Whatnot & Such

I am moving my blog

2010-06-21T15:39:00.000-07:00

Go here! Bookmark!

caitiesellers.wordpress.com

I also blog here for Figs & Ginger!

http://figsblog.wordpress.com/

A Black Mountain Morning

2010-06-20T18:02:00.000-07:00

My lovely bosses, Elijah and Rhonda, invited Hugh and I to a picnic on the river near Black Mountain, NC. So sunny and relaxing and picturesque!
It's a shame the water looks so brown! It was actually crystal clear, and the bottom of the lazy river bed was mica sand, so it was actually really sparkly!

These butterflies were congregating in thick patches. Great opportunity to practice with the ol' macro lens on my new camera.

This trip was the bees knees, yall. Happy Father's Day!

New Job!

2010-06-14T05:42:00.000-07:00

I no longer work at a flower shop. I miss my old boss and playing with blooms quite a bit, and hopefully I'll get a chance to explore the industry with more depth in the future, but I got a really great offer that I just couldn't pass up!

I work for Figs & Ginger now! Check out this video about Rhonda and Elija, the husband and wife team that own this jewelry company:

Figs & Ginger from John Carl on Vimeo.

As their studio manager I help them assemble jewelry, process orders, answer inquiries, and whatever else they need me to do. They're very flexible, so I still have plenty of time to make my own work, as well. This feels like a perfect fit for me, and I am as comfortable and happy as I've yet felt in North Carolina. Now that all the tumult of transition is over, I can hopefully get back to making work and posting progress.

Images from the Flower Shop

2010-05-14T06:43:00.001-07:00

I got a new day job. Mother's Day did me in.

Maybe half of the orders we prepared for the Friday before Mother's Day

Some designs I've done.

A Message from Your Friendly Neighborhood Florist

2010-05-02T13:35:00.000-07:00

With Mother's Day quickly approaching and the horrors of Valentine's Day long forgotten, can we please all take a moment to discuss the skilled trade known as flower design? It’s part of our American culture to send perishable allergens to people in their times of greatest distress or happiness. If you have something to make up for, or are REALLY trying to get in that single mom’s pants, please follow these guidelines.

1. Google search "florist" in the town of the recipient.

2.Take a quick look at your options, note customer reviews and star ratings, hours, and location.

3. Go to their website if you want. Most florists share a pre-made website with pre-designed arrangements from Teleflora. You can look at this to get an idea of what you like, but try not to get too attached to a particular arrangement, the pictures are IDEAS. We really probably don’t have every single thing that’s in there, so pick out what you like best about it (color? Size? Type of flower?) and remember that.

4. CALL THE FLORIST AND TALK TO THE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE. They are there to help you! If they are rude, tell them you will be calling one of their competitors and hang up. Call someone else on the google search list.

5. Describe to the employee what your are looking for. Major considerations include PRICE: most florists have an $8-12 delivery fee (non negotiable) and minimums starting at $25. $50 is an average order and will get you a beautiful arrangement. Anything over $50 will be extraordinary. VALUE: Some flowers are less expensive than others. If you want something full and showy for less than $50, you are asking for daisies and carnations and mums. Roses are expensive, but they look valuable. If you want something that looks high end, like something you’d see in magazines, tell your florist to put the value in quality rather than quantity of flowers. Realize that this may result in a smaller arrangement. STYLE: There are two major categories- traditional or unique/artistic. Traditional arrangements tend to be in clear vases or wicker baskets, with that afro shape everyone seems to love. Lots of babies breath, carnations, daisies, stuff that's not going to shock anyone. Unique/artistic arrangements really should start at $40, and you will get something you've probably never seen before. There is a reason we are called "designers." We are creative people, we are interested in beauty, and we have a large knowledge of how to mix bizarre and graceful blooms to make something exciting. Some secondary considerations to mention only if you are particularly invested: COLOR (does mom love orange?) FRAGRANCE (do perfumes make mom nauseous? Avoid star gazer lilies!) LIFE SPAN (carnations, babies breath, and daisies last two weeks sometimes, but are super boring. If you want something exciting try tropicals- birds of paradise, protea, and orchids. Lilies, stock, tulips, and roses have relatively short lives outside the cooler.) And of course, if you want something specific CALL AHEAD! A week is best! We get daily shipments of flowers in a medium-sized city like Asheville. Not twice a day. If you need green dendrobium orchids and you want it this afternoon, good luck. We want your order, we WILL find them, but we will have to pay extra and so will you. CALL AHEAD.

While we're at it, here are some more things to know BEFORE you call:

1.The recipient’s address. We DO NOT know that Hardees that’s just off the second left past the interstate entrance. And if you don't know the last name of the recipient there at the Hardees, we're really going to hate you for making our poor, awesome delivery guy wander through a fast food restaurant looking for an employee who's probably not gay and didn't give you his full name on purpose because you're freaking him out and he's afraid you're stalking him. Which you are, by the way.

2. The recipient’s phone number. This applies especially in the winter. Though the rest of this town completely shut down during those snow storms, I walked the mile and a half to work. Believe it or not, it does occasionally snow on birthdays, marriages, and funerals, and we will do what we have to do to follow through with a promised order. Our delivery van does not have a plow attachment. If we are going to borrow the owner’s 4-wheel drive truck and then hike up your unplowed driveway to drop off a vase of roses when it’s –12 with the windchill, we better damn well know you’re home. And no we will not leave them on the porch when it’s below freezing outside, there’s a reason plants drop their foliage in the fall, your arrangement will too, in about 90 seconds.

3. A window of time when the recipient will be at the address. Under the rarest circumstances can we guarantee to be there at a specific time. Exceptions include event set-ups, which you should expect an extra charge for. We send our guy out with 3-6 deliveries, and he uses his discretion on routes. If you need it there before noon- perfect! Between 3-5- absolutely. At 4:15- No. And please be realistic. We open at 8:30. Our driver delivers pizza at nights, too. We try to let him sleep 8 hours before getting on the road again. Oh, and we don’t pay him much, so tip if it’s convenient! He IS a professional!

4. What you want to say on the card. "With our deepest sympathy, Love, the Smiths" is always classy and appropriate. Inside jokes are great, we love them, don't be embarrassed. Please don't make us purposefully misspell things. It doesn't make YOU look cute, it makes US look stupid.

5. Have a credit card handy. We will not bill you. We will not take your business if you don’t pay us. We take cash or check if you come in the store in person.

6. Have a second choice in mind. If we can’t get those green dendrobiums, can we use purple? If we don’t have red snapdragons, which is more important, the snapdragons or the red?

PLEASE! We beg of you! Call us before you place an order on the internet! Find our store on google, and call the number provided before you call 1-800-flowers! These sites and numbers are just order-takers. They’re not florists. It’s a guy with a headset in Omaha. He sells you flowers that he can’t see and charges you $7-15 for the service, then takes an additional 20% of the money for the entire order from the independent florist who fills it. So we are filling your order whether you call us or not, only you’re paying $7-15 more than you’d have to, and we’re making significantly less than our asking price. In order to even get the orders, we have to pay a monthly fee to the order-taking company, anyway. They are taking our business and crapping up the quality of the customer service while charging us for the benefit. Please just spend 15 seconds typing “florist” into google. By the way, the same goes for that pre-made website with the pre-made arrangements. The order taking company takes 20% of our money for the flowers and charges us a huge amount for the website with those pictures.

In conclusion, I’d like to impress that we florists provide a specialized service that requires years of training, and we’re not exactly making bank. We make a very meager living. The best designers can rarely ask for more than $12 an hour. We do this because we love it and it’s fulfilling, not because it’s lucrative and we’re hustling you out of your hard earned money. Flowers are expensive, they are perishable, and they are fickle. We spend our lives trying to figure them out. It’s fascinating and frustrating and a constant challenge, and we’re the kind of people that get off on that. If you trust us, we will not disappoint. And do not underestimate our desperation. The industry is dying and we WANT to LIVE! Whatever you want! We will do it! If you are unhappy, we will do whatever is necessary to make it up to you, provided you make a believable case. (Hey, you guys hustle, too!)

I really look forward to designing your flowers for Mother’s Day!

Another Weekend with Few Accomplishments

2010-04-26T08:30:00.000-07:00

I really haven't been making any new work lately. I started a scarf months ago and it's still on the loom. The torch hasn't heated up except for some random etsy orders, and I haven't even been sketching new ideas. Motivation and morale are low. This dry spell started with a string of rejections and rejection is something that I can deal with, but I'm starting to wonder if this has deeper roots. I'm going to start making again, I promise, I just need a little break from what I've been doing to reconsider what I'm going to be doing.

In the meantime, though, I can't keep my hands still. I'll keep posting what I'm working on, even if it's just a dumb flower drawing. I work at a flower shop full time. I see a lot of flowers. I am very much not interested in spending much more time with them than I already do, but they do make good captive subjects when I'm feeling like getting lost in detail.

My goal with drawings is to include detail to the point of abstraction. If I quit while it still looks like something, I haven't worked hard enough. I got sunburned yesterday drawing this iris, but was still bored by how literal it was. So last night I drew a sketch of my sketch with obsessive crosshatch for shading, and now I feel like I'm happy with it. In my book they mirror each other.

