Treasury Thursday - 5 Boroughs Team Gives Back

My 5 Boroughs Team buddies and I are selling for Japan relief.  By purchasing the items in these treasuries, you can help us donate much needed money to several charities involved in the effort to help Japan through an increasingly terrible tragedy.  Some of our members have already donated part if not all of their revenue from multiple items in their shops.  Please help us give more. We thank you.

Studio Tour...Sort Of

I live in New York City.  This...

The final project in Drawing I was to sketch a room as viewed from another. 

is my apartment, well part of it anyway.  I won't pretend that I am familiar with square footages.  What's missing from this view of my "living room" from my bedroom is about one third of the couch and a 2ft wide end table to left (the television fits in some where).  To the right of the chair, is my husband's makeshift music studio (yes, two creatives live here), a very tiny kitchen area, and the bathroom.  I have turned the few leftover corners into my work space.

It's not normally this neat!

My flex shaft is drilled into what used to be a sewing machine table (yes, I used to have one).

Standard plastic trays for beads and components.

I converted a jewelry display tray into a tray for my hand tools!

These fabric trays were my attempt at "branding."

What's not pictured, is my set up for taking shop photos , but it's not that interesting a space (and a girl needs to retain some mystery)! By the way, that's a copy of Erica Domesek's P.S. I Made This on my work table.  She has some great projects for sprucing up household items.  Anyway, how have others of you carved out a work area in a small living space?

S is for Seeing It Through

Blogging for me, right now, is like breaking in a new pair of shoes.  They didn't hurt when I tried them on in the store, prancing in front of the foot mirror while tilting my ankle just so.  In fact, I rushed home and worked to incorporate them into my wardrobe - pants, skirts, dresses - to see just how great they would look with everything.  They didn't even hurt the first time I wore them.  But inevitably, my small toe would feel the pinch that tells me this is going to be work.

That brings me to the subject of today's post, "seeing it through".  The above picture is of a Superman emblem belt buckle I made (for my husband) as a student in the FIT program I mentioned in early post.  Most of my classmates had some kind of metalsmith experience, and all, it seemed, had mastered the art of soldering - one of the techniques I relied on to make said belt buckle.  Though we had to take a basic soldering class in our first semester, I just didn't get it.  Gas, oxygen, flux, solder - it just went over my head.  My instructor was a very accomplished artisan in his own right and didn't have time to wait for me to get it, so I coasted by on my charm and avoided soldering from them on. Then this...

Treasury Thursday

My time as 5 Boroughs Etsy Team's "Teamie of the Week" came to an end yesterday.  Above, are a few of the wonderful treasuries my teammates created to highlight my (and others') shop.  This week, cutiepie company, which sells adorable screen-printed greeting cards, journals, and other paper goods, is in the hot seat (they, and other 5 Boroughs shops, are also donating the proceeds from several items to Japan relief).  I can't resist featuring this shop in my treasuries so I am thrilled.  Here are just two...

Writing What I know - The Truth About Fires

As I alluded in Monday's post, I have a habit of quitting things - jobs, art programs, hobbies - before their true benefits have revealed themselves (or maybe just when their consequences are revealed).  I always start things with excitement and a focused commitment.  Inevitably, though, I become bored? Disillusioned? Disappointed?

After a very recent string of bad decisions and even worse luck (and because I'm big on introspection), I started wondering where and how my tendency to quit began.  How did this fatal flaw develop?  What is its origin?  Could I recall the very first incident of my quitting habit, and therefore, figure out a way to stop myself from ever doing it again?  These questions are the foundation for my story, The Truth About Fires

While the story has some autobiographical elements, it is a work of fiction.  Since I am obeying that familiar advice to writers, I rely on my experiences to fuel my story ideas.  So far, I haven't quit ;-)

I'm Not an Intellectual But...

In one of my inaugural week posts, I admitted that I am an art school dropout.  In fact, I dropped out in my final semester (fodder for another post?).  In that same post,  I suggested that all was not lost because I have both undergraduate and graduate degrees in English.  While I love making jewelry, my first creative dream was to be a writer (isn't that true for every English major?).  In grad school, I started out as a creative writing major (poetry) but quickly made the switch to literature when I found out how soon the creative writing concentration would be over (yes, there's a pattern; more on that later).

