Arrrowmont!

I just got back from an epic workshop at Arrowmont.  The workshop focused on making brooches.  Truthfully we could have used at least three more days.  We spent a lot of time on making samples.  We covered enameling, laser engraving, decal printing (we made a zombie mug), framing, fabricating, pin stems, saltwater etching, a little bit of champleve and enameling on 3D forms. The workshop was a great excuse to prep for a history of the brooch lecture. I also reunited with some old friends and made some new ones. Bob Biddlestone, I hope our paths cross soon. I can't say that everyone got to make a fully completed brooch but I am confident that everyone has the tools to make one now. 

Arrowmont much like Penland and Haystack is an amazing place to be.  Downtown Gattlinburg has not lost it's tourist-y charm and Arrowmont continues to be the oasis from that craziness.  My assistant canceled on me last minute (totally not mad, he got a scholarship to Penland to take a class with Simon Cottrell)  I got really lucky and Ben Dory assisted me!  BEN!!

What a great group of people!  Thanks for a great time.

The last two weeks!

  Liz and I have been traveling. Basically we have been going  warp speed to cram in everything we can until we make out move to Providence. Our first stop was Boston for the SNAG conference. It would be hard to summarize the conference in one post (which I am about to do). If I had to sum it up, I would say that there was a lot of jewelry and a lot of overlapping events that made it hard to do everything. I will say that it was amazing seeing old friends and making new friends. I will admit that it takes one or two conferences to really connect so if you introduced yourself to me please do it again. My memory is bad. I have met so many people in the last two to three weeks my head is full.

  So just a few highlights.  While there were was a lot great work at Adorned spaces (Jewelry Edition Vol. 2, Co:Op, Garnish, Emergence, TEN x TEN etc) It seemed to be hard to navigate. I was lucky to have work in the Smitten Forum show in the space to get a sneak peek before the doors opened. I enjoyed the vendor room as I do every year. Getting to weld something or to check out a new tool fulfills my inner tool nerd. In the vender room was a great collection of work from Charon Kransen. I am always impressed to see the work he curates/exhibits. I was not a big fan of how it was displayed. The cases were crammed into the corner and close too close to everything. I guess you have to work with what you are given. I did manage to get a few great shots of the work.

 I tried to go to all of the lectures. I really did. It was an epic fail. There was just too much to do, educators room, student show, auction, demonstrations, raffle, socializing etc. There was too much overlap and I feel like I missed out on a lot great stuff. What I did see I enjoyed. (Helen Carnac, Ruudt Peters, Hoss Haley, Michael Strand etc).  I missed the exhibition in motion, which I heard was great.

  All that being said I enjoyed the programming, the camaraderie and the gallery crawl (the gallery crawl pamphlet was awful, no map! no descriptions! I ended up throwing it away).The best part of the conference is seeing everyone and talking about life and tools and metal! Being in the mountains of North Carolina has been lonely so it was a recharge for me. I also very much, enjoyed going to the RISD Alumni mixer, meeting the alum and other faculty. I really had no idea that so many people I know went to RISD. I think there needs to be a secret handshake or something.

  In Boston we went to the Glass flowers exhibition at the Harvard Natural History Museum and a quick tour of the natural history museum. The Glass flowers exhibition was incredible. Some other memorable exhibitions: Welcome Home: Tia Dale and Stacey Lee Webber's show ,The Homework Project, AKA wear it, Steven Holman, Heidi Lowe, Garnish, #This is a Brooch and Jewelry Edition. Again, I missed a large portion of the gallery crawl just because I physically couldn't make it to all of them.  

  After SNAG we had a blast. In usual fashion we like to keep things rolling by hanging out with even more metals folks. It is almost a mini metals conference much like after the ECU symposium this year.  After Boston, we traveled back to the Hudson Valley via Salem (hence the photo above). Keri Quick let us crash at her pad. We had a great time hanging out with Myra Mimlitsch Gray, Pat Flynn, Mia Leppo, Jamie Bennet, Michael Gayk, Courtney Starrett, Atsuko and Satoru Baumen, Veleta Vancza, Jess Tolbert and some of the New Paltz grads. 

  After hanging out in the Hudson Valley for a while we went to NYC for a family reunion. We went to the new Whitney, the Moma and R/R gallery to see the Placement show. We basically ate our way through the city.  We went to Ippudo for ramen, the Milk bar for dessert, Korean BBQ in K-town, Nom Wah tea parlor in China town (Dim sum!), Shake Shack, Planet Doughnut, Ganesvoort market, Chelsea market, Russ and Daughters (Epic smoked fish and Bialys), and Bubby's (for tacos and burritos).

Somewhere in all of this we went to a 24 hour karaoke bar and I lost my voice. 

I need to go on a diet and I need take a nap.