See the full array of sea glass creations at the Rocky Neck Cultural Center during late November and December! The show opens on Friday November 25th with a Potluck reception from 5-8PM. The 
RNAC has a full array of events every weekend to make a fun and engaging holiday experience. Look for my familiar display!
Blog
Reflections on an endless summer. Wearable Art “To Go!”
This summer I poured a lot of energy into helping a fellow artist who works in visual arts. The experience really made me think about what it means to be an artist and what a luxury it is to be able to express oneself in various media – painting, music, writing, and in my case, sea glass! I haven’t veered terribly far from my original hope for my work. When I started 15+ years ago, I wanted to focus on wearable art in the form of hair accessories, then jewelry. I had always hoped to be the “go to” person for beautiful hair pieces. Most of the other work and the styles evolved from my original idea – to create a puzzle from the bits and pieces of pottery and sea glass I had collected. For m
e, the full gratification comes when I find the right home for one of my pieces. I don’t want my work in the studio for too long. I want to share it and celebrate it with my friends and clients who appreciate its unique, indigenous quality. This inspires me to create more and go in new directions.
Additionally, this year is very special as it’s the 10th anniversary of a group that I helped create here on Cape Ann,
the seARTS Wearable Art group. This group of fellow artists and friends have allowed me to build something very special – a unique brand here on the north shore and Cape Ann in particular. Our 2016 event is a Salon – From Understated to Outrageous, the many Expressions of Wearable Art. The anchor of the event is a keynote panel that includes world renowned artists alongside curators from the MFA and PEM. How cool is that? It means a lot to me to bring this group together– whether for our past holiday shows, our amazing runway series “Celebrate Wearable Art!” or just over coffee in my studio. We help and inspire each other and at the same time, bring exceptional people together to immerse themselves in this unique genre of art and build a following for hand-made, one-of-a-kind wearable works. So please come and visit on the Cape Ann Artisans Tour October 8 & 9th and I hope you find a piece of my collection that can become one of yours!
Behind the scenes with the Cape Ann Artisans: 2016 Open Studios kicks off this weekend
I wish I could just lock myself in the studio to make sea glass jewelry and have everyone find me and buy the work. But it's just not that simple! To prepare for the Cape Ann Artisans Tour, each of us has to balance the creative energy to refresh our collections with some type of "job" to make the tour possible! Mine is to lead the marketing & promotional efforts. The challenge is alway to find out "what's new" and how to get the attention of the media, visitors, friends, and neighbors. A few years back, I led an arts-marketing workshop for the artisans and one of the great things coming out of that is our "From the Studio" blog. Here's where everyone truly shines – telling their story in their own way and keeping us up to date on what is happening the other 10 months of the year! We meet 2-3 times a year as a group to divide up tasks. Cynthia Curtis acts as an incredible recording secretary, keeping us all in line. Anni is the Treasurer, down to the penny! Beth Williams manages the production of the brochure – keeping it at the highest standards of quality working with designers and printers. Rob runs the website, Sara Wright manages the distribution of the brochure and posters for which we all take a piece of the responsibility – getting the information out around town. Judith, Sinnikka, and other work on getting sponsors for which we are SO grateful to help defray some costs of marketing materials. All in all, it's an incredible team effort with many spouses jumping in to help out as well as Artisans on leave (Terry, Rebecca, et al). The Artisans are members of seARTS, the Cape Ann Chamber, North of Boston Visitors Bureau, and work with all the tourism groups.
.JPG) |
 |
 |
It's a virtual institution of relationships fueled by a supportive community! So in just two days in the Spring, we all wait to see what happens. As our tour is a full month earlier this year, be sure to tune in this Saturday and Sunday, May 21-22 10-5 – and be part of an important annual ritual, our own CAA "Rite of Spring!"
Pin DPendancy could change your wardrobe forever! Try it!
Whether you are pindependent or not, I recommend that you give it a try. A statement piece can summarize and top off an interesting look, draw attention and create conversation. You might even get away with replicating your favorite garments, but just changing these highly creative accessories. Pins a/k/a brooches have long held their place in history, most recently, Madeleine Albright explained that she used pins to express her moods and opinions as a diplomat. I started wear pins many years ago because my mother was an early pin fan and collector. It was also among her favorite gifts. She in fact, made a fabulous recommendation to me that benefits all my customers – to secure your favorite pins with the rubber earring back just in case they unlatch – so you don’t lose them. A brilliant tip.
