You Don't Need a Fancy Torch to Make Great Jewelry

As my metalsmithing skills grow, I've been toying with the idea of buying a grown-up torch, but to be honest, I'm a little scared to keep it in the house. My studio is a second floor, extra-bedroom I've taken over and the thought of keeping something that could blow us all up when we sleep, is a little unsettling. 

A big-girl torch is not off the table, but for the moment, let me sing the praises of what I have been using.

The Micro-Torch, aka the Creme Brulee Torch or the Butane Torch. It's mini, but it's mighty. 

The Pros: It's inexpensive, low maintenance, doesn't take up a lot of space and is less likely to blow your house up then an oxygen/acetylene torch. 

The Cons: It's really best for small pieces, as in an inch diameter or less. For larger pieces you need more heat, although you can also use two micro torches at the same time for some things...awesome, I know.

Here are 3 things I have done and continue to do with my Butane Torch:

1. Enamel. You can enamel small pieces with your micro-torch. I started with pennies. Copper is a great metal for enameling. You clean it with Penny Brite, sift the enamel on, position it on your firing station and then use your micro torch to heat it from underneath. Here's a video from Stephen James, the teacher I learned from.

2. Fuse. I am obsessed with fusing fine silver and I've based a whole new collection on this technique. I've been making earrings, bracelets and today I began working on a necklace design. The Earrings at the top of the post are made from 16 gauge fine silver wire that is fused with a micro torch and then hammered, textured and adorned with crystals. You can find them in my Etsy Shop.

If you want to learn how to fuse fine silver, this is a great video:

3. Solder. Yes, you can solder with a Micro-torch. I particularly like to use it to create earring posts, but I've also used it for joining sterling silver wire and copper wire. Again, for larger pieces you may need two torches, but for my needs, I only have used one.
Here's a video on how to add posts to your earrings. The instuctor doesn't use a micro torch, but I have used the process she describes successfully with a micro torch:

There are many more things you can do with your Butane Torch, other than just browning the top of a dessert, but this is probably enough to digest for today.

Happy flaming!





 

Tips for Teaching Wine and Paint Classes

Here's a Question I received this week:

Q: "We are doing a "Paint 'n Sip" in our church basement as an appreciation event. I am not planning to make this into a business because I already have a day job.

Do you have any tips?"

A: Why yes, yes I do:

• Have a sample painting prepared and know how to break it down into easy steps. Keep the sample visible throughout the class. I keep mine up on an easel.

• Practice ahead of time as if you were teaching it. Note how long it takes you to paint and add lots of extra time as your students will move more slowly as a group.

• Have enough canvas or painting surfaces and paint for each person. Bring extra-always have more of everything than you think you will need.

• Use paper plates for palettes and plastic cups for water and paper towels are a must.

• Use paint brushes appropriate for the painting you're doing and have enough for each person.

• You may need a hair dryer or two set up to dry the painting in between stages. I typically use these in my classes to keep things moving along.

Check out my post here for more detail on what I usually bring to class with me. If you're not teaching for your business, you won't need to get so fancy with supplies, but it gives you the basics like a pitcher to fill up the water cups, a camera, etc... 

Keep the steps simple and continue to focus on the fun-it doesn't have to be perfect, just an opportunity to relax and enjoy.

Let me know if you have any specific questions and good luck! I'd love to see pictures of your classes! 

Please post links to them in the comments. Let us know where can we find you on Instagram or Pinterest? 

(Those are links to my sites, come and join me!)

Evolution of a Sample Painting

Wine and Paint Class Demo-Checkered Daisy

On June 16th, I will be teaming up with The Gift Box to teach a Wine and Paint Class.

Owner Jan Constas and I worked on coming up with a painting that would speak to her customers. 

While I was at the store, we were chatting about how any items with black and white checks are hugely popular, so we decided to include black and white checks in the painting.

Jan also mentioned that she liked daisy's and wondered if we could include them as well.

Here was my first attempt:

It's a little painting on a notebook and although I love it on the notebook, I thought it was a little too Dr. Suessy for the class.

Take 2 was also on a notebook that I lambasted with tar gel when it was done:

This too, is a little cartoony, but you can see I kept with the same colors and themes. This time went messy with the background painting, added some falling petals and made the flowers more daisy-like.

