I was inspired a while back to make a bead based on this photo by Carol Dean Sharpe:
To see the result, you will have to visit my blog (linked below).
If you need help figuring out how to link up, let me know and I will try to help.
Monday, April 30, 2012
Inspired by...
Show us what you have been inspired by lately by linking up below.
I was inspired a while back to make a bead based on this photo by Carol Dean Sharpe:
To see the result, you will have to visit my blog (linked below).
If you need help figuring out how to link up, let me know and I will try to help.
I was inspired a while back to make a bead based on this photo by Carol Dean Sharpe:
To see the result, you will have to visit my blog (linked below).
If you need help figuring out how to link up, let me know and I will try to help.
Sunday, April 29, 2012
Art Jewelry Elements Eye Candy
 |
| Crazy Cool Red Root Talisman beads by LoriLochner |
 |
| Red Geranium Polymer beads by tooaquarius |
 |
| Red Gauguin Polymer Doughnut by ArtyBecca |
 |
| Red Rustic Ceramic Rounds by BackBayPottery |
 |
| Red Lampwork Glass with Metalic Scroll by PomegranateGlass |
 |
| Handmade Recycled Glass Beads by GeographicFormations |
 |
| Red Droplet Headpins by NadinArtGlass |
 |
| How about some stunning Silk Sari Ribbon to put it all together by designtalentedone |
Friday, April 27, 2012
Getting Published
I'm in St. Pete trying to get my shop set up. In all of the comings and goings, I left my laptop at my daughter's house last night! Talk about having a hand tied behind your back! During my internet meanderings, I visited my Amazon.com page. In addition to my book, this is what I found ...
They've broken the book down into two separate Kindle editions! Those guys at Amazon and North Light sure are clever! I thought this would be a perfect lead-in to a conversation with you about how to get published. Let's approach a magazine editor.
We're going to start with the premise that magazine editors are always looking for new work, new artists, new ways to look at tried-and-true techniques. I know you fall in there somewhere!
Next, you need good photographs of your work. If you don't think that you can produce the best photographs, ask a friend to help. This is THE most important part ... well, besides the work. :-) You don't have to reinvent the wheel with your work. You just need to present an image to the magazine editor that does your work justice ... and I wouldn't necessarily wait until submission deadlines either. Actually, it might be better not to.
After you've established which magazine would be the proper fit for your work, send a general inquiry to the editor with an attached jpeg image of your work. The image can be at 72 dpi, because that's the maximum resolution of our computer monitors. If your work is accepted, and we know it will be, they'll take the "beauty shots" for the magazine, so don't worry about that part. Your inquiry could be something like this:
They've broken the book down into two separate Kindle editions! Those guys at Amazon and North Light sure are clever! I thought this would be a perfect lead-in to a conversation with you about how to get published. Let's approach a magazine editor.
We're going to start with the premise that magazine editors are always looking for new work, new artists, new ways to look at tried-and-true techniques. I know you fall in there somewhere!
Next, you need good photographs of your work. If you don't think that you can produce the best photographs, ask a friend to help. This is THE most important part ... well, besides the work. :-) You don't have to reinvent the wheel with your work. You just need to present an image to the magazine editor that does your work justice ... and I wouldn't necessarily wait until submission deadlines either. Actually, it might be better not to.
After you've established which magazine would be the proper fit for your work, send a general inquiry to the editor with an attached jpeg image of your work. The image can be at 72 dpi, because that's the maximum resolution of our computer monitors. If your work is accepted, and we know it will be, they'll take the "beauty shots" for the magazine, so don't worry about that part. Your inquiry could be something like this:
Hi Sally, My name is Susie Q and I make beautiful bracelets from hand-tinted Cheerios. The attached image of my bracelet, "Bobblekins," shows the varied colors that can be achieved through this fun, but somewhat tricky technique. I'd love to explain to your readers how I apply the tinting liquid to the Cheerios, while keeping them intact, because we know they want to melt when they get wet! Should you be interested in this technique for your magazine, I can provide earrings and a necklace as further submissions. Looking forward to hearing from you. Susie QNow, wasn't that easy! Just make sure the piece is beautifully executed ... no stray wires ... that you submit great photos ... and create a simple introductory email that explains your idea so that the editor can understand your approach to the project. That's it!
Thursday, April 26, 2012
Simple and FREE method for Selling More at Art Shows
As I was loading up my truck to set up for a show I'm doing tomorrow, I was thinking about the last time I did this particular show a few years ago. Several of my booth neighbors complained so much about not selling much. Blah Blah Blah.(I don't tolerate complaining very well. From anyone. Myself included).
Artisans who do shows spend so much time building inventory, planning their booths, getting their business cards/banners/brochures designed and printed, and everything looks so wonderful and professional. Why wouldn't someone buy from them?
If it's a man, they often like to hear technical details about your products. If a man touches one of my chainmaille pieces, I will explain briefly that I open and close all those links by hand and weave them into that pattern.
Is there a certain amount of acting involved with the constant standing, smiling, small talk, etc? You betcha! I get tired just like anyone else. However, it doesn't matter if I am exhausted or not. I maintain that same level of pep, friendliness, and customer service until it is time to pack up and leave.
Next week I will discuss how to handle criticism gracefully while selling at art shows.
 |
| Necklace and lampwork designed by Jennifer Cameron, resin pendant by Jade Scott. |
Artisans who do shows spend so much time building inventory, planning their booths, getting their business cards/banners/brochures designed and printed, and everything looks so wonderful and professional. Why wouldn't someone buy from them?
I'll tell you why. If you do shows or want to start doing shows, this secret I'm about to share with you makes all the difference in the world. And it costs exactly $0 to implement. Pay very close attention. Take notes to help you remember.
 |
| Aladdin's Lamp earrings designed by Kristi Bowman. |
The biggest thing you can do at shows to help sales is to stand up (I stand the entire day unless there is NO ONE around), SMILE at people who walk into your booth, or even the graze the opening of your booth. Then GREET them. Say hello, ask how they are liking the "xyz" show so far (you may get valuable info just from this casual question). If they commit to coming in and looking at my jewelry, I will tell them I make all the glass beads in my pieces using a torch and a rod of glass.
If it's a woman and maybe she's wearing a gorgeous scarf or something, complement it. Complementing accessories, hair, whatever, will tell the potential customer you recognize they are more than just a body hopefully carrying a wad of money to buy your stuff. It will also help you remember them if they come back to your booth later.
If it's a woman and maybe she's wearing a gorgeous scarf or something, complement it. Complementing accessories, hair, whatever, will tell the potential customer you recognize they are more than just a body hopefully carrying a wad of money to buy your stuff. It will also help you remember them if they come back to your booth later.
 |
| Copper ring designed by Melinda Orr |
I have been to too many artist booths where the artist is sitting, practically hiding from view or maybe in view, but practically scowling. If an artist stares at me without smiling or chatting, I'm outta there. I don't care what they are selling. Sometimes, if I am feeling particularly ornery, I will look at everything, touch everything, try stuff on, just to see if they respond to very clear interest in their product. The answer, sadly, is no. They just sit there. Not cool.
 |
| Mystic Raven Necklace by Karen Totten |
Is there a certain amount of acting involved with the constant standing, smiling, small talk, etc? You betcha! I get tired just like anyone else. However, it doesn't matter if I am exhausted or not. I maintain that same level of pep, friendliness, and customer service until it is time to pack up and leave.
 |
| Alexis Necklace by Barbara Lewis |
Next week I will discuss how to handle criticism gracefully while selling at art shows.
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Let's talk Patina
pat·i·na/pəˈtēnə/
| Noun: |
|
There is just something so gratifying about patina.
I am always amazed what mother nature can achieve ~
My goal is to reproduce, enhance and enjoy....
Looking at it draws you in and you want to know more.
What's the story behind it?
It's romantic...
It's wondrous...
It's mysterious....
Today I wanted to share some of my favorite results, my inspiration & through the coming months, take you on a journey of understanding patina and achieving unique results.
My biggest inspiration is from Jana Scott in State College, PA.
She created an extensive photography collection around patina and rust.
Once I saw her work...
I was totally hooked and began my own personal journey in patina ~
I hope you'll join me in trials and tests as I forge ahead!
Melinda Orr
Monday, April 23, 2012
Inspired by...
The winner of the giveaway for Irina's Inspirations for Jewelry
is DW of Lamplight Crafts. When I clicked through her link, I noticed she only has 7 followers (now 8 since I joined). If you feel so inclined, stop by her blog for a moment, maybe make a comment, and join her Google Friend Connect. I am sure you would make her day that much brighter. And DW, please email me at jennifer.glassaddictions @ gmail.com (remove spaces).Now, onto what this "inspired by" post is all about. We thought it would be a great way to stretch ourselves creatively if each week we shared something that has inspired our work. Maybe it was a photo, a song, a mood, a component, or a color.