I began to create brooches 14 years ago just after I began designing in sea glass. Upon first glance, they look just like barrettes and this is by design. My first customers who cherished their sea glass barrettes asked if I would create something for their friends who did not have long hair. Today, I create a wide variety of brooches – some can be worn on jackets and heavy sweaters. Others on hats. Some are meant to be convertible to pendants. Ah, that’s the other part of this discussion d’Pendancy! Most of my “pendants” are meant to go on whatever favorite neck-wire you already own. Some hang from scarves. Whatever your choice, I highly recommend Pin and Pendant therapy and becoming fully Pin d’Pendant this Fall and Winter when we need to cover up with our favorite layered looks and a complementary brooch will enhance your look and spark a great conversation!
Interested in seeing my pins? You can view them here on my website, stop at the studio by appointment, visit local shops (particularly at the Designers, 106 Charles Street in Boston and London Ventures in Rockport) and at any of these upcoming shows! On the left, a new piece called: Rhapsody in Sea Glass
November 14-15: North Shore Art Association Festival of Fine Arts & Crafts 10-4PM
December 3: Marblehead Art Association: Seaside Artisan Fairhttp://www.marbleheadarts.org 4-8PM
December 4 & 5th: Cape Ann Artisans Holiday Show at Rockport Art Association (Dec 4 – 4-9PM) and (Dec 5th 10-5PM)
December 10th: New England BioLabs 4-6:60 (Private Show for Employees)
A Creative Challenge: Preparing for two amazing events!
There’s nothing like an artistic challenge from a fellow artist to get the creative juices flowing. With a fall full of tying up loose ends for the seARTS event, Celebrate Wearable Art III (of which I am chair), it was imperative that I found some time to wear my artist hat and create something new over the summer. Thanks to the collaboration with Camilla MacFadyen for her “summer” look for the runway show, I stared out the window of my studio into my garden, looked at my tray of small pieces of glass, and thought long and hard about what might possibly show up on a runway? This by far is the biggest challenge for the Celebrate Wearable Art show – to make a statement piece that can be seen from far away.
The result is a theme piece called “The Rains of Summer; Tears of Joy.” This thought directly aligned with the first “rain” that hit my garden and the shape of a raindrop and a tear-drop – both of which are soothing in their own special way! The piece is actually a series of five tear-drop shaped pendants uniquely tied together in one piece to fully cover the neckline of the model below the neckline. After the show, this piece can be taken apart with each piece of it, its own pendant unless of course, it sells as one piece. Along with this, earrings that mimic the pair I made for the 2011 runway show that often get significant attention when I wear them – long and slender with one large bead or pear at the end – inspiring a “runway collection” of similarly constructed earrings! Since I cannot reveal the pieces until after September 27th, I can only tease you with the pieces that I mention here that were the precedents to the final product and of course, the garden that I look at from my studio! Here's a "Summer Sail" piece in the teardrop shape.
Then I look forward to showing you ALL the new work on October 10-12 at the Fall Cape Ann Artisans' Studio Tour!
Textures of the Cape Ann Artisans Open Studios: This weekend!
Every time I start a new piece, I have the chance to dump loads of sea glass on to a table and peruse each piece to see how it would like to end up – a barrette? a brooch? a hunt for its mate for a pair of earrings? Texture makes a big difference. Nice flat pieces with even edges make great barrettes – while funky, chunky pieces work well for bracelets. Sometimes, I just set aside a piece and look at it to see if it inspires an entirely new item in the collection. Sea marbles and other odd shapes inspired a new type of "enclosed" pendant. Flat chunky pieces inspired new post earrings (finally) as well as scarf clips. Lariats were born of bottlenecks. Then there is a matter of what feels good in your hair. My newest silver combs feel great – really stay in well and create an elegant addition to the collection.
Generally speaking, the french clips that I use for barrettes feel solid and functional, while adding glamor your lovely locks! It's no secret, that I love making and sharking hair accessories – since my quest for quality hair pieces started me on this artistic journey over 12 years ago. The only way to see the full collection is to come to the studio and this is one of two weekends that the studio is open for two full days. Whether you are a neighbor or visitor – please stop in to see me and my 21 fellow Cape Ann Artisans! Look for the magenta flags and pick up a map either online, at the Chamber of Commerce on Commercial Street, or at almost any tourist attraction, Artisan Studio, hotel, or restaurant in town.
And if you are looking to adopt a puppy, stop to see Judy Wright or Pam Stratton who are hosting "meet & greets" with Cape Ann Animal Aid!.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)