Anyway, the quote I use in my blog description is from Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston.  This is my favorite book in the whole wide world and the subject (along with Corregidora by Gayle Jones) of my Master's Thesis.  I received my MA in 2002 so why am I bringing this up?  Well, I've started reading Wench, the debut novel by Dolen Perkins-Valdez, who is primarily a short story writer and essayist.  Though I am not an intellectual, I am very passionate about African American history and literature, and I am intrigued by Ms. Perkins-Valdez's fictional tale of a real-life summer resort in Ohio where southern slave owners brought their slave mistresses on vacation (I am also impressed with her transition from short story to novel and wonder if some day I may do the same thing :-)  Also, a lot of the issues Perkins-Valdez deals with in her novel - slavery, love, and identity - are themes I deal with in the aforementioned thesis.  Since my thesis is the most significant piece of writing I've ever done (and one of my greatest accomplishments), I want to share just a bit of it, my conclusion, to give an impression of my interests and concerns at the time (and yeah to show off a little :-)

Teamie of the Week

It's Thursday, and my Internet connection has found itself again.  I've decided to use today and every Thursday hereafter to showcase the Etsy treasury.  Anyone who knows anything about Etsy knows about the very popular and coveted Front Page Treasury, a beautiful arrangement of sixteen items from sixteen different shops that sets a mood for the shopper.  Getting to the front page means increased visibility (and possible sales) for the creator of the treasury and for those featured.  Recently, the Etsy admins have made it possible for everyone, even shoppers, to make treasuries.  Though I have yet to make it to the front page as either a curator or as one of the sixteen features, I find that the process of making treasuries is a great creative activity.  There are some really talented artists and creators on Etsy, and it's really great to build a story or mood with their seemingly unrelated items. 

While I will be sharing the treasuries that I make, I want to start this installment of Treasury Thursday with a few treasuries made by members of the 5 Boroughs Team, a group of artists and designers who, like me, live in New York City.  I'm involved with a few teams on Etsy whose goals are to make treasuries, support team member shops, and increase sales, but I feel a greater since of commitment and genuineness from the 5Bs that I don't feel from the others.  Besides, I'm the "Teamie of the Week", which means my jewelry will be featured in a lot of team treasuries for the week (everyone will have the chance to be "teamie of the week" and as a team member you don't have to feature the "teamie" in your treasuries, but it's nice to)  So far, all the treasuries are great

Me, My Process, and I.

Order

Self-Assurance

This was meant to be a Tuesday post, but my Internet connection was literally on hiatus for the entire day (I guess that makes me official) so hello Wednesday.  Going forward, I'm thinking of designating Tuesday as my day to comment on pop culture issues that viscerally impact me (i.e, "The Black Allure" spread in Italian Vogue), but, since this is my inaugural week, I wanted the "this is me" vibe established in my first post to carry over.  The two above pics are the latest additions to my new Tyramade to Order collection, which features hand cut brass charms, vintage chain, and vintage beads.  Because the charms are 1)based on ancient West African symbols, called Adinkra, used for a variety of ceremonial and decorative purposes and 2)cut from a solid sheet of brass by me, I thought it would be a good idea to talk about when and where this collection enters...

Late Bloomings and New Beginnings

I am a late bloomer.  Regardless of the situation, I always seem to catch on to things after everyone else has moved on to the next thing.  This blog is no exception.  Though I've been a Blogspot member since 2007 (a year or so after I opened my Etsy shop), this is my first attempt at creating a viable blog.  By now, there are too many blogs to follow at once, and most people have been at it long enough to be considered "experts" in their chosen blog category.  At any rate, here I am!  Why now?  Well, about a year ago (after suffering a few hardships) I created the inspiration board, pictured above, featuring some things that I wanted to add to my life - comfort, nature, family.  Then I folded it up and stuffed in my bookcase.  Recently, I decided to dust it off and posted it up in my "studio" area to encourage myself as I work towards growing my jewelry business in this economy.  No sooner had I done that when I saw this post What's In Your Box on Fly, a blog that I truly read every day (and if you don't yet, you should).  Andrea Pippins does a great job of sharing bits of her personal experience, bits of her work, and bits of the things she likes in a way that is authentic and heartfelt.  So, I thought, "If she can do it, then so can I."  Without further ado, here's what's in my box: