Think Small, Make Small.

So hi there! I make jewelry, that's what I do but it's not all I do. See, about once a year in the summertime I get an offer to be in a group show and I always say yes because, phhf! The deadline is so so far away. This brings us to last week when I realized the deadline was, like, NOW. Oops? Okay, so time to make art, and in this case, small art. Small like, 3x3. Small art is really good for me because I work small anyway and I'm comfortable with it. This is why I picked jewelry and metalsmithing as my major and not sculpture. For some reason, at VCU Sculpture Dept = Big Art and I am just so not down with that.

Anyway, what I make is tiny little collage box things with found objects. I have a huge bin full of random bits - vintage photographs, rusty bits of metal, old stamps, rocks, shells, mica, wooden boxes, keys, that kind of stuff.

My first step is to sort through all that foolishness and find a few bits that I really like, though sometimes I will start with a photograph and then create a bit of a story around it. It's kind of like putting a puzzle together without knowing what the finished picture is supposed to be. (Also, the pieces don't always fit together, but that's what pliers are for.)

Blah blah blah, am I still talking? Sorry, I did actually document this process with photos so maybe I'll stop boring you and start posting images.


It's important to start with a really messy work space:


See, totally not kidding about the mess:


Then I start messing around with my bits and seeing what goes where. I already had a 3x3" box and a sassy photo of my grandmother that I wanted to use:



Here's the layout I decided to go with. The photo, a bit of handwritten note from the back of another vintage photo, a small key, a stamp, some brass sheet metal, and mica:



I added a cool bit of rusty found metal to frame it. I was pretty settled with this layout but hadn't yet discovered there was no good way to glue the key down on top of mica:


I added a copper nail inside to hold the key. I decided I didn't like the top piece of mica - it concealed too much:


So, away it went. Here's the finished product:

Here's the back:


And another photo:


It's hard to take pictures of small stuff, but hopefully you get the idea. Anyway, if you're local and you want to see (and purchase) some fantastic tiny art, please come to the opening on Friday! Here's the info:

and

are pleased to present ...

THINKSMALL4!
4th Biennial International Miniature Invitational Exhibition
Artists' Opening Reception
Friday, November 2, 2007
7:00-10:00 pm
Free and Open to the Public
Eighth Blackbird encore performance at art6

Exhibition Catalog!

Pledge to buy handmade.

The holidays are fast approaching and its time to start organizing your gift list. So why not take the pledge to buy handmade this year. Buyhandmade.org has kicked off this holiday season with a one-two punch to the big box stores. Buyhandmade.org is a collaboration between Etsy, Craftster, indiepublic, Craft Magazine, Interweave, Burdastyle, The Austin Craft Mafia, Design*Sponge, and The American Craft Council. Nine giants in the handmade/indie design realm.
Pluses to buying handmade are unique, one of a kind gifts, avoidance of mall crowds, quality... I can go on! So go to the Buy Handmade website, take the pledge and pass the word.

Below are some great resource links from the Buy Handmade site:

http://www.coopamerica.org/: Co-op America is a not-for-profit membership organization founded in 1982. Their mission is to harness economic power—the strength of consumers, investors, businesses, and the marketplace—to create a socially just and environmentally sustainable society.
http://www.sweatfree.org/: A Network For Local action against Sweatshops.
http://ilsr.org/: The Institute For Local Self-Reliance. The Institute’s mission is to provide the conceptual framework, strategies and information to aid the creation of ecologically sound and economically equitable communities.
http://www.dmoz.org/Society/Issues/Business/Allegedly_Unethical_Firms/Wal-Mart/ :
See what Walmart is up to in your community.

Now that you are informed and ready to do some shopping from handmade/ indie designers, check out some of these crafty peeps!

Richmond crafters...there's a hit out on you!

I'm in the process of updating the RCM website and paying particular attention to our hit list. Regularly, we get request from people looking for particular artists/crafters or particular items here in Richmond, so I'm updating our links page with as much information that I can find about who and what is crafty in Richmond. The Google map I created of crafty Richmond will be on that page as well. We want to help promote Richmond area artists and crafters and Richmond in general! So, if you are doing your thing here in the greater Richmond area, or know of someone or someplace that is, please email me the information so I can put out the official hit. All we ask in return is that you link back to RCM either on your website or your blog. We will be checking. Don't make us come after you, we are the mafia after all!

Call for entries: The Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum

The Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum in Golden, Colorado is seeking entries for the exhibition "Sisters in Cloth" which will run May 6th – July 12th, 2008.

The museum was the third quilt museum in the US when it opened in 1990. The mission of the museum "is to enrich the lives of people of all ages, backgrounds, and cultures through the celebration of, education about, and preservation of the art and history of American quilts and quiltmaking, past and present."

From their release:
The Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum is organizing an exhibit which highlights quilts created by African American artists. The show will cover a wide range of styles, from the traditional to the more contemporary, and will showcase the varied works in design, style, inspiration, and message. Submissions must include one full and one detail view of your entry in either 35 mm slides or 300 dpi digital electronic jpeg files on CD. In addition, please include an artist statement of about 100 words, as well as a description of materials used. There are no size requirements for the quilts, but please do note the dimensions of the piece when submitting your entry.

Slides or digital entries must be received at the Museum by November 16th, 2007. For more information or if you have questions, please contact Megan Aikman, RMQM Curator, at 303.277.0377 or email exhibitscurator@rmqm.org.

