists from Maine and New England will offer work of exceptional quality and unique design, including jewelry, furniture, glass, lighting, pottery, clothing, fiber and leather works for sale, order, or commission.

Work of the Hand opens Friday, October 9 with a Collectors’ Preview Evening from 5 to 8 pm. Guests can meet the artists and will have an opportunity to purchase exceptional work or commission a custom piece as they enjoy the reception. Admission is $15. Artists will be present on certain days as the show continues, October 10 through 18, 10 am to 5 pm daily, admission $5.

Transformations: Mainstreaming Mud
Opening Reception Thurs Oct 8, 5:00 to 7:00 pm. Pearson Legacy Gallery, 13 Dow Rd., Deer Isle. Over 40 artists use clay: some as a material for an elegant vase, bowl or platter or perhaps for a sculptural wall or free-standing piece. Some capture the work of others who use clay in a photograph or a painting. And many interpret clay and mud as they exist in nature. It's really a wonderful landscape! The exhibit is open Thursdays through Sundays, 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., ending on October 25th. For information on the exhibition, call: 348- 2535. After October 12th, call: 348-6848. Website soon.

+ + + +

Thanks to everyone who attended my shows this summer. It was a great season and I anticipate a nice fall and holiday season as well. Please check my schedule at the right for dates and locations.

Suzanne

Busy September to get ready for a Busy October

Work has been practically exploding out the the studio lately! Having fun with new, more, sculptural forms for beads and then stringing into necklaces. They have been very challenging pieces. Some times invention is called for in order to string these new beads and still keep it comfortably wearable. All my walks in the woods are definitely influencing my jewelry. In addition to these new pieces and directions that my jewelry seems to be going in I will always have plenty of my great earrings and necklaces in fabulous, eye popping colors.

YIKES! October Highlight

October 10 - October 18 2009
Work of the Hand at Center for Maine Contemporary Art, Rockport
Main and Loft Galleries
Each year, approximately 50 artists present their fine contemporary crafts in this highly-anticipated juried show and sale. This year, Work of the Hand will be celebrating its 20th year as one of Maine’s most outstanding crafts shows, and will run from October 10 through 18, 2009. Fine crafts artists from Maine and New England will offer work of exceptional quality and unique design, including jewelry, furniture, glass, lighting, pottery, clothing, fiber and leather works for sale, order, or commission.

Work of the Hand opens Friday, October 9 with a Collectors’ Preview Evening from 5 to 8 pm. Guests can meet the artists and will have an opportunity to purchase exceptional work or commission a custom piece as they enjoy the reception. Admission is $15. Artists will be present on certain days as the show continues, October 10 through 18, 10 am to 5 pm daily, admission $5.


Something i found



Dan Cormier, Fiji Mermaid, 2000
isn't it the coolest polymer piece?

Audubon Show and feeling fall-ish

Playing with a fall palette in this multi-layered bead necklace.
Handcrafted polymer clay beads strung on heavy elastic cord
with genuine Swarovsky crystal.


The nights have grown cooler and the cicadas are buzzing in the tree tops signaling summer is beginning to wane only just as it seems to have started! At YIKES! Studio while I am still creating lively summer patterns and colors, my interests are starting to turn to the fall palette.

At this weekend's Audubon Show at Gilsland Farm in Falmouth, I will have some lovely fall inspired pieces available to those seeking something special, in a more subdued palette, that will carry over through the fall and winter.

My fun beaded necklaces, strung on elastic without a clasp, have continued to be a very successful item this summer. Many customers have really liked the easy on off of these pieces and the price continues to be very reasonable for such a special and unique necklace.


Remaining '09 Show Schedule
Aug 15-16, Audubon Show, Gilsland Farm, Falmouth. The Gilsland Farm in Falmouth, Maine is a perfect setting for this wonderful, high end art and fine craft show. The farm is a sanctuary maintained by the Maine Audubon. It has many well groomed walking trails, open fields and woodlands along the Presumpscot River estuary. The Visitor's Center and the pristine apple orchard will all be open to sixty of the area's best artists and finest craftsmen. Come and join me for these two important August days.

DIRECTIONS:
From the south, take I-295 to Exit 9, Falmouth Foreside. Continue north on U.S. Route One for 1.9 miles and turn left at the Maine Audubon sign just before the junction with Route 88. Take a left at the Gilsland Farm sign and follow the dirt drive ¼ mile to the parking area.

From the north, take I-295 to Exit 10, Falmouth/Bucknam Road, and then left to the traffic light on U.S. Route One. Turn right (south) on U.S. Route One and go 1.3 miles and turn right at the Maine Audubon sign just after the junction with Route 88. Take a right at the Gilsland Farm sign and follow the dirt drive ¼ mile to the parking area.

From the northwest, take I-95 to Exit 52, exit onto U.S. Route One south. Go 1.4 miles and turn right at the Maine Audubon sign just after the junction with Route 88. Take a right at the Gilsland Farm sign and follow the dirt drive ¼ mile to the parking area.

