Wall Art and Selected

Hi all, it's that time again!

Well today is a fast day (I'm following the 5:2 diet) so I thought I'd write my blog to distract me from wanting to eat as the bowl of melon did not even begin to cut it this morning! So now I'll have a nice cup of green tea and talk to all of you instead.

I had a lovely girlie day out with my daughter on Friday and she said she really liked my aluminium wall art so I had a go at another one over the weekend, very colourful result! What do you all think?

I'm slowly getting back into work mode but find that I have to rest my hand for a few days after making anything.  Over the past couple of weeks I've been working on a bespoke selection of jewellery for a bride's mum, a commission which came to me through Nicola Hurst Designer Jewellery, a lovely gallery and one of my main stockists. A customer had been into the shop and liked my work but really wanted something to match her hat.  She left a tiny piece of straw taken from the hat for me to work to and she was really pleased with the results.  I made two necklaces, a bracelet and two pairs of earrings for her to choose from and she chose a set and was very happy.  I thoroughly enjoyed the challenge of dyeing and mixing and painting until i'd got a good colour match! So if you, or anyone else you know, can't find the exact shade of jewellery to match your outfit or compliment it then let me know, I might just be able to help you there!

Can I ask you all to vote for me in the Craft and Design Selected Awards? Thank you so much! Just follow this link. Val Williams - SlickSilver Jewellery




It would be amazing to get at least a few votes as this is the first time I've been nominated!

There will also be a completely new range of upcycled jewellery coming soon made from old book covers that will knock your socks off. Quirky and original! I can't wait for you to see them!

I'm also looking to find artists, artisans, musicians, ceramicists, celebrities, indeed anyone interesting or with an interest in the arts for a new type of blog collaboration called Three Beautiful Things.  Let me know if you are interested or if you could suggest someone who might like to take part

Until next week!

2013, Onwards!

Hello folks, it's been too long!

Have you missed me? A lot has happened in the Slicky household I can tell you! 

So, it was like this.........
Remember I blogged about my forthcoming exhibition with Flameworks Art2Go? Well I was on my way to the Private View with my husband, artist David Muddyman (also exhibiting) and my son, Simon Dobson (fresh from his BASCA award ceremony!) when I fell over a metal cover sticking up out of the cobbles in the Barbican, Plymouth - invisible in the dark.  I didn't quite land in the harbour but it was close!!  Shock enabled me to pick myself up and continue to the PV even though I didn't feel quite with it and could feel a lot of pain in my hands.  A sleepless night led to a very long morning in A & E resulting in confirmation and treatment for a sprained left wrist, bruised left shoulder and knees and a fractured right ring finger and tendon damage!! Uh-Oh! Not the sort of injuries a hands-on jewellery maker ever wants to have!

A second exhibition a week later meant that I had to withdraw some of my scheduled work as I couldn't finish it and neither could I attend the rest of the craft fairs I had booked or meet my xmas orders :(

I'm now in a rigid splint for about another month which can't be removed so work is on the back burner for the moment - any of my stockists reading this, don't panic I have enough stock - anyone wanting to attend a course with me, feel free still to book and I will liaise with you regarding what I can and can't do and future dates and there is still some beautiful jewellery for sale on my website.

Coral Reef available from SlickSilver Jewellery

So we're nearly at the end of 2012 and what a year of change it's been.  Our family has adopted 'Onwards' as our motto and so it shall be......

Whilst recovering and one finger typing I have been thinking about some new directions that I might take this coming year and one in particular has been inspired by some comments I received from some lovely visitors to my stand at an Artist's Market in Tavistock in October.  A couple of groups of people said that they loved the colours and textures of my work, but didn't wear jewellery.  I must admit to being a little stumped - I had nothing to offer them.  On the way home I started to make plans and as soon as I am able to make again, my aluminium jewellery will be joined by some colourful wall art. Remember you heard it here first! Ideas are already down on paper - just need a right hand that works!

On another note from the 1st Jan until end of March, should you want to, you will be able to vote for me in the Selected Awards at Craft & Design Magazine  You can find me by following the links in the Selected Awards Section and searching for SlickSilver Jewellery, only if you want to of course! This is my first time in such exalted company!

Thank you for following my blog in 2012, keep checking in to my website at http://www.slicksilverjewellery.co.uk to find out what's new! Hope 2013 brings all of us good health, happiness, peace, luck and good fortune!

The Scaredy Cat gets Braver....

Hi folks!

It's blog time again so what to talk about.......

Like a lot of people who work creatively, I'm a great big scaredy cat when it comes to selling myself and my wares.  I love the whole making process and I have a sneaking feeling that I would be happy to do just that, however, I have visions of our house filling up with jewellery like the never ending porridge pot in the fairy story, so I must try to sell my work. 

Just over a year ago I needed surgery on my right shoulder which meant no making for a few months, so in preparation, I made as much as I could in advance.  I challenged myself to learn about using social media to increase my visibility during this time.  I was already using Twitter socially so I started to focus more on that, set up a Facebook page, started blogging and joined LinkedIn.  I've learned as I've gone along, sometimes by making mistakes, and I've also realised that how something sounds in my head when I write it may not be the way it's read!! I've attracted many a spambot by not thinking through a tweet before pressing 'send'! My Twitter use is a combination now of social and business chat with virtual colleagues and increasing my brand through pictures of my work and links (trying to remember to use my hashtags - Ash!). I've read a couple of articles recently that I'd like to share with you because they're really well written and very useful.  The first article was a blog by Plymouth's local social networking guru Ash Mashhadi and I'd definitely recommend it. http://inspiration.co.uk/the-7-deadly-sins-of-social-media/  The second was a really useful article by Pete Mosley on Twitter for creative workers.  It was in the September/October issue of Craft and Design magazine http://www.craftanddesign.net/magazine/223/.

I think it's safe to say that I am embracing the need to put myself out there virtually and more recently I've started to do it physically too by attending local artists's markets and other events.  I also exhibit regularly with Flameworks.  This week, however, I've really challenged myself.  I attended Plymouth Business Networking at the Devonport Guildhall.  I took along my jewellery, not quite knowing what to expect, but guess what? I really enjoyed myself!  I wasn't as hard as I thought to chat to other business people, exchange cards, ideas and plans and I've already booked myself in for the next one! Who would have thought?

My stand at Plymouth Business Networking Event

I've had a very busy week in the studio too, cutting up the aluminium sheets I made the week before. I'm actually really pleased with how these have turned out, by which I mean that it's difficult sometimes to know whether a design is pleasing or not until it's cut. This time when dyeing the sheets I experimented with dipping skeleton leaves into sticky aluminium ink and pressing them onto the metal before applying powdered pigments and dyes. I'm happy with the results. What do you think?

Falling Leaves collection

I also wanted to create some warm and richly coloured pieces for the winter and so I made the Harlequin collection. 

Harlequin collection

These collections and much more besides will soon be available on my website so keep checking so you don't miss out http://www.slicksilverjewellery.co.uk.

If you'd like to see more of my jewellery in the flesh, I've got two more stockists to tell you about this week. Yay!! If you're in Derbyshire you can see my work at Studio 61 Gallery http://www.karinagoodman.com/ and if you're in Somerset then why not visit The Cottage Gallery http://wwwthecottagegallery.co.uk .  If you are near to Tavistock, then why not come and see me personally on the 4th November and 2nd December at the Artists's Market in the Pannier Market, Tavistock.  Look forward to seeing you!