The Centerville Pumpkin Festival

The Centerville Pumpkin Festival is this weekend, come and check out! And don't forget to say hi! I will be there with my craft posse! BeesKnees Studio, Lark Studio, Keen Designs and yours truly will be hanging out in the big "double wide". Tents is mean, tents not trailers! : )

Also at the show the marvelous Monkey and Me, Missing Monsters and Sew Ono.

The Pumpkin Festival is an all-day event, outdoors, free to attend, offers fine art, crafts, and produce for sale. Food, entertainment, music, activities for kids, prizes, and more are a part of this fun event!

I saw this one the website... "The hottest, to the minute, artists and indie crafters in the country with many new vendors and a larger variety of shopping to choose from!" Oh my that is what we are, cutting edge crafters! I like the sound of that!

See the links in side bar to learn more about the 2007 vendors! Wow this year there are over 40 vendor! That is a big show!

See ya there!

Additional Basket Pimpery

The Richmond Craft Mafia Basket o' Craft is finally all wrapped up & ready to be won by a deserving Bizarre Market patron! I stopped by Rostov's Coffee this evening to exercise my former-employee privileges (ie: have some hot chocolate) and get crafty with Tammy's gift basket supplies.

Here's a closer look:

You know you want it!

See you all at Chop Suey Books for Bizarre Market on Saturday Oct 13!

Like you really needed ANOTHER reason to go to Bizarre Market this Saturday!

Yes, not only will there be tons of fantabulous local artists & crafters, live music and other Bizarre Market shenanigans going on at Chop Suey Books this Saturday, but now you can also enter the raffle to win a sweet Richmond Craft Mafia goodie bag! Start your holiday stock-piling now, or keep it all for yourself!

Money from the raffle goes to Johnny Z's memorial fund at Art 180

So far I have collected a lovely pair of earrings from Keen, a mini-purse/cosmetics bag (with an additional cute little cell phone charm) courtesy of Nicole Lee Designs and two very nice pottery pieces from Tasha McKelvey.

There's also a super cute mug with my Crafter's Anonymous illustration on it. I will be putting in an assortment of greeting cards, as well as a tiny painting and a sweet coupon for a free item from my Etsy store! Soon to be acquired and therefor not pictured: an apron from Modern June and Craft Snob bag courtesy of Dawn over at Lark Studio.

Bizarre Market: This Saturday, Oct 13th from 12-4

Chop Suey Books (VCU area location)

@ Cary & Randolph Streets

(And for the record, Dawn really really wanted that mug, guys so buy some raffle tickets already...)

Richmond is crafty, dang it!

Okay, I'll let you in on a little secret. I secretly wish sometimes RVA was somewhere uber crafty like Portland or San Fransisco. Well no more! I've realized that Richmond is crafty...in it's own way.

Sister Diane over at DIY Alert and Crafty Pod put together a Google map of craft haunts in Portland and I've put together one for Richmond. Feel free to link to this map so that any of your crafty peeps visiting Richmond can know where to go. Do you think Richmond is craftier than this? If so, email me and let me know what else to add to the map.


View Larger Map

What You Should Do Is...

Lord how I cringe when someone says it to me: What you should do is...

The well-meaning stranger/customer/family member/friend who thinks they have the perfect solution for you! They KNOW! If you are creative and have a small business or Etsy shop you've probably heard it more times than you can count. If you're also holding down a desk job you'll get it even more because, goodness, why are you wasting your time with that pesky mindless paid employment when you should be following your dream or bliss or whatever? Mostly, these people who think I should be:

- opening a boutique
- quitting my job and making jewelry full-time
- farming our designs out so I don't have to do the tedious making part of making jewelry
- sending our stuff to Saks/Lucky Magazine/Museum Shops

...are also people who have lots of money. They don't seem to understand that I kind of need that desk job to pay for boring uncreative things like a mortgage and health insurance and credit card bills.

Don't get me wrong, living off your craft can be done, but you have to work it. You have to work it from every angle and make sure you get paid. You have to be an artist, accountant, marketer, lawyer, and a salesman. I'm tired just typing that list. I guess my point is that while I understand people's lovely enthusiasm for what I do, I'm not sure why it's not enough. Why is it not enough for them that I do this part time and on my terms? I don't actually love the selling part, so why would I open a shop? I'd be miserable. Explaining this to the well-meaning buttinsky just makes them protest more about how great I'd be at it and usually this is someone I don't even know very well so how would they even know?

The other type of "What you should do is" person is the one who is very very happy to tell you how you should make what you make and how you should change it and how it could be better. Generally you don't ask for this advice, which makes it that much more ridiculous. Example: On Saturday the vendor next to us spent a good half hour telling us all about this jewelry artist she saw in DC who does this crazy thing with a toggle and why don't we do that too? It would really help our designs.

What in the what? First of all, nobody asked you lady. Second of all, SOMEONE IS ALREADY DOING IT. Sheesh.

So just keep it in mind. Love what your friend/family member/favorite craft vendor is doing, but maybe keep your grand plans for what they should be doing to yourself. They will thank you for it.

Alternative Market Fall Kick-Off

Join me & some of Richmond's other fine crafty peeps at the kick off for the Fall Alternative Market. There will be crafty goodness, face-painting for the kiddies & Hotel X is playing in the afternoon.

This Saturday Oct 6th from 11am - 5pm

Behind the Alternatives store (3320 West Cary) in Carytown

Remember, 20% of all sales benefit the Mayan Arts Program, bringing an arts education to children in the Guatemalan highlands, so come out and start your holiday shopping!