The sin.thesis Bench Evolution: A Photographic Journey

I'm in the process of moving house and studio from a small apartment in Uptown New Orleans to a large house in the suburbs. It will be a year in September since I started working with jewelry and set up my first bench space. I'd like to share my "bench evolution" as it's certainly come a long way--and the new studio will be far more than I could have dreamed of last year.

My first bench setup consisted of a $16 Craftsman tool stand in my living room. I soldered on the left and sawed on the right. Somewhere in the middle, as needed, I formed, drilled, and designed. Not much space, but I have to say, the tool stand was a great find. It was important to find something sturdy, as sawing would be miserable on a surface not heavy and stable enough to avoid shaking or wobbling. Many tool stands also are not designed for sitting, as many do not have a top that comes out from an open base to make room for your legs.


Eventually my sister gave me her drafting desk, which was my mother's before that. I'm very fond of this desk; it's been around since I was little. My mother used to pad the corners with foam because I persistently would walk my little forehead right into them.

I set this up in my bedroom (my apartment consisting of a living room, kitchen, bath, and single bedroom and being nearly full of furniture already). I admit, for months it sat as another flat surface on which to pile homeless objects. Besides, when I first began, my style was "expressionistic" in that I was playing with what I could do at the moment to see what I could get away with. Eventually, as I began fully designing pieces before construction more often, I used this area more. But it was never convenient and I usually ended up drawing on the sofa; not only was the desk in another room, but it supported all my other art supplies--paints, fibers, paper crafts, etc.


Finally, I added a dedicated soldering station next to the bench. Before that, I was picking up my soldering pad and supplies and putting them in a bag every time I wanted to hammer or use the "flex shaft" (read: "Dremel").


After I started riveting more, there was just no room to store hammers, anvils, etc on the tool stand. So I expanded next door to my computer desk. I moved my computer to the side a little and now had an area to design and form. Since my computer was still there, I didn't want to do anything too "dirty" on the desk like file or cut. The L-shaped set up worked pretty well, but it still had little storage, and it was still a computer desk.

That's all for this entry...stay tuned for the next installment of "The sin.thesis Bench Evolution," in which I get a REAL workspace!

once again, with gusto...

My foray into the art market scene took a lot out of me. Add in a few more personal factors and you get one big slump. But I'm back on track and ready to revive sin.thesis as I take a break from focusing on selling at fairs.

Perhaps a better way to put it is that I'm taking a break from focusing on selling. I have really enjoyed working on each piece that I've made, and their scale had less to do with marketability than with spontaneous exploration of a new medium. I would create based on whims I wanted to test, techniques I wanted to dabble in, and existing forms I wanted to collage. Lately, I've felt the need to progress to more planned, complete works that perhaps are more suitable for galleries than fairs or even etsy.com. But that doesn't bother me anymore. I'm less concerned with the business aspect of sin.thesis as I am with growing as a metalsmith. That isn't to say I won't be updating my etsy store with my new work and trying fairs again in the near future!

I've found a satisfying balance between working on large scale designer pieces and still being able to network and market my jewelry in my recent association with NoLA Rising, a post-Katrina art campaign encouraging people in New Orleans to publicly display works of art for the purpose of rebuilding and restoring the human spirit in NoLA. I've designed the first two pieces of my NoLA Rising series, which went on sale today and are based on NoLA Rising founder ReX Dingler's fleur de lis emblem.



A purchase of a NoLA Rising piece shows your support for our rebirth in two ways: it is a visual representation of our combined creative spirit as well as monetary aid in the achievement of NoLA Rising's goals (a portion of sales will benefit the group). Plus, they just look sharp!

Stay tuned for more designs and updates!

my first art market!

It was a success and I had a lot of fun learning the ins and outs of art markets. I'll definitely pursue more of the markets around town. I took some pictures of my booth:












What do you think? I was worried about not having enough merchadise, but I ended up filling my two tables nicely. Next time, I'll probably need another table! The bracelet display was made out of a wire candlestick I found at the junk shop, and the pendant board was designed by my clever mother and made by me out of sheet steel.

couture dolls--the freaky edition

I like weird things. And these dolls are weird...and some are a little scary. Be warned!

This is a handmade siamese twin doll by Christy Kane

This skeleton baby was hand painted and designed by Natamon

Lil Bigfoot by Cursters Minions

The Swim Team (Kettle Sisters) doll by The Shroeder Sisters

Malinda Osborne by Wendi Gratz

Well...I suppose I'll finish getting ready for my first fair which is...TOMORROW! I don't have too much to do, but it's time to stop procrastinating nonetheless. I hope you enjoyed my little diversion as much as I did.

ribbit

I've been Christmas shopping for handmade items. My sister is always the hardest to shop for. One thing she loves---I mean LOVES---is frogs. She has hundreds of frog items in her home, as well as real life frog habitats. So I thought I'd show you some of the neatest frog things on etsy.

"Ride the Frog" and "F is for Frog" by Sonia Romero (sheridesthelion)


Here's a frog beanie by Crochetroo in Australia.


Tadpole Bag by The Frog Bag, who donates a portion of her profits to charity.


Little frog dish by Tile Smile


An original frog drawing by Thaneeya


Ribbit!

show-off

I have my very first art fair on December 1st. I've been wanting to be in a fair since I was little helping out at my mother's craft fairs. Everything's happening so fast; I hope my show goes well and that my booth looks full enough. I've been making my own displays which I'll show you at a later date, but for now, take a look at some of the beautiful ways other people are showing off their jewelry (and more!).

This is a "colossal" wall mount jewelry holder by Claudine's Closet. She has other displays but this one really caught my eye. I love how the roots of the tree can be used to hang things from as well as the branches.

This ceramic hand is very elegant. It comes in many colors at Clay Maid's shop.

It was hard to decide which display to feature from Moxie Metal, but I chose this wrought iron earring holder because it reminds me of a music stand.

Whimsy Love has a great idea here--fork easels! They come in smaller sizes as well. A great way to display sale signs, business cards or fliers, or other paper arts you sell or collect.

When I saw these business card holders/ring displays, I had to special order some. They're elegant, unobtrusive, and clever as anything I've ever seen. Made by Jewels Curnow

Beth Millner has designed these charming and simple earring displays that will not detract from your item. They even stack together for easy travel.

In addition to everything else I have to pull together this week (eep!), I'm designing some displays of my own. I'll photograph them soon to show you. If you'd like to share any of your designs, please send me a message and I'll be glad to include them here.

snug as a...bat in a hat?

I just went to Nashville to visit my parents for Thanksgiving. I had a wonderful time, but it was cold! It's considerably warmer back home in New Orleans, but I'd still like some winter gear, especially since half of my head is shaved into a mohawk. I have dreads, but not a full head of them of course, so I'm looking for a skull cap.

So if you're worried about losing body heat through your head--I've always heard 80% is lost--you might want to check out these hats that will keep you warm and make you look hot.

The soft explosion hat by yarnings by sienna She calls is a grenade/hedgehog.

red crochet hat with black accents by lazy mama designs . Can you tell I like red and black yet?

microsuede beanie by Rin the Red.

Beatrice hat by Electric Bluebird

purple skullcap by Cabo Designs

purple and black fun fur beanie by Melon Bean

Stay warm! And look for my next showcase on displays as I gear up for my first art market!