Friday, September 20, 2013

ArtBLISS 2013

www.artblissworkshops.com

Oh my, the artBLISS retreat is next weekend! Hard to believe it's already that time. I will be attending and vending the event again this year and I can't wait. It's hosted by fellow jewelry artists and friends, Cindy Wimmer and Jeanette Blix. It's one of my favorite social gatherings of the year. You can read about my time there last year here. Since I missed out on all the fun and camaraderie at Bead Fest in August, I'm anticipating artBLISS with intensity. I'm looking forward to spending some quality time chatting with my creative friends in attendance.

Thin Gauge Metal Workshop with Stacie Florer

Last year, I was one of the five instructors. I taught my Macrame Flower Bracelet class and I demonstrated how to do some macrame knotting. This year, I'm a student. I'm taking Stacie Florer's Thin Gauge Metal Workshop just for fun! Stacie is such a beautiful, inspiring soul and a very talented metal jewelry artist. I jumped at the chance to take a class from her. I want to just be there in the presence of her lovely energy and connect with her. I also have a feeling that being in her creative teaching environment will be an amazing experience all on it's own. Metalworking is outside of what I normally do and I don't plan on adding it to my existing work. I'm not taking the class with the intention to add techniques to my jewelry-making repertoire. Rather, for me, this class is all about enjoying the experience and having a little fun tinkering around with different materials. Who knows what I may discover from that. I am, however, looking forward to taking home some awesome, handmade metal earrings I learned to make from Stacie Florer.

See me demo my Leather Ruffle Hoops at artBLISS 2013.

Speaking of earrings, even though I won't be teaching a formal class this year, I will be demonstrating my Leather Ruffle Hoops on Saturday evening. A version of these earrings can be found in my book, Bohemian-Inspired Jewelry. At Saturday night's soiree, I will be showing how to make a pair of these and I will have kits for sale so that my fellow artBLISSers can make'em, too. Leather embellishments like in these earrings are really hot and trending right now, so I'm hoping they will be popular with the attendees.

Leather Ruffle Hoops in action. Follow me on Instagram.

In addition to the earrings, I will also have lots of other goodies for sale at my demoing table. I've teamed up with my dear friends at Ornamentea.com to bring their quality products to artBLISS. I'm talking some gorgeous materials here! I'll be toting along my very favorite fibers and beads from their selection. Here's just a smattering of the yummy bits and baubles I'll have at my table:

 Fibers and beads courtesy of Ornamentea.com will be available for sale at artBLISS workshops 2013.

Plan to stop by if you are in the Washington, D.C. area. 
Hope to see you there!

6 comments:

  1. You'll love taking a class with Stacie! I took a class with her last year and really enjoyed it-she is an excellent and inspiring teacher. The fiber hoops that you will be demoing are fantastic! Can't wait to see that and all the fibers from Ornamentea.

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  2. LOVE those earrings!! Have fun in class and show us what you learned when you get back.

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  3. Erin - those hoops are one of my favorite from your book. I've started using this technique of a leather ruffle and LOVE it! Your book continues to inspire me :)

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  4. You're going to love Stacie's class - they are so much fun. That's the one I will be taking and like I said will be glad to share any of my tools with you. See you next week.

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  5. Wow! The material you have used is completely unique, never seen before. I like the earrings pair a lot, amazing stuff.

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  6. Erin, it was so great to see you again this year!! Your earring demo was such a hit - no wonder, this design is so beautiful - one of my favorites!

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