Red Clay River - An Update

2010-04-21T20:12:00.000-07:00

This is a video from The Knitting Factory, where I watched my friends play in Brooklyn two weeks ago.

They stayed with my sister in Bushwick, Brooklyn and woke up to find their van with all their gear gone. The next day they got word from NYPD that the van was recovered and we have been waiting for the owner to go claim it to see if anything was left. Unfortunately, only a mandolin and a 50 gallon drum that they used for percussion was left. It's tragic. So enjoy this video of the last time they ever played with these instruments, and I'll show you where you can buy their cd. It's the best way I can think of to contribute to the cause.

Drawing in New York

2010-04-19T11:41:00.001-07:00

Some drawings:

Bushwick Backard

the airport in Atlanta

Music in New York City

2010-04-15T18:16:00.000-07:00

This past weekend I made a short trip up to Brooklyn to visit my sister and see the big city. I have a few things to share, and I think I'll start with the music.

Rescue Birds

Ok, so my sister's in this one but that doesn't delegitimize the plug. Sara, Andrea, Mary, and Meg make a hypnotizing 3 part harmony and trade a slew of unexpected instrumentation (cello, accordion, autoharp, bells, etc.) They make an unforgettable and completely unique sound that doesn't seem to fit into any genre. It is sweet & innocent and powerful & raunchy all at once. Be their fan!

Red Clay River
These guys are from my hometown in Roanoke, Virginia. My sister and I have known some of these boys for so long and so well they're like part of the family. Couldn't ask for a nicer group of folks. Seriously. Their music is charged with energy and dramatic, with unexpected instrumentation (a theme) and an interesting push and pull between Dan's raw, Tom Waits-like vocals and the pure, sweet harmonies of Camelia and her violin. By the way, there's also a rock double-bass, a drummer that occasionally picks banjo, and some seriously glorious guitar solos from our boy Aaron. Overnight after the show their van was stolen with all the gear inside. The NYPD has recovered it, but there's no word yet as to what shape it's in or what's left. Keep up with these boys and girls, they might need your help at a benefit show in the near future. Be their fan!

PS. Click on the band name to go to their myspace page where you can hear the music.

A Sunny Day

2010-03-28T08:18:00.000-07:00

New on the Loom

2010-03-21T09:02:00.001-07:00

Hello friends!

As most of you know, I double-majored in metals and textiles at VCU. I've been focusing on my jewelry work lately, but now that the loom and I have been reunited, I thought I'd start designing another series of scarves.

I use what's called a pick up double weave technique. I draw my cartoon onto a piece of graph paper cut to the size of the scarf. Each row on the paper equals one warp string (for those non-weavers, the warps are the verticals.)

Double weave means simultaneously weaving two layers of fabric at once. There are a ton of practical applications for double weave, but I really only use it for pattern and plushness. My technique is called pick-up because I lift up the colors to make the pattern. I weave one color at a time, picking up the white to weave the gray, picking up the gray to weave the white... and so on and so on and so on, making a piece of fabric that is the color opposite on one side from the other. In the picture above you can see my pick-up stick (my friend Matt Williams made that one for me!) which I use to count out and grab the warps indicated on my graph paper cartoon.

As I finish a row for each layer, I mark it off on the cartoon with a pencil so I don't get confused and make the same row twice. This pattern has been particularly friendly and fun to weave. When it comes off the loom, I want it to look like a length of tile that is cracking.

Things I Heart II

2010-03-13T19:20:00.000-08:00

Things I love on Etsy, architecture edition:

Buildings ) Pocketbook Slash Checkbook Holder

by QuietDoing

That is some sweet urban diagonal excitement right there. Plus the inside is all full of tiny pockets and places to lose receipts... Just how I like it.

Circle Map Wood Box

by theharbingerco

City block grids! I love them.

Birdumbus Visits St Basil's Cathedral
by PragyaK

Two favorite things: birds and landmark buildings. What do you think he's thinking?

brooklyn bridge card pack

by serimony

It's the negative space that makes up the focus- a lack of ink that successfully portrays a monument! Does anyone else find that exciting?

Dear artists,

care to trade?

Love,

Caitie

Welcome to my Asheville studio, part II

2010-03-06T06:31:00.000-08:00

The set up:

About a month ago Hugh and I did a redesign on the apartment layout, deciding that the loom had to find a new home away from the living room. So all art in the house now takes place in the second bedroom. I thought that it would be frustratingly full (you can't see in the picture, but the wall I'm standing against has industrial shelves in an L-shape, and then the cat boxes are shoved in the closet behind those, leaving about as much floor space as you can see in the picture) BUT it turns out I thrive in over crowded conditions. My dad always used to call me a nester. If I was working on something, all the tools and materials I needed would be spread evenly over an arms-length radius and then I'd leave it that way till I was done, much to my parents' unhappiness. The jewelry nook in the corner is absolutely perfect for me- everything's in arm's reach. And yes, there IS something new on the loom! Next post!

thanks for reading!

New Favorite Artist

2010-02-26T15:08:00.001-08:00

Kim Cridler.

I first saw Kim's work in the catalog for a show I was in last year called Decorative Resurgence. I can't believe I'd never heard of her before that. I need to get my head out of the sand. Anyway, I was browsing the catalog and saw an image and just lost my breath. Her metalwork is so impressive and beautiful. The precision of the lines, the 3 dimensional layering, the inclusion of personal narrative and metaphor-heavy imagery, it all just blows me away- and really, it's all pieces of what I want in my own work. When I first saw it I was actually frustrated that someone had a similar aesthetic and achieved it so much more successfully. Then I realized that these vessels are 5 FEET TALL! ... And she's a professional artist and professor at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. So it's now become adulation. And hey! Good news! This summer I'll be a studio assistant for Amy Tavern at the Penland School of Crafts (Amy is another inspiration of mine) and Kim Cridler will be teaching a class at the same time! Two birds with one studio! SO EXCITED. These pictures were taken from Kim's website.

I am fascinated with both of the above images because of their textile elements. In the top piece, what looks like an oriental rug (or decorative tile?) provides a backdrop for a huge chalice. I am intrigued by the interior space Kim invents for this monumental vessel and the connotations associated with a rich, decorative furnishing such as a woven rug.

The second sculpture contains my very favorite symbolic element in the world. There's something about a single bird that makes me think of playful innocence: just a sparrow flitting around a tree, enjoying the sun, right? Then there's something about congregating birds that speaks of dread: circling vultures, or who can really talk about birds without thinking about the scene with the crows gathering on the playset in that Alfred Hitchcock movie. This piece takes me more to that place. The woven hair helps the creepiness.

Then there's this amazing piece of architecture in Arizona. I love (LOVE, I say, LOVE) Spanish architecture. This bridge has an arch in all the right places... namely, everywhere. It's gentle and pleasing while keeping clean, pragmatic lines. It is a bridge after all.

I totally can't wait to meet this woman.

Sundays are a day for a blog

2010-02-21T09:35:00.000-08:00

Latest work:

I have been making just a bit of new jewelry to beef up the portfolio. I'm applying (maybe begging is a more operative term) to a couple of galleries in areas where I think my work might be better accepted, and I needed a few new wearables. I'm struggling to find a balance on the effort to income scale, if that makes any sense. I spend days on pieces like the one above and find myself writing a price tag for it that my non-artist acquaintances choke and gag at. On the other end, I spent a few months in '09 focusing on a production line that I found tedious and unfulfilling, but put a couple bucks in my pocket. I'm not going to lie- I need the money (badly)- but I am wondering if my time spent making dead-end one of a kinds is more valuable than a meager income from a production line. I am wondering if there is a missing link that would make the one of a kind work profitable. I am hoping that it's location. Hence the previous ramblings about networking and advertising- I've been thinking about it a lot and desperately trying to get over myself. The goal is to get work in areas with a customer base educated about the value of craft and accepting of art jewelry. I'm having a rocky start, but at least it is one (cross your fingers, Seattle!) On Wednesday I'm attending a business class at Mountain Bizworks here in Asheville that is all about getting your portfolio together and approaching stores and galleries. I really can't believe I live in a city that hosts affordable business classes aimed towards artist-makers. I can't wait!

Introversion

2010-02-17T18:00:00.000-08:00

I suggest everyone I know read this informative article: Caring for your Introvert by Jonathan Rauch at the Atlantic. It outlines "the habits and needs of a little understood group" of which my husband and I (and most of our friends) are a part!

an excerpt:

"What is introversion? In its modern sense, the concept goes back to the 1920s and the psychologist Carl Jung. Today it is a mainstay of personality tests, including the widely used Myers-Briggs Type Indicator. Introverts are not necessarily shy. Shy people are anxious or frightened or self-excoriating in social settings; introverts generally are not. Introverts are also not misanthropic, though some of us do go along with Sartre as far as to say "Hell is other people at breakfast." Rather, introverts are people who find other people tiring.

Extroverts are energized by people, and wilt or fade when alone. They often seem bored by themselves, in both senses of the expression. Leave an extrovert alone for two minutes and he will reach for his cell phone. In contrast, after an hour or two of being socially "on," we introverts need to turn off and recharge. My own formula is roughly two hours alone for every hour of socializing. This isn't antisocial. It isn't a sign of depression. It does not call for medication. For introverts, to be alone with our thoughts is as restorative as sleeping, as nourishing as eating. Our motto: "I'm okay, you're okay—in small doses."

