More Beautiful Items to be Raffled at The Ratner Museum

In case you missed this, we're saying Thank You with an amazing Raffle at our our Ladysmith Show at The Ratner Museum, April 27-28.

A series I'm working on: leaf earrings- inspired by a cluster of leaves my daughter found in the parking lot at the new Denver Ikea. She held up the leaves and said, "Mommy! You should make earrings like this!" She's a great idea girl! She's since made me a list of 24 other inspiring things I can use to make earrings.  7 year-olds have some of the best ideas! (Be on the lookout for Candy Corn earrings soon!!)

Ratner Museum Show

The Ladysmiths will be showing and selling their work at The Ratner Museum this April 27-28. Please see the postcard below. Click it for a larger image, it will open in a new window. Last year was such a huge success we are expecting this year to be even better. There are 12 of us this year.  We are lucky gals to have this opportunity! If you live in the DC Metro Area please come by! If you are planning a visit to DC this would be a fantastic show for you! It's never too late to start holiday shopping. (and you won't find these items mass produced because they are all hand made)

Carolyn's latest work in progress

(these will be rings and pendants when finished)

We recently met to discuss marketing. Most of the focus was on Etsy, everyone had some great tips to offer, Evie brought an array of very forward-looking jewelry business cards from a recent show. Karen showed us some creative marketing books, Bodil shared what it's like to sell from B&Ms (brick and mortar stores). Sharon was very up on all the Etsy changes for sellers and buyers. Let's just say we all couldn't stop talking!

 (Carolyn hosted this time around)

Also, some of the ladies have been taking a wax carving class at The Art League in Alexandria, VA. I'm sure there will be some great results to post here.

Fresh Start

Thought I'd show my goodies I just received via Rio...I'm going to use vinegar sans the other stuff to keep my home studio a little more green...

oh and I can't wait to dive into that big round heavy leather forming bag...

hope this inspires you to want to restart, finish or work on something :-)
(it's me Care)

A New Solder Area

I did it, have ordered and am ready for a clean new solder area, this time around I knew exactly what I wanted/needed...hubby put a new cover  on the old bench he made...(sharing my progress) Today I'm in my studio facing all the clutter, wow, it's harder than I thought...hard to let go of things I really don't need...

anyone else ever do a re-do of their studio?

Unfinished

Clearly there is something inside of myself that doesn't want to set a stone...sort of like looking at an MRI or Xray of bones and the things that live underneath all we find to be pretty. These are pieces I've started and abandoned, and pulled out to the bench to ponder over.  There's a part of me that dares to want to make and finish pieces meant to look unfinished...

this was snapped this morning with the pretty light streaming into my studio. Even the little ink drawing is not finished...

posted by CarolynArtist

Elements-Cloud and Rain Necklace

by CarolynArtist...I made this piece from beginning to end on Sunday. I purposely chose a piece where none of the components required solder. I also chose not to use liver of sulfur in my home studio on such a frigid day out where windows would need to be open. The rivets on the top part of the cloud where the chain is attached were satisfying to hammer.  This started from a sketch the night before.  It's been very cloudy lately, eh? So cloudy my studio has barely enough light to get a proper pic, so I chose this one for our site. (there's only so much a gal can do with a bag of frozen peas on the knee and a little loopy from Vicodin...) Hope this helps to inspire :-)

The Ladysmiths Art-A-Day Project

The idea is to take a moment every day to share something creative that relates to the creation of a form of art.

What have you created today?  Is it tangible? Is it a ring, a poem, a painting, a sketch or a motivating thought?  Are you re-imagining over and over a finished piece as you move around in your day? Is it a work in progress? Something you’re thinking about creating? Or what have you seen (or heard) that sparks a creative idea?

By making sure we think and act creatively each day, we challenge ourselves to step out of a comfort zone and into a lovely area where anything is possible.

Through this process we will encourage each other on a daily basis.

 Blog posting guidelines:

• Post a photograph of your piece or concept on the Ladysmiths blog.
• Identify each posting as part of the “Ladysmiths Art-A-Day Project” both in the blog area and in the Label area of the blog post
• Describe what this image means for you today. What process did you go through and how did it make you feel? Are you pleased with your results?  Are you looking forward to moving to the next step of your unfinished piece? If your image is not something you’ve made, explain what about it intrigues you.

• Post something new every day – or as often as you can!