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Muse
n.
Greek Mythology Any of the nine daughters of Mnemosyne and Zeus, each of whom presided over a different art or science.
muse
A guiding spirit.
A source of inspiration.
muse A poet.
[Middle English, from Old French, from Latin Mūsa, from Greek Mousa; see men-1 in Indo-European roots.]
 Agate Cameo Pendant by Clarity Collins, Scrollwork Designs What is it about Clarity that inspires me?
Her boldly-go-where-she-hasn’t-gone-before mentality. She has only been metalsmithing for about 6 months, and as you can see, is already making some very complex jewellery! I seem to have lost a lot of my “just do it” attitude, so a daily dose of Clarity is just what the doctor ordered!
Her ability to express herself with humour and ah, clarity (sorry, I couldn’t think of another word that fit there, honestly). Read a couple of her posts on the Aspiring Metalsmith blog and you will see what I mean. A little bit sassy, a little bit funny, concise and easy to read. Brilliant! When I grow up I want to write like that.
A very busy woman, Clarity not only has a young family, she has a furniture restoring business, an online jewellery shop , and recently started the Aspiring Metalsmiths Street Team on Etsy. I do about half as much, and I’m exhausted!
If you are an aspiring metalsmith and are on Etsy, visit our Aspiring Metalsmith Forum for some useful tips, great fellowship, and laughter, all held together with grace and humour by Clarity, our fearless leader.
Who or what inspires you?
I use copper a lot in my jewellery. I love working with it, but soldering presents a bit of a challenge. Because the solder used is silver solder, any areas that have been soldered become glaringly obvious, creating some interesting design challenges.
And so I was quite interested to read a post from the Orchid Digest on the Ganoskin site that might just solve this problem. Here is an excerpt from the post:
“When I need to hide solder seems on my copper pieces, I put them in a container of old pickle (heavily discolored blue from the suspended copper in the solution) and I also throw in a piece of heavy steel wool. I let them sit together in the solution for a few hours. The chemical reaction of the steel causes the copper in the solution to thinly plate the silver-soldered seams on the copper piece. The piece can then be cleaned and polished or a patina applied as usual. I have not had any solder seems pop back out and be made visible yet. Theresa ”
Brilliant, isn’t it? Taking what usually is a disaster when it happens to silver (I’ve forgotten to take the binding wire off my work once or twice before putting it into the pickle, and yes it is a disaster when one’s work is copper-plated), and using it purposefully to solve a problem.
I haven’t yet had the opportunity to try this, but I will soon. I’d love to hear if it works for you.
I just realized that I hadn’t posted this dog portrait, so I’m sliding it in here! This was commissioned by a former equestrian student of mine as a Christmas gift for her parents. I had the pleasure of knowing their lovely mixed breed dog, Chelsea, and was honoured to be asked to draw her portrait.
 Chelsea - graphite pencil portrait on Mylar by Julie A. Brown 2009 This is actually a work-in-progress shot. I was working right up to the shipping deadline, and didn’t have a chance to scan the finished portrait! There is always a mad rush during the holiday season, trying to accomodate everyone. It was quite a challenge to draw Chelsea’s luxuriously wavy coat, and doubly so because I was experimenting with a new support. Mylar is an interesting surface on which to work. It is nothing like traditional paper. I will have lots of fun playing with it in the future. I can see all kinds of possibilities for it!
If you are interested in commissioning a pet portrait, visit the portrait page on my website.
Muse
n.
Greek Mythology Any of the nine daughters of Mnemosyne and Zeus, each of whom presided over a different art or science.
muse
A guiding spirit.
A source of inspiration.
muse A poet.
[Middle English, from Old French, from Latin Mūsa, from Greek Mousa; see men-1 in Indo-European roots.]
This week’s Muse is one of my favourite contemporary artists, Miriam Climenhaga.
 "Muse" Acrylic on Canvas by Miriam Climenhaga One of my favourite pieces is the aptly titled “Muse”.
 "Mystery" Limited Edition Giclee Print by Miriam Climenhaga Miriam’s work speaks to me on so many levels, and is always an inspiration to me. I hope that someday I am able to express myself with my art as well as she does!
I suggest you visit Miriam’s lovely blog, “Art and Art Like Substances” to see more of her creative, inspiring work. I subscribe by email so I don’t miss any of her thought-provoking work!
You can purchase Original Art and archival prints by Miriam Climenhaga online.
Who or what inspires you in your creative endeavours, or in your life?
I don’t know about you, but good customer service makes me feel good. It makes me happy to have bought from that business. Great customer service, service that goes above and beyond what is necessary for a good business transaction, makes me feel special, a valued participant in the business. More importantly, great customer service makes me want to develop a relationship with the business, to return again.
