Silver crosses

My friend Sue asked to see the fine silver crosses I had made for a customer. Garnet stones in each one. Not knowing exactly what she, the customer, was looking for, I made two with different textures, and sizes. She picked the larger one for her daughter.

So, Sue, there they are, let me know what you think!

New Work, New Show

We've had a busy fall this year, not just with art fairs, but husband Steve needed eye surgery, which hopefully will result in better vision in the future. But even with just one eye, he's been able to create some outstanding bronze pieces. Much of the new work I'll be posting soon is the result of his one-eyed vision of art jewelry.

This weekend we'll be taking part in the annual Holiday Thieves Market at the University of Iowa's Memorial Union in the Main Lounge. I'd love to be able to tell you our space, but we won't know it till we get there at 6am to set-up. It is a great show, with over 100 Fine Art and Fine Craft booths. This is our last scheduled show of the year. We still have work in the Holiday Treasures show at the MCAC and the Bead Parlor, both of which are in downtown Bloomington. If you find a need for a gift of handmade original jewelry for yourself or a loved one, please contact us.

We are looking forward to a trip in late January to the Gem and Jewelry Trade Show in Tucson, Arizona. Hoping to take a few classes, get some great beads, and hike the trails in southern AZ.

Happy Holidays.........!!!

New Work

The Bead Parlor's new "Off the Wall Gallery"

Yesterday I took several silver, bronze, and beaded pieces to the Bead Parlor, 318 N. Main St., Bloomington, IL. Owner Di Faulk has started a wonderful "Off the Wall Gallery" to promote and sell local jewelry and craft artisans work.

http://www.thebeadparlor.com/ You'll see outstanding work and I highly recommend everyone visit as soon as possible!

Later this month I'll again be taking part in the Holiday Craft Show hosted by Lori Lenahan in her beautiful home at 5 Weathervane Court, Old Farm Lakes Subdivision, Bloomington. Other craft artists are: Julie with one-of-a-kind baskets (beautiful!), Rose's hand woven baskets and gourds (just as beautiful!!), Melodee's painted folk art on antiques, Donna's photographs, Missy and Tana's florals and handmade cards, Deb's hand-knit scarves, Doris's original Artwork, Rondalea's beaded pins and necklaces, Eddy's handmade doll clothes for American Girl dolls, and MUCH MORE!!

In November, after the Hope for the Holidays juried show in Springfield, I'll have my work at the Vrooman Mansion, the gorgeous old estate at 701 E. Taylor St, Bloomington. Innkeeper Theora Stark has gathered a great group of "vendors" and artisans for a holiday show on the first and second floors of the old mansion. Among the vendors are Tastefully Simple, Pampered Chef, Longaberger, Usborne Books, Mary Kay...20 total booths to visit.

Also in November, starting the 12th and lasting through until Christmas Eve, I'll have several items at the McLean County Art Center's Holiday Treasures event. This is of course a great juried show featuring many well-known and new artists of all media. From paintings to sculpture, and jewelry to pottery, you'll be able to find a wonderful gift for your holiday giving.

Above are new pieces finished in the last month. Contact me for the particulars!

The Decatur, IL, Art Guild gave me quite a nice gift...THIRD place award in Jewelry! And, there were 21 other jewelers in this nice art fair. A nice check was sent and I received it today. Thanks so much...

The 2 green ribbon are patron purchase awards, which means the attendees pledge to the art guild that they will buy some piece or pieces of artwork. Then the artists get that money plus a green ribbon. A great system.

A beautiful place for a show!

This past Saturday both Steve, the artist husband, and I had our work at our first one woman/one man show! We set up side by side at the Weldon Springs State Recreational Area, Clinton, IL, at the boat dock. An absolutely beautiful day gave us a wonderfully relaxing show. Neither of us have ever experienced a "relaxing" show, so it was great!
This is our view from inside our booths........Wow! Steve is a leather artist, doing hand-tooled leather pictures...thus his studio name is "Leather Scenes Studio". His website: www.leatherscenes.com.

Lincoln Art & Balloon Festival

This weekend is the annual Art Fair in Latham Park, downtown Lincoln, IL. The hot air balloons will be lifting off at the airport, but there's a couple on display downtown in Scully park, along with the flea market.

http://www.lincolnillinois.com/ABF.aspx

This is always a fun show to take in. I've not shown here myself, but Steve, the husband artist, has done the show many times in the past. Lincoln is such a friendly, welcoming community, it is a pleasure to be there. And, for a wonderful change, the weather promises to be Great!

Maybe we will see you there...........

Washington Fine Arts Festival

This weekend, August 14 & 15, the 3rd annual Washington Fine Arts Festival will be held in Washington Park, Washington, IL.