After these two practice mini-paintings, I was ready to move to the canvas for the actual demo-painting that we will use in the class:

And voila! The background stayed messy (I will probably make it even messier when we do it in class) and the flowers became more realistic and abundant. 

This painting will take about 2 hours, start to finish and although it looks tricky, it can be broken down into 4 simple stages:

1. Background
2. Vase
3. Flowers
4. Checkerboard

The flowers are quick and easy-you can watch my 5-minute tutorial right here to see how it's done.

I will encourage students to practice on paper to get the hang of it first and then move to the canvas. The brush really does all of the work for you, once you get used to the motion.

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Where To Buy Art Supplies for Your Classes

I've been asked a lot lately where I buy the supplies for my painting classes. If you've been to wine and paint classes before or are thinking of teaching yourself, you may wonder where all of the lovely items come from.

Well, the suspense is over...here is the list of what I take to every class, where I buy them and how much they cost:

Canvas: I've been buying the flat 16X20 canvas panels through Blick Art Supply because the flatness makes it easier to transport them, especially for classes of 20+ people. I also think they are easy to mount in a frame and add that professional touch to your work. I recently bought 48 of them for $123 (including shipping) for a class of 30. If you're doing smaller classes, it's fine to buy them at Michael's or AC Moore when they go on sale, if you have those near you. I like to buy mine in bulk, so I often just Google what I'm looking for and compare prices online.

Do I always use 16"x20"? No. If I'm hiking up to the Yurt for a Painting Class I go smaller. If I'm squeezing a large group into a small space, I go smaller. If the painting just plain looks better smaller, I go with that. Students do not seem to care much about the size of the painting, but that would be something to evaluate at the end of classes.

Easels: I just stocked up on these for a large class. I bought 30 "Strokes Art Tables" for a total of $218 from Amazon. The price was so low because I signed up for an Amazon credit card and received an $80.00 credit toward the purchase. You can typically find these for around $10 each, but I got mine for about $7.25 each with the credit.

Paint Brushes: Who needs them when you have fingers? Depending on the class, I may use the foam brushes for an intuitive art class, but for the sip and paint classes, I get them from local craft stores.  I like the Royal brand brushes for classes. I've been building up a collection, but depending on the painting, we may need different types of brushes.

Paint: My 2 favorites are Premiere from AC Moore and Liquitex wherever I can find it on sale. You may be able to get good sales on bulk orders online (Blick or Jerry's Artorama) and you can also get economy sizes online. When I plan my paintings, I try to not get too carried away with a lot of colors, because it adds to the cost of running the class.

Aprons: I just ordered 30 lime green aprons from KNG for $130.00. You have the option of adding your logo to the aprons. However, these have a tendency to walk away with people after class (students forget they have them on.) I just lost 5 of them at my most recent class so you may not want to spend a lot on them.(I need to find a good way to collect them as people are leaving-ideas welcome!)

Paper Plates, Cups, Paper Towels and Table Cloths: I typically get these at the dollar store or anywhere they are on sale and I reuse the plastic cups and table cloths until they can be used no more. I did go to a paint class where the teacher used Styrofoam plates with compartments for the paint, which is a great idea, but I don't feel good about putting more Styrofoam into our world, so I stick with paper. I'm looking at more earth friendly ways to furnish my classes.

Other things I take with me: 

• Pitchers for transporting water and filling cups
• My real camera
• My cell phone for keeping track of the time and getting me to the locations
• More than I think I will need of all supplies for last minute students who may show up
• Scissors for opening things
• Plastic Grocery bags to put the wet paintbrushes in after class
• Any paperwork needed for the site 
• My Square for accepting credit cards of people who didn't register ahead and change in case they are paying in cash
• My Easel and my real paint palette (it gives me comfort and strength!) for demonstrations
• A sample finished painting for guidance (for both me and my students!)
• Individual print-outs of the painting for students to refer to at their stations (optional and depends on complexity)
• Any other tools or supplies we may be using for the particular class such as stencils, stamps, markers, collage papers, glue, etc...
• Email sign-up sheet, if I haven't already collected email during the registration process
• Satisfaction Surveys-I sometimes ask for feedback on the class, so I can continue to make it better. I find this is best to do during class so you have the greatest chance of getting responses. If you wait until after class and email people, your response rate will be lower.