Thanks to Alissa for posting this on the facebook!

Lupercalia

2010-02-13T18:59:00.001-08:00

The Lupercalia festival was partly in honor of Lupa, the she-wolf who suckled the infant orphans.

The festival began with the sacrifice by the Luperci (or the flamen dialis) of two male goats and a dog.[7] Next two young patrician Luperci were led to the altar, to be anointed on their foreheads with the sacrificial blood, which was wiped off the bloody knife with wool soaked in milk, after which they were expected to smile and laugh.

The sacrificial feast followed, after which the Luperci cut thongs from the skins of the victims, which were called Februa, dressed themselves in the skins of the sacrificed goats, in imitation of Lupercus, and ran round the walls of the old Palatine city, the line of which was marked with stones, with the thongs in their hands in two bands, striking the people who crowded near. Girls and young women would line up on their route to receive lashes from these whips. This was supposed to ensure fertility, prevent sterility in women and ease the pains of childbirth.

This was Valentine's Day before "Valentine's Day." Enjoy your dumb chocolate hearts and greeting cards. My flower shop is sold out of roses (800+ and only two of us to process them), morale is low, and this florist is exhausted. You can bother me again on Mother's Day, but until then I'll be sleeping off this awful holiday. (and yes I am fully aware that I am biting the hand that feeds me.)

Speaking of Facebook

2010-02-06T19:18:00.001-08:00

While I'm on the subject of Social Networking (the overwhelmed artist's favorite marketing tool) I might as well give mine the plug. If the website, the etsy shop, the blog, and my vocal pestering (no link for that one.... yet) was NOT enough, go on over to my Facebook Fan Page. Gather in a community of ME-fans. Post, comment, tweet, txt, and other verbs I don't understand about ME. This is your best opportunity to really connect with other people who share a common goal: my rise to awesomeness. And here I thought it was my premium dancing skills that would rocket me to fame.. little did I know it would be Facebook.

If it's not nauseatingly obvious yet, I have not yet come to terms with the idea of self-promotion. While I realize the usefulness of spreading my name and pictures of my work as far and wide as I can.. it still feels narcissistic. A conversation comes to mind with a woman I used to work with:

Ruby: What's that you're working on, Caitie?

Me: Some postcards to hand out at a show.

Ruby: Why?

Me: Because I need to sell myself.

Ruby: Honey.... Do you know how that sounds?

Needless to say I am a TERRIBLE self promoter! I'm shy and awkward and self-effacing. I make assumptions of disinterest or disapproval. It's ridiculous. It's getting worse, because I'm coming to the point in my career where this is important. I'm not a student anymore, I don't want to live in obscurity and make art that no one sees or appreciates. I want to SELL work- maybe even make a living off of my work! I'm also a no name. Who's going to see it if I don't shove it in their faces?

Just one of the many obstructions to climb over in this whole "real life" thing. Am I too old for all this over-thinking?

Blooming Rose Foundation

2010-02-04T19:03:00.000-08:00

Quick shout out to my girl Kat East and her fabulous foundation helping those affected by cystic fibrosis. Become a fan on Facebook if you do the social networking thing- it is an active and supportive community and full of information. If you know any CFers or just want to learn more, check it out!

Things I heart

2010-02-01T08:14:00.001-08:00

Beautiful things on Etsy that I covet:

"Linen Thread Necklace" by magdalinen

"Little Gate Hand Embroidered Cushion" by bridgetdavies (dear bridget- care to trade? love, caitie)

"Ethnic Marie Handcrafted Watch" by Revolt70

"Evolution" 4 photos by doubleyouEm

New Direction? Tell me your thoughts!

2010-01-18T08:46:00.000-08:00

Ever since I started working on this production line (which is still so tiny) I have wondered about separating it from my art in name. My art is sculptural and uses completely different inspirations and materials from my simple, cutesy production jewelry. Not to mention the whole textiles aspect of my work, which is completely confusing next to it. So.. I am considering giving my production work a name, making it it's own business and entity, and keeping my one-of-a-kind work under my name. I feel that this will resolve the confusing juxtaposition of differing elements in my etsy shop, as well as in my business organization (like I actually have anything organized..)

So- art jewelry, scarves, and sculpture remains "Caitie Sellers Design"

Production sterling silver jewelry becomes "Whatnot and Such Jewelry"

How does it sound?

Shop Update

2010-01-15T05:50:00.000-08:00

I will be donating 33% of all online sales to disaster relief in Haiti through the month of January and possibly longer. Donations will be made through Oxfam.org.

Haiti Relief - How to Really Help

2010-01-14T13:34:00.000-08:00

In the wake of this heart-breaking tragedy, I urge everyone to consider what resources they might be able to offer towards helping the people affected by the earthquake in Haiti. I have done extensive volunteer work with an organization called the Highland Support Project. Their director, Ben Blevins, wrote this blog entry. Please read it, look at the links, and make a donations to one of these organizations. It is important to know who you are giving money to and in what way those dollars will be used to help this country.

I'm sorry, Blogger does not handle copy & paste well. I went to a lot of trouble to include the necessary links, please mouse over the words to see them.

"We all want to help the people of Haiti as they deal with the horrific consequences of yesterday’s earthquake. While HSP isn’t capable of doing emergency relief work outside of Guatemala, we can recommend good folks who do, that you can donate to. Personally, I’ll be donating through Oxfam to help provide immediate emergency assistance.

HSP’s sister nonprofit in Guatemala, AMA (Asociacion de Mujeres del Altiplano), is also planning to donate funds as an organization. The impoverished Mayan women in AMA’s women’s circles plan to raise $250 for women and families in Haiti by the end of this week. These AMA women and their families live on an average of $300 a year, less than $1 a day, making their donation all the more meaningful.

AMA's intentions remind us of the parable of the Widow’s Gift (Mark 12:41-43), in which a poor widow gives her last two copper coins, and thus the greatest gift of all – all she has. AMA will be making their donation through Rights Action, an organization that supports grassroots humanitarian organizing internationally.

Give Now to these HSP recommended organizations

Oxfam has long experience in Haiti and is rushing in teams from around the region to respond to the situation where our assistance is most needed.

Rights Action funds and works with community development, environmental justice, human rights and disaster relief organizations in Guatemala and Honduras, and also in El Salvador, Haiti, Oaxaca and Chiapas.

Direct Relief has an ongoing "Emergency Pre-Positioning Program" and a program in Haiti that stages essential medical materials on site with key partners for immediate use in emergency situations

Learn More about how to best support emergency relief and long-term aid

This post from the Blood And Milk blog is a good summary of relief vs. aid funding:

“Humanitarian relief programs are focused on rapid start-up, and rapid impact. Implementers of humanitarian programs need to gear up as fast as possible, and start providing necessary assistance as fast as possible. Their primary focus is not building local capacity, sustainability, or monitoring and evaluation. Their primary focus is getting help to people in need. They end when the emergency ends. Relief can come from the outside, and it is a response to some kind of breakdown or disaster....Development programs are focused on achieving long-term change of some kind, with the intent of improving people’s lives and the lives of their descendants. They involve rigorous planning and ongoing operational research. They are rooted in local capacity building, because they are aimed at change which continues after the project ends. Even if it has outside support, development in the end has to come from inside.”

The blog, Good Intentions Are Not Enough has a great post entitled “Choosing organizations to donate to after the Haiti earthquake.”

AidWatch has posted “Haiti Earthquake: Help Navigating Complex Terrain of Disaster Relief.”

Tales from the Hood, written by an experienced aid worker, has a post—“Haiti”—just out providing information for donors as well

Philanthropy Action has also posted “Advice for Donors to Haiti - providing advice based on research from the World Bank and the Fritz Institute”

An article “Haiti's Coming Public Health Challenges”, written byAlanna Shaikh at UN Dispatch.

An article from Michael Maren, the author of The Road to Hell – “From an expert: Haiti Donation Advice”"

Really. These things are so. very. important. Know who's getting your money. Know where it's going. Help the best way possible.

Finished Rings

2010-01-11T07:21:00.001-08:00

Welcome to my new Asheville studio

2010-01-09T06:14:00.000-08:00

The end of 2009 was unexpectedly hard on our family, resulting in a long and unhappy break from my studio work (and all other work, for that matter.) '09 was such a momentous year for me, I would like to take some time this month to compile an entry listing the big adventures. First, though, I need to get caught up, and I'll catch up the blog while I'm at it.

This is my new Asheville studio- aka the second bedroom in my 16-unit apartment. I try to only hammer in the afternoons.. the walls are like paper! This bench was the only piece of furniture that made it out of Montana. I bought it off of a retired jeweler, Mr. Robinson, in Lincoln.
My living room (pardon the mess!) has my loom in it. I have yet to weave anything, but nothing's stopping me! Scarves to come one day..
My primary focus right now is on a commission for a woman who saw my work at the Carrotbox.com blog. This is ring #1.
Ring #2 in progress!

A digression before bed

2009-12-22T19:15:00.000-08:00

So every time I open my image edit program, my computer starts popping warning messages saying that my start up disk is full. Meaning that until I come up with an external hard drive, I probably won't be taking, uploading, editing, saving, or posting pictures... oops.

