I am excited to announce that my jewelry will be featured in the October edition of Richmond Magazine!!!

After being discovered at a local art event, I was interviewed by an exceptionally sweet Style Editor/Writer. Excerpts from my interview, along with photographs of my newest collections will receive a full-page publication in October’s Style section.

For a sneak peak at my latest collections, I hope you will stop by my booth at one of these upcoming shows:

Richmond, VA
Arts Around the Lake – on the campus of the University of Richmond (booth #8)
Sunday, September 21, 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Virginia Beach, VA
Neptune Festival – 17th through 31st Streets on the Virginia Beach Boardwalk (booth #2627)
Friday, September 26, noon to 7:00 p.m.
Saturday, September 27, 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Sunday, September 28, 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

Bethesda, MD
Bethesda Artist Market - in Bethesda Place Plaza
Saturday, October 11
10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

If you’re anything like me, then you often find yourself foraging around on your workbench for a piece of solder, only to discover that once you find it, you can’t remember whether it is hard, medium, or easy solder. I try to use the bending method to mark my wire solder once I cut a few inches off from the spool. I loop it like a lowercase ‘e’ for easy. Give it a hard right-angle bend for hard. And bend it twice for medium. I must admit, though, that sometimes this bending method takes more time than I am willing to commit to marking my solder.

So when I found this tip in Contenti’s newsletter, I was quite excited, because it is faster and more practical than my current bending methods. If you use sheet or wire solder, color code it with a Sharpie marking pen. Use red for hard, blue for medium, and green for easy. That way, if you find stray solder snipets on your desk or floor, with a quick glance you’ll know exactly what you have by the color. It also makes it easier to put different types on your solder station, so you don’t have to stop each time to change solders.

To find more helpful tips and tricks, visit Contenti’s webiste here.

Thursday, July 3 through Sunday, Aug. 10, 2008

Gallery 1: art6 poets. Gallery 2: painting, prints, photography, drawing, and sculpture.

Location: 6 East Broad Street, Richmond, Virginia 23219
Phone: (804) 343-1406
Gallery hours: Thursday-Sunday, 12 to 4 p.m.

Make a trip to downtown Richmond and be sure to stop by the dynamic and ecclectic members’ exhibition this month. We will have a second opening on Friday, August 1, from 6 - 10 p.m.

I am showing two abstract, experimental paintings in this exhibition. The paintings are composed of oil on canvas and mixed media. I used my silver and copper metal filings in both pieces, which creates an interesting texture as well as a glitter effect. One piece already sold on the first opening night!

Be sure to check out the art6 calendar for special events, musical performances, and even art workshops!

I’ll be travelling to Bethesda, MD this weekend to exhibit in the Bethesda Artist Market located in downtown Bethesda Plaza. It looks like the weather is supposed to be pretty nice (well, nice for these parts in the middle of July, anyway). If you are in the area, please stop by and visit. I have a wonderful corner location in front of the fountain. You can’t miss me!

I’ll be showing two new lines of work. One is called the “Recycled Bits Collection” and it is composed of recycled silver. You can get a sneak preview on my Etsy webstore.

I’m still working on a clever name for the other new line, which has a mod look and incorporates found organic materials, such as birch bark, flower petals, dried leaves, and even the shells of insects, which are forever sealed behind clear, epoxy resin. I can’t wait for this line to debut on the internet!

The Artist Market takes place on Saturday, July 12, from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. If you’re in the area, stop in and check it out! Bethesda is only about 20 minutes from downtown D.C.

At long last Spring has made her great debut - tender flowers poking through the damp earth. My azaelas are ablaze with color and the catepillars are wriggling higher and higher into the trees. In the words of Robin Williams: “Spring is nature’s way of saying, “Let’s party!”

Come party with me this weekend at ARTS IN THE PARK at Byrd Park in Richmond, Virginia. I’ll be exhibiting an array of new designs at booth #386. The event is free and open to the public and takes place rain or shine on Saturday, May 3, from 11 - 6 and Sunday, May 4, from 11 - 5.

For directions and more info, visit this site: http://www.richmondartsinthepark.com/

Having sat as a member on the jury for two seasons of the annual Mother’s day weekend Art Fair at Laumeier Sculpture Park in St. Louis, I understand the importance of a strong booth slide. A highly competitive juried show, the Art Fair at Laumeier receives over 1,000 applications, of which only 150 are selected each year to participate. The most competitive categories are routinely Jewelry and Ceramics. Oftentimes when deciding between two or more artists who have work of comparable quality, the determining factor comes down to the booth slide. Which artist has a more professional, cohesive booth display?