I transport the smaller items in 2 plastic bins and then bring the random things that don't fit in separately.

Well, I think that's it! I would love to hear if you have found any good deals on supplies or have favorite supplies that you use in classes.

Happy Painting!  Now, off to make some jewelry...



 

Love Fest and Free Book Giveaway!

Since my very romantic husband has declared Valentine's Day to be a "Hallmark Holiday" I thought it would be fun to share a little love with you instead.

So, without further ado, here are some of the things that make my heart beat a little faster:

Hand Crafted Chocolates. 
We have a little Chocolate Shop known as Lune Chocolat that sells what I think are THE BEST CHOCOLATES EVER. Sorry for shouting, but they're simply shout-worthy. Each piece is a delicacy to be savored like a fine wine (which I have also been known to savor from time to time...) There is such a huge difference in chocolate that is hand-crafted with beautiful ingredients. Each piece is a work of art in itself.

Here's a little about Lune from their website: 
"Twenty miles away from our shop in a little house came many ideas related to owning our own business. Some we tried, others we let go. This one held onto us. It has woven itself into our daily life. We love chocolate. Our research for this was an incredibly wonderful experience. The history and the whole process of chocolate was so interesting to us that we wanted to share it with as many people as we could. Lune Chocolat is a result of us tasting real chocolate. We have a love for being together and a love for being in the kitchen. Our chocolates are created to bring you peace and love. They are created to bring you to another place while you eat them. Come and fill your soul with chocolate."

I for one, have plenty of room in my soul for Lune Chocolat.

Artist Dates.
Every other month or so, I invite friends to attend artsy events with me. This really fires up my creativity and inspires me. Some of our recent events:

• We attended an open house at the Delavan Center of the Arts that is home to many local art studios. Every year they open their doors to guests and have food, wine, music and of course, beautiful, mouth-watering art.

• We went to a Golden Paint Demo and giveaway at The Art Store. We received FREE Golden paints-also shout worthy but I don't want to upset your hearing, along with a live demo of how to use the different types of paint Golden makes. It opened up worlds of paint that I did not know existed.

• We attended a fund-raising painting class to reduce hunger where we painted a bowl of soup and the funds raised went to a soup kitchen. 

These dates FUEL me and it's good, quality time with friends. Next week I'm going to an Encaustic demo. (painting with hot wax!) with my friend Shannon Crandall. I have always wanted to learn encaustic, so as soon as I saw it, I signed us up for 2 of the 6 available spots.

I found this little treasure propped against a tree

Finding Beauty in the Everyday.
Dirty Footprints Studio posted a treasure hunt challenge to photograph little bits of beauty that you find every day, all around you. I decided to go for a walk in my hometown of Ithaca and take photos of things that I found. I stopped to take photos of cracks in the sidewalk, moss growing on rocks, the texture of trees. I was walking up to trees and standing very close to take a picture, which in any other town would seem strange. In Ithaca, people do not look twice at you. It's perfectly acceptable to walk up to a tree and take a picture from an inch away. This challenge opened up a new way of looking for me and in fact, I will write a future post about it. Good, good stuff-I highly recommend it. Thank you Mixy Gregory for sharing!

Clearing Out Space.
I am totally smitten with the book, The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo. 

Mind you, I despise cleaning. My general cleaning philosophy is to hope the spiderwebs will trap the dustballs. It's all-natural cleaning. 

I have, however, been feeling unsettled by the state of clutter in our home and this has caused many a discussion with the husband and daughter about picking up your stuff. I often feel the weight of too much stuff as I mentioned in this post a while back. Marie teaches you how to systematically sort through your stuff and discard anything that does not bring you joy. 

You begin with gathering every item of clothing in your home and then physically picking up each item to sense whether it brings you joy or not. Mind you, Marie does not strike me as woo-woo, she is a serious, Japanese business woman who is reaching celebrity status with her ability to transform people's lives and homes by getting rid of that which no longer serves you. You thank the items that have served you in the past and respectfully send them on to serve someone else.

You are left with only items that bring you joy to wear, to read, to look at. I'm currently working on books, which is only step 2, but already I have noticed a difference in my environment, just from getting rid of clothes.

I have donated at least 12 giant bags of clothing (only mine) to the Salvation Army. Coats, shoes, sweaters. My closets and drawers now have room to breathe.