Schedule
Sept 5, Designing Women, Camden

Oct 9-18 Work of the Hand, Center for Maine Contemporary Art, Rockland

Nov 13-14, Gifted Hand, Ellsworth Holiday Inn Convention Ctr., Ellsworth

Nov 27-29, UMC, Brewer Auditorium

Dec 4-5, MECA or SEA Holiday Show, Portland-TBA

Where you can see my work
If you can't make it to any of my shows this season, please look for my work in any of the following galleries, Aarhus in Belfast, Stable Gallery in Damariscotta, Paper Moon in Westbrook, Maureen Elizabeth in Bangor, Sea of Cotton and Pretty Marsh in Bar Harbor and The Center for Maine Craft in Gardiner.

Hope to see you at a show!

Suzanne

New Paintings for Stable Gallery

"red fish roiling" from the journey series, 12 x 12, acrylic on canvas




"Ice Bound" from the journey series, acrylic on canvas, 12 x 16

Paintings

Happy to say that Stable Gallery in Damariscotta has sold another of the journey series paintings ("Refuge") and so i am sending 2 more to them. I am really happy with how these came out. They are smaller than the previous paintings (except the very first one which was tiny at 5x5). I have them priced at $275 which is a very good price for what has become a desirable series. Not sure how many more I have in me at this point and everyone of them has sold. Funny, but i really miss them....

Shows

Show season has been going fairly well. I have had some great sales and met some wonderful people. Looking forward to taking it a little bit easy (like taking a day off once in a while) over the next couple of weeks till the Audubon Show. I say that now, but most likely I will be revving up pretty hard as it is an important show!!

Best always,
Suzanne

News from a cool and wet July in Maine

Paris Necklace
Just finished and sent off a new commission piece. I am very happy with how it came out and hope the owner is too. The requirements were to include the Eiffel Tower and the year 2009. The color scheme was to be light blues and greens which I love to work with anyway. Beads are all high polish polymer clay. I embellished the piece with Swarovsky Austrian Crystals, seed beads and pearls. The toggle clasp was hand forged from sterling silver.




BELFAST ART in the PARK
Getting ready for the Belfast show this weekend. Praying for no rain as it is an outdoor show on the water. This is usually a really great show so i am looking forward to it. Great and appreciative crowd.

FUNGUS!
Have recently been working on some pieces that are sooo directly related to my rainy woods walks. Not sure what direction this will go in. The pieces remind me so much of fungus and mushrooms and slugs (ewe.... but these are pretty ones!!) Will post picts soon.

Off to the Lupine Fest tomorrow

Getting ready for the Stonington Lupine Fest tomorrow. A little anxious as it is the first show I am doing this year by myself with no help! arghhh. I only have 2 hours to set up and thats just not enough time, even with the new display, to do alone. Oh well, it will all be fine. Come by and see me if you are in the area. Deer Isle-Stonington High School gym on Saturday, June 20th from 10-5. The weather looks a bit cloudy and rainy so it will be a good day for a craft show!

Using my new halogen lights for the first time tomorrow too! Pretty exciting for me.

Food for the Soul

Found this really really cute video about art on Soul Pancake this morn. Love Soul Pancake!


Made to Match

Decided to put the word out on my Etsy site for Made to Match custom jewelry and beads. It was so fun creating the matching pieces for a dress I have and it came out so well that I thought I would just love to do more of this sort of thing. Don't know if it will fly or not but why not try it?

gettin' my grove on

Standing with my painting at Stable Gallery, Damariscotta



My Jewelry and painting at Stable Gallery

Stable Gallery in Damariscotta
My work is one of the featured artist's work for this month at Stable Gallery. Anthony and I attended the lovely opening last Friday. It was really nice and I was impressed with all the work there. They put out a lovely spread of food and even had live music. The members all did such a great job hanging the show. It is really one of the nicest galleries and Damariscotta is a sweet little town.



Made to match!

What came first, the beads or the fabric?
I am posting a pict. of the necklace I made to go with my dress that I wore to the opening. I was happy with how it came out. It was interesting to hear people's comments about it (all positive!) Someone asked me if I made the dress to match the necklace. That would have been really hard! I would have had to make the fabric!!! Much easier to make beads to match the fabric! I would love to do more of this sort of thing. Custom beads/jewelry to match outfit/fabric. New from YIKES! Studio!



Some flowers at Le Vatout

Le Vatout
We stayed overnight at a great B&B called Le Vatout in Waldoboro and made some excellent friends with the owners. We hope they will come and visit us in Lucerne if they can ever get away. The garden at this place is incredable!!! I am inspired to work on my own pathetic garden.




Talking to some customers at the Old Port Fest.

Shows
The Portland Old Port Fest weekend before last was a blast. I was really pleased with the turnout and made lots of sales. People continue to respond very favorably to my work and it is very rewarding. I could not believe how this little event has grown since I was an art student in '80's

Next weekend is the Lupine Fest in Stonington. Not sure what is will be like as it is the first time I have done this show. I think it will be fun and Stonington is so pretty.

Following week I will be in Ellsworth for a new show upstairs at the Grind on Main Street. Its part of a brand new event called "Art Across Ellsworth"

Happy Summer!☺

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