This link has a map for those of us not familiar with Washington:

http://washingtonfinearts.org/uploads/eMailPromo.pdf

My booth number is #43. I'm sincerely hoping for a shady spot!

I've just received the Fast Fire Bronzclay. I'm still trying to work out the firing schedule, as the first two were not successful. Next week I'll try a kiln temp of 1550, but continue with the fast ramp, and 2 hour hold, otherwise, what's the point of a "fast fire" formulation! The first attempts crumbled, practically no sintering. Looking forward to success, as the color is wonderful golden bronze, with little shrinkage, and no blemishes.

Hope you all stay cool and dry and happy with life!

A new email address has arrived

Frontier has managed to acquire Verizon here in Central Illinois. My new address is simply: artjools@frontier.com.
However, I will continue to receive Verizon emails through the end of December.

I will be once again in downtown Bloomington for the Farmers Market this Saturday. It will be a very interesting day for all as this is the day Bloomington/Normal has scheduled for a sesquicentennial celebration of Abraham Lincolns' birthday. Since Mr. Lincoln had many ties to B/N it will be spread around town, but many events are taking place downtown at the old courthouse museum, around which is the market. The best band of B/N is scheduled to play: The Old Men Boys! Terrific group.
Hope you can make it down.........
Martha
Oh, this piece above is a silver metal clay pendant with 23K gold overlay in the Keumboo process. What do you think of it?

Metal Clay Class

I have had several requests to teach metal clay classes. Most are interested in learning to work with and create Bronzclay jewelry. I would be available now for either a small group of 2-3, or individual classes. This is going to have to be in my home, as the resource I'd had last year for larger classes has disappeared, unfortunately.

Classes typically are for 4 hours...completely depends on the working pace of the student/s. Remembering that firing must take at least 4 hours, that means it will either require a return to my home to pick up the pieces for finishing here or in your home...or a return the next morning for that finishing process. I'll leave that up to the student.

Cost for the Bronzeclay class is $65 for each student. This includes 30 grams of clay, my instruction and tool/kiln use. 30 grams will make 2 or 3 pendants and earrings. If you need jumprings or earwires, I would include those. I can either leave the choice of design to you, or come up a design for you to make. We can discuss it when you contact me.

I think the best way to handle this is to have anyone interested contact me at home during the day or evening at 309-473-2013 (Heyworth, IL), or email to artjools@verizon.net. I am available on the following days:

July 26, 27, 28, 29, and August 2, 3, 4th.

After that it is getting into my really heavy art fair schedule, and I'd have to put off classes until October or later.

Or you can stop by my booth at the downtown Blm. farmers market this Saturday and the 31st to make arrangements.

The market was a good one this past Saturday, lots of interested customers, as seen in that first photo. Many people saw my work in the Sugar Creek Art fair, and stopped by the market too. Sugar Creek was great...hot, but great!

I hope to publish a post in the near future on the coral trade, or lack thereof, and the endangered coral reefs being harvested illegally for jewelry coral. I was asked by a visitor to my booth to stop using coral, due to the disappearance of the reefs. I have been told by all my suppliers that the coral they sell me is not the endangered species, so I need to research further.

The other photos are of 2 new Bronze pins, one with dichroic glass, the other with lab-grown bismuth.

Please call or email for classes if interested..........

Martha

Sugar Creek Arts Festival

This annual art festival is the biggest and best of McLean County and Central Illinois (arguably, of course). It returns this year to the uptown streets of Normal, IL. The past 3 years part of the festival was placed on the shady, grass-covered ISU quad. The uptown merchants have felt ignored apparently, and need it back there. Unfortunately, due to the nearly total reconstruction of the uptown streets in Normal, there will no shade whatsoever. This link shows a previous festival with several lovely trees. Ignore those. http://www.mcaart.org/mcac/html/sugarcreek.html

I will be setting up quite near the Normal Theater. I will have many new pieces, hope to see many of you there!

Take care in this heat!
Martha

Well, the email is still the same.......

Not that it makes a huge difference, but my email address is still artjools@verizon.net, has not changed to frontier.com as yet. When that will actually happen is quite unclear. I will continue to get the verizon mail through December when it will cease to be forwarded.

Email changing July 1, 2010

Due to Verizon being acquired by Frontier, all those of us who subscribe to Verizon's services will be having their email addresses changed on July 1st. So: artjools@frontier.com is the new address for me.

