I've moved!

Not far,though!

I always knew my little studio/teaching space was temporary, and now it's officially someone else's (well, I still have a few more things to clean up).  So I've moved downstairs in my husband's office. The good news is there will be more room for classes and I have access to a larger, better sink.  (Those of you who have taken my classes know that I hated using the little bathroom sink.)

I will still be teaching and at my studio with the same schedule as always, which is on my calendar.  You can now find my studio at:

130 Oak Street, Suite 1

(ground floor - on the State Street side of the building)

(With Herrick & Salsbury, Inc.)

Ellsworth, Maine

Right in My Own Backyard

I usually write something about my business or jewelry making for my blog, but I had such a wonderful experience yesterday and I really would like to share some pictures.

My husband and I went kayaking on the Union River which runs practically right behind our house.  We have been wanting to do this for a few weeks, but the tide schedule and our personal schedules have not cooperated until yesterday.  We put in a the Ellsworth "harbor".  I put that in parenthesis because it's not so much a harbor as a dock and a little boat ramp.   Ellsworth's not a very big town but the landing is on a fairly well traveled road and there was lots of traffic.  But once we put our kayaks in and got out into the river, it was so much different. 

We see lots of different birds in that area, including hawks and bald eagles, many times while sitting on the bridge waiting in traffic.   I saw a huge bird land in a tree, but it didn't have a white head, so I paddled over to get a closer look.  I took a bunch of pictures and after enlarging them on my computer, I confirmed what I had hoped on the river:  It was a juvenile bald eagle.  It was pretty ragged looking, so it might have been molting.  He wasn't too happy with us watching him and eventually flew away.

We also saw so many seals, I lost count.  I have a lot of pictures of water where the seals were before the went back under the water, but I did get a couple of them watching us.  They are quiet and you never know where they are going to pop up. 

 

Unfortunately, I didn't get a picture of the three seals swimming quickly upstream, jumping in and out of the water, like dolphins do (I'm sure there is a word for that, but I don't know what it is).  They were so close that I actually got splashed.

Further downstream there were no more seals, but it was so quiet and peaceful, you wouldn't know that you were right in the middle of a town, except for seeing the occasional house and the one person mowing their lawn.  I didn't get to see any otters, as I hoped I might, but we did see a peregrine falcon high up in a tree.

There were also two loons chasing each other in what Steve thought was probably some sort of mating ritual.  They were too fast for me to get a picture.

I was blessed and honored to see these beautiful animals, especially so close to humans.  It's amazing what you can see right in your own back yard.

Custom Pieces

I've got stuff all over the place and in every stage of completion, as well as a bunch of pieces that were finished ages ago, but I haven't yet listed.  Well, today is the day I took pictures of a bunch and will be listing them in my Etsy Shop over the next few days.  There are also some that won't make it to my shop because they are custom orders, but I still want to share those.

I was very pleased and honored to be asked to make earrings for a bride to wear in her wedding in July.  She wanted a certain color stone and I couldn't match it exactly.  She and her mom saw me enameling and decided to use a color I happened to be enameling with, which was a perfect match.  I rounded up the enameling so that it would look like a cabochon.

I have also made a couple of brooches for a shop in Bar Harbor that is doing a special brooch exhibit.  Both are made with texture sheets, using my own drawings.  The first is called "Make a Wish".  The fuzzies on the dandelion are slightly raised and secured with resin.

The second is a reversible pin.  The dangle part has a swirly tree design on one side and a stylized fiddlehead on the other.  That part can be removed and turned over to hang on the pin portion.  I suppose it could also be worn on a chain.

I used a jewelry lacquer to seal the patina for the first time on this piece.  I've been afraid to because every other thing I tried ended up changing the color of the patina.  This one didn't, though.  I didn't spray it, but actually sprayed a pool of the lacquer onto a piece of plastic and "painted" it into the depression where the lacquer is.

If you would like to see more photos of the two pins, you can see those here.

Higher Grounds Artisan & Vintage Market

I know summer has started when I announce my first show of the year.  I'm looking forward to this one, which sounds like a lot of fun.

Higher Grounds Artisan & Vintage Market

Sunday, June 19th

10:00 am to 3:00 pm

119 Water Street, Hallowell

For more information visit:   http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=149676535104975

Hope to see you there!