This book is a gift that I would like to share, which is why I'm going to give away one for free. Anything that helps people cultivate more joy in their lives is worth sharing.

So tell me in the comments below, what are you loving right now? What is bringing a little joy into your life? I will pick one response on February 29th (it only happens every 4 years, so why not?) and send you a free copy of Marie's book.

Let's clear out the clutter and make room for what we truly love.

8 Awesome Art Making Classes

As an artist and a teacher, I take many classes for inspiration and education.  I learn not only from the content, but how the teacher delivers it, the platform that's used, how content is released and what styles I prefer. I look at how classes are priced and what's included in the price.

I also believe in supporting local artists. With the holidays approaching, here are some classes you could add to your gift list or give to an artsy and very lucky friend and you don't have to worry that it will arrive late.

Here's a round-up of classes that would make a perfect gift for that artsy someone in your life. (I am NOT currently an affiliate for any of these classes, just spreading a little love around.)

$100.00 or less:
Carissa Paige's Messy Mavens Self-Paced Adventure Train $99.00
I just signed up for this class and am so excited to dive into the first lessons. So far I've watched Carissa create the first maven and love her intuitive approach in creating faces and listening to what each visage you create has to share with you. I like Carissa's gentle, free-flowing manner. She hosts the class on a private Blogger site which I find easy to use and economical. All of the sessions are available right away, so you can watch the videos and create at your own pace. I haven't explored the Facebook group as of yet-wanting to spend my time making some art before I do.

21 Secrets $98.00
This is a collaborative art journaling class with 22 different teachers, a few of whom I know personally and adore. This long-standing class, now in it's eighth iteration, always has an expansive collection of lessons. I took it a few years ago and it's like creative candy. When I took it, it was hosted on Ning. I'm not sure if that's still the platform Connie uses, but she always gives tons of information on how to interact and track what you've done so far. She's also been packaging the class up into an e-book format as an additional resource for people who want to keep the content after the class closes. This also serves as additional income, if you're able to package your content in different ways.

Making Art Medicine Currently $50 for the first session.
This a new offering in 2016 by Hali Karla. Hali and I were in an intensive teacher training class together (Ignite) where we created our own workshops and shared them with the group. I know first hand how much love and care goes in to what Hali does.  Hali's art making and teaching is deep, insightful and healing. This would be a true gift to give yourself.

Tracy Verdugo's Mini Mojo Classes $59
I love everything that Tracy does and her fun, vibrant use of color in her paintings. She currently has two mini courses posted: "Pattern, Color, Texture" and "Animalitos". These are self-guided courses with video lessons and a facebook community that Tracy checks in on. Taking a live Paint Mojo class with Tracy is on my wish list.

Other Favorites of mine that are $100+
(keep in mind you can often get discounts during the launch or enter contests to win free tickets, maybe you'll get lucky!)

Bloom True-$297.00
I took this course in 2012 and it changed the way I paint. I wrote a blog post about my experience here. The class has evolved over the years as Flora updates it and adds new content. The Facebook group has been one of the best and longest lasting that I have experienced. When I took the class, a module was released 3 times a week over a six week period. Topics like being brave and learning how to listen to your intuition were shared. Flora also includes some yoga instruction to help open you to the painting experience. She shows how painting can be a mirror. Taking more risks on the canvas can help you be brave in other areas of your life as well.

Alena Hennessy-A Year of Painting $229.00
I'm currently taking this class and am enjoying Alena's lessons.  She releases a new lesson every 3 weeks.  I joined later in the year, so I still have many to go back and watch. She's introduced me to some new techniques-masking tape being one, and using acrylic inks in new ways, which I love.

Kelly Rae Roberts-Hello Soul, Hello Mixed Media Mantra's $199.00
I feel like I have a lot in common with Kelly Rae.  For one, I'm Kelly Raye (with a "Y") and we both worked in human services prior to beginning our art making. I love her style and her podcast as well.

The class consists of written lessons and videos of Kelly Rae and her student Lynx, creating a painting. Kelly Rae creates it in her style and Lynx uses the same information but creates a totally different painting in her own style. The videos are professionally produced and easy to follow. All of the material is available right away and I have to admit I binge-watched the segments back to back.  I then made a little painting of a butterfly that says "Courage Does Not Always Roar".  My daughter snatched it up and put it in her room. Kelly Rae also has a new class out that I would love to take called "Spirit Wings" where she will be creating Angel Paintings with her famous winged ladies-also $199.00.

