New photos and new work posted!

New photos have been taken, and new work is currently being posted to our shop!  Here's a preview of some new work from Elaine, and a link to Alison's blog where she has posted updates and photos of her new work!

Another update from Alison...

I've got yet another update on what I've been up to at my blog, along with a preview of what I'm going to be working on next!

Friday's pendant, now with stones set!

Part two of "What Alison's Doing Now" at my blog here.  If you want to see it in person, come to the Art Bazaar in Westville, New Haven on Sunday.  We'll be there!

What Alison is working on now

I have posted an update on my current project at my personal blog, Whatever It Needs To Be.  Check back on Tuesday for the finished pendant - assuming nothing goes drastically wrong  :)

First post of September on Alison's blog

I've posed a new entry On Perfectionism on my personal blog.  Sometimes doing it "right" is too much of a good thing!

Alison's Artist's Statement

I'm a very process-oriented person. What I do is very much about the journey rather than the destination. While I love color, and I often look to the natural world when I want to include representative imagery in my art, the ideas that drive me are much more likely to revolve around technique. I look at a new technique and think about the different shapes I might make using that technique, or how those shapes would fit with the lines of a technique I already know.

I love playing with the plasticity of metal. It fascinates me how something so hard can be transformed into such fluid shapes with the correct application of force in just the right places. I need to actually change the shape of what I'm working with for me to feel like I've really created something. All my metalwork starts with plain sheet, wire and tubing. I avoid using mass-produced components in my metalwork as much as possible, preferring to make my own clasps, earwires, etc.

The more “from scratch” a piece is the more “mine” it feels. I am still exploring various techniques to see which ones will speak to me. It is definitely a work in progress, and I expect my work to evolve accordingly, as I refine my style.

Westville Art Bazaar

Alison and I participated in the new Westville Art Bazaar on Saturday, and it was a blast. The Farmer's Market in the park across the street was fabulous. Ironically, my favorite vendor was the bakery - I bought myself an awesome tomato 'tart' for lunch, and some chocolate cherry bread to bring home Yummy! They also had vendors with fresh herbs, corn on the cob, zucchini and summer squash, and lots more, some of which I'd never even heard of before! There were only 3 vendors participating in the Art Bazaar, but they were really great. One was another jeweler, like us, although her jewelry was very different from ours, so there wasn't really any competition. There was also and artist doing caricatures. And of course, the art galleries were both open, Jennifer Lane and Hungry Eye. The day started out a little muggy, but in the afternoon, the sun came out and it was absolutely gorgeous! It was a great day. We plan to go back and exhibit again on August 9th. I'm looking forward to it!

Newington Extravaganza

The fair in Newington last Saturday went well. Although we only made a few sales, we generated a lot of interest in our work and handed out a lot of business cards. And it's always great to see what people look at and what doesn't get as much attention. I love feedback! It keeps me on track with what customers want.

This Sunday, 7/26, Alison and I are participating in the Art Bazaar on West Rock Avenue (corner of West Rock and Whalley Ave in New Haven, CT) across from the Farmer's Market in the park, from 11 am - 2 pm. This is the second week of the Bazaar, but our first time participating, although I did walk down last Sunday to check it out, and attended some wonderful art gallery show openings as well, which had been scheduled to coincide with the first Bazaar of the season. I really love New Haven - it's art galleries, museums, quaint shops, theaters, restaurants with international cuisine - I may have been born a small town girl, but I'm definitely a city woman!

If you're looking for something fun to do this Sunday, come and check out our booth at the Art Bazaar! We'd love to see you there! You can peruse wonderful artwork and one of a kind crafts, then cross the street and buy fresh, local fruits and veggies. What a great way to spend an afternoon!

A New Project!

I'm so excited about a new commission I recently got for bridesmaids' jewelry! I just had a phone consultation w/ the bride, and she loved my ideas (yay!). We'll be meeting later this week so I can show her examples of what we discussed, and she will make final decisions then. I'm going w/ freshwater pearls, as per the bride's request. they'll be evenly spaced on a beautiful, delicate sterling silver chain. Since the bridesmaid dresses have a slightly sweetheart shape to the neckline, a dangle would be best, so my idea is to do it in a sort of lariat style, so that the 2 dangling ends could be adjustable by each bridesmaid to her taste and body type. I would do a matching, short, dangle earring, using the same chain, w/ a post instead of an ear wire - that way, there'll be no lost earrings when the ladies are dancing the night away! The pearls will be accented by crystal clear swarovsky bicones. It's going to be gorgeous!

