Blast From The Past!

Hi everyone!

I've had an interesting and motivational time since my last blog! I'll tell you a little of the background.  I was lucky enough to go to a Steiner School from the age of 3 and I stayed at the same school until after my exams.  One of my friends from the early days was Lucy Walker (now Mhoma), who subsequently emigrated to New Zealand at 14.  A couple of years ago we 'met' again on Facebook and have chatted many times since.  I found out that Lucy has been working as an artist in Christchurch, NZ in the area devastated by earthquakes.

Lucy decided to go on a family/artist trip to various places around the world, some places just to show her children where she'd lived and others to forge new artistic links. I was thrilled when she said that she was coming to Plymouth to see us!  We spent the evening exploring each other's work and talking about school and her adventures.  The next morning, before she set off for Istanbul I took her to Royal William Yard to show her the building which is set to become artist's studios and for coffee, of course! As we entered the Bakery we bumped into a artist friend of mine and after introducing Lucy, Connor McIntyre very kindly offered to show us his studio and to tell us about his latest work which was fabulous.  Lucy is in New York now I believe, and when her travels are finished I hope to feature her here on this blog and to ask her more about her journey.  All in all, I found the whole visit very inspiring.

Since then I've been working on new shapes in my aluminium and I've started to cut out a new design.

So, what do you think of these new shapes?

 

I look forward to hearing what you think of the new pieces! I always appreciate your feedback. I hope to have some of this work on my website in the next few days so please do check SlickSilver Jewellery.

 

New Wall Art

Hello folks! Well it's been a bit of a white world since my last blog for most of you, but strangely not for me! There seems to have been lots of snow fall around Plymouth, but I haven't seen so much as a flake........so far........

This week I've been concentrating on booking craft fairs and shows and so I can confirm that I will be at Crocadon Sawmills' Producer Fairs St, Mellion, Cornwall on 16th Feb and 16th March and on 4th May I will be at the Artist's Market in Tavistock.  You will also be able to visit my stand at Poltimore House Food and Craft Fair in Exeter on the 30th June.  No doubt more dates will be added as we go along and I'll let you know.

 

So, physio tomorrow on my obstinate finger. I've had some designs in mind for wall art for some time now so yesterday I thought I'd see what how much I could manage. What do you think of the results?

Not the best image but good enough to give you an idea of the range I plan to introduce to enhance my aluminium jewellery. Hopefully they'll prove popular as intial feedback has shown to be the case.

Well that's all for this week and if you like my work, why not pay a visit to my website and see what other lovely things are available to buy?  If you see something you really would like for Valentine's Day, make sure that you tell your other half and give them fair warning!! Visit SlickSilver Jewellery for further ideas!

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!

A Golden Weekend!

Yes it's me again!

I'm sitting in a sunny room thinking about my subject matter for this week and noticing that I've missed a bit when cleaning the windows!! A small matter in such a fabulous weekend! 

Now anyone who knows me will testify to the fact that I'm about as unsporty as it gets - a sloth may well be more energetic, so I hadn't really imagined getting quite so into the Olympic Games as I have.  I love a bit of gymnastics and was looking forward to cheering on fellow Plymothians and South Westerners but I really thought that would be it.  Not so!! I have found myself screaming at the TV, willing the last drops of energy out of already super-human beings and generally thoroughly enjoying myself! Not a medal ceremony has gone by without the tissues at the ready! I do appreciate the irony of the fact that this new love of all things sporty has all taken place from my sofa, but it's a start, don't you think?  So proud of all of our athletes, regardless of where they've been placed, they are there by merit, which is more than I'll ever be!

I did have my own personal best on Saturday though.  It was a gold in the 8 and a half hour stand! My first artist's market and I forgot to take a chair. Doh!! 

I was pleased with my stand and met some lovely people and had quite a few sales so all was good, apart from my back at the end of the day!

I've also started working on another couple of collections this week.  Haven't got round to naming them yet so why not make a suggestion for the blue/green cuff?  The golden peachy cuff really has the relate to the phenomenal sporting achievements made this week I think so it will possibly be called Going For Gold, what do you all think?

I don't have a name yet - suggestions??

This is a pretty cuff with shades of turquoise and pale green, looks almost like water so why not have a go at naming this collection yourself?

So what do we think of this one - Going For Gold or Jessica or something else related to the Olympics?

That's it for this week folks - leave em a comment or email me your suggestions - who knows there may even be a little gift involved!!

Launching Bronze and Grey

Hello folks, it's been a couple of weeks since my last confession.......

No really,  I've been busy, busy, busy.  I've been working on new pieces which are destined (hopefully - they still have to get past the selection panel!!) for a summer exhibition by Flameworks which is being held in the Relegacy Gallery, The Barbican, Plymouth from 21st July to the 29th.  My husband, www.davidmuddyman.co.uk is also hoping to exhibit this time too. The theme is 'Pushing The Boat Out' and this is the first time that I will be showing aluminium, silver and bronze. Would you like a little sneak preview?