Also, I should mention that Sunday the 27th was a bummer, in that I was not able to attend the second day of the Rhapsody in Bloom Art festival, due to family issues. I do apologize to the festival coordinators and to any customers who had expected to see my booth there.
The Luthy Botanical Gardens is a beautiful place for any festivity, and the only real "problem" was the relentless heat and humidity. Thankfully, my space was shaded for most of the day. Sales were OK, but probably would have been great on Sunday!
This Saturday will be another one at the downtown Bloomington Farmer's market. Then on July 10th and 11th, I'll be showing at the Sugar Creek Art Fair in Uptown Normal. My space is going to be directly in front of the new Marriott Hotel, so that will be good! Hope to see you there!!
Martha

Rhapsody in Bloom

This weekend will be the 8th annual Rhapsody in Bloom Art Festival held on the grounds of the beautiful Luthy Botanical Gardens, Peoria, IL, corner of Prospect and Gift Streets.

Although this is going to be a very warm weekend, we will be there, ready to go at 10am til 5pm on Saturday, noon to 5pm Sunday. The mornings will be tolerable, and with the shade of the gardens, I expect to be quite comfortable in the afternoons.

Hope to see everyone there...

Martha

Downtown Bloomington Farmers Market

The Farmers Market in Bloomington, Il has been "the" market for Central IL since 1998. I have been part of the Artisans in the market for 8 years. It's been a great experience, with the opportunities to meet new people every weekend, and form long, fruitful relationships, in friendships as well as fiscal opportunities!

http://www.downtownbloomington.org/index.php?id=6

This link will take you to their webpage with a vendor directory, and a link to their weekly newsletter featuring the latest veggies and fruits in season.

My booth is located on the corner of Center and Jefferson, in front of McGuires. A good spot, even though not my fave, it's working out fine. All artists are to be located there on Center this year, again segregated from the farmers. So be sure to visit us there!

Show Schedule Posted

I have posted all my summer shows. Certainly do hope you can attend one or a few! All are quality juried shows. This weekend is one of my favorites.

Art Fair at Junction City, Peoria, IL is a small show with super work. I am very fortunate to have been accepted for the past 4 years. Attendance is great, and most of them are looking to purchase from someone. Hopefully, I'm one of them!

http://www.junctioncityartfair.com/

Bronze

Beaux Arts Fair turned out pretty good. Bronze pieces really found a lot of new homes! It's such a beautiful metal, and so easy to price reasonably. It surprisingly looks terrific with the ever popular turquoise, and it's just fun to tell peoples that I made this!

Sunday was beautiful, finally. We were set up on the plaza of the Figge Art Museum in downtown Davenport. An absolutely wonderful building, and has a terrific gift shop. Even with all the art in front of it, I could enjoy what they had as being beautiful and different. Unfortunately, we didn't have time to tour the exhibits. Next year I will.

I have some photos of bronze pieces after firing, and before/after polishing.

The dancers at top and another piece just didn't have enough color after polishing. I tried the green patina solution from Rio Grande. Directions say to warm the bronze while drying...so I stuck them in the oven for a few minutes. YES, it was green...TOO green. And natch, the underlying bronze was much darker...not what I was after. These are now in the kiln for a second try at color in charcoal.

I didn't get a photo added last post for the booth in Iowa City:

The round table in the back is the janitor-provided table I talked about last time...doesn't look too bad.

This weekend I start the weekly Downtown Bloomington Farmers Market. My booth is on Center Street, facing the courthouse at the intersection of Jefferson St. 2nd best placement, in my opinion. The best would be my old spot on Jefferson...Hah. 7:30am to 12Noon . Weather should be good for a change!

Martha

So. What to tell you today. I always have new piece to show, and a photo of the booth at the Riverbank art fair in Iowa City.

The show was moved inside, April 25-26, the University of Iowa Union grand ballroom...Thank you Fine Arts Council! It was raining, cold, and very much appreciated to be inside. The students running it do a great job. Unfortunately, the sales could have been better for everyone. I still did OK, but not as great as years past. One problem showed up, my husband, Steve, forgot to bring the ladder supports for the shelves. He was very resourceful and buttered up the janitor, and got a table. Then he scrounged up a curtain (!) to use as a tablecloth! Thankfully, when I arrived from the room, this was all taken care of...I've been known to get a bit "upset".

We are now in Davenport, having setup the first outdoor booth of the year, in the Figge Art Museum plaza for the spring Beaux Arts Fair. We have a great spot, rained a bit at set up, but it looks good, but COLD, for the weekend.

The photo of the bronze bird pendant shows the PPP technique I learned in Tucson at the workshop with Patrik Kusek. I love it! I have found I need to darken the lines with an extra-fine felt tip marker to get the deeper textures.

The silver hollow form is a piece I've had for a few years, and could not come up with a finished design. The jet beads were picked up from Thomason Stone Supply in Tucson, so this is it's current form. The applied piece on top is a thorn from the very thorny trees found in the timber, with a few extra attachments

Next weekend starts the Downtown Bloomington Farmers Market, where I will have a booth for the 8th year. I'll be setting up on the corner of Center street, facing the courthouse. Not my old spot, but close. Again the artists are being segregated from the farmers. Apparently, the farmers don't want us. It has always seemed to me to benefit everyone to be intermingled with a mixture of quality booths. I know most customers agree. I've had great years there, fun and profitable.

