Last Class

My last class at Mobot was the Victorian Garden walk. Very interesting to learn about the origins of Victorian Gardens and the plans that went behind making our own version. This is the most traditional spot in the Victorian Garden and features a statue of Juno from the days of Henry Shaw.

Distraction

Made a big silver jewel ring, instead of working on what I should be doing.

New ring

Available in the shop!

Perks of the job.

At the Botanical Garden, I also work at the Little Shop Around the Corner, which is an upscale resale shop that raises money for the Garden. It's an interesting place because we get such a variety of things donated.
The best part of working there is that I can get first dibs on some cool stuff, like this fun quilt. I love the kitschy embroidery and it's entirely hand stitched!



Junebug likes it too.

Trails and Tribulations

I mentioned in a previous post that I tried a new display at my most recent craft show. I have struggled alot with craft show display for several reasons. First, my work is small, but not jewelry so I can't display it like jewelry, and copper can be kitschy if one is not careful. I also have some requirements for my displays, which are that they must be inexpensive, versatile, easy to transport and store, and easy to set-up/tear down. Of course, I would also like it to look good.

The first thing I tried were these folding screens that I bought from Store Supply Warehouse. They were inexpensive and easy to store/transport.

But they fell over in the wind too much. My main problem with them is that they simultaneously made my booth look cluttered, because you can see through them, and empty, because you can see through them.

For my next attempt, I used the screens in combination with pedestals and wall panels we built. This looked better, I thought, but the pedestals were a pain to assemble at the show and they were tippy. It was also difficult to hang the panels from the tent sides.

So this time I tried probably the most obvious solution that for some reason, I had never considered before. We used folding tables on risers, covered them with fabric and built small pedestal-like shelves for the table top to create levels. It was inexpensive, easy to set-up and take down, versatile, and the booth didn't look empty. I was pleased.

There will always be room for improvement, but I feel like we got alot closer to a solution with this display.

Circus Flora!

Last night N and I went to St. Louis's own Circus Flora, a not-for-profit, locally run circus that has been going on every June in St. Louis for 24 years. It was fantastic!

Above are the St. Louis Arches, a group of acrobats that run the only circus school in St. Louis.

This year's circus has the theme of Don Quixote. It really was everything a circus should be! If you live in St. Louis I hope you will help support this fantastic event.

*All photos taken from the Circus Flora website

More Awesomness

The other cool thing I got at the craft show this weekend, though this was not a trade, was this cute and funky bud vase by Pennsylvania artist Jake Johnson. I put some dried lavender and globe amaranth in it and it makes me happy.

Awesomness

So the craft show this weekend didn't break any sales records, most likely for anyone involved. But I did get to try out my new booth display and met some great people, including the super-adorable jewelry artist Janice Ho of Hannibal, Missouri. The best part is that she and I traded and I got the awesome earrings you see above and this fun necklace:


All in all, a successful weekend!

Craft Show!

I will be selling my copper metalwork this weekend at Webster Grove's Art and Air.

It is FREE to attend, begins Friday evening from 6 to 10 p.m., then Saturday 11 to 10 p.m. and Sunday noon to 6 p.m. There's music, food, art and again, it's FREE!

Hope to see all my St. Louis friends there!

Commissioned Spoon

Just finished this jam spoon for a commission. It was hand forged from sterling silver and is 5" long.

Seiwa-en

Maybe the best thing about working for Mobot is that I get to take classes for free.
Tuesday night I took the walking tour of Seiwa-en, the Garden's 14 acre Japanese strolling garden. It is the largest garden of its kind in the Western Hemisphere. It's my favorite place in the garden because it's so peaceful and cleanly kept.
It also happens to be where my favorite mossy knoll can be found.

I may have gotten carried away...

I have 36 containers on my back porch right now--I'm growing cherry tomatoes, basil, peppers, lettuce, sage, rosemary, lavender, mint, stevia, strawberries and dill. I'm excited about it, though.

Hanging strawberry garden...hopefully.

Filled this hanging produce basket with strawberry plants today. I'm a little concerned about the baskets withstanding the weight of the plants and dirt and water, but it was worth a shot, so we'll see.

And growing, and growing, and...

My seedlings are doing well I think. I was going to transplant them to pots this week, but the weather cooled down so I'll be waiting.

Gearing up

I'll be participating in Webster Grove's Art and Air craft show this June, which means I have been working like a dog in the studio trying to make stuff--alot of stuff, since my inventory was getting a little light.
My arms are feeling it.

The video of my most recent grooming tool study

see the still images here. This study features a tool designed for foot grooming and mascara brushes that I attached to chains so they could swing freely.

A little cactus with a pink flower(s) on it.

To be honest, I bought this while it was blooming, so I can't take credit for them. But I hope I can make it do this again!

Lovely

This beautiful tree is blooming a couple houses down from me right now. Does anyone know what kind of tree it is?

My own, private, Idaho.

*Pictured: the dozen (surviving) spoons I have made since 2004

In graduate school, my advisor once referred to the spoons I'd made as "my own private Idaho." I understood that to mean that I made them only for myself, although I recently learned that is also the name of a movie staring River Phoenix and Keanu Reeves.

Anyway, I couldn't argue with her because it's true that I can't submit the spoons I've made to exhibitions; they aren't special enough. And I can't sell them either, partly because I don't want to part with them, but mostly because they take too long to make and people won't pay what I would have to charge. I don't blame them--I couldn't spend $75 or $100 on a single teaspoon.

I nonetheless feel compelled to continue making spoons, despite the material costs and time involved. I have felt guilty about doing it at times because it seems like I should be spending whatever studio time I have on "serious," or at least money-making, work.
Then, a couple weeks ago I decided to work on some self-portrait sketches while I watched TV in the evenings. That made me think about artists who have done hundreds or thousands of self-portraits over their careers. I've started to think that since I'm not really a 2-D artist at all, spoons are sort of like self-portraits for me.
They represent a simple and relatively uniform subject that can be interpreted in thousands of different ways. Making spoons by forging is difficult and though I've made many more than the ones pictured (the bad ones get scrapped) I still don't feel like I'm very good at it.

I know painters can exhibit their self-portraits and I'll most likely never have an exhibition of my spoons, but there's still something I want to learn about making them. And I keep thinking that someday, maybe I'll be glad I spent my time this way.

Grow, Baby, Grow!

Baby lettuce, that is. These are my lettuce seedlings and I'm pretty proud of them. I think they look good enough to eat! ;-)