BUT. I had this one already lying around on my desktop. A piece STILL ON DISPLAY at Sparkle Plenty (Quirk Gallery [Richmond {VA.}.].) Till 12/26/09.

It's a brooch that has it's own wall display/holder. Take off the window bars, wear it as a pocket protector (it is fairly sharp after all,) put it back on the brick wall at the end of the night. You know, when the bad guys start coming out. Luckily, this window has been in a friendly place long enough for a happy little vine to make a home. But I digress.

I mean to say that this month has gotten away from me, and I shall return anew (like the year) in 2010. If not before. I do have some exciting commissioned rings to show off soon!

Last week to ship in time for Christmas!

2009-12-13T18:24:00.000-08:00

Just a friendly reminder that if you have your eye on a piece of jewelry from my shop, you have to order by THURSDAY 12/17 to have any hope of it getting there before Christmas! I'll even gift wrap it for you and write a little "merry christmas" note with your name!

Xela-made jewelry finally online!

2009-12-09T07:28:00.000-08:00

Found this online today!

These are some of the earrings I designed and taught to women in Guatemala, back in the summer of 2008. Alternatives, a fair-trade store in Richmond, Virginia, now has a website with some of their most popular and socially-beneficial gifts, and a lot of the jewelry my girls made is on there. Lupe and Ben, the founders of the Highland Support Project, own AlterNatives and use it as a marketplace for many of the traditional crafts of the indigenous Guatemalans they've dedicated their lives to helping. Spread the word, support the cause!

New Jewelry

2009-12-05T17:22:00.000-08:00

Just in time for Christmas! These newer, smaller, more affordable birdies are ready to ship!

Check them out at my Etsy shop.

Also, as always, I would be happy to make a custom item or size- all you have to do is send me a message! *** caities@hotmail.com ***

Garbage Man Astronaut

2009-11-22T06:44:00.000-08:00

My bff/former roommate Matt Williams just moved into the Everett Station Lofts (click for wikipedia entry) in Portland, Oregon. He is in the applied craft graduate program at the Oregon College of Art and Craft, a new program offering a cross-disciplinary approach to craft and material studies that seems like the answer to many of my frustrations with graduate school. Anyway, he and jason lee starin moved into this loft, which has a street front gallery below, and living quarters above, and have opened the space to the public with the moniker Garbage Man Astronaut Project Space. (Click for the BLOG.) If you are ever around Portland, go there! Through December, they'll be having a holiday sale of their and their friend's work (mine included!) Help me and these kids make money, get gifts for your friends and family, support the Portland art scene.

Entrance.
Building.
Gallery under construction. (handmade light fixture!)

Sparkle Plenty

2009-11-17T17:50:00.000-08:00

About a week ago Sparkle Plenty 5 opened at Quirk in Richmond, Va. This invitational show included some of my work, and I was able to attend the opening right after I moved to North Carolina. I actually used the event as an excuse to unload a storage space I've had in that town for almost 2 years. If you ever feel a need to be reminded how special your possessions are (or extraneous) lock them up in storage and live out of a suitcase for 2 years. Then, when you come back, unpacking those boxes will be like unearthing treasure! (or you will find yourself loaded down with all the garbage from which you freed yourself 2 years ago... [nothing's ever easy, is it.])

This was the majority of my display. My current body of work is inspired by Guatemala, and my sketchbook/diary from my 4 months there was displayed with my jewelry.

My pigeons were also hangin' out.
This is the nice, clean, open space the show occupied. It was interesting to see how the mixture of work spoke to each other, and to see such a broad display of work from each exhibitor. I was also incredibly honored to have shared the space with fellow jewelers such as Amy Tavern, Joanna Gollberg, Biba Schutz, Sharon Massey, Sandra Enterline, Blanka Sperkova, Lori Talcott, and Marlene True.

Alive and well in North Carolina

2009-11-09T19:18:00.002-08:00

Trust me, the only thing keeping me from shoving pictures all over this blog is lack of convenient internet connection.

Some things that have happened lately:

Hugh and I bought a used minivan.

We got hitched at the court house.

We quit our jobs.

Packed up the cats, my studio and our clothes, loaded them into said minivan.

Drove 2,045 miles. insert flat tire.

4 days after leaving Montana, arrived in Asheville NC. Promptly got lost.

Amy Tavern gave me directions to my apartment.

Joanna Gollberg brought me an air mattress and cake.

Hugh and I lived in an unfurnished apartment with 2 cats, my jewelry tools, and an air mattress for a week.

After enough days of that we drove to Williamsburg, VA to the inlaws.

Pre-opening at Quirk in Richmond VA

First friday opening for Sparkle Plenty at Quirk. Talked to everyone, drank wine, loved art, exhausted myself.

Next day rented UHaul truck, emptied the storage space I'd had since before I went to Guatemala in April '08.

Visited with parents for first time as husband and wife.

Drove Uhaul to Asheville. unloaded. collapsed.

Got job at local florist's.

can I get a "you go girl!" ?

I done got hitched!

2009-10-19T14:17:00.001-07:00

Just a few wedding pictures, because we're so darn happy! We had a little ceremony with Judge Pete Howard at the Teton County Courthouse. It was so much fun, and so perfect! Thanks to Angela Bouma for the pictures, Joanna Gollberg for the rings (pictures to come,) and my family for not freaking out about us eloping!

New Vendor: Fancy!

2009-10-08T12:27:00.001-07:00

Fancy, an art jewelry gallery and retailer, is now selling some of my work! Along with some of my production work, I sent two one-of-a-kind pieces, these two guys below.

Arabesque and Vine Necklace, sterling silver and steel.

Vine Earrings, sterling silver

If you love them, want them, have to see them, contact the ladies and gents at fancyjewels.com, or stop by the store at 1914 2nd Ave in Seattle, Washington.

PRESS

2009-10-04T20:32:00.000-07:00

Look at me! I have press!

TheCarrotBox.com featured me on her blog, all about the glory of hand adornment. Check out her website, dedicated to non-metal rings. Oh so fabulous (and amazingly affordable!.) I drool.

In other news, the "contact" tab on my website is not forwarding emails! If you'd like to contact me, throw it at caities@hotmail.com

Blooming Rose Foundation

2009-09-28T12:29:00.000-07:00

I just checked the website, and it looks like BloomingRoseFoundation.com is up and running! This is a new non-profit that helps the families of those with cystic fibrosis. My friend Kat started the organization after her daughter, Maylie was diagnosed at age 3.

The foundation social worker takes a “Bloom” basket to each family along with a list of positive contacts and resources in their local area. The foundation has been blessed with the support of some well known, established companies collaborating together to advertise on a national level. These companies are launching products using our logo to raise awareness and funds for the Cystic Fibrosis foundation. The foundation also have been given the rights to a beautiful line of rose shaped jewelry made in Montana. The Blooming Rose foundation will send 100% of all donations after yearly operational costs are met to aid in research leading to the inevitable cure.

The jewelry pictured above, as well as similar styles and sets, are available at The Blooming Rose Foundation website.

commissions

2009-09-24T22:24:00.001-07:00

Here are some pieces I made this summer for others. I love it, keep them coming!

My mom and dad found this sapphire in the attic of their house here in Montana right after they bought it. They kept joking about the 100 year old house having hidden treasure in the walls, and they found it! Mom gave me the stone 2 years ago and asked that I make specifically a ring with a design inspired by Choteau. We decided to incorporate the leaves of the cottonwood trees that line the streets here. Happy birthday, mom!

These are zero gauge (8mm) ear plugs that I made for my friend and former roommate, Kristin. They were for her heartbreakingly gorgeous wedding held in Virginia in June. I've never made plugs before! Such great low-tech hollow form practice. Kristin is a talented graphic designer, and her wedding invites had a special feather adornment that she designed. The stone settings on these were loosely inspired by that line drawing.

Scarves for sale

2009-09-21T18:30:00.001-07:00

Yes, folks, we had our first frost here in Montana, officially marking the first day of scarf season. In honor of it, I rounded up Hugh (and all his natural dapper-ness) for a fall photo shoot. Along with the two hand-woven alpaca scarves I've offered previously, I'm now including one of my art scarves from an installation I did in 2007. The first picture of the three seen here is from a series featured in FiberArts Magazine (Nov/Dec 2007,) and also recently exhibited in a juried craft exhibition in Rocky Mount, NC, where it received a juror's award. Please check it out, tell your friends, check out some of the jewelry (some pieces are still on sale for as low as $22!) at CaitieSellers.etsy.com

Trauma

2009-09-13T08:04:00.000-07:00

I have been working on this collar for something like 3 weeks now. I don't get very many hours to work between all my other jobs, all of the errands and planning Hugh and I have been doing, and keeping my house in order. This is my last big piece to finish for Quirk, and the others aren't actually done yet either, but I have needed to get through this.

This picture is from last week. I finished all my soldering and forming, and only had some finishing and polishing to do.

And this is from yesterday. Funny how 3 weeks worth of work can be mangled in a tenth of a second by the polishing wheel. I am an idiot.

The good news is that it has since been salvaged, but it will never be the same. I have had to embrace it, and change my concept a little bit, and work through my ideas around this piece again. You can call it a creative challenge. I suppose it will be better for it. There was about an hour there when I was trying to put it back together that I just knew it was hopeless. Bawling doesn't make jewelry, though.

A look at what's up in the studio

2009-08-25T20:43:00.000-07:00

Here's a sneak peek into my soldering process.

This is one of the pieces I'm making for the show I have coming up at Quirk in November. This is only one third of its final length. I'm using steel binding wire. I line up all my lengths by measuring and marking onto a soft, impressionable fire block, and shoving in holding wires that pin my important pieces in place. This way they don't move or roll around when I heat them. I pick solder onto each connection, one at a time. In one of my bracelets, I roughly calculated somewhere around 500 solder seams. Luckily, I'm a huge fan of repetition and tedium. I only really get frustrated when the rhythm gets broken.

"I'm helping!"

Meg comes to Montana

2009-08-19T18:44:00.000-07:00

Just getting around to posting some pictures from when my sister was here two weeks ago. I miss her!

"Our Lake" or Hidden Lake, depending on how confused you want to be.
Prancing in Fairy Land.
$2 freak show at the Montana State Fair
Fancy chicken judging at the Fair
Mule trying to eat Meg's head.

ps- Meg, I would love to have pictures of you in your altered 70's 2nd hand clothes! I think that qualifies as an artistic endeavor worth documenting.

belated carnival photos

2009-08-18T10:10:00.000-07:00

a few of my favorites:

View from Parque Central

2009-08-14T23:22:00.001-07:00

New piece!

2009-07-21T12:21:00.000-07:00

Big, exciting things, happening all the time!

How do I start?

Quirk is this fantastic gallery in Richmond, VA that specializes in fine craft, particularly jewelry. Every November since they opened they have an invitational art jewelry show called Sparkle Plenty. Quirk opened at the same time I moved to RVA for school, so the Sparkle Plenty show was one of the first fantastic things I came to love about Richmond. I've worked with Quirk on occasion, and I've always looked to them as where I'll have pieces when I'm finally an Artist (with a capital A.) Last fall I met the best jeweler-friends a girl could ask for during the fall concentration at Penland- Joanna Gollberg Stirling and Amy Tavern. They were my teachers while I was studio assisting, and their influence and enthusiasm lit that fire that made me finally believe I could do this Art thing. This all comes together when Quirk has Susie Ganch curate the Sparkle Plenty show, and her system was to choose 5 artists, and have them choose one artist that they'd like to be in the show as well. Joanna was one of the 5, and Joanna chose ME! So come to Richmond on the first friday in November, and see this thing!

Here is a small preview of one of the pieces I'll have in the show- come see it in person for the full effect!

I'm making 6-8 pieces for the show, and very few of them will actually be wearable jewelry. This piece is for the wall, and measures 5"x6" and 3" deep.

This is the first piece, and I'm all tingly about it. I've struggled for years trying to think 3 dimensionally. I have forced myself to do it, but it tends to lean toward stacked silhouettes and layers of 2d pieces. Maybe, though, all I needed was the right inspiration. All my pieces for this show will draw from my sketches of Guatemala, as I've been working for a while now, but instead of limiting myself to architecture I'm working hard to include more of the life of the place. I want to highlight the little non-important bits that blend into the scenery, and spotlight them in their gritty, rusty, complicated glory. My plans and half done pieces include pigeons, house plants, and window bars of course.

The Carnival comes to Choteau- movies

2009-07-18T09:48:00.000-07:00

I suggest muting your volume, it's much more magical without the hum of diesel engines.

Excitement in Montana

2009-07-12T11:53:00.000-07:00

Here in God's Country, we love America. The July 4th celebration in Choteau was bigger than anywhere I've ever seen, from a town of 1,500. It was entertaining, exhausting, and really.. REAlly bizarre at times for this city girl. Here are just a few photos of the last two weeks, before, during, and after America's birthday extravaganza.

Apparently I have to upload these things in backwards order, and I'm just too lazy to fix it... so we're going to go backwards.

Mountain goat family in Glacier National Park. 7/9

Dude riding a cow in the parade 7/4.

boxing match- "the Smoker" with local guys beating the ..er.. tar.. out of each other.
Beer keg hockey- 6 guys, 2 fire hoses, 1 empty beer keg. 7/3
Rubber duckie race- winner gets $400, 2nd place $200, last place $25. 7/3
On top of priest butte 7/1
Homeland security helicopter above our house. The two guys hanging out the window had machine guns. 6/31
Drug bust right off my front porch. Narcotics agents pull a motorcyclist over with pulled guns for what turned out to be negligible amounts of marijuana.

I swear I'll start talking about art soon again!

BEAR SIGHTING

2009-06-26T20:40:00.000-07:00

what up, bear.

Forged work from my Penland class

2009-06-26T17:07:00.001-07:00

Forged steel buckle, hand finished and tooled leather belt with my favorite Spanish word.

Damascus by April Franklin, formed by me. Various high carbon tool steels.

My damascus- Monel + mild steel, silver solder.
Bronze fleur de lis safety pin
bronze fleur wall hook
bells buckle. forged steel frame, pressed found tin insert, sterling silver rivets.

Leaving my legacy at penland

2009-06-22T21:11:00.000-07:00

Part of my finger is still on the chain out back of the iron studio.

Penland!

2009-06-20T08:45:00.001-07:00

Well folks, it's been an exciting two weeks. I went to the Penland School of Crafts on June 5th, and I'm just now sitting in the Asheville airport on my way home. It was a fantastic week. I learned about forges and blacksmithing and metal alloys and all that great dorky metals stuff. Then we made belt buckles with Erica Gordon of Steel Toe Studios, then we made damascus steel (or screwed it up multiple times, in my case) and formed different items out of the material. It was fun and informative, and our teacher, April Franklin, is absolutely fantastic. She is a riot, so intelligent, a great problem solver, and she curses like a sailor. April was so generous with her time and energy, I know we worked her to exhaustion a few times. I mortally destroyed my damascus billet at least 4 times, and she saved it easily (but with much cursing) each and every time. when it finally got so bad that I couldn't use it for what i wanted it originally, she donated her own perfect and valuable billet (which I actually managed to screw up too, but more on that later.) Some pictures of the studio, my forge, April, etc:

April Franklin on the power hammer, I think fixing one of my mistakes.

me on the power hammer. Probably making one of my mistakes.

hammering on a pathetically cold piece of metal.

my forge/ workspace

Lilacs

2009-05-31T15:26:00.000-07:00

Hugh and I are finding ourselves in much better spirits lately. Rachel's visit (and her squealing excitement over everything that caught her eye) helped remind me how extraordinary this place I live in is. And the amazing sunny weather hasn't hurt either! I've switched shifts around a bit lately, so that I only work evenings at the hotel, which means I have till 3 in the afternoon to work in the studio or soak up the fresh air on the front porch (you can guess where I've been more.) I'm replenishing my vitamin D, god knows I've been deficient for the last many months!

Our front porch, like most in town here, is shaded by a massive lilac bush. After so much snow and cold, the fireworks display of blooms mixed with the scent and warm breeze of the last few hot days has made me blissful. The ratio of happy travelers to grumpy businesspeople has swung in summer's favor at the hotel, so even work is somewhat more pleasant.

Some lilacs:

Mr. Saddlebags McBee

(yay new camera!)

I'm going to North Carolina for two whole weeks!

2009-05-29T13:44:00.001-07:00

I'm taking a class at Penland! It's called Steel This Jewelry, taught by April Franklin.
Some of April's work:

I'll be there from June 5th to the 21st, learning forging and smithing, how to work with steel, how to make damascus.. I am so excited! I've been lifting weights in anticipation of throwing hammers around! Hooray!

Rachel Rader in Montana!

2009-05-26T20:30:00.000-07:00

My very good friend and talented artist, Rachel Rader, came through Choteau today on her way to the east coast! I'm so happy to finally have a friend out here! These were some of our adventures:

Photo credits go to Rachel! Thanks for coming through! It made me so happy!

PS. Click this link to see Rachel's glass work- It is AMAZING!

I am full of caffeine and excitement

2009-05-21T09:15:00.000-07:00

Joanna Gollberg, one of the teachers I assisted at Penland, has given me an opportunity to exhibit at a fantastic gallery for a well known annual art-jewelry show! *!!exclamation points!!* I love you, Joanna! More information on that when plans get finalized and I know I'm official!

The other terribly exciting thing that has happened for me is a development involving my line of rose-themed jewelry. While I was participating in the craft show in Great Falls, I met a woman named Kat, who introduced me to her daughter Mayley. Mayley, I should mention, is 3 years old, cute as I've ever seen in my life, and she introduced herself by saying "Hello, Caitie, my name is Mayley. I'm pleased to meet you!" That comment just about floored me! She's so quick! The heart-wrenching part is that Mayley has cystic fibrosis. If you are like me, and know very little about the disease, check out the wikipedia entry here, it will fill you in. CF is generally regarded as a childhood disease, most cases are diagnosed between birth and age 3, and because cystic fibrosis is almost impossible for a new-talker to say, children are directed to say "I have a disease called sixty-five-roses." So there's where the rose theme comes in.

Kat is a mover and a shaker! She used to own a business in downtown Bozeman, MT for organic baby and mother products. She also developed her own line of organic baby slings, etc, stressing the importance of knowing what the things you buy are made out of, and who it is that's making them. Visit her website: Bella Madre Organics to see just how dedicated to artistic integrity and quality craftsmanship it is! It's a beautiful site, even if you don't need baby stuff. Kat had to give up the businesses when Mayley was diagnosed, and now she says she can't imagine doing anything that's not to help her "little peanut." So she is setting up her own charitable foundation for CF research! She is calling it the Blooming Rose Foundation, and she will be developing lines of Made in Montana products to be sold in boutiques, online, and retail stores, and all proceeds go to the foundation. She asked if I would be interested in dedicating my line of rose jewelry, and the design associated with it, to the foundation, and I have whole-heartedly decided to do it.

So my line of roses will be temporarily taken off the shelves, given a makeover, and will come out on the other side as a vehicle to help little Mayley and her peers. I couldn't be happier to do it. The same graphic designer that developed bellamadreorganics.com is working on the website now (pro-bono!) and when it's all set up, I will be plugging that link like crazy!

Being an artist has the potential to become such a self-absorbed way of life. The way I make art, and the reason I make it, is to help myself and figure myself out, but I'm always dismayed by the bigger picture and how I make such a small impact on it. I am thrilled to have the opportunity to do what I love to help someone else.

Camera Angst

2009-05-20T18:05:00.000-07:00

I want this camera! But! The reasons I want it are because it's cheap and pretty. I'm not sure if I'm ok with that!

I'm having angst over this decision! I absolutely must buy a new digital camera in the near future. I have a Canon Powershot A530 that only takes about 25 pictures before the AA batteries die (I think they may have a contract with Duracell.) And, in the last year, it's developed a dark patch in the lens that I have to account for in all my pictures. I have to center my jewelry to the right of the patch, so I can crop it out later. It's a pain, it's getting worse, and I can't live with it anymore. So there's why.

But what!?

I have heard from two different people that they love coolpix cameras, but then there are so many different models S's and L's and 220's and 610's. I'm heading towards the s220 just because it's the cheapest. And I like the green! I feel like I have to spend a huge amount of time with a camera, and honestly, I'm almost always totally stressed out when I'm using it, so why not have it be visually pleasing? Although I hate playing into the whole marketing electronics towards women by making different colors thing. I've been reading review after review, and nobody mentions a macro lens, either, which is what I'm most interested in. I hate the idea of getting a camera that I'm only somewhat happy with. I had a Sony Cybershot that I ABSOLUTELY LOVED, but I had to give up Sony after their lens broke, then the repair company switched my well-taken-care-of camera with one that had plastic gems glued to it, then they bought me a brand new camera and the lens broke in the same way AGAIN. So I can't do it anymore! And the Canon! A black patch on every exposure? 25 pictures per battery? I can't do that anymore either! It seems I'm being led to Nikon by elimination. I don't want anymore crap. A cheap camera is going to be crap, and I'd like to spend more, but I can't! Augh. I hate the electronics game.

Starting the wholesale process

2009-05-19T16:04:00.000-07:00

Well folks, it's about that time. Time to go global! Or something. Anyway, the deal is that I'm putting together wholesale lists to send to every retail store imaginable. What this means for me is more excel spreadsheet experience. bwa bwa. What this means for you is a price change. Since I haven't had to share my earnings with a storefront, I haven't been accounting for it in my prices. But now that's got to change. SO.

On June 4th my online shops will temporarily close while I restructure my price scale, go to North Carolina (more on that later), and fill orders. I probably won't open back up (except for special orders) until mid July.

This whole business thing is new and uncomfortable for me, and pricing has felt impossible. I need to go pore over bills and do some calculations of microscopic measurements of wire and pieces of minutes. No fun.

In other words: Go to my store and get what you like before June 1st, because not only am I offering FREE SHIPPING through the month, it's your last chance to get it at this price!

I love you all,
Caitie

Website Update

2009-05-12T17:10:00.000-07:00

Hugh and I have DSL at our house, now, so all of the internets are being updated!

Caitie Sellers dot com

I'm also trying out a new selling venue called 1000markets. They have an interesting style of store layout as well as a cool system of "markets" where you can connect your shop with others of similar interests. I love this idea because you can then belong to a network of art that compliments your own, almost like a mixed-artist gallery show, that's not necessarily of the same medium. It kind of seems like more of a social club than a sales venue, but I'm curious to see how it goes. They also have an approval process for new shops, so bad layouts, pictures, and shady policies won't drag down the reputation of the site. One day I'll post a link to that too.

I also have a plan to start featuring other artists on my blog, since I've been very self absorbed lately. I'm going to start with my friends and work from there! Coming soon!

New Jewelry Now On Etsy

2009-05-08T21:28:00.001-07:00

See more here!

Production Jewelry, now on sale!

2009-05-07T22:13:00.000-07:00

Just a few new things going on around here. I'm slowly taking pictures, editing them, and posting them on the etsy site. These two have been around for a little while, and I'm still developing more.

Two big things:

1. In honor of all the NEW STUFF, I'm offering free shipping through the month of May!

2. I am no longer using steel mixed with silver in my production work. Darkened silver will take its place. This not only adds that little bit of material value to the piece you're paying for, but also eliminates this pesky recurring nightmare called copper plating that's been haunting me. Stay in touch, something fun is bound to happen with the discontinued jewelry, and you'll find out when I'm done listing the new pieces!

Spring Happenings Craft Show

2009-05-04T18:59:00.001-07:00

Behind every successful woman is a handsome man.

The craft show is officially over! All the bloodshed and tears! I made some much needed and well appreciated contacts, and met some unbelievably amazing people, and I made back my immediate expenses, so I will say that I am happy with it in the end. I busted my *ahem* rear-end to put together a huge amount of inventory (just in case) and buy as many chains, displays, and materials that I could have ever needed, and that was all probably a little unnecessary. I just didn't go through much jewelry. Now I have a lot of jewelry and nowhere to get rid of it. I understand that as my first venture in a new craft-based business, I should expect to not really make a profit, but it hurts my ego a little and my wallet a lot. I do know now, though, that there is nothing to be afraid of, that it is better to be over-prepared, and that the craft community is as warm and inclusive as I had hoped, and beyond that. Everyone at the show went out of their way to let me know that my presence was respected, and everyone made sure I understood that I shouldn't be disappointed if I had bad sales. I will make the suggestion to all my craft friends: think hard before you do a craft show in a mall. You end up spending three 12 hour days watching teenagers make out on the escalator. yuck.

But thank you thank you thank you to all you wonderful people who stopped at my booth to chat, whether you bought something or not, or whether you were a fellow vendor or not. Thank you to my new friends in the booths around me, you made me feel so accepted and at home. Thank you to the promoters, I know you did a fantastic job organizing and advertising, at least we know the mall's not it. Thank you to those of you who bought something- I really do get flattered when I know my work is appreciated. Thank you to whomever took a card and went to my website and ended up here, stay in touch!

One more blizzard picture

2009-05-04T18:35:00.000-07:00

House burrito

April Showers... I mean.. Blizzards

2009-04-29T20:21:00.001-07:00

I can't even believe this. What planet am I on?

Spring!

2009-04-23T12:08:00.001-07:00

My house!

Yesterday:

Today:

Yesterday:

Today:

Weather Deer does not lie. It was 70 yesterday, and snowing today. I'm starting to discover that I can predict the weather here: Every day I have off from work, it will snow!

Hand Made Business Card Holder

2009-04-20T19:40:00.000-07:00

Fantastico!

Made by the fabulous Agniezca of HAREandDRUM! Also- excitingly- made in Montana! Visit her *amazing* etsy store for more business card holders and mind blowing hand embroidered wall hangings. My favorite:

According to her information, Agnie (such a great name) designs and finishes, while her mother does the expert embroidery. I've done quite a bit of embroidery in my day, but I can't say I know how to do that! (or it would take me so long that I'd charge $1,000 for it. Grab it from her for only $25!)

A word about Rio brand tumblers

2009-04-18T14:30:00.001-07:00

Worst barrel closure design imaginable. If I had to think of a way to make a container water tight in the least effective/ most annoying way, I couldn't do better than this glorified rubber band. The good news is that Rio Grande, as a whole, is a quality company that realizes they've made a horrible piece of equipment, so they're letting me return it past 30 days, and paying for my shipping to boot. So I ordered the Lortone tumbler, and I'll tell you how it goes on Wednesday when I get it.

Otherwise, I've made a couple dozen earrings and ordered or made just about all the jewelry furniture I'll need for my booth. And then, just to subconsciously prove to myself that I can't actually do anything for very long without disaster, I pre-cut all of my necklace chains 3 inches short. So guess what's arriving with my tumbler? 20ft of new chain. I'm still going to use the stupid pieces I have, I'll just have to design a new necklace/bracelet that needs 4 1/2" segments of chain.

