Clay Commission

"Crow Dreaming", ceramic with pearls and beads, 8 x 11", 2012

Over a month ago a friend commissioned me to create a clay piece for her atrium.  She needed art that could handle being outside.  Clay is perfect for that.  She told me I could create anything I like as long as it hangs on a wall and is not too large.  The possibilities were endless.  Hundreds of ideas ran through my head.  Finally I settled on an idea that had a personal connection to my friend.  After a couple of sketches I constructed the piece.  I had so much fun!  It was like drawing without a pencil.  This is my first relief sculpture, and certainly not my last.  I enjoy the process of working with clay.  It combines my fine art and crafting skills, 2D and 3D, and is a nice break from painting and jewelry.

Going Abstract

When inspiration strikes, it’s time to act.  I find that if I wait (out of fear or convenience) the window of opportunity closes and I often don’t come back to the idea.

So you are probably wondering what is going on with the painting above.  Over a year ago I was inspired by the encaustic work of an artist friend.  The paintings were mostly abstract and incorporated glitter.  Ahhh glitter!  I knew I needed to do something with glitter.  I bought the Martha Stewart glitter collection but never used it.  I felt blocked.  I couldn’t just jump into a painting without some sort of idea.

Now, after all this time, the moment has arrived.  After all the tiny myco drawings for jewelry pendants, inspiration struck.  I was lying in bed thinking about the fun, intriguing and beautiful world of slime molds and lichen when I had the idea; I can paint this subject.  And, these paintings would be the prefect place for a little glitter, maybe even tiny beads. 

So, this morning before making breakfast or tea (I’ll eat when I finish writing this blog) I got to work.  Oil paint is not great for any sort of collage; the oils break down materials imbedded in it.  So I got out the acrylics.  It has been a long time since I used them!  I put down a thin underglaze, sketched out my design, and started painting with modeling paste.  I am going all out, exploring the opposite of what I’ve been doing with paint for the past couple years.  I need to wait for things to dry before I do more.  The wonderful thing about acrylic is that my wait won’t be long.  What you see above will look very different when it is finished.  If I like it, I’ll do more!

Does this mean my style is changing?  Who knows?  Maybe this painting will help bring new life my candy/shell/sea glass work.  Maybe I’ll make more jewelry.  Maybe everything that I have ever wanted to express will gel and I’ll be at the top of my game.  Or, perhaps it will just be a fun exercise in self- expression.  Am I worried about any of this?  Not a chance. I'm just enjoying the flow of creativity.  A beautiful gift on a sunny, warm winter day.

Valentine Collection

You might remember last December I blogged about my Christmas jewelry.  Here is my Valentine’s Day gear!  Seriously, I don’t wear all these things, but I keep them around for sentimental reasons.  Every piece has a story.

The felt heart above was made by and given to me by my grandmother.  She tatted the flowers and lace, and sewed a little pocket where I could hide a penny in the back.  It attaches with a safely pin.  I love its attention to detail and sweetness.  The little plastic heart next to it has been in my jewelry box since I was at least 6 years old.  I don’t know where it came from!

I made this little heart pin a few years go.  The dough is made from Wonder Bread; a mixture of Wonder Bread and white glue.  It’s still strong to this day!

I bought these porcelain hearts in Mendocino a few years go.  I love the swirly bits of gold and how smooth and light they are.

Lastly, I have some junky jewelry.  The big heart blinks when you push on it.  They are just plain fun to wear, especially when I teach.

What do you have?  Share some photos with me!

Facebook Fan Page

My Facebook Fan Page

To help support and promote my new Etsy store I have created a Facebook fan page for my jewelry designs.  Following me is a great way to stay up to date on what I’m creating and selling, as well as special discounts for my subscribers.  When you go to the page you can click “like” or “subscribe” to follow my work.

Here is a link to the page:

https://www.facebook.com/PamelaHeydaJewelry

Artist's Statement

A wind direction sculpture I discovered at Fort Mason on Monday.

I worked on my artist's statement last week and thought I'd share it with you. This is the statement I will use in my Etsy shop, so it is geared towards the jewelry shopper. Artist's statements are so hard to write! I find myself wanting to say so much about who I am and my artistic vision. It is hard to sum it up in a couple sentences. In this case I think shorter is sweeter. Any feedback is much appreciated!

***

“Making art and jewelry has always been the center of my life. As a child I was lucky to spend much of my time in the presence of two excellent craftswomen - my grandmothers who inspired me to pursue my own creative interests. Throughout my childhood and beyond I’ve dabbled in many types of media. In college I attended the San Francisco Art Institute, majored in painting, and graduated with a BFA. For the past 15 years I have been teaching art to elementary school students in public schools.

