Had a Long Hiatus.

Coming back to my blog after almost a year, not easy.  So I'm going to make a quick summery of last year.

Summer was hard, I spent every weekday morning checking job sites and applying to jobs. Sometimes I checked in the evenings too. I had to drop a summer metals casting workshop cause I couldn't afford the materials.  Tried a couple festivals to sell items, pretty well flopped. I sold NOTHING at one of them.  Started my business, tried Artfire.  Art Fire went to a subscription that my shop didn't have the income to cover so I closed the shop in Oct.     In Aug I finally landed a Job, It was my first interview.   Full time  employment, I suddenly never saw my studio and became sick all time.   In Oct I became suddenly so ill after they installed new carpet in the building that I had to have a CT scan and multiple Dr. visits. Took well over a month to become healthy again. In the mean time I worked from home. Unfortunately due to circumstances, beyond my control, I was forced to resign from that position in Dec.  Nuff said about that epic learning experience.

Now I recently found new employment. It's right in my field of expertise.  Yes, the hours are less and so is the pay but I love this job, the co-workers, the customers and I have time to get my own stuff going in my studio!   Plus, I'm not sick all the time anymore.   I feel the depression finally going away and feeling my worth again.  My husband is also finally on first shift!   the past couple weeks have been spent moving my fiber studio and other fine arts things out of the upstairs as the bedroom is now all one room, upstairs.  The room previously housing the bed is becoming a cozy little fiber/craft studio.  I have a couple new book cases to help in all this re-organization of studio and living spaces too.  Some things went all the way to the basement studio, others to the fiber studio. I still have some things to sort out and put away, but I'm very excited over it all.  I'm finding things I've not seen in months!!! Cause they where stowed away in a bin or what not.   Woot. 

Moving on

With the new fiber studio I was able to quickly set up a small photo shoot and finally updated my WIP's in Ravelry. I also added a couple things to my stash.   Did that just a couple hours ago.. I'm on a roll!   I've also fairly well decided what I'm going to do for a dissertation project in Nerd Wars T4. I should still be in Team 1up. I didn't choose another for this upcoming round.   I'm thinking of doing the Aeolian Shawl by Elizabeth Freeman. I'm leaning towards using a skein of Vally Yarns alpaca silk I have that I need to over dye first. 

Last Tuesday Hilary (Hippie Penguin) and I made a recent podcast recording in my new fiber space,
Link to the Hippiepenguin site, the next recording should be next week if I'm not scheduled to work. Cross your fingers!   I'll see about cross posting the podcast here in the future when we cast.

~Coppermoth

Getting there, slowly but surely.

I have an unusually long-ish and odd to do list today, I'm sure you won't mind if I start with that so that I may clear my fluffy brain.
In no specific order: (edited to mark off what I was able to finish)
Poop scoop backyard
Cut open window
Install window screen in newly operable window.
De-contaminate tools used in pewter workshop.
Fold Laundry
Make Pork-chops and potatoes
Sort Findings
Wash the car
Give Milly a bath
Debate my sanity
Plan out creations to make
Make some said creations

I would like to be able to get all of that done today. The last two on the list are perpetual though and could become list's of there own.

I took a 3 day intensive workshop over the weekend with Fred Fenster on Pewtersmithing. It was my second time in this workshop and so I was left to tinker somewhat on my own.  I can't work with the stuff in my own studio as pewter contaminates other fine metals. It has such a low melting point that if a spec of it gets on the copper, brass, or silver it would melt a black hole them. So, until I can make a second dedicated space n tools I won't work in it at home.  Anyways, I made a pewter tea strainer. I designed it to sit on top of a cup for when you pour the tea in containing loose leaves. The basket is woven.  I was told that I should try to challenge my self and so I did. Setting in that thin woven basket was a pain, but I did it. The ring on the back is soldered onto the basket, the rest is then fused together. Fusing is welding, except in pewter it's done at a very low temp. Just under 500 degrees Fahrenheit. So I basically melted it together with more pewter.

I also recently made a pair of hand cut and hammered copper earrings.

I'm working on finishing two pairs of woven earrings at the moment. One pair is fine silver and the other pair is green coated copper. Both woven pairs are already claimed work.

At the beginning of the month I had made and donated a pair of fine silver earrings for an art fundraising auction. Unfortunately the auction didn't get the patrons it needed for such. Saturday the earrings were returned to me.  They are titled "Kibou", meaning Hope in Japanese. The fundraiser had been specifically for tsunami relief and was put on by the local Japanese Saturday school here at the University.

I'm also trying to get ready for my first Art Festival, It's The Arts on Main in Kendalville and only one day. I have one month. Whew, will see. I'm mostly interested in seeing how I set up and things go for me. I can't think that I can manage to make a lot of things to actually sell in such short time. Most artist spend the winter months making stock for the summer festivals, with having been in school I didn't have that opportunity. This will mostly be a chance for me to just show my work. Maybe get a commission.

Fiber Basket


I've not really finished in of my fluffy stuff. I'm still working on a sockhead hat, an ishbel shawl, and the plain brown socks.  The stripy scarf, lattice cable hat, and pi blanket are all hibernating. I'm starting to pick the knitting back up on Thursday evenings when I go to knit with my friend. I barely knit at all the last semester of school. I simply did not have the time!   I can say though that this was TOTALLY worth taking up my knitting and social time!  No if ands or buts about it. 

I can now proudly say that I hold a B.F.A in metal smithing from Indiana University. Go me!