New House, old clothes, approaching deadlines

2009-04-13T16:15:00.000-07:00

My mom and dad came to visit last Thursday, and the boy and I are officially moved in to our new old house next door. Luckily, my mom LOVES to organize kitchens, unpack, and hang curtains, so I haven't had to worry about a bit of it while I've been working my bazillion part time jobs. It's a friendly house, for sure. I am not intimidated of it in the dark or scared of its creaks and moans, it's like an old friend. Things are still scattered around, and I'm not unpacked except for my studio, and it's not organized at that. There's a lot of paperwork to be done for the "business", and a WHOLE lot of making jewelry to be done for it... and a whole lot of booth design to be done for it... It's like a sinking ship. Every day I get deeper in the hole. On May 1, 2, and 3rd, I'm doing a craft show in Great Falls, that's actually taking place inside the big shopping mall. My first craft show ever, my first production line ever, my first independent business venture ever. I might be in over my head, but I'm fighting through it. I went shopping this morning for some display items I needed, receipts, packaging, etc, I have a little more stuff to order from my metals supplier, and then I need to make some friends to borrow stuff from.

Sneak peak of new production jewelry:

Sweet, sweet vintage clothes, blowing in the dusk breeze:

I can smell the mothballs from here

Wall

2009-04-07T20:43:00.001-07:00

House Shots

2009-04-06T21:12:00.001-07:00

Before:

After:

This house was really a piece of art. I feel bad having dismantled it.

"Spring" means nothing in Montana

2009-04-03T13:46:00.000-07:00

More. Snow.

When I was in Virginia, I missed snow SO MUCH. I missed it every time I saw a blizzard reporting on the news, I missed it every time it rained, I missed it every time it got below 40 degrees. I am over it! Leave me in peace, weather! Or at least be like Montana's supposed to be and give me some windy 65 for a day or two before it dumps again!

In other news, the most exciting thing EVER:

Even the molds are cute! Thank you Joanna Gollberg, for suggesting GM Casters Inc. in Philly PA for all my casting desires. It took about 2 and a half weeks, and actually turned out to be less money than I expected.

I'm a dork and boring!

2009-03-30T16:57:00.000-07:00

Reading my last post, I realized how little I actually have to say about my life. Sigh.... Pancakes.

To make up for it, here's a little bit of current work-things that actually mean something to me.

These are some of my favorite pieces from the Ventanas Series that I started at Penland and can't stop. I mailed the two bracelets to New Jersey on Friday for a show titled "Decorative Resurgence."

“Decorative Resurgence”, is a juried exhibition focused on contemporary metalwork
and jewelry inspired by historical ornamentation and decoration. Artists are
encouraged to submit work that references historical decorative metalwork, jewelry,
functional and non-functional objects, architecture, textile patterns, and/or processes.

The exhibition was juried by Jill Baker Gower and Jessica Calderwood, and will be held at the Rowan University Gallery in Glassboro, NJ, in conjunction with the Society of North American Goldsmith's Conference, April 20th-May 29th.

I made these two stands last week to display the jewelry while in the gallery. I wanted to include some of the architectural inspirations I draw upon for the furniture, but I'm afraid it gets muddy when it's all put together. Any suggestions? I realize it's too late for Decorative Resurgence, but I'm not done making these pieces yet. Onward!

My very first pair of Window Bar Earrings! Sterling Silver and Steel. The fleur de lis are polished for a little bit of sparkle. I'm loving the small hoop attachments, be prepared to see more of this kind of connection from me.

Lastly:

A different idea than the others so far. This pendant depicts a scene, just a peep, of a city landscape in Xela. It is a mix of silver and steel, with some parts polished for impact. The chain, which I haven't even finished yet, is handmade of different sized links of steel.

I feel that this is a step forward in my one of a kind work. The window bars speak of protection and safety, something that preoccupied me at all times while in Central America. This scene, and the ones I plan to make in the future, will say more about life and my personal interaction with the landscape.

In other news, I'm enjoying both of my jobs, and Hugh now is also employed, so we can feel like functioning members of society again. Maybe we'll even be able to afford internet and Netflix! He's also (enthusiastically!) taken on my bookkeeping as a new challenge. Knowing the way he does things, it may become his new hobby. My baby so smart! It's given me relief to have a number on my expenditures, or losses... as it may be. It's also relieving to have that not take away from my studio or relaxing time, what a good sport Hugh is!

Montana Stuff

2009-03-23T19:21:00.000-07:00

I'm here at the hotel, blogging between phone calls. I just had a woman call me from Georgia asking me how long it takes to get here from Missoula.. I didn't have much good info, since I'm probably more familiar with her state than I am with my own.

Otherwise, Friday was an exciting day at the flower shop. Saturday was the high school's prom, so I got to make 8 or 9 corsages. It seems that most people here are not interested in being traditional, which is kind of an understatement. I am incredibly impressed by the whole Montana mindset. They'll really just let you do what you want, it's not hurting anybody! They reward ingenuity with genuine interest and even the occasional trade of services if you're lucky. Here's a picture of the corsage I had the most fun with, for Simone.

This is a picture of the most perfect pancake ever made. The history books were re-written this day, March 23rd... Somewhere around lunch, Mountain Time.

And THIS, my friends, is why vegetarians are not allowed in Montana. This is the hotel I work at. You can't even pay for a room unless you love taxidermy.

Yes, you can do what you want here, but you're totally weird if you don't eat meat.

Flower Shop Stuff

2009-03-19T09:56:00.000-07:00

Yo dudes. Here's a picture of the flower shop I work at. My friend Kathleen Danger Kennedy suggested I make a flower arrangement in one of the toilets (this is a flower and plumbing supply shop combined) so I took her up on it. I think it makes the toilet look.... fresh... I love that my boss thinks this is a good idea.

This is an arrangement I made yesterday for the front cooler. I also love that my boss will leave me in charge for a day with instructions saying "Make an arrangement for the front with a dozen roses, do whatever you like." Ah, creative freedom.

I sent off some jewelry to the casters to the tune, I expect, of my entire tax return. I hope it doesn't take long.

Later gators.

Passing time

2009-03-17T18:49:00.000-07:00

Hey world, hope you're doing well. And by world I mean dad, because this blog is so widely read.

Anyway, the bottom picture is the product of a couple hours of good ol' focused work, which doesn't seem to happen often, and the top picture is what happens next. I really like the open, light, and delicate look of the thin lines in these pieces. I try to contrast the impossibly fragile appearance of the wire with as many connections as possible, making it sturdier than it seems. The picture of the ring is driving me crazy, though, there's a piece of lint on the wire and it's killing me! I need photoshop!

The last two days I've been working nights at the hotel and days in the studio. I actually really love the arrangement. I put together some earrings inspired by Guatemalan window bars, but they need some more thinking. These ideas are my favorites, but they are incredibly time consuming and at the moment I have no intention of selling them, so I can't spend as much time on them as I'd like.

I found a jewelry caster in PA that I'm going to use to fill out my jewelry line for the show. Now I just have to scrap together the money to give him... This just feels like a bottomless pit right now, and I'm selling my rose line for so cheap I can hardly believe I'm doing it. I just desperately want it to sell! All this business crap just sucks the fun right out of it.

Color Photo from 1900

2009-03-13T14:18:00.000-07:00

Just thought this was beautiful.

"The Photographers:

Charles Corbet
Paul Sano
Alfonse Van Besten
Remi Verstreken

From the website:

Around 1890 a number of amateur photographers were dissatisfied with the mere technical merits of photography. They wished to use photography for reproducing beauty and expressing their inner feelings and thoughts. Their vision had been opposed by painters and art critics, who were of the opinion that photography, being the product of a technical device, did not belong in a museum. The invention of a “fuzzy rendering process”, and the introduction of the manipulated image moved photography closer to the contemporary art movements in painting. Previous objections, to allow photography into the holy sanctuaries of museums, gradually disappeared.

In 1895 the Koninklijke Musea voor Kunst en Geschiedenis in Brussels started collecting international art photography. Among the foremost Belgian pictorialists from around 1900 were Hector Collard, Alexandre, Edmond Sacré, Gustave Marissiaux, Léonard Misonne and Edouard Hannon. Like genuine impressionists they were captivated by light, atmosphere and colour. (From the exposition catalogue “De fotografie in België 1839 – 1940” at the Provinciaal Museum voor Kunstambachten, Deurne, 1970).

It was not until 1907 that colour photography, thanks to the autochrome process, came within the reach of photographers. But from among the above mentioned Belgian photographers, it was only Gustave Marissiaux who fully started to make use of the new technique. Whether his fellow pictorialists have ever applied the autochrome process is uncertain: were they disappointed by the fact that the new technique, in contrast to other known photographic techniques, was impossible to manipulate?"

What happens when you boil citripickle for 8 hours?

2009-03-13T13:42:00.000-07:00

Black bubbly tar that turns crunchy and brittle after it dries. And an acrid stink that eventually dissipates to something along the lines of wet dog. I'm an idiot. I can only say I'm glad I did something that stupid in my own studio. I also managed to explode a hollow form, luckily it was just a thin walled tubing earring hoop that only popped and got shot into the shag, never to return again. Bad luck today.

Current news with the jewelry line is a display in the flower shop I work in. I'll make some more for a display in the clothing/accessories store a few blocks down. It would get more tourist traffic and more people actually looking for jewelry. I sold an earring/necklace set to my boss! I put a classified ad in the local paper "JEWELRY SERVICES AND REPAIR, FREE ESTIMATES." I bought a bracelet mandrel on tuesday, so that's another priority tool I can mark off my list. $25 on Ebay! Now I am working on a different line of designs, inspired by Guatemala. I need to find a casting company and get some molds done as soon as possible. Things seem to be lining up nicely for my booth at the craft show-Duane at the flower shop has all sorts of displays and decorations I can use.