Lifebook 2016-Approx. $120
I signed up for this and CANNOT WAIT for it to start in January.  Some of my favorite teachers mentioned above will be presenting, along with some new artists that I'm looking forward to learning more about.  This is a perfect way to get exposed to many different styles, tons of inspiration and to connect with like-minded artists.  I'm sure I'll be taking some of the instructors individual classes to add to my list for next year as well. I'm excited to learn from the different styles and presentations of each artist, as well as soak in the creative content they'll be sharing.

Think Greatness

You are greatness.  You might not see it yet, but it's there, all the same. 
It's not an arrogant, braggy, "look at me, I'm better than you, I am sooo fabulous" kind of thing.  It's just who you are.

We all have greatness, but we're trained to look instead for flaws, problems, things to fix to make us better.  We assume that we're broken.  We focus on what's wrong.  There are all kinds of ways to "fix" us.  Liposuction, face lifts, therapy...  The thing is...

You are not broken and you never were.

You don't need fixing, although you might see it that way.

If you want to make a HUGE SHIFT in your life, turn away from problem-based thinking.  From thinking there is always something wrong that has to be fixed.

Like, "Nobody is visiting my Etsy site or buying my work.  It must be because my work is no good.  Why did I ever think I could sell it? How ridiculous. I didn't even go to art school!"  And this type of thinking goes on and on.

That my friend, is negative, beat-yourself-up, destructive thinking.  You do it to yourself, you do it to others and it doesn't do anything but make you suffer.

Greatness thinking, based on the work of Howard Glasser of the Nurtured-Heart Approach, goes something more like this: "Hmmm, nobody has visited my Etsy site.  I have heard that this is a problem with Etsy because there are so many people selling on there.  I know my work has potential, I just have to get it in front of the right people.  Now, how can I do that?" 

See the difference?  The same situation has happened-no sales.  What you do with that little nugget of information in your brain is where the difference lies.

One response will shut you down, maybe even cause you to give up.  The other removes the negative self-talk and focuses on the issue at hand.  This is a grand shift in the way you talk to yourself and others. 

Here's a fun little exercise:  Pick someone you're less than thrilled with at the moment and write a list of their greatnesses.  Here's one that I wrote about my husband on a day I was feeling not-so-very loving toward him:

He has a very good heart
He washed my car
He made my dinner (I'm starting to soften now...how lucky am I?)
He makes sure everyone is taken care of
He's a good friend to others (even though he's annoying me right now...greatness, think greatness...)

Then I looked for those qualities in myself.  Oh yes-I can be a good friend to people and I too try to make sure everyone is taken care of-ok, we're both doing pretty well here....

If you start to make this into a practice, watch how your interactions and confidence in yourself start to shift.  Notice how that way you judge others begins to slide from negative judgements to seeking out their greatness. It's a practice, remember.  You have to intentionally keep coming back to looking for greatness again and again.

Sooo, how does all of this greatness stuff help you in creating the life you envision?  Well, when you begin to see your own greatness, to feel it, to really believe in it, you begin to radiate it.  

You begin to build real confidence in yourself.  And that is HUGE. For me it has made the difference between moving forward and getting stuck in my tracks when things don't work out the way I thought they should. 

Like when I was first approaching places to sell jewelry, someone was interested in carrying my jewelry in her salon (per a phone call) and then after I sent her pictures, she was less receptive. Now, in my old way of thinking, I would flog myself mentally, thinking my work was no good and no one wanted to sell it.  I would really start to go into a negative vortex.  

In practicing greatness thinking I instead say to myself, "You know what?  Maybe it's not for her.  You've never been in her salon.  You have no idea who her customers are.  Maybe it's just not a good fit.  Look at all you are selling in other places.  You're doing great.  People like what you make.  Keep going."

If you're coming from a place of seeing your own greatness as well as that of the people you serve, you'll begin to see where your talents meet their needs in some way.  Where can your gifts solve an issue that's keeping them from stepping forward in their greatness? Where you can help them move forward or get what they want in some way.

Everyone has greatness.  You are it.  Own it.

I'm going to start spreading a little greatness around. Come back and see, it might just be about you.