Spring is in the air and 2022 has been pretty exciting so far! In January I taught a three-day intarsia workshop at Arizona Designer Art & Craft in Tucson. It was so much fun and the students, for a few it was their first time doing lapidary, did amazing work. If you've never done intarsia it is the cutting and reassembling of stones to create a new cabochon. I did another four-day intarsia workshop in March at Urban Metal Studio in Mesa as well.
Then there was the Tucson Gem Show: I was there for three weeks and, what can I say, it was the best show ever! Everyone was so happy to see one another after two long years. There were a lot of air hugs! It was great to reunite with old friends Greg King, Mark Lasater, Bill Kasso and Hermann Petry. Greg Genovese introduced me to so many new friends, including some gem-world rockstars like Darryl Alexander, Larry Woods and Chris Wolfsberg!
Before the show opened I spent three wonderful days with my friends Greg Genovese his, son Nick and Lisa Anets helping set up his booth at the Pueblo show. It was total blast seeing the show come alive day by day as vendors from around the world arrived. The energy was amazing. There is nothing like the feeling of hundreds of people who love rocks gathering in one place. Words can't describe it. I am still high from the energy!
In addition to all the shopping and visiting I was honored to have several of my students spend an entire day shopping with me. It was a blast, and as always I learn so much by seeing things through their eyes. It is interesting how material that I would normally overlook becomes fascinating when seen with excitement by those new to it.
I found some beautiful new materials. One of my favorites was some astounding dendritic agate from Time Machine (Pueblo Show), where I also made some wonderful new friends in Tarun and his brother Rohit. They pampered me with tea and a lovely day spent picking out some outrageous stones! It was so good to see my friend Carmine from Tumico (Pueblo), whose unrivaled collection of all kinds included some wonderful quartz.
My 2022 class schedule is confirmed. Excited to be partnering this year with Metalwerx in Boston virtually weekly on Monday beginning June 6-27 and Florida Society of Goldsmiths where I will be one of three guest instructors for the annual five day retreat, Metal in the Mountains held at Wildacres Retreat N.C. Dates are October 17 - 23, 2022. Links and more information below.
Metalwerx Workshop - REGISTER HERE!
The Expressive Metalsmith - Jewelry from Inspiration to Manifestation With Lesley Aine McKeown All art begins with inspiration. Why are you inspired? How we navigate the process of creativity is crucial to owning your authentic personal expression. Equally important, is knowing how to use technical skills as a means of visual language that clearly conveys what you want to express. And it means knowing who you are and what you want for your art so you can be confident in yourself expression and the way you show up as an artist.
The relationship between emotional expression, compositional facility, and technical skill will be emphasized in this five-day in person jewelry retreat which includes short lectures, personalized demos, individual and group discussion, lots of class studio time, and review and critique for each participant and as a group at the end of the workshop. You will be encouraged to design and create a personally unique piece of jewelry. What you will Learn. How to access your creativity and develop skills that will form the foundation of your artistic practice. Each student will receive personal guidance through design, materials, fabrication techniques. Demos will be specifically designed to fit the needs of each student’s design. Registration will open soon - Please visit Florida Society of Goldsmiths and sign up for their notifications.
I am very excited that my piece "Quasar" has been juried into the international exhibition, Night Visions at the Coconino Center for the Arts in Flagstaff, AZ. A cultural night sky exhibition that seeks to explore and celebrate our deep connections with the night. A partnership with Flagstaff Arts Council and Flagstaff Dark Skies Coalition.
Finally! After months of tweaking my new publication Patination of Non Ferrous Metal - Black Patination on Sterling and Fine Silver is ready!
This extensive publication includes a thirteen page downloadable PDF with tons of information about patinas (detailed explanation of several different patinas), prepping your metal, methods of application, storage, disposal, tips and tricks and pros and cons. You will also receive unlimited access to a video with these five demos. Video Index includes:
Making Baking Soda Neutralizing Paste
Using the Baking Soda Neutralizing Paste
Liver of Sulfur and Gosiba Applications - Making Liver of Sulfur Solution
Removal of Patina for Fresh Application.
Patina Application on Rhodium plated silver
Purchase your copy today! - Use coupon code below for 15% off through May 1.
It is panning out to be a very exciting year. Hope you can join me for a class or just say share your adventures. Follow me on my Facebook or Instagram pages.
Find new work at Artfulhome
Here's wishing you all a beautifully creative and bright spring of 2022!
Lesley
friendly reminder… that you... have only really seen yourself in photographs and the mirror
You’ve never seen the way your smile beams from it’s edges every time you talk about something you love...or the way your eyes light up at the sight of sunrises or coffee… or puppies? So next time someone tells you how beautiful you are although you’ve never seen it…your beauty I mean. It is all that they know and they have been amazed by it every single day. by poet Donovan Beck
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