New Jewelry Now Available!

It's always so exciting when new work is finished, photographed, and uploaded onto the website for our customers to look at. Alison has been hard at work photographing both her new work and mine, and now she's finished posting it all to our website on Etsy. Take a look!

http://www.daisycatjewelry.etsy.com

Let us know what you think! And remember, we do custom work, too.

Earring Frenzy

I was suddenly inspired this weekend to make a bunch of new earrings, and I'm very pleased with how they came out. I finally used some tiny lampwork beads I've had for a long time. The beads are turquoise in color, with black swirling through them, and accented with silver droplets. I matched them with some swarovsky crystal (my fav) in jet, and some bali style spacers. They're simple, but pretty. I also used some red-dyed coin pearls that I LOVE for another pair of earrings, and I started a pair of dangle earrings with yellow flower beads that I can't wait to finish. I need to get to my favorite bead store, The Rock Garden, to pick up some more jump rings before finishing them.

These are just some of the new earrings I've been making! Usually, I make necklaces first and create earrings to match. I think I've been ignoring how important earrings are on their own; not just as an accent to necklaces and bracelets. Earrings were the first jewelry I started making when I began beading nearly 20 years ago, and earrings are the jewelry I am most likely to wear for a special occasion. So I'm going with the flow and expect to have a bunch of new earrings to post on our website soon.

Speaking of which, Alison tells me she is almost finished photographing all the new jewelry I gave her for the website last month, as well as some new sterling silver work of hers, both of which will finally be available on our website in the next few days or so. I can't wait!

Well, it's back to the beading board for me. I wonder what I'll feel like creating today?

Artwalk Update

The Artwalk was a mild success. We didn't do quite as much business as we have in the previous 3 years we've done it, but we did well, and had a lot of positive feedback on our work, including some return customers. It's always wonderful to see friendly, familiar faces coming back to see us year after year! Getting face-to-face feedback from customers, seeing what they like and don't like, what they buy and don't buy, is one of the two primary reasons for doing a show. The other reason is to get our name out there, to advertise our work. I gave out a LOT of business cards to customers at the Artwalk who were interested in seeing more of our work. It's great to know that people like what they see!

We are hoping to do another show in mid-July, in Newington, CT. We'll be putting our application together over the next couple of weeks, so anyone interested who lives in that area will be able to come on by and see our work in person. We'll make an announcement as soon as we have the details.

Meanwhile, we have new jewelry to show you, which Alison is photographing for our etsy shop now. We'll let you know as soon as it's available.

Thanks for stopping by!

Elaine

Westville Artwalk Festival May 9, 2009

The 12th Annual Westville Artwalk Festival is this Sat., 5/9/09. Alison and I will be there for the 4th year, and we are very excited about this year's Festival. We have new work that we can't wait to show you! Also, they are expanding the Artist's Corridor this year - what a great place to purchase a Mother's Day gift! The Artist's Corridor starts @ 11 am and doesn't end until 5 pm, so there's plenty of time to window shop all the fabulous booths and displays. In addition to the Corridor, there will be lots of live music and shows, including child-friendly activities and even professional puppeteers!

For more information on the music, shows and activities, check out the Artwalk website,

www.westvillect.org/artwalk2009


Directions:
From Rt. 15 (north or south) take exit 59. At end of ramp take right –follow Whalley Ave. about 1.3 miles until you get to the village. Show will be on your right (next to Delaney’s Restaurant),
From I-95 (N & S) take downtown New Haven exit (Rt. 34) to Ella Grasso Boulevard. Take right; go straight for 1 mile to Whalley Ave. Take left; follow Whalley Ave. about 1 mile. Show will be on your left.
From I-91: Exit 1 downtown New Haven. Follow same as I-95 directions.