Job news: Along with continuing to get my studio in running order, designing my first lines of production jewelry ever, marketing them, and preparing for my first craft show ever, I also work full time at two other jobs. One is the flower shop, obviously my favorite, the other is a hotel where I am a receptionist. It's regular hours and they pay me relatively well. The manager recently offered me more hours, which would mean less fun at the flower shop. I need the money! So I took the hours and I'm only doing the flowers one day a week. It sucks. I need the money.

Jewelry designs! (or tattoos!) If you live in New York City and you look hard enough, you'll see 3 of these guys inked on some rad gals. For my purposes, though, they are soon to be brooches.

Between Richmond, VA, Guatemala, and Montana, I think the only thing the last three places I've lived have in common are pigeons.

Dear Universe,

2009-03-04T13:10:00.000-08:00

Please bestow upon me Photoshop Software. I swear I'll never take your name in vain again.
Love,
Caitie

New Stuff!

2009-03-04T12:20:00.001-08:00

Hey People!
The store is officially open for business! Above is one of my favorites from my new and limited jewelry line, all inspired by roses. I am working as a florist these days after all. These earrings and others are all for sale at Etsy.com. PLEASE check it out! (I need the money but more the affirmation!)

In other news my new studio at 420 Main Ave is nothing short of delightful. I love being in there, I love my tools, I love that space, I love the light, I love the air, I love everything but the shag carpet! I think I'm going to have to name it and start making ritual sacrifices to it, because it's eating my earrings.

We've also ripped out the orange shag in the living room (pictured in a previous post) and found GORGEOUS wood floors under there, so there are some dudes refinishing those as we speak! I can't wait to see them!

Enough for now, thanks for reading!

Cat Punting

2009-03-03T14:44:00.001-08:00

BEFORE

AFTER

Love the Soldering, Hate the Torch

2009-02-25T12:43:00.000-08:00

I bought my torch from an old retired jeweler here in Montana, and I'm now wondering how long I'm going to get on it before I need to replace it. It's an old Smith mini-torch, and everything's a little worn. The hoses are stiff, and I'm a little scared of them being brittle. The hand piece gets hot while I'm using it, too. It's never gotten so hot that it hurts, but I've never used it for extended periods or at high temps, either. The most irritating thing, though, is that it won't keep its levels. I think the oxygen nozzle is worn out. It won't keep at the level I want, it keeps backing off till my cone is gone, and when I back it off to turn off the torch it increases and pops out the flame-every single time! The noise doesn't surprise me anymore, but it's starting to hurt my ears! I'm going to try going to a smaller tip, since I'm using a very low flame, and maybe it will want to work with me at a lower take of oxygen.

In other news, I'm going to be participating in an arts, crafts, and consulting show in Great Falls, about an hour south of here. I talked to the organizer and it's a long running show, with other high-end jewelers, and it will be inside the mall, so I will definitely have some customers. I'm a little nervous about getting stuff together for a show that's only 2 months away (May 1st-3rd) but it seemed like too good of an opportunity to miss! The booth is cheap, and I need something to work towards. The woman I work for at the flower shop said I can borrow any furniture she has, so tables and chair are covered, and another guy I work with that decorates all the weddings around here has lots of displays and decorations I can use. Now I'm designing, which I am having SO MUCH FUN doing, and where the torch troubles come in. Next after that are displays and packaging.

I sold an order on ETSY.com, and that money is just begging to be spent on a tumbler, so I'm off to call Rio!

Thanks if you're reading!

New House!

2009-02-18T14:22:00.000-08:00

Hugh, the cats, and I are moving out of my parents' vacation home and into a nearby house. We're replacing the carpet and painting the walls and then we'll be in! The living room has three different colors of wood paneling, and bright orange shag carpet, the kitchen has matching orange countertops and super rad green and orange linoleum, which cuts off and meets up with a DIFFERENT type of green and orange linoleum in the hallway, that connects to the Lisa Frank and Barbie lovechild purple and fuschia carpet in the bedroom. To really bring out the subtle colors in the carpet, though, the paneling in the bedroom is white with pink tinted woodgrain. The whole thing is a piece of art, and I kind of feel bad dismantling it. I don't think I can live with shag, though. And it smells like old people. There's a second bedroom that I'm leaving intact, where I'm putting my studio. It has light blue shag with gold-tinted paneling, and I kind of like it in there. I put a piece of remnant linoleum down so I can make myself feel better about the fire hazard of shag, and so I can still use my rolley chair. I found an old plank table in the basement that I scrubbed and hosed off, put a couple more braces and screws in, and will use as my soldering station. Can't wait to get it all set up and working! Before and After pictures soon.

A little something for now

2009-01-28T16:31:00.000-08:00

One day I will have internet access in my house and this blog will happen. Until then, here's a picture of the two most important "people" in my life.

Word

2009-01-17T10:34:00.000-08:00

Although I know that I'm totally writing this for myself, this being my first post ever, first real blog ever, and me being insignificant to the blog world and all, I guess I have to start somewhere.

I'm planning this blog to be a documentation simply of how I am learning to feed myself. I'm a jewelry and textile artist from Richmond, Virginia, where I graduated from Virginia Commonwealth University with a BFA in Craft/Material Studies. After I graduated, I worked selling jewelry at the mall, repairing oriental rugs, doing private contracting jewelry work for a local artist, and making whatever art I could manage the time for between those 3 other jobs. In April 2008 my now fiance and I flew to Guatemala and lived there for 4 months. I volunteered as a jewelry designer and teacher to various groups of indigenous women in the isolated highlands to make a line of fair-trade jewelry. If anyone wants to read the book on that, I had a blog while I was there.. or ask me. It's more than I can say in this brief history.

So after Hugh and I got back from Guatemala, I was a studio assistant at the Penland School of Crafts, for Amy Tavern and Joanna Gollberg's beginning jewelry class. Again, another book. Those two women are probably the reason I'm here, doing this, writing this, being this.

Now I am living in Choteau, Montana, a tiny 6 block long town in the North Central section of the state, on the steppes of the Rockies. This is the middle of a horrible recession, and Virginia had nothing for us. No apartments, no jobs, no sweet neighbors to help you saw up the tree that fell across your driveway. So here we are, for a multitude of reasons, the best being why not?

This begins week #3 in this foreign land, I have a tentative job at the local flower shop, one day a week for $7 an hour, and a prospective job at the little hotel 3 blocks in the other direction as a desk clerk, 2 days a week, for 8. Recessions suck everywhere. At least being a hotel clerk in this town doesn't involve sitting behind bullet proof glass.

I'm also opening a studio in the laundry room, which is where I really hope to spend my time. I have the bench and most of the tools, I just need a safe place to put my torch, since next to the gas water heater with the ever-threatening pilot light doesn't make me comfortable.

I hope one day someone other than my mom and my cousin reads this, but until then, yes, mom, I'm doing fine, say hello to dad for me.

Whatnot & Such

I am moving my blog

A Black Mountain Morning

New Job!

Images from the Flower Shop

A Message from Your Friendly Neighborhood Florist

Another Weekend with Few Accomplishments

Red Clay River - An Update

Drawing in New York

Music in New York City

A Sunny Day

New on the Loom

Things I Heart II

Buildings ) Pocketbook Slash Checkbook Holder

Circle Map Wood Box

Birdumbus Visits St Basil's Cathedralby PragyaK

Birdumbus Visits St Basil's Cathedral

brooklyn bridge card pack

Welcome to my Asheville studio, part II

New Favorite Artist

Sundays are a day for a blog

Introversion

Lupercalia

Speaking of Facebook

Blooming Rose Foundation

Things I heart

New Direction? Tell me your thoughts!

Shop Update

Haiti Relief - How to Really Help

Finished Rings

Welcome to my new Asheville studio

A digression before bed

Last week to ship in time for Christmas!

Xela-made jewelry finally online!

New Jewelry

Garbage Man Astronaut

Sparkle Plenty

Alive and well in North Carolina

I done got hitched!

New Vendor: Fancy!

PRESS

Blooming Rose Foundation

commissions

Scarves for sale

Trauma

A look at what's up in the studio

Meg comes to Montana

belated carnival photos

View from Parque Central

New piece!

The Carnival comes to Choteau- movies

Excitement in Montana

BEAR SIGHTING

Forged work from my Penland class

Leaving my legacy at penland

Penland!

Lilacs

I'm going to North Carolina for two whole weeks!

Rachel Rader in Montana!

I am full of caffeine and excitement

Camera Angst

Starting the wholesale process

Website Update

New Jewelry Now On Etsy

Production Jewelry, now on sale!

Spring Happenings Craft Show

One more blizzard picture

April Showers... I mean.. Blizzards

Spring!

Hand Made Business Card Holder

A word about Rio brand tumblers

New House, old clothes, approaching deadlines

Wall

House Shots

"Spring" means nothing in Montana

I'm a dork and boring!

Montana Stuff

Flower Shop Stuff

Passing time

Color Photo from 1900

Birdumbus Visits St Basil's Cathedral
by PragyaK