Now before you get all stressed out about how you are going to manage to share something new every single week...the answer is, you don't. You can share things you've made in the past and share the story of how it was inspired and the process you went through to arrive at it. Your story might help spark someone else's "ah ha!" moment or help them look for inspiration in places they never considered.
That being said, try not to fall back on older pieces every single week. Again, we are all in this creativity stretching thing together, making each other accountable to get inspiration from our experiences, and trying to prevent or overcome creative "blocks".
And of course you are allowed to skip weeks. No one will come to your house and force you to blog every week.
To kick this off, I am going to show you something I made a couple years ago because I sold most of my new work a few weeks ago before I photographed it. Yes, I agree that was not the smartest thing I've done lately. Everything else I have on hand right now is a work in progress.
The piece I'm going to show you was inspired in part by Pirates of the Caribbean. I've seen the first three, and they are just plain fun. Plus Johnny Depp is in them. Enough said.
Ok, wait. Not enough said. Before I show you what I made, I have to share some more Johnny Depp. Because I am the author today and I'm trying to give you ladies some inspiration. Perhaps some metal stamping is in your near future? (This break is courtesy of Sylvie at Beaded Laughter)
Here's the piece inspired by the movie and sailors in general. This bangle is called Davy Jones' Locker.
From this angle, you can see skulls, what looks like the wheel of a ship, a game piece, shells, pearls, a cage for catching fish, a lampwork disc just cuz I wanted to add some of my lampwork beads to it.
From this angle, you can see a compass, another ship's wheel thing, more shells, pearls and a lampwork shell and lampwork disc.
And finally, from this angle you see a "captain's log" with words like undaunted, fearless, etc. There is also a mermaid, octopus, more pearls and shells and lampwork.
This bangle was so fun for me to make. I had it with me at a show a couple weeks ago and both men and women were fascinated by it. It's just plain silly fun.
Now it's your turn. Link your blog below so we can see what you are inspired by.
Now it's your turn. Link your blog below so we can see what you are inspired by.
Sunday, April 22, 2012
Art Jewelry Buzz: Earth Day Musings
Thinking about the Earth today...
You know, that beautiful round planet we all live on...
kinda looks like a bead. Hm...
Here's an interesting Etsy article about
where we get our resources for making jewelry:
Beads of Clay has some thoughts about how to create
clay beads with the Earth in mind:
FusionBeadsBlog has some ideas for upcycling jewelry:
On a completely creative note, there are so many
lovely jewelry works of art that
celebrate the Earth and Earthy themes...
Like this bracelet by Kylie Parry featuring her ceramic Earth Bead:
...and this necklace by THEAjewellery:
...or this sweet pendant by GraceElements:
Goodness, I can keep going on forever sharing beautiful
art jewelry with earth elements.
But I'm headed outside to take in the beautiful day.
Enjoy the Earth today!
Saturday, April 21, 2012
Wrapped, Stacked & Layered Bracelet Challenge
A little over a month ago, Tracy Statler issued a challenge: go forth and stack those bracelets. Make sure some of them are made by you. Go crazy.
Almost 80 people took up the challenge. Including me. Here's what I came up with:
Oh, you want to see more than a teaser photo? You can see the stack in its entirety including what makes each bracelet special, plus a bonus stack by visiting me at Glass Addictions.
In the meantime, here are the links to the challenge participants. Don't forget to leave comments for each person you visit and have a fab weekend. Next Saturday we will be asking you to share your art jewelry creations on your blogs. Stay tuned for details and spend some time making gorgeous creations using handmade components so you will be ready.
In the meantime, here are the links to the challenge participants. Don't forget to leave comments for each person you visit and have a fab weekend. Next Saturday we will be asking you to share your art jewelry creations on your blogs. Stay tuned for details and spend some time making gorgeous creations using handmade components so you will be ready.
Friday, April 20, 2012
Art Jewelry Elements in Shades of Purple
I know everybody out there always loves eye candy so here you go.
Some of my favorite Art Jewelry Elements in Shades of Purple and I hope you enjoy them too!
 |
| Gorgeous Purple Lampwork Beads by MruMru |
 |
| Yummy Decoupaged Wood Tiles by JLynnJewels |
 |
| Beautiful Mystic Titanium Druzy Nuggets by Norah62 |
 |
| Rustic Purple and Forest Green Polymer beads by PlusSizeBangles |
 |
| Earthenware Ceramic Maple Leaf by MaryHarding |
 |
| Pretty Purple Fluted Enamel Bead Caps by SueBeads |
 |
| Handmade Ceramic Sunflower focal by KylieParry |
Kristi