George Ohr Show 2009

I know this update is a bit late, but I am recovering from Canton and getting ready for the next show. The George Ohr Festival was fabulous...! We had gorgeous weather on Saturday, but Sunday didn't cooperate and we experienced lots of rain. We got lots of shoppers though in between bouts of heavy rain.

I saw some old friends and made some new ones. Randye Temple was back with her fused glass jewelry and paintings. I also met Pam and Bill Clark from South Carolina. They had the booth next to me and had the most beautiful pottery and colorful handmade glazes...! Visit them at Clark House Pottery if you get a chance, you won't be disappointed...!

One of the great part about doing shows is meeting new people and learning about their art. I also met Loran Chavex from Mobile. She had beautiful paintings in watercolor, acrylics and oils. She does sea life and nature portraits. I was lucky enough to acquire a a jumping dolphins painting. It now resides on the wall of my studio. It's so great to look around my studio and be inspired by the artists I've met along the way on this journey.

I received my booth assignment for the Peter Anderson. It looks like I will be at the about the same location I was last year. That puts me almost right across from one of my retail locations at Sea About It. I will be at booth number 668. I look forward to this show each year. The weather is perfect right now and I hope it holds for the next few weeks...!

Fall Show Season is here...!!

I haven't been posting as frequently lately. I have been a busy little bee getting ready for the Fall Show Season to begin. First on the docket is the George Ohr this weekend.

I will probably not be able to post as much for the next 2 months, but I will try to keep you updated about shows as much as I can.
This bracelet was made with one of Neil's hand cast sterling silver rings. You'll notice it's a little different in style. The back of the bracelet comes around the back of the wrist and attaches to the side of the ring. I plan to make these bracelets in a variety of colors and with different sea charms. This one has a (barely visible, sorry) sterling dolphin charm. I believe they will be a big hit at the shows this year...! I just have to wait for my silver caster to make me some more rings...the task master awakes..! Neil has been great though, he's really enjoying learning about soldering, casting and even getting used to the tools we use. He's made jump rings and he was learning how to make earwires yesterday. It's been great to have someone to share my passion with...!

New Pieces and Panic

I've been a busy little bee lately...! Neil and I have been working on silver a couple days a week and I've had the urge to play with my Kazuris lately.
I took a a very last minute shot to get into a show next month in Canton, MS. It's called the Canton Flea Market. It will be held Thursday, October 8th from 8 to 5. I have heard that shoppers are out in full force at 5 AM with flashlights...! They bus folks in from all over for this show, so I am looking forward to an awesome turn out.

Now..the reason for the panic....I realized after I got into the Canton show, that it falls 4 days after one of my bigger shows, the George Ohr Fall Festival the weekend of the 3rd-4th....yikes...! So, I am scurrying to make enough inventory to fill for both shows. Luckily, Neil will be accompanying me to Canton to help out.
These images are some pieces that I have completed recently...enjoy...!

Lost Wax Casting - Part 2 ( Part 1 actually)

I guess this this actually part 1, because all the work we are doing here, comes before the last post.
The first photo is of me setting up the wax molds on a "button" of wax. I fit as many wax pieces on the button as space allows, as long as the pieces are not touching. We had anywhere from 10-15 pieces per button.


The next step is to "make the biscuits" as Horace puts it. You mix up a fine white powder with water, vaccuum out the bubbles and carefully, pour it over the flasks. They also get vacuumed for air bubbles. They are then put into a kiln for about 9 hours to burn out the wax on the buttons. Once that is accomplished, you can can shoot the hot silver into the areas of the flask that don't have the wax and...."ta-da" you have silver pieces like the ones I show below.

Ok, so maybe there are a few more steps..like cutting the pieces off the button and cleaning them up, tumbling the shine back onto them and buffing them to a high shine. It is pretty much a two day process though and one that Neil is getting pretty good at.

AAhh....the difference a soap can make...!

If you keep up with my blog posts at all...you know I belong to a very talented group of women known as UWIB ( Unique Women in Business). We support each other's businesses by making 1 purchase each month from another group member's store. The purchase doesn't have to be a big one, there is no minimum....trust me this is no hardship with the talent in this group. A lot of the woman have Etsy and/or Artfire shops to choose from.

About 4 months ago, I ordered some lip balm from Michelle at Flameworks. They were pomegranate and mango flavored. They had the perfect texture and flavor..! She was very quick to ship and it was packaged perfectly, I was very pleased.
In July, I ordered from Michelle again. I ordered her new flavor of lip balm...Coconut. Ok, now you know as well as I do, that coconut can be done badly...but I wasn't worried..it was perfect as always..! I also tried Michelle's vegan deodorant. We've all heard how bad store bought can be with some of the things they put into it. Michelle's works like a charm.
Now, to the reason for this post. Along with my lip balm and deordorant..Michelle sent me a sample of her soap. It was called Black Misson Fig. At the time I thought..that was very sweet of her, but I'll never like a "fig" soap. So, I put the sample in my shower and forgot about it for a few days. I picked it up when my "regular" bar was getting low and started lathering it on....! WOW...!!! I loved it...! It has a very catchy fragrance..very refreshing and energizing...! All from something I never would have tried on my own...! I had to go order a full bar...! Very good marketing technique on Michelle's part let me tell you...! She sent me a sample of Black Raspberry this time...I'm almost afraid to open the zip lock...afraid I'll have another obsession...!
If you get a chance stop by Flameworks and see what Michelle has to offer, she has a large variety of flavors and sizes on most of her products. Tell her Dawn sent you...!

Lost Wax Casting Lesson

I got to go play..I mean learn more about lost wax casting last Thursday with my friend Horace. I started buying Horace's cast silver a couple of years ago and he has been kind enough to teach me his technique.
This first picture is of me heating up the solid silver to a liquid form in the centrifuge. To the right of me is the large kiln Horace has that holds the cylinders that the wax has been burned out of to make way for the sterling silver in the centrifuge.

The second photo is after the cylinder has been put into the centrifuge and the spinning has started, throwing the hot silver into the molds.

Photo three is of me moving the hot, hot cylinder putting it into cool water to wash the material off the silver pieces. It comes off very easily and you left with the silver pieces on a "button" of silver. ( photo 4) They are then cut off, cleaned and pickled. Then they are tumble polished.

I am having such a great time and am learning so much from Horace. I am hoping soon to be able to make my own wax molds and cast silver pieces that are my own signature pieces. The next time I go out there, I will have some photos of the beginnings of this intricate process.

Who Knew...??

I had an awesome time last weekend at the Ocean Springs Art Market/Fresh Market in front of the Mary O'Keefe Cultural Center. We had a great turn out and am happy to report that the Fresh Market will be with us again September 5th. It would be awesome if they continue to combine both markets to the benefit of both Markets..but what do I know?

I was doing some internet research the other day and discovered that we have Art Markets every weekend..!

- Pass Christian has a Market every Saturday from 8-11 at the War Memorial Park on Hwy 90.
- Waveland has a Market on Wednesdays from 6-12 and Saturdays from 8-12.
- Moss Point's Market is from 9-1.

I am probably going to check out a couple of these this Saturday and see which one or ones would be the best fit for me.

I will also have my Fall Schedule of events posted on my web site very soon. I am also finding the best date for my Annual Home Show.

For your viewing pleasure today, I have posted pictures of a couple of new pieces. I made a Chakra bracelet with Swarovski crystals and Crystal Quartz. I also have these stunning Crystal quartz Mini Lotus Pears made into gorgeous teardrop hoops. Both are available for sale in my Artfire Studio.