more tile

I bet everyone is sick of this. They did the floor. Every day I come home from work I see progress. I am so excited. Liz already called first dibs on the shower. I can't wait to see what it looks like when I get home today.

Symposium announcement

So I am doing this thing... I get really nervous talking in front of a large amount of people matter of fact I might vomit which is always nice to see....but I am going to announce it anyway-

Making, Meaning, and the Marketplace: Craft and the next generation
This program was developed by the American craft Council in partnership with VCU’s Department of Craft/Material Studies The panel will discuss the impact of the Internet on the craft market and the role of the craft gallery in a booming art market. It will feature Rob Kalin, president and founder of Etsy.com, the online marketplace for all things handmade, in conversation with Sonya Clark, chair of the Craft/Material Studies, Kathy Emerson, director of Quirk Gallery, and Arthur Hash, a jeweler and alumnus who shows his work with both Quirk and etsy.com.


Thursday, April 3, 2008
5:00 – 6:30 p.m.
Grace Street Theater
930 West Grace Street
Richmond Virginia
Reception to follow.

new ring

okay so I know it has been done before and I have already posted a bunch of photos of some prototypes but I just couldn't resist. A punch out ring. I am also trying to avoid the controversy going on with SNAG. I just think it is a HUGE misunderstanding. Here goes:

more tile

here are some more shots of the tile work. These guys are doing a great job and I can't wait till its finished. If you are in the Richmond area and need some tile done let me know. I will hook you up with their number.

more lasers

So I just finished installing this piece at Plant Zero in Richmond Virginia. Its a Painting and Printmaking faculty show/digital media. They are made from Epson Enhanced matte paper that has been cut on the laser cutter. There are nine clusters of three stacked on top of each other held in with magnets. Here are a few shots:

Coffee/ICFF

So Liz and I went to the 821 Cafe this morning for brunch and to my surprise they gave me this mug. I have been eating here for over nine years and its seems that I get a different mug every time. That's a lot of mugs. Back in the day, before I left for grad school I used to walk in and they would bring me my food. I didn't even need to order! Man that rocked. It has definitely changed since the old times. Back then there would be fresh baked goods under glass up at the bar. The place smelled like fresh bread. I missed those days. Don't get me wrong the place is not bad its just different. Matter of fact 821 is our default position when we can't decide where to go for food.
I also ran into a high school buddy of mine, Matt Smith from the band Strike Anywhere. The only thing I could think about was how I went to high school with this guy and how dumb I looked drinking coffee out of this crazy pink bunny mug. Anyhoo. I am sure you didn't come here to read about my eating habits. Here are some things that are going on besides eating....and no my bathroom is still not finished.

I am back in the swing of things gearing up for ICFF's Designboom I am kind of excited because I always wanted to go to ICFF(International Contemporary Furniture Fair) and now I have a reason. I have been told to prepare a LARGE inventory so I am starting now. The mart will be from May 17-20 at the Jacob Javits Center in New York.

Its also kind of interesting to see all of these awesome designs from past Designboom fairs and recognizing them from all over the place(Internet, magazines, Blogs etc etc.) For those of you wondering I will be posting a soundtrack list from the 2008 SNAG Digital juried exhibition as soon as I find it. -Arthur out

more shots

so its been a whole eight days with no bathroom. I can't tell you how much life sucks without a bathroom. I am really itchy. The good news is that the tile is supposed to be done today.

This thing sucks (in a good way)

Ever since Liz moved in with her cats there has been an insane amount of hair... both human and animal. She has two cats, I have a dog blah blah blah. I was given a gift certificate to Lowes and didn't really need anything so I ended up buying this Dyson hand-held vacuum. I always wanted a Dyson but didn't want to dish out $500-$800 for a frick'n vacuum cleaner(especially because I have hardwood floors). I have to say that the hand-held model is not really that bad. Man I love this thing! It really works and its easy to dump out and the filters can be washed out..blah blah blah...I could go on and on about the color alone. Its pretty amazing. But ladies and gentlemen, its almost perfect. There is only one complaint. The battery life. I was shocked that it only lasts for six minutes! Now granted the thing gets full of hair and debris WAY before the battery runs out (we have a lot of nooks filled with a lot of pet hair dust bunnies DAILY!) but still SIX MINUTES!! Battery life aside, I have to say that it is great to have in the studio. The clear reservoir lets you see all the nasty stuff you have been living with all this time as well as save any little shinny thing you may accidentally suck up. All and all its a nice little device. Although I kind of wish I had an army of them when the battery runs out. Damn you Dyson.

SNAG 2008!!!

SO we are back from SNAG. Liz and I had a great time! We met some incredible people. The lectures were AWESOME! If you didn't make it out this year, make sure you come next year! The line up this year was amazing! Some people to note were
Deb Tod Wheeler
Iris Eichenberg
Richard Nelipovich
I have to say that I didn't get to do and see everything I wanted. These things are always hard and can be a bit overwhelming. I am glad I got to talk to a couple of students and see their work and I hope that next year I will be able to have more social time for everyone.

I really wanted to talk with Doug Bucci and Mike and Elizabeth from the Velvet da Vinci more.

Saying all of this, before we left for SNAG my second floor bathroom leaked all over my first floor kitchen and had to be ripped out and replaced. We thought that by the time we came back we would have it all finished and done but alas there was more damage than we thought and it doesn't look like are going to be able to have a bathroom for a while. So I thought I would post some images of that. We were so busy at SNAG we forgot to take any pictures. If you have any pictures of me at SNAG let me know. Also I wanted to say thanks to Evangelina and all of the people at SCAD for the conference. You guys did a great job.

SNAG CRESTING

I have done nothing but organize, decipher and decode student handwriting for the last two weeks! But I think it is finished. I have a few things to do like add music and check for spelling errors but other than that it is finished!! I am going to do a couple test runs tonight and then pack for SNAG!!!

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..

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:

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.

plexi "snap out" rings

(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.

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.

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.

LASERS~!!!

So we got a laser engraver/cutter in Painting and printmaking(one of three departments that I work for). I have been flipping out because I finally have a way to make some "punch-out" jewelry pieces that wont cost me a million dollars to have a die made for die-cutting. I am working on a couple of designs that have yet to be finalized but I am ready to throw a couple of them out into the blog-o-sphere and would like any input anyone has. The top of this design has a "rip-off" label for information on me and directions on how to punch them out. They are made from chipboard which for those of you who don't know it is a single ply cardboard. Also they have been "embossed" with recycle logos all over them so there is no confusion on what to do with them when you are done(the machine guns were just a test). So here are the results so far.-