Wednesday, February 27, 2008

I just got this shirt in the mail. Its by an artist who sells through a website called design by humans. They have some great shirts on there. It came in some great packaging. A really nice see-through bag and some stickers (a company after my own heart). The shirt itself is really nice but a little rough. It is an artist's shirt so it came with a disclaimer saying so. But hell I don't mind I couldn't have done a better job with the screen alignment. I will be wearing this shirt soon after I wash it a couple of times to soften it up.




I also kind of like these:





We shall see how the one I bought survives the wash..... I will report back soon..

Monday, February 25, 2008

AMERICAN CRAFT COUNCIL SHOW 2008

Sooooooo. I went to ACC (American Craft Council Show). This show is comprised of over 700 crafters/makers/professionals. The VCU Crafts department and the student run Contemporary Crafts Society,rented a charter bus to go and I couldn't pass it up. It was only $10 round trip! I wasdisappointed that more students didn't take advantage, but for those who did, kudos to you. I also wanted to take time to thank VCU Crafts student David Choe for organizing the trip. He did a great job.

It was really good to see a bunch of people that I had met last year. Its good to see that craft is surviving the harsh economy. On another note, I finally met a few artists face to face that I have been emailing or blogging about. Sometimes they look exactly like I picture them in my head and sometimes they lookcompletely different. its funny how the brain works. It might be an interesting concept for a piece....

It was a great show. Kendal College and Virgina Commonwealth University Both had booths there. The VCU booth was organized by Natalya Pinchuk and the Kendal booth by Phil Carrizzi. They both looked great!! Big ups to Phil from Kendal College for getting tenured, having a solo show AND going to ACC (and of course SNAG in a couple of weeks). I don't know how that guy does it.

Some highlights from the show.... MargauxLange(great jeweler!), Mune Taguchi(Awesome Ceramics), Megan Auman(Metal artist), Biba Schultz(more great jewelry, as usual), I am really upset with myself that I didn't do it this year. With SNAG being so close to ACC this year and the new studio space taking up all of my extra time I just decided to pass. NEXT YEAR I AM SIGNING UP(this is for everyone who asked where my booth was). I saw so much and was so busy talking with so many folks that I didn't get to take as many photos as I would have liked. But I took a few with my new camera a (Nikon d40x). They have a slight yellow cast but hey with no flash or tripod I think they freaking rock. Anyhoo. The next post will be about the SNAG student slide show so if you got in I have probably seen your work. Keep your eyes peeled for a sneak preview soon.

For more images from ACC go here to my flickr stream:


















Wednesday, February 20, 2008

upstairs apartment

Well the upstairs apartment is finished. The studio space that we are renovating has a small efficiency apartment above the working area. I thought I would send some images....and yes we already rented it. Again these photos are really old there has been a lot done to the place since but I thought I would show you guys something. Still working on the actual studio. When we get some things done I will take some shots. I expect to move in late March, after SNAG.










Sunday, February 17, 2008

plexi "snap out" rings

plexi DIY "snap out" ring

plexi DIY "snap out" ring

plexi DIY "snap out" ring

plexi DIY "snap out" ring

(click on images to visit my flickr page to see more)

As you all know we purchased a laser cutter/engraver in the painting and printmaking department here at VCU. Unfortunately it was damaged in shipping and that caused a bunch of problems. It is working but the Z-table where you lay your material to cut is out of whack making it hard to cut anything. I have been trying to run it through the ringer creating a list of materials that it can and can not be cut. At the same time I am creating a chart that tells you the settings to use when cutting specific materials. granted I have been getting really carried away with using the darn thing. In a earlier post I showed you some bracelets made out of cardboard. Now I am working on these plexi rings. In an ideal world the laser cut width on 1/8" plexi is .003" but since our machine is out if alignment I haven't been able to get a nice uniform edge. I thought I would post my current experiments. With this design You get two rings in one sheet. The snap out tabs act as stops for for the top to rest. I am working on doing some engraving cuts along those tabs so the plexi will snap in the proper place. I am really interested in this DIY jewelry as well making affordable pieces everyone can wear. As soon as we get our machine fixed we I will have a bunch of these. I am really excited.

more studio shots


well we are still working on our space but I found some before and after shots of the work we have been doing. I will be posting things when we get closer and closer. Until then here is an old shot of when we first bought the place and when we stripped it down.

Monday, February 11, 2008

new studio


thought I would post an image of the new studio space. In the photo, everything that has an awning is what we own. Its kind of a triangle/pie slice of a space. Its about 500 square feet on the bottom with a 500 square foot studio apartment above. There is a 200 square foot single story office attached which you will see in the salmon color(everything is separate) we are currently renting the apartment above in order to pay for the studio bills. I will post some inside shots here as soon as I can find them on my computer.

NEW WORK









gas mask pin, originally uploaded by arthur hash.

I have a lot of new things happening. Things have been just crazy with school and shows and renovations on our new studio space. I finally wired the industrial lights on the ceiling. Now its....uh...bright. I think we have about four weeks until we can move in. I can't wait. I will have some before and after shots of the studio in the next post. Until then ....... This is white plexi gas mask brooch with a tie-tac pin back.

Sunday, February 3, 2008

hmmm pimp daddy


quirk show, originally uploaded by arthur hash.

thought I would post this image of me wearing this gold chain sticker I made during my opening. I don't think anyone actually knew what it was. I thought it was funny but I think a lot of people took offense thinking I was making fun of them. I don't know. I just don't think Richmond is ready for fun weird designs. It gets better everyday. But I don't think we are there yet. Sometimes, I don't think Richmond will ever be there. Well thanks to Quirk for letting me take over part of their store!!! I had a great time.