I'm Baaack, With New Hardware

I know, I've been AWOL for the past two months.  December was, as usual, crazy. But the good news is that my jewelry sales from the Hillsborough Gallery and Sofia's were especially good.  I like the idea that women in many places and in various walks of life are wearing my creations. 

Then came the new year, and I started 2010 by getting a new right knee.  Yup, total knee replacement - a procedure not for the faint of heart or for the impatient.  I went into the hospital on January 5th and placed my life and future mobility in the competent hands of my trusted orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Phillip Clifford.

The hospital stay was not uneventful. The pain narcotics I was getting somehow danced a jig in my brain and loosened my grasp on reality.  It was about 3 a.m. on the second night of my hospital stay when I looked at the clock, decided it was 3 p.m. and that I needed to get going.  So, I proceeded to rip out my IV, hobble into the bathroom on my walker (mind you, it's a premier no-no to get out of bed without a nurse by your side), strip, and "hop" into the shower.  That's when the pain hit me and I must have been complaining loudly, because the nurses burst into the room and when they saw me, said, "what do you think you're doing?"  I don't remember this, but I'm told that I replied, "I'm getting a shower so I can go and see my sister."  That's when the nurses moved me to a room beside the nursing station so they could keep an eye on me.


It took another 24 hours for the stuff (hydrocodone I think) to work its way out of my system.  Trying to eat under the influence was an adventure.  I'd get the fork full of eggs, or whatever the tasty morsel of the moment was, to my mouth and then would doze off only to awake and find the fork still sitting at the entrance, not even having gotten past my teeth.  At lunch, I managed to get food into my mouth but would forget to chew. My husband was there by that time and made it his job to remind me to put fork to mouth, put food in mouth, chew, and swallow.  This was not an automatic response on my part. He had to stay vigilant.


Now, it's been three weeks since my surgery and I'm just getting back to my studio for brief periods of time.  I have turned out a few pairs of resin earrings and have plans for some totally new work.  I'm in out-patient physical therapy and am working diligently to get back strength and flexibility.  This rehab stuff is like having a full time job.  Six weeks of PT should get me back to walking the dog and spending long hours in my studio.

For the time being, I'm designing and making a few pieces.  I've been juried in as a consignor at the new Franklin Street Arts Collaborative, called FRANK (with an upside-down "A") for short.  So, I want to have some new work to take to this new gallery by the end of February.  

I Think I Like Bronze Clay

My first batch of bronze clay pieces came out of my kiln a couple of days ago.  Since then, I've been working the pieces into jewelry and Christmas ornaments.  I've discovered that I can get stunning colors in the bronze (since none of the pieces emerged from the kiln with interesting colors) by torching the pieces just around the edges.  As I put my torch to the first piece, moving the flame in a circular motion around the piece but not directly on it, I watched with amazement as the piece transformed from a guinea hen to a peacock. Golds, purples, reds and blues started to emerge. Wow!  I'm hooked.  I like this stuff.  I'm gonna make more.

Working with Bronze Clay

I took a bronze clay workshop in beautiful Beaufort by the sea the weekend of October 24th.  In its raw state, bronze clay is icky.  It looks like brown poo and is dense and sticky.  Working with it was a bit like wrestling with gummy worms.  Anyway, I managed to use up half a package making pendants and earrings.  When they went into the kiln, no one could assure me how they would come out at the end.  Bronze clay is finicky.  It sometimes cracks in the kiln for unknown reasons and the colors you get can vary from dull rusty nail to rainbows.  Several pieces came out looking like they needed help in the polishing and burnishing department, but one piece was born with glorious colors and didn't need any make-up to enhance its beauty.

The workshop, with Janet Harriman, was informative and fun.  When a bunch of creative women get together it's going to be interesting, and this group was no exception.  We yakked and laughed and traded stories and tips while we worked.  I'm posting a photo of my piece with the best colors.  Some of the others worked out well, too, after some finishing.  And then there were a couple of duds.  Nevertheless, I was inspired enough to buy the activated charcoal, a firing pan and the few other things I'd need to begin working with the bronze clay as well as the fine silver.  Onward!

Chateau Dumas

Okay, I'm still getting used to this blogging business and I failed to include some photos of Chateau Dumas where I'll be teaching PMC next summer.  Let's see if I can get you some visuals.  Lizzie, who owns the chateau, has asked me to come back in September of next year to teach another week-long class.  I didn't hesitate to say yes!  Two trips to France in one year will be a new record.

Teaching in France Next Summer

Since I'm a dedicated Francophile, I'm over-the-moon excited about teaching a PMC (precious metal clay) master class at Chateau Dumas, a stunning, honest-to-goodness 18th century French chateau in my favorite area of France - the southwest, about an hour from Toulouse.  The class is scheduled for June 12-19.  I'll post photos soon.  In the meantime, if you'd like to see what it looks like, go to www.chateaudumas.net.

Show co-stars

To my left is Linda Carmel, a terrific painter, and to her left is Pringle Teetor, glassblower extraordinaire.

It was a rainy show

Thanks to those who turned out on a rainy Friday night for the opening of my show.  The rain kept some away, but those who came were surely hard core - in the best way.  The show runs through October 24th, so get on over to the Hillsborough Gallery of Arts before it's too late!