A few loose coins...

Happy New Year! My first AJE post of 2015 - and I have a few more thoughts on coins. Spare change so to speak, from my Boxing Day post. (And a shout out to the Canadian readers I may have neglected on the 26th...). 

Greco- Roman coins, Medieval coins... 

I wanted to take the coin idea into the studio - and show you a few pictures, a few ways that your local art jewelry designers have integrated coins... 

Lindsay sent me this - WOW! Tooled leather cab by her spouse, her beadwork, and coins! As fringe, as elements incorporated into the chain...

Lindsay again - she claims this is the limits of her metal skills. Coins drilled and domed as buttons. 

Earrings from Sue  - she is addicted to these beaded beads and I love them! What better way to use coins than as a personal, inexpensive, yet meaningful souvenir?! 

Barbara Bechtel of Second Surf makes these cheeky Penny charms. I love that Gandhi's quote ("Be the change you wish to see in the world.") meets Lincoln's visage. And I am a fan of word play as well. She recently posted a great video documenting her process - you can find it here. 

This one is mine - a relic from another life, its at least 20 years old. I enameled a British penny (unadulterated penny shown at right). It was a reminder of my college time spend living in London, and yes, it includes a sixpence as well. The myth/symbolist in me loves the sixpence: it bears the 4 plants representing the 4 nations in the UK. ( Tudor rose - England. Leek - Wales. Thistle - Scotland. Shamrock - N. Ireland) 

Since Boxing day - I have amassed a pile of coins on my work table. One made it into a finished piece - seen below. Its a franc, stamped for my friend Betsy. She lived in France, and had chosen "Balance" as her word for 2015! ( She hasn't seen it yet, so please don't tell her...LOL)

Do YOU have any spare change on your work table? How are you planning on incorporating coins into your work? Inquiring minds... 

A penny for your thoughts? Thoughts on coins...

Happy Boxing Day to our UK readers, team mates, and friends!

 (The exact etymology of the term "boxing day" is unclear. There are several competing theories, none of which is definitive. The European tradition, which has long included giving money and other gifts to those who were needy and in service positions, has been dated to the Middle Ages, but the exact origin is unknown. It is believed to be in reference to the Alms Box placed in places of worship to collect donations to the poor. Also, it may come from a custom in the late Roman/early Christian era, wherein metal boxes placed outside churches were used to collect special offerings tied to the Feast of Saint Stephen,which in the Western Church falls on the same day as Boxing Day.)

From Boxing Day to coins wasn't that far of a creative association if you think if the Medieval alms boxes. And It is most definitely coins that have inspired this post.

Examples of ancient coins, many of them Greek. 

I want to start with Niky Sayers of Silver Niknats - for she was the driving source of inspiration to me for this topic. We recently participated in the Beads of Courage Charm swap and Auction, which I know you heard about here. I received a coin "locket" made from a 40's era copper British farthing. (pictured below, canvas backdrop) It thrilled me no end. The bird is a wren - at times called "Jenny wren" and there are myriad folklore and tales associated with the bird... There is a garnet inside, a secret treasure. I love her use of coins, both her creative vision, and the recycling nature of the coins as material. And I admit to being an Anglophile - if you have seen any of my tiles and shrines you know they are inspired by myth and lore, mainly that of the UK, Ireland, etc. 

The six pence coin ( top left) pictures the four plants representing the UK: Tudor rose/England, thistle/Scotland, leek/Wales, Shamrock/N. Ireland.  Thanks to Niky for the use of her pix. 

So coins. Coins IN jewelry. Coins as material to make jewelry... not just a wonderful coin, prong set simply... on a chain. But more integrated... Here are my inspirations: 

Richard Salley. These older pieces of his show his mastery of mixing found objects, wire, metal. The union of quarter and a watch casing as the front of a hinged locket? Brilliant. Found washers, steel wire, visually compelling mechanisms that are simple and function flawlessly. 

Keith LoBue. Keith is a Stuffsmith, an artist working with all matter of materials and found objects to make wearable sculpture. This spinner ring of his showcases a three penny coin, and the patina of age  is gorgeous. 

Hairy Growler. Caroline, my fellow AJE member mentioned this UK artist to me... And his work is... well, just look! I am in love! His take on reworking older coins is beyond creative. I really appreciated the inclusion of the original coin in the images - to see King George and then the altered version really illustrates the amount of work carved/engraved into each piece. And of course - the moon hare is a favorite!!! 

Stacey Lee Webber. I had the good fortune to meet Stacey at the ACC Craft Show in Baltimore a year or so ago. It was so interesting to see these pieces in person! Taking a commonplace coin and elevating it, challenging our associations of a mundane object, given and used... now becoming a treasure, a work of art. Really interesting! 

I am inspired by these artists and more - coins are miniature works of art, designed and carved by artists whose names are not recorded for posterity... I find coins can be very evocative souvenirs of a place, a trip, a time. I plan a more hands on coin post in a few, when the new year has me back in my studio. 

I hope you are all enjoying the post holiday period! Have a merry holiday - wishing you all the best! 

The Price of Lampwork

A lampworking friend of mine was threatening to sell her torch yesterday. Why? Well...the answer is simple and it isn't. The simple part is that she hasn't had sales for a couple months and she needs the income.

The difficult part has to do with pricing. There are some lampworkers...and to be honest, other types of beadmakers, jewelry designers, and artisans in every medium, who are WAY undervaluing their work.

Places like Etsy are a great venue. However, each seller is competing with thousands of sellers in their category. Some sell to support themselves as their sole income. Some sell for fun. Most people fall somewhere in between. 

With so much competition, prices are dropping. With so many hobbyists trying to make a buck or two, prices are dropping. With people stressed out about not getting sales or views, prices are dropping. This hurts everyone. Especially those who aren't charging appropriately for their work. 

Let's do some simple math using this Nightmare Insomnia focal

-Minimum torch time to create: 1 hour (often more)

-Amount of time to remove bead from mandrel and clean: at least 5 minutes

-Amount of time to photograph, edit photos, and list: 30 minutes (when everything goes exactly as planned)

So as you can see, I'm in it for a MINIMUM of 1 hour 35 minutes. At $35 for this focal, that comes out to about $23.33/hour salary. 

However, the times I gave are minimums. It usually takes more than that. My "salary" does not include cost of materials:

-Glass

-Fine silver (99.9% silver) foil AND mesh was used in this bead

-electricity to run the oxygen concentrator, kiln, ventilation, lights, heat/AC, dremel, computer

-the gas to create the flame used to melt the glass

-cost to list the bead

-cost to sell the bead (Etsy and Paypal each take their piece of the pie)

-shipping materials

-free shipping if sent to the US or Canada

-business cards and inserts

-gas to drive to the Post Office if shipping out of United States

-wear and tear on expensive studio equipment

Listing all this here makes my $35 bead seem pretty darn inexpensive...

Even if someone is doing this for fun or to make a couple bucks here or there, the point is to make money. Not lose money. The fact is those who are selling their work at a negative value once time + cost of materials are taken into account, do not value their time, their money, or themselves enough to sell for an appropriate amount. 

This same lampworking friend mentioned a male family member telling her once that "any profession dominated by women will always be underpaid because women have no sense of the value of their time." 

That is just sad. If we don't value and protect our time and resources, no one else will either. 

Now go forth and show the world you value your time and work by pricing your creations appropriately!

-Jen Cameron

Glass Addictions