This bronze Wood bracelet is destined for the exhibition

This busy time has also seen the launch of my Bronze Collection on my website. http://slicksilverjewellery.co.uk/page15.htm Why not take a look at these organic pieces and let me know what you think? It is possible to add a beautiful heat patina to bronze and that is what has been applied to the bracelet above and I plan to introduce more of that to the website collection soon.

So, what else have I been up to?

Well, there's been so much in the press and media of late regarding a certain trilogy of books and it made me think that I could start a Shades of Grey collection.  As there is so much interest and many people are posting pictures of shade charts and paint charts so I thought that there might be a demand for a simple, beautiful pendant.  I used dip dyeing techniques with aluminium dye, deliberately letting the dye dry in 'tidemarks' and repositioning the sheets every few minutes to create the lines you see as well as aluminium ink in black.  (My thumbs are still showing evidence of this 5 days later owing to a blowout in my latex gloves!) Every single pendant is different and are reminiscent of landscapes, seascapes or even cloudscapes and I'm really happy with the end result.  I think they look stunning and will certainly appeal to anyone who enjoyed the books and those who haven't read them.  These are my take on 'Shades Of Grey' and they have their very own Collection on the website http://slicksilverjewellery.co.uk/page16.htm  Who knows - I may make another colour collection if these prove popular! 

So, if anyone would like to know more about any of my pieces, or about the forthcoming exhibition, or even where else you can see my work, please do email me at info@slicksilverjewellery.co.uk - I'm always pleased to hear from you.

I'm also looking for new gallery stockists, particularly in Cumbria and Wales.  If you know of anywhere do let me know.

Good Lunches, Good Business Books and News

Well, another week's over! It's been a bit of a grim one as I've had tonsillitis so have had a bit of time off from making.

So, have you all been and treated yourselves to some fabulous Debbie Orr, Skein Queen, products? I hope you enjoyed looking around her website and I would just like to take this opportunity to say a big thank you to her for taking part. I have met some lovely people through my collaborative blogs so long may it continue - and I do have at least one more in the pipeline for you and I'm always open to suggestions of artists so do let me know if you come across someone we should all know about.

Last Friday, before the sore throat, I attended a really gorgeous lunch at the River Cottage Canteen and Deli at Royal William Yard, Plymouth.  The lunch gathering was held by Ladies Wot Tweat and consisted of a group of ladies who had met each other through Twitter, other social networks, business and word of mouth.  It was slightly daunting to walk in, not knowing a soul, however, I did find I knew one member when I got there and I definitely knew several more by the end of a fantastic meal.  I believe they meet regularly so I shall look out for the next date!

So whilst I've been feeling under the weather, I've been reading.  My husband bought me a great little book for Christmas which is a short punchy business guide, literally only a page or two on each aspect of business for artists and designers.  It's by Alison Branagan and as soon as I started to read it I felt that I also wanted to read her more in-depth essential guide on the same subject.  They're really well written and assume no previous knowledge which is just brilliant for me as I'm just taking the next steps with growing my business into full time hopefully.  I bought both books from Amazon and they're my recommendations for the week!

A Pocket Business Guide for Artists & Designers by Alison Branagan
ISBN 978-1-4081-2992-0

The Essential Guide to Business for Artists & Designers by
Alison Branagan
ISBN 978-1-4081-1903-7






If you fancy a read, these are interesting and not heavy going at all.  I've learned a lot.

So I'm hoping to work on a few designs in the next few days and I'll let you know how I get on and there might even be a Valentine's competition next week!!!

Are you all going to read this next week then? Be in with a chance of winning a very pretty piece? See you all then!!

The Colour Buzz!

Anyone who knows my jewellery will know that colour is hugely important to me as is texture, but I thought I'd share with you some of my favourite colour sources for inspiration.

I really love looking at things that are very simply laid out with beautiful colours that harmonise and I really do have a great choice of material as my artist husband http://www.davidmuddyman.co.uk collects art books and catalogues with a passion and our house size is decreasing accordingly!

Yesterday I travelled from Plymouth to Bristol by train to see my son and purchased what turned out to be a revelation - Oh comely magazine.  I can hear some of you saying 'where have you been, we already knew about that!' - well it was a true find for me.  Beautifully simplistic in layout, not crowded with ads, lovely colours and graphics and great reading matter - do look out for it. Several pictures made me want to immediately dye some aluminium! http://www.ohcomely.co.uk

I'm also a sucker for pads of colourful paper designs and whilst I don't reproduce the design I often feel inspired by an element of what I see.  I also flick through Colour Index by Jim Krause for colour combination types.  Another source I use frequently for it's sheer mouth-wateringness (?) is http://www.design-seeds.com.  The photographs never fail to inspire me and are often a breath of fresh air and I love the way that the colour palette for each picture sits alongside.

My trip to Bristol was another riot of colour with some fabulous street art freely available for all to see and share in and I saw plenty of people appreciating it. The pendant below is my own take on graffiti style mark making and was made using digital imaging, alcohol inks and aluminium dyes.
I hope you'll take a little time to check out the sources I've mentioned in this blog - they might inspire you too!

Purple Rain