Blog posts from 2010

A special request for this wedding band set.

The studio is always closed on Mondays, but today I am here making some lovelies for the holiday season.

Yes, my studio has one of the best views in the park. What a great place to work!

My five week class of Intermediate Silversmithing concluded last night, and what a great group it was.

I rarely do commissions any more simply because my larger story pieces require an understanding of the work and flexibility of the patron to go wit

Trick-or-treaters made their way to each artist studio today.

There are several “advances” in the art of silversmithing that have hit the scene since I began my creative journey back in the ‘80s.

Keep your muse from getting bored by mixing the act of practice with the act of discovery.

What do I mean?

Just scored a new shipment of potential for the studio, and specifically for the thursday night class.

The Beginning Silversmithing class is unique. The recipe is essentially this...

Silver saturdays are always a lot of fun for me. It is an intense day of creativity and discovery...and the students get to learn things too.

A new group of beginners “began” last night and produced some wonderful stuff with our cold forging projects.

I am excited to report that SilverWorks is adding a few new classes to its roster for fall.

Skill Builders.

A little time out as the studio is closed for the week before labor day, and before the next set of classes starting on Sept 9th.

Bringing everything back to “white”. The Glen Echo Park Popcorn Gallery is inheriting our towers.

Tear-down today of what I feel was a successful show.

So far the show has been met with good reviews, and many of the pieces will be going into private colIections.

This Silver Saturday workshop proved to be a very creative (and productive!) class.

Opening night was a great time and a bit of a blur for me with so many attending.

The 8 great students of Beginning Silversmithing (June) that let us skip a week of classes to set up the show.

A couple of days away from opening and it is starting to come together.

It takes a number of elements to put together a show with an entire collection. Here are just a few pics to give you an idea.

Another sneak peek at the work that will be shown at the July show, “The Silver Speaks; Stories in Wearable art”.

Doing a piece that reflects one of my paintings called “Finding One’s Self”. This uses the technique of “piercing”, or sawing.

Another story piece emerging as I do a dance with Pele, the godess of fire.

I had a lot of fun with this one and to be honest it will be hard to part with.

The muse is being very kind. Managed to finish this one today. 21 Gun Salute features a shell from my father’s funeral.

Lots of fun today with the Silver Saturday workshop offered to Mothers and Daughters.

Very happy with what the muse brought to the table today. My newest piece incorporates a blister pearl.

I have hung onto a very special ammolite for years waiting for the right “story” to put it in.

Today at the park was pretty special.

In deciding on what intermediate and advanced classes I am going to be adding to my teaching schedule next fall, I tackled a pierced project as a p

Every class is different and it always amazes and inspires me to see, not only what people make with their new skills, but what made them choose to

Mastering the fundamentals of smithing can really be fun if you are creating piece after piece of jewelry.

Been messing with a cool combo of polished sphere and reticulated organic element.

Exploring different forms of chain making today.

Suprisingly quiet day at the park for a Saturday, so I dug in an got to work undistracted. Going in some new and creative directions for me.

The old fashioned vibe of the Glen Echo park just begged for a handpainted sign to advertise my shop.

An overlap in subject matter as I teach two classes today.

I am working on web things today and lurking while Dina Vatcha finished this fabulous project in open studio.

The silver saturday workshop today was the first of the two “Organic Things” class that I offer this year.

The good folk here at Glen Echo Park have been kind enough to give me a one-woman show in their main gallery for the month of July.

More time spent in the circle zone. This time a focus on negative space and three dimensions.

Sometimes you just need a creative challenge. Today I tackled a project that looks simple in its finished form but is fairly complex to create.

Well, I didn’t make it out to Tucson thanks to all the snow. But I did do the next best thing.

Thanks Joan and Amanda for coming out and spending time enhancing your new found smithing skills in the Discover Silversmithing 2 workshop.

I continue to beef up the tool arsenal for the studio, and today I added a really fun one...

the disc cutter.

“What a great way to spend a saturday afternoon”. This said by the last student to leave the studio yesterday. I am so glad.

Well, I was supposed to be on a plane toward Arizona, bound for the Gem Show in Tucson, but mother nature had other plans.

The finals session with these fabulous women was a bit of a free-for-all with a few creative “twists”.

Lots of fun for me today seeing what direction each person took with a newly learned skill.

The good people of the Art League of Germantown invited me to come and share a little about my work and my creative process.

Today’s workshop yielded some great results. Creativity abounds in this group.

A spark of inspiration from a gift of glass brought forth this little piece.

New shipment of goodies comes to the studio today.

I am working on a very simple chain design using a circle loop.

In the third session in the Beginning Silversmithing Class we covered 

Today I am celebrating the new addion of a rolling mill to the studio.

In the second session in the Beginning Silversmithing Class we covered the foundational skill of soldering.

It is a strange feeling going out to your driveway, getting the paper, then opening it up and seeing your work spashed in the pages.

I had the fortunate experience of being interviewed by Jordan Edwards, a staff writer at The Gazette.

The first session in the Beginning Silversmithing class was last night and what fun it was!