I’ve been displaying and selling my work at both juried and non-juried art festivals for a decade and I have come a long way in terms on my own booth display. It has been a constant process of refinement, however, not-to-mention, that as my body of work changes, so does the way that I’d like to showcase it.

Above is a photo of the most recent version of my booth display, taken during the Powhatan Festival of the Grape 2007. It was autumn, so I selected natural and autumnal colors and even used some colorful, fallen leaves in my merchandising. Draping pendants or earrings on the leaves just made the work POP!

As I stated before, my booth display has been a constant process of refinement, one that I’m still learning to perfect. That said, I thank you in advance for feedback, display suggestions, tips, or tricks that you’d like to share.

From mixed metals to mixed materials, my inspirations are constantly evolving. I have been finding myself drawn to natural fiber beads lately. I found these great donut-shaped beads, hand wrapped in dyed hemp, from my local bead store, from which I created a new line of whimsical, dangly earrings, called, you guessed it, “Fruit Loops”. Selling at $22 a pair, you can find them on my shop at Etsy.

Another discovery during my hunt for inspiration and excitement, came in the form of a 20 mm hand crocheted bead! These, too, insisted on the formation of a brand new line of jewelry aptly named, “The Crocheted Ornament” line. This line comes in several styles and colors, most of which are available at my Etsy shop, as well.

I didn’t really need another reason to celebrate this Holiday season…but I got one anyway!

If you happen to come across a copy of 500 Metal Vessels by Lark Books in your local Borders Books or Barnes & Noble, be sure to check out page 360. Want to know why? Because I’m in it!

My copper vessel, The Five Elements, was among the 500 vessels selected for inclusion by renowned metalsmith, Fred Fenster. You can purchase this beautiful, inspirational, full-color book at a great price from Contenti. Check it out.

In honor of the publication (my first, for the record) I’m offering a great Holiday Special!

Spend $65 or more (before shipping) in either of my online shops (www.dreamspiralart.etsy.com or www.dreamspiralart.com) and receive a free pair of Crazy Wire Ball Earrings (a $19 to $22 value)! These have been one of my most popular designs for years and they would make a fantastic gift!

Be sure to specify the color you want (Silver, Gold, or Silver with Gold) in the note to seller during check-out or just send me an email to let me know. Visit my ETSY shop to see photos of the three options.

Offer ends December 15 th.

The annual Cash and Carry Holiday Show takes place at the Lynchburg Academy of Fine Arts located at 600 Main St, Lynchburg, VA 24504. The show will take place from December 7 - 28, 2007 (the preview begins in the Lobby of the Arts & Education Building on Novmeber 20). Artwork from every medium imaginable will be juried in to this year’s show. I have been selected to submit work for this event. See my latest musings in metal and check out this special holiday event. For more information, please contact the Lynchburg Academy of Fine Arts.

As a member of art6 Gallery, located in Downtown Richmond, VA, I invite you to support a fundraising event to benefit art6 and Artspace through the purchase of tickets to the Gala Premiere of ThinkSmall4, the4th Biennial International Miniature Invitational Exhibition of art opening simultaneously at art6 and Artspace November 2nd 2007.

The ThinkSmall Gala Premier (sneak-peak opening) will take place November 1st, the night before this hugely popular exhibit opens to the public. Tickets are $25 each in advance, $30 at the door and include the following:

- Shuttle service between venues;
- Seated performances by eighth blackbird at art6 and Northside Consort at Artspace;
- a complimentary drink at each venue;
- mini-appetizers from great local area restaurants including Bistro Twenty Seven, Buffalo Wild Wings, Cafe Olé, Chez Foushee, City Ice, Crossroads Coffee and Ice Cream, Comedy Sportz, Lift, Kuba Kuba, Malabar, Ma-musa, Mekong, Montana Gold Bread Co., Nile, Popkins Tavern, Rostov’s Coffee & Tea and Sammy’s Bakery.

The ThinkSmall Gala Premier will take place from 7 – 10 pm; there is ample free parking at Artspace, Plant Zero, Zero East 4th Street.

Please contact me to purchase tickets or call art6 gallery at 804.343.1406 to make an advance reservation.

Thank you: we sincerely appreciate your consideration and support of our efforts to keep art and culture alive in Downtown Richmond, VA!