I am inspired by color, shape, line, Bay Area artists and most of all, nature. I am happiest when making things with my hands. Jewelry is the perfect art because I get to work with a wide variety of materials and create small beautiful things I can wear wherever I go. My portfolio of skills also includes painting, drawing, printmaking, photography, and mixed media sculpture.

I hope you enjoy my Etsy store. Come back frequently as my work is always evolving.”

Packaging

I'm playing around with how I will package my jewelry once I sell it. I really like using plain brown boxes, they reflect my environmental awareness, there is no plastic involved, and they look simple. They can easily be dressed up with a rubber stamp. Being a tree lover, I decided to go with that theme. I hope to design my own rubber stamps one day. Each box will be tied with a piece of raffia. What do you think? My only question is how I can keep the necklaces from sliding around inside the box while being shipped, and should that matter?

Christmas Jewelry

I’ve been wearing a variety of Christmas jewelry since I was a kid.  And since I don’t throw anything away, I enjoy those pieces year after year. 

The present above is a pin.  I remember begging my mom to buy it for me at the 5 and Dime.  As a 6 year old, a sparkly gold present was the perfect symbol of Christmas.   The funny thing is that I still love this pin and wear it every year.  It still holds an exotic allure for me, and it is made out of plastic!

My 3rd grade room mother gave this Santa pin to me!  Every student in class got one.  I think this was the same year we also received crocheted ghosts and pumpkins.  So cute!  I love explaining where it came from.  I don’t remember who made it, and wish I could thank them for all these years of enjoyment.  

The item above came from Cost Plus over 30 years go.  It’s a pretty cute little item.  It is a Christmas tree box; the lid is a pin, inside is a tree necklace and there are two earrings attached to the pin/lid.  I don’t wear it so much but love the novelty.  How come I don’t see these everywhere?

I make these snowman and snowflake pins.  When I was a classroom teacher I’d have the kids make an ornament out of Wonder Bread dough every year (Wonder Bread mixed with Elmer’s Glue).  One year I had a lot of leftover white dough, so I got crafty and made these pieces.  On occasion I wear them, but I don’t’ like being poked by those stick arms!

I made the snowmen and tree earrings about 12 years ago when I just started to get into making jewelry.  The snowmen are lamp worked glass, and the trees are made from Swarovwski crystal beads.  I love the trees, small, light, playful and sparkly.

This is the rest of my holiday stuff; a necklace of tree lights that glow with the help of a battery, other non-glowing tree lights, and more.  Wearing these makes me feel like a kid again.  What I love most about Christmas is the lights, and feeling connected to family through following old traditions. 

Processing

Choosing photos from iPhoto

I thought I’d go into a little detail about the process of putting photos of my jewelry on the web for those of you considering creating an Etsy store of your own.  It is a longer process than you might think, and requires a substantial time commitment. 

1. I went through all 833 of my jewelry photos in iPhoto, picking out 5-7 for each piece.  A variety of views are ideal, so the shopper has a strong idea of what they are buying.
2. I listed the file names in a notebook.
3. Each file was opened in Photoshop and saved with a descriptive file name.
4. The photos were then organized into files: The Collection Name > Type (Ring, Necklace, etc) > Name of Design > Individual Photos

Recording file names to keep track

The next step is to go into each photo using Photoshop to crop and clean up the image. 

If I don’t post much about my progress, know that I am working on this.  It is hard for my back and neck to sit at the computer for hours on end, so I’ll be doing a little at a time, taking lots of breaks along the way.  Once I have my store up and running, this will be easier.  I’ll just post a few new pieces at a time.

Organizing photos into computer files

Never Give Up

Little tripod = book pile (and yes, I read the whole series)

 

Yesterday I spent several hours taking photos, playing with lighting, and taking pictures of my jewelry.  All the photos were awful.  I wanted to give up.  I searched the web for “real” photography equipment and tried to justify spending money I don’t have on getting the best. 

Well, today is a new day, and I’m over that.  It would not be a wise business decision to spend a lot of money before I start making money.  And there is no reason I can’t take decent photos with what I already have.  This morning I remade my “stage” and will try taking pictures again.  With a little luck, the light will be better today too.  Do you like my “Stephen King – ‘Dark Tower’” tripod?  And, what kind of art teacher would I be if I gave up on my own project because I thought it was too hard?  If I’m to have any integrity in the classroom, I need to practice what I preach. 

Set up with my light filter.

Uncharted Territory

The "stage".

 

I’m completely comfortable sitting down at my studio table to make jewelry.  Even if I’m trying a new technique, I’m confident I can do it. 

Now that the jewelry is made it’s time for the next step in opening an Etsy shop.  I need to photograph my work, and I’m not feeling so secure anymore. 

