artBLISS 2013 in Latergrams

Oh dear, I'm woefully behind on updates around here. These pics are supposed to be Instagrams. Latergrams will have to do...

On the weekend of September 27th, 28th and 29th, I traveled to the Washington D.C. area's jewelry retreat, artBLISS. When I arrived, I was greeted by the artbliss mascot. She is pretty, classy and perfectly patriotic. I'm bad with names but, I think her name is Eleanor? Excuse me, if that's not right.

Friday night was the 'Meet and Greet' event. Here I am with my friend and fellow artist, Erin Prais-Hintz of Tesori Trovati Jewelry. I'm happy to have spent some quality time with her over the weekend!

On Saturday, I took Stacie Florer's Thin Gauge Metals class. These are the earrings I made during class. I'm thrilled with them! It was so much fun. Stacie's class was everything I knew it would be and more. I really connect with Stacie on a deep personal level and a creative one. Her class was inspiring in more ways than one. I learned a lot, got tons of personal attention from Stacie even though her class was full to the max and I just enjoyed creating in the environment that she facilitates. Oh, and laughed a lot, too!  I do hope our paths continue to cross and I get to work with her again in the future. Before I took the class, I said I was participating for the experience and had no specific intention of adding metalwork to my jewelry. Now, I could actually see myself playing with the techniques I learned. Working with the thin gauge metal is beginner-friendly, forgiving and very approachable. There's lots of potential. I'm excited about the possibilities!

Saturday evening was the 'Soiree' event of shopping and socializing! Here I am at my vendor table. I sold copies of my book, Bohemian-Inspired Jewelry, kits, and an array of my favorite jewelry-making materials, beads and findings from Ornamentea.com. I also demonstrated one of my favorite projects from Bohemian-Inspired Jewelry, my Leather Ruffle Hoop earrings.

Another treat was getting to see my friend, Tracy Statler of Make Bracelets! She also had a table at the soiree selling some of her stash. And oh, how I loved her stash! I did some shopping with her but, I would have loved to take that whole table home! Too bad my suitcase was already overweight. Tracy makes the coolest jewelry and she contributed some of her awesome designs to Bohemian-Inspired Jewelry. Tracy is a sot-after designer. She recently added Cindy Wimmer's new book, The Missing Link to her book contributions.

Speaking of The Missing Link book, here it is! ArtBLISS co-creator, Cindy Wimmer just authored her own wire jewelry book called The Missing Link: From Basic to Beautiful Wirework Jewelry. Fortunately, her author copies arrived just in time for her artBLISS retreat and she was able to have a book signing! WhooHoo! It just wouldn't have been the same without it. Having Cindy's book there and being able to get a signed copy straight from her was a highlight for me and it made artBLISS this year that much more exciting.

Here's Cindy signing copies surrounded by the fabulous jewelry from the book. Well, it's about time this talented jewelry artist authored her own book showcasing her incredible work. I've thought this for some time. I have to say it was well worth the wait. This is one of the best wire technique books I've seen in a long time.The wire links themselves are the stars here. The link designs are beautiful, original and highly adaptable. The step-by-step photos and instructions are thorough, detailed and well-executed. Even a beginner could follow along and make the wire links with these excellent photos and directions. One of the things I love the most is the gorgeous photography and styling. The photos do justice to Cindy's exquisite work and that of her contributing designers. The style of the photos shine with Cindy's personal touch and aesthetic with her own vintage props used for backgrounds. It's a gorgeous book and I'm thrilled I came home from artBLISS with my own author-signed copy!