Men's jewelry for Father's Day

This attractive, manly piece is made with silver-coated lava beads, glass beads, and black leather.   It measures around nineteen inches long with a classy toggle clasp.  Can you see your Dad or hubby in this?  Looked verry good on Steve!

These bronze bracelets are made for a man, but, heck, just as nice-looking on a woman! 

Next weekend, June 23, we'll be setting up in Danville, at their Arts in the Park celebration.  This is a very well run event, even giving the artists a very nice Friday evening meal.  Good artists, music, and hopefully good weather!  This show honored me with the Best of Show award last year!!!  So, I guess, no wonder I like it there!

This is another photo I'm thinking of painting.  A very scenic little farm in Dewitt County.    

We'll be leaving the market right at noon this Saturday, which means having to start loading up at 11:30am.  The bronzclay class in Decatur, 40 miles away, is scheduled at 1pm, so we have to hustle down there to get set up for the class.  As far as I know at this time, there are a couple of spots left for students. 

I just read the blog of Dylan Punke, a local photographer well-known to art fair attendees.  He's started on a cross-country bicycle trip to the northwest!  What a brave soul!  Keep an eye on his progress at http://www.departgallery.blogspot.com/.

This is a photo of a field south of Heyworth, one of my favorite scenes to paint.

This Weekend at the Market plus a Bronzclay class coming up!

Saturday I will be featuring some mixed metal jewelry pieces, using bronze, copper & silver.  It's time also to feature jewelry for Dads, with Father's Day arriving June 17th.  Let me know if there is something special I can make for him.

Next Saturday after the market, we're traveling to Decatur to give the second Bronzclay class for that area.  It will be held at MCM Designs Bead Shop, her website is http://www.mcm-designs-beads.com/.  Scroll down to see a little about the last class, even some photos of students work.  If you'd be interested in taking a class in making Bronzclay, please call, email or drop by the market in downtown Bloomington so we can discuss what dates will work for you.  This is exactly what happened last week when Lori Swango stopped by.  We are thinking either June 16 or June 30, after the  market, and held in the former Bead Parlor, located in the loft at 318 N. Main, just around the corner from the market.

We are loving our new space at the market.  Finally, the artists and farmers are integrated again.  It works so much better for everyone, and all booths get the same traffic.  So far the music right across the street has been great, and we're hoping it stays that way, of course that is one of the very subjective areas in life.  Everyone has different tastes, and different levels of LOUDNESS in their music preference!  We'll enjoy it anyway!

Here's a photo of an old, obviously deteriorating building, one side of it with a cool broken window.  It's part of the Weldon Springs State Park southeast of Clinton.  It's a great easy hike to an old abandoned farm that was purchased by the IL DNR a few years ago, so that drainage problems from a creek running through this farm and into the lake at the Springs, could be fixed.  It's very peaceful, beautiful, and we could walk there every day if we could, that's how much we enjoy it.   Some day I am going to paint this window...a picture...not the actual window!!

Downtown Bloomington Farmers Market & Artist's Alley

So I missed opening day of the market.  I certainly wished I hadn't!  We did set up at the Peoria Heights Tower Park art fair...where it rained most of the morning.  Not many attendees or sales either.  So I learned my lesson there. 

I am very glad to be back at the market, in a new space with lots of new work.  I am going to have Free Jewelry Cleaning, limit of 3 pieces per person, that morning.  I use a Speedbrite Ionic Cleaner.  It is perfectly safe for stones and pearls/opals/turquoise.  I also have some new paintings that I am pretty proud of. 

Steve has been working on some new sculptured bronze pieces, not really jewelry, but he uses the same metal clay.  I think he's gotten pretty good.  I will get some photos posted soon of his Rocket, Flying Saucer, and Bronze bells.

Here's a brooch I made early in the bronze clay-making:

Peoria Heights Fine Art Fair

The Peoria Heights Fine Art Fair is scheduled for this Saturday, May 12 at Tower Park, located at 4607 N. Prospect Road.  It will run from 10 am to 5 pm.  I do not know our booth information at this time.  I do know this fair is a high quality fair, with beautiful fine art of all categories.  You will be able to find a perfect piece of art for Mother's Day gifting!!

Spring Bloom Art Fair

This Saturday starts the 2012 art fair season for us.  The McLean County Art Center's Spring Bloom Art Fair is held this year at the Interstate Center, also known as the McLean County Fairgrounds, at 1106 Interstate Dr., Bloomington.   At this point I don't know the booth location, but I'm sure it will be easy to find.   Hopefully.  This is a very nice facility with great parking.  But it's a drive for those living in East Bloomington/Normal, but not a particularly hard one.  So I hope we have a good crowd.  There is a $5 admission fee.  
http://www.mcaart.org/mcac/html/springbloomartistinfo.html

We have some great new jewelry pieces, and Steve has really gotten involved with making bronze sculptures.  I think everyone will love the spaceship, the rocket, and especially a great sounding bronze bell.  I will have my miniature oil paintings also.  I love to paint, and have so many ideas and photos, but not enough time to get everything done.  I envy Dylan Punke, photographer, who will be at Spring Bloom also.  He's heading out northwest, on his bicycle, for a summer road trip, leaving in June.  How nice it would be to travel and collect photos and ideas for months at a time, with no worries as to having to set up for an art fair.  Or worries about the competition and worries of am I going to sell anything.    It gets to be pretty stressful during Art Fair Season!

Spring is here, and shows are starting!

It's been so beautiful this spring, and now our shows are starting in just a couple of weeks. I've been enjoying the pressure-free days, but now this is starting to change. Beginning April 28, our art fair season begins. Once again every weekend something is planned. Many will be the half-day markets in downtown Bloomington, which is really nice let me tell you! Most of the time those markets are great, enjoyable, and profitable. But, always there's the threat of weather related problems...which does put a dent in the pleasure and profit column. With the weekend long events, one hopes for at least one day of good weather with a good outcome.

I took part in the DBA market's application review board meeting this week. A group of the vendors and myself and my husband, the lone artists, met with the chairwoman, Marisa, to decide particulars for the market. One great result was that we now are going to be located on Jefferson St, about mid block pretty close to the band. This is where I started 9 or 10 years ago, and am thrilled to be back there! It will be great to be in a spot sheltered a bit more from the wind on Center Street.

I also have a Bronzclay class scheduled next Saturday, the 14th at MCM Designs Bead Shop in Decatur. They are located at 2885 N. Oakland, Decatur, IL. Contact Diane at (217) 791-5169 to sign up...as far as I know there are still openings.

I had some jury photos taken by a professional artist in March...hoping to get accepted into some "higher end" shows this year. I don't know if this will be of any help, but it's worth a try. I have heard of many, many artists being rejected or placed on waiting lists by show coordinators, even though their work is outstanding or that they have taken part in the show before. There are sooooooooo many artists that it is becoming an overwhelming task to get accepted anymore. I wanted to retire last year. I know I will at the end of this year!