I was awarded a solo exhibition at the Sheetz Gallery of the Misciagna Family Center for Performing Arts at Penn State, Altoona. The exhibition is free and open to the public and will run January 15 - March 15. A reception will be held 3-5 p.m. January 15 in the Titelman Study of the Center. The pieces in the exhibition utilize disparate forms of metalworking…

The Ranch. Center for Arts & Craft

2014 Schedule (to date)

January:              

4 – 5      …

I don't know what has happened over the last few months but there seems to be an unstoppable maelstrom of creative energy centred over Scotland. Perhaps it is the fact that I've become more active in the creative culture around me but I feel that there is something amazing brewing here and I am not exactly sure what it is. Everywhere I go, I'm surrounded by people who are not only sparking with ideas but who spark ideas in me. There is a creative synergy which is driving everyone to new…

Time for my teaching session, held in Hraç Arslanyan's "Mahrec Art House" workshops.

Hraç Arslanyan is an amazing jeweller, working with…

Call for Papers

On behalf of the Jewellers and Metalsmiths Group of Australia (Queensland Chapter Inc.), we invite proposals from emerging artists and practitioners, postgraduate students, educators, writers and curators for contributions to the JMGA’s 15th conference, to be…

I recently found out that merry renk passed away and feel an obligation to say something in fitting tribute. In a time when yesterday is so often considered "old hat", it is wonderful to know that merry renk lived long enough to see her jewelry from mid-20th century recognized in major museum exhibitions.…

Okay, I've officially given up on catching up to my 4PAM posts, so I'm going to venture forward, and hope I can make up for the missing posts as I go along. So,…

Okay, okay, so I didn't catch up in time. That means the next two weeks I'll be posting two processes in an attempt to make up for last month. My recent blog and 4PAM slacking isn't apathy related, I've just been juggling lots of…

I'm running behind... again.... I'm starting to think that this state of perpetually playing catch up is my normal schedule, which means I'm not behind but rather right on time, ha!…

I knew absolutely nothing about enameling when I started this process 3 weeks ago. The techniques I applied in this exploration were gleaned from the wonderful book"…

One of my other "hats" is being the video editor at Metal Clay Artist Magazine but I've been a little lackadaisical with producing videos for our online library, so,  I'm going to try for two birds with one stone. For my last process installment of the month, and a much over due MCAM video, I thought I would introduce another one of my favorite homemade metal clay tools, a bail drying rack.…

I usually sit down once or twice a year, draw up a bunch of designs, then make photopolymer or rubber texture plates. All in all it's a pretty laborious, time consuming process, and I end up trying to plan out a whole year's worth of work all at…

Original silver metal clay, 99.9% pure fine silver, just doesn't have the density or strength to survive as fine piercing work in the context of everyday wear and tear...  at least not in my opinion. Last December Mitsubishi Materials released the much anticipated PMC Sterling Silver Clay, to the excitement of the metal clay community. I decided to put this new material to the test by creating a pretty traditional ring you most often see casted, the pierced knot work Claddagh. The main…

The Craftcast™ "I Love Tools"event coming up this Wednesday got me thinking about my other beloved metal clay tools, particularly of the homemade variety.

Hands down, my…

For the last 4 Processes a Month installment of January I catalogued the construction of this kinetic, hinged metal clay box with interchangeable tiles. It's coming in at the last minute because of some computer issues I encountered last week, fortunately all is well. Enjoy and thanks for watching.

http://crafthaus.ning.com/video/the-making-of-gallery-box…

As mentioned in the fist tutorial, for the second installment of my 4 processes/projects a month (4PAM) is about how to keep kinetic metal clay components from fusing together in the kiln. If you aren't familiar with metal clay, in order for the clay to sinter, burn off the binder, and become solid metal, the temperature will range from 1100F to 1800F. Often this means touching components won't move after firing, or the surfaces where they were touching will be marred. This simple solution…

For many of us the beginning of the year dawns with idealistic and hopeful resolutions, pointing to a potentially happier and more content version of ourselves. The truth is many of our resolutions actually involve a lot of struggle and work, and while the end results can yield a certain sense of accomplishment the road to is littered with the reality of daily living. 

As an artist, I think it's essential to sit down at least once a year and set some short term and long term…

Join 10 artists from the Metal Arts Guild for Artspans annual Open Studios

OPENING RECEPTION Friday September 30th 6 - 8

Open Saturday Oct 1st from 12 - 7

Open Sunday Oct 2nd from 12 - 5