I have some decisions to make.  If I’m photographing the work on a model, do I use myself, or ask a friend to model for me?  Do I show the whole face, or just the part of the body where the piece sits?  Do I go for a slightly artsy photo, creating a “look” to inspire the customer, or do I go for straightforward, plain and simple?  The only thing I know for sure is that I want the work to look professional and to tantalize buyers, all the while informing them of what they are getting. 

Part of me wants to run, throw in the towel, and go back to making stuff.  But I know that at some point, I’m going to have to master this.  I’m sure there are business people out there who would just hire someone to do the photography for them, but I’m a DIY kind of girl.  The learning curve seems steeper than I thought, and it will take longer than anticipated. 

After chatting via e-mail with several friends about yesterday’s model shots, I have decided not to use them.  They will be great for profile pictures, but are not the quality I strive for in presenting my work.  I was going to try modeling them again today (with my real camera), but decided to take a little break from that and set up a staged shot instead. 

I’ve seen some fancy photography studios on the web, so this is my first attempt to imitate them with white drawing paper, cardboard and clips.  It’s not bad.  I’m not thrilled with the bowl as prop, but not horrified either.  I’ll have to do some dishes tonight and try a few others.  The light seems pretty good, but I’m going to have rig some sort of barrier around the tripod to hide it from reflecting in the bowl. 

 

I’ll get there!  Tomorrow is another day.

Bowl display.

First Attempt

 

This is my first attempt to photograph my jewelry on a model (me). These pictures will accompany my close up shots of the necklaces (which will be razor sharp).  The purpose is to show buyers what they look like when worn. 

I took the photos with my laptop, not exactly a good quality camera, but liked how I could see what I was doing reflected back on the screen.  If I had to keep turning around the camera around to check the shots I might go crazy.  My pale skin on the black background confuses the camera and it automatically flashes.  The photos are a little fuzzy, but they might be good enough for the web.

I worked until I lost my light.  I’ll be back at it tomorrow wearing some of my costumes.  

 

Inventory

New designs!

I’ve been working very hard this past week to create an inventory of jewelry for my future Etsy store.  I found that the more I worked, the more ideas I got for new pieces.  As I was designing what I thought was my last piece, an idea for something new would pop into my head.  I worked this way until I got close to running out of supplies again.  My stock of jewelry includes 11 necklaces, 12 pairs of earrings, 5 bracelets, and 3 rings.  My next task is to make complete detailed sketches to use as references in case I want to create the piece again, and to post in the shop for potential buyers.  I'm so happy that I'm moving forward and slowly accomplishing my goals!

Box of Memories

My Grandmother's charm bracelets.

To those who have collected jewelry all their life, a journey through the jewelry box is a trip back in time. 

My collection is like a photo album.  When I hold necklaces that belonged to my grandmothers I see their faces shining back at me.  My favorite pendants from childhood remind me of a particular age, outfit, holiday or feeling.  Some pieces are from my first trip to San Francisco, gifts from friends and former students, visits to street festivals, and special vacations.  My jewelry box also contains a record of different phases in my life; the 80’s, my rhinestone period (before "Bling"), the Goddess years, world culture hippie, and “small and delicate”.  I have a few necklaces I made when I was little and many I’ve made as an adult. 

For me, the value of a piece of jewelry is not its materials or artistry, but the story it tells.  This explains why I have so much trouble clearing away the clutter.  As long as I have space, and can keep it organized, I don’t mind.  Every so often I get rid of things because their sentimental value has slipped away and I know I’ll never wear it again.  But I don’t throw them out.  Necklaces and earrings get disassembled and added to my workshop to be repurposed into new wearable art.

Baby Steps

I’ve been sick with a nasty lingering cold for the past two weeks and haven’t had any energy left at the end of the day for art making.  So, I’ve been taking this time to do a little research on a project that has been on my mind the past five years.  

I love making jewelry!  I can only make so much for birthday gifts and myself before going broke.  It feels like time to put some of it out there in the world, sell it (or try to) and at the very least, use the money to help me make more.  I could use a little extra income anyway; it would be an adventure, and hopefully just plain fun!

Pictured here is my meager stack of books on how to start a crafting business.  I just read the one on top.  One of the suggestions was about writing a Blog.  Well, I can check that off!  Except that I need to blog more.  As I read the author’s suggestions I realized that I have plenty of things to write about and just need to sit down and get to it.  So here I am.

Years ago I read about SARK’s micormovements, tiny little baby steps one takes towards a goal.  I think of myself as starting to take those steps now.  It makes a big goal or task easier to do.  Instead of procrastinating (and doing nothing for long periods of time) I’m making a little progress every day.

“All of my 11 published books, posters, cards, and company exist due to many thousands and thousands of micromovements all strung together. I think of the micromovements as tiny colored beads that have helped me be someone who lives in her dreams instead of only talking about them.” – SARK 

Here is a link to SARK’s web page: http://www.planetsark.com/