I am thankful for every time I receive great customer service, but I would like to publicly thank two businesses who, for me, really personify it :
Harold at the Foto Shop , my local printer/framer, who always drops what he is doing to make some last minute prints or framing so I can meet a deadline. He will also always take time out of his busy schedule to answer my many questions without making me feel like I’m taking him away from more important things.
Lee Valley Tools, who, without being asked, sent me a replacement tin of Conservator’s Wax because the original had been slightly damaged in transit. I didn’t request a replacement, the product itself was not damaged. All I did was send them an email suggesting that they revisit their method of packaging the tins to prevent it happening again.
Thank you both for the Great customer service. I will be back!
Do you have a business that always gives you great customer service? Have you thanked them lately?
I was browsing the photo-sharing site Flickr the other day, and after much wandering to and fro landed on Kathryn Riechert’s studio pics set. I enjoyed looking at her lovely studio set up, and gained several ideas and tips which I am planning to implement in my own studio. I’ve been doing a big studio re-organization over the last several weeks, and one area I’ve been struggling with is how to store my wire. I’ve tried keeping it in old coffee cans, in plastic bags pinned to the wall, in boxes, and nothing seems to work just right for me. So you can imagine my excitement when I saw the method Kathryn uses! Now I’m sure that for many of you this is not a new idea, and I know from the comments on her photo that Kathryn wasn’t the first one to think of it; but it is new to me, so I thought I would share it for all the other aspiring metalworkers out there.
 Wire Organization - photo by Kathryn Reichart She also organizes her sandpaper in the same way which is a darn site better than my method (I call it the un-method) of throwing it all in a drawer.
 Sandpaper Organization - photo by Kathryn Riechert Such a simple method of keeping things organized and out of the way, but easy to refer to. Another one of those ideas where I wonder why I couldn’t have come up with it on my own.
Do you have any simple and inexpensive methods for organizing wire (or anything else for that matter) that you would like to share? Leave a comment!
I want to thank Kathryn for letting me use her photos for this post. She is an inspired and inspiring metalsmith and I’m very happy to have stumbled upon her. You can see her work at Kathryn Riechert Jewelry .
Muse
n.
- Greek Mythology Any of the nine daughters of Mnemosyne and Zeus, each of whom presided over a different art or science.
- muse
- A guiding spirit.
- A source of inspiration.
- muse A poet.
[Middle English, from Old French, from Latin Mūsa, from Greek Mousa; see men-1 in Indo-European roots.]
This week’s Muse: Henri Matisse 1869-1954
His use of saturated colour, and simple modeling of figures and shapes is a never ending source of inspiration to me.
 Dance I love Matisse’ work, and this painting in particular, so much , that when given the Art History assignment “do a painting in the style of _________”, this is what I chose to do:
 Art History Project Dancing Horses by Julie A. Brown (in the style of Matisse) 2007 Matisse’s life, like his work, was colourful and controversial. To find out more about him visit Matisse: Life and Painting .
 Blue Nude with Hair in the Wind 1952 Who or what inspires you?
I belong to a wonderful online group of self-employed women called Unique Women in Business. The group encompasses all sorts of businesses, and women of all ages and walks of life. We share business tips and techniques, our successes and failures in a supportive environment. To find out more about the group visit our Unique Women in  Business blog or our Yahoo forum.
UWIB is gearing up for its first team event coming up this weekend! We’re super stoked about it and hope you are, too!
Both Etsy shops and independent businesses are having sales. Qualifying items for each shop vary, so please see each individual shop for their promotion.
Etsy shops participating will have a shop announcement: Unique Women in Business Etsy Team will be having a FREE SHIPPING event starting Friday, January 22 thru Monday, January 25. Search on UWIBTEAMFS to find all shops/items participating.
Here is the UWIB Etsy forum thread for more information and to see who is participating.
To immediately start searching, click here.
Independent Businesses participating:
Glitzy Events – Use coupon code UWIBFREESHIP at check-out on our website http://glitzyevents.com
The Angel Company – Rita Wetzel, Independent Demonstrator – Send email to Rita at stamp2stamp2@yahoo.com with a list of item numbers, description, quantity. Rita will email you order total. Payment via PayPal or Credit Card.
Charms~N~Things – coupon code FSJAN2010
Painted Laydies Mineral Makeup – Everything ships free all the time. No code needed.
Naughty and Nice Lingerie – Shipping is always free within the US! Fast, free shipping, dollar rewards and free gifts with certain purchases! Check out my store for more details or email me at sales@naughtyandnicelingerie.com. Ask me how to get an additional 10% off your purchase!!
I will be participating in this fun event, so do stop by and check out the “Free Shipping” section in my shop!
Please help us spread the word by blogging, Facebooking, or tweeting about this event!
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