This post will be quite hectic, but I start travelling again tomorrow, and still have a lot of things to do before leaving. It was just too long without writing :-).
First of all - that piece from the previous post - "Natura abhorret a vacuo" - actually won that competition it was made for. I am really happy, especially that I got the most wonderful prize - some free classes in Wytwórnia Antidotum jewellery making school! I will "collect" my prize this Autumn - I am super excited. I am sure this will be very beneficial for me.
Second of all (or maybe I should have made it "first of all", because I am just over the Moon about it ;-) ) my piece "Startled" was published on the cover of "Handmade Business", issue August 2015. You can even find a post about its making here, on my blog :-). It was such a great surprise. Inside there is also a wonderful article about metal clays, written by Jeannette Froese LeBlanc.
Third of all (I wonder if this expression goes beyond this number ;-) ) I started an exciting journey with preparing pieces for my permanent collection, using lost wax casting method. Finally! I was thinking about it for a year or more. I found a very reasonable caster, made a few models using metal clay and they made the molds. For that first time I prepared a flowery pendant, three of my twig rings, and some tiny items meant mostly for stud earrings. I was quite impressed with the result. Of course there were some issues, but the caster is willing to work on the molds a little bit more, to make sure they work perfectly.It actually seemed that they had a little bit of fun too, because they hadn't worked with this type of design before.
It's a long story, and I will surely write a separate post about it. For now I am just showing you photos of two of my casted pieces. In the pendant above I left the place for the stone without a setting, so it can vary in size, type etc. and I can make each piece unique in a way :-). And the earrings are actually super tiny :-). I learned so much through this experience, and this is another thing I will continue this Autumn, when I come back. I have a lot of doubts and various thoughts about the whole idea. I am also preparing a presentation about the whole process for Metal Clay Mojo retreat in Chester CT - I will show some interesting things on example of a tiny owl, which started as a metal clay prototype
Conferences, classes and stuff ;-). Another exciting thing are all the journeys which start tomorrow. First I go to Japan - mostly for vacation, but I will also visit Aida Chemical Industries' studio in Tokio. I will have there a little presentation of my work. So - if you just happen to be in Tokio on August the 10th - let me know, I will give you some details :-). Of course I am very stressed :-) - my whole jewellery making life I have somewhere in my head, this little voice, whispering "when they (whoever they are at a moment) see my work in person, they all will think - 'yeah... we thought it was better'" :-). Having this meeting in mind I made a few new pieces with Art Clay Silver - this tree among them. It's a good example of one of the techniques I use. Of course I am freaking out about the finish, "askewness" etc. but I try to think that all my jewellery is Nature inspired, and you know what? There is no such thing as "perfection" in Nature. At least if we define perfection in our weird, human way.
Classes - Yes. When I come back from Japan, I will have four days to prepare for my trip to USA. In one of the previous posts I wrote about my schedule of classes there. I will visit three states - Connecticut, Pennsylvania and Illinois. I am hoping to see some familiar faces and meet new people :-). I will teach my "Herbarium pendant" class in all the studios I visit. When I come back, I will fly to UK, to teach in Metal Clay Ltd. And then I'll be back for good :-). I also prepared quite a lot of things made of PMC Sterling and other materials, to be able to show some new work, wherever I go.
Ok, so I guess that's all. I am just leaving a few more pictures of my recent work, and come back to packing!