Later,

Martha

New Jools, and booth photos

These are recent pieces of silver and bronze jools that I offered at the Spring Bloom Art Fair last month. Yes, I did sell many of them! It turned out to be a pretty good show for me.

At first, I wasn't happy with my space as I'd asked for a corner, and paid extra for it. But what I got was a booth against a far wall, with no aisle...just a space between my booth and the next artist. So really, I felt cheated as there was just no chance of customer traffic going past the side of the booth, only the front. I assumed a corner booth would have traffic on two aisles. So I was not real pleased as I set up. I continue to feel "cheated" in that respect. But, sales were not too bad anyway.

Next is the Riverbank Art Fair in Iowa City, IA, on the campus of the U of I, during the spring festival, April 24 & 25. This will be the first of many outdoor shows for the season. April weather can be uncooperative, as has been proven in years past. I am actually hoping not to have a corner space in this instance, as 2 years ago, the poor Craft Hut took a beating from the winds constantly and furiously banging it around...thanks to the corner space! Thank God for the sturdiness and reliability of the booth design, we had no disasters. Others did...flimsy EZ-Up tents, natch.

2 weeks later, May 8 & 9, Mothers Day, I'll be setting up in Davenport, IA, in the Spring Beaux Art Fair, on the Figge Art museum plaza. This seems to be a good spot, but it's been a few years since we've been in the show, and this wasn't available then. Wind is a problem there also. I'm thinking this area will offer more protection. It isn't pleasant to be picking up tables and jewelry off the ground!!

Here's hoping that this summer ALL art fairs across the country enjoy great weather and great sales!!!

Tucson, AZ Gem Show and More

We stopped first at the Electric Park, the parking lot of the minor league baseball park. This holds huge number of everything from soup to nuts...all pertaining to making jewelry. Favorite vendors here include Blake Bros. Silver; Kent's Tools; Village Originals; and Bleily's Gems of Montana. These huge quartz crystals were like statues.

The Catalog in Motion sponsored by Rio Grande of Albuquerque, NM, hosts classes for beginners and experienced jewelers. I had signed up to take a class with Patrik Kusek of CA, a highly respected Metal Clay artisan. Needless to say, it was outstanding! I learned to make photopolymer plates to be used in texturing the silver and bronze clay. We experimented with the Vacuform machine...hugely impressive, and hugely expensive! Carving in an eraser, polymer clay textures, and other great resources were demonstrated. Patrik was very kind and an all-around great teacher. He kept us hopping! Above is a picture a necklace using the PPP texture we made in class!

Of course I discovered some gorgeous pearls and beads in amazing colors...as I come up with some designs, I will post some photos.

Arizona is an outstandingly beautiful state...from the high mountains to the desert floor, it's like no other place. We tend to gravitate to the southeastern section...real cowboy country. Love to hike the many trails and desert washes. Currently, the bestest place is on the eastern slopes of the Santa Rita Mountain range, coming in from around Sonoita. Trails and camping galore!

I've been accepted into the Spring Bloom Art Show and Sale in Bloomington being held Saturday, the 20th, at the Sale Barn. I'm sure I'm not alone in hoping for a great event in attendance and sales!

Later,

Martha

A Beginning

I've started my blog because of requests from friends, family and a growing number of interested customers concerning my artwork. I will have a website someday soon, but for now, this blog will suffice.

I'm an Oil Painter and Jewelry designer. Miniature landscapes, birds, and occasionally still life are my favorite subjects to paint. Lately, the jewelry has far outsold the paintings. I just haven't had time to devote to painting, and I dearly love it, and am aching to learn pastels. But....

This blog will focus on the jewelry....ARTJOOLS.

I will include photos, tips, and shortcuts I discovered, and maybe a tutorial. I work in Metal Clay, both Bronze and Silver. I tried the copper...didn't care for it...Love the bronze. I started jewelry-making by stringing beautiful gemstones. I continue to do that and they continue to sell very nicely.

I wanted to start the blog before the spring/summer art fairs begin, and before our annual trip to the Tucson Gem and Jewelry trade show next week. I am also taking a class with Patrik Kusek, a very well-known Metal Clay artist, whose work I very much admire. This will focus on creating and using textures. With his permission I'll post photos relating to the class. Also will post some of the different Gem show venues aroung Tucson, and probably of the gorgeous landscapes in Southern Arizona.

I Love It There...and can't wait!

For now, that's my work above.

Let me know how you like them!!!

Later,

Martha