Trees

I've been painting like a mad woman since school let out. I've been able to complete two paintings, both inspired by trees. I was looking at clouds for inspiration and instead settled on trees. I took several pictures of a tree in Santa Fe and even though they don't seem like it, both paintings are based on the same tree. I have another painting of a tree that I completed last year, it even appeared in our local newspaper. I don't know why I've been so intrigued by trees lately. Hopefully I will be inspired by something new soon. Both of these paintings are for the UVAs' exhibit in March. I have two more paintings that I still need to complete. Unfortunately I am at a loss at to what the next two paintings should be of.

I tried to put a water mark in front of the pictures, but I just couldn't figure it out. I was able to put my name in the front, but then I couldn't get the pictures to upload. Well, I guess that is my next project, getting more familiar with photo shop. In case I don't have a chance I will go ahead and wish you a Happy New Year. I hope the new year brings you closure, renewal and rebirth!

Tamales

My family has been making tamales for as long as I can remember. I think I learned how to make them around the same time I learned how to walk. Every Christmas Eve we come together and make our tamales. We make red chili, green chili and candy tamales. It just wouldn't be Christmas without them. This year I took on the role of "head chef". This was once my grandmother's role, then my mom and this year she announced she wanted me to take over the tradition. I have to admit that I was a bit nervous, I wanted everything to be perfect. Thankfully the tamales came out great! My daughter also took a more active role in making tamales. I'm glad because hopefully one day she will take over the tradition.

I hope you and your loved ones have a very Merry Christmas.

clouds

Here in El Paso we get rain when the sun is out. Have you ever seen it rain in a sunny day? The raindrops glow in the sun. It is one of my favorite things about El Paso. When I was flying in from New Orleans last spring these clusters of clouds caught my attention. They were extremely large, several stories high and some of them were dropping rain at different locations. My pictures do them no justice but I wanted to share them with you. I have been looking for inspiration for my next painting and I remembered these clouds, I'm leaning towards an abstract interpretation. I'm also leaning towards some trees....

Bra Purse

I have a group called the UVAs (Union de Viejas Artistas), we are female artists and art educators. We meet once a month to reveal our monthly art swap. We also do workshops and have art exhibits. We did the Bra Purse in honor of breast cancer awareness month in Oct. I just uploaded the pictures and I want to share a few of them. I think the ladies did an awesome job! This is one of the best swaps we've done and we've done some pretty good ones! Listening to some of the inspiration behind these creations added to the beauty of these purses. Next month's swap is to create an 11" x 14" mixed media painting inspired by the new year and must also include a word and definition that also describes the new year. Can't wait to see what the ladies come up with! If you would like to see more of our creations you may do so by using the link on the right.

I'm also very busy creating new pieces that I intend to take with me to Santa Fe very soon. Two more weeks for yet another break!

El Soldado/The Soldier

This is a new piece that I created with soldiers in mind. The image comes from a Loteria game card. This particular image is popular here in town because of Fort Bliss. This is the last one I have (for now). I am still bogged down trying to pick up my inventory, I have so many new ideas that I want to try out but havn't gotten to. I had planned to do it during my week off but I have no idea where the week went! Hopefully having a little more time during Christmas break will give me a chance to complete new pieces.

I am also in the works of putting together a new exhibit for my UVAs group. As soon as the holidays are over it will be full speed ahead trying to get this 20 women show together.

I spend so much of my time trying to take better pictures, all to no avail. I have now relinquished the task to my husband. Hopefully he will have better luck than me and I also hope to have more free time to do some jewelry making instead of fussing with the camera. These pictures are his first attempts.

This is "La Sirena" from the Mexican game Loteria! She is the most popular image from the Loteria game. I will be posting her to etsy soon.

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone out in blogland!

Pink

I've made several stained glass necklaces but mainly for my own personal use. I put this one (Pink) on etsy Sun. and it sold today! I guess I better start putting a few more on etsy. This particular necklace is really pink, but the lighting is not that great on the dictionary.

The green necklace is a remnant left from a stained glass project that I had. I liked the shape so much that I decided to make a necklace out of it. I will put it on etsy this weekend, hopefully someone else will like it as much as I do.

I have a few more stained glass necklaces that I am working on, I will post as soon as I finish.

Tag, you're it!

I've been working on designing new tags for my jewelry. These are just a few examples of what I have come up with. The one I am leaning towards is the squared pink tag. I've gotten one of my graphic design friends to add the finishing touches to it. I can't wait! Now I have to decide what materials to use, I also havn't decided on how I am going to attach the tag to my pieces. I want the tag to stay towards the top of the necklaces and not down by the pendants. I guess I still have some work to do.

What a mess!

My cat Frida loves spending time in my studio and loves to climb onto my workspace. Unfortunately for her I have been working frantically all week and I have the mess to prove it. She sat on the seat for several minutes contemplating the mess and was perhaps hoping I would get the hint and clean a space for her.

I have a very good reason for working so frantically. My jewelry is now being sold at Galeria Azul in Historic Old Mesilla in New Mexico. This is the third gallelry that sells my work besides the two shops that also carry my pieces. I'm so excited and I pray that it goes well. Besides my full time job as a high school art teacher, making my jewelry for these places is taking up what little time I have left. My Etsy shop is very empty and I only have a few pieces. I'm hoping to create new pieces this week specifically for my Etsy shop.

Something that I really need to spend time on is designing new tags for my jewelry. I can't seem to make my mind up on one specific design. The ones I use now are very plain. I want something that shows my personality & culture. What kind of tags do you use and do you make them yourself?

Michael Jackson in my classroom!

The students in my school district were out of school today and will be out tomorrow so the students were allowed to dress in their costumes on Wed. A student that was dressed as Michael Jackson was creating quite a stir through out the school. I had not seen the student and didn't think I would catch a glimpse of him. Well, I didn't have to wait long, he turned out to be one of my very own.

LoteriaPieces.

I've been working on several projects at the same time. I have several jewelry orders, some for individual orders, several for the shop where I sell and I would like to show my work at a gallery in a neighboring town. I have to complete three paintings by Feb.for an exhibit that I am putting together for my artists group. If that wasn't enough I have put together a clay workshop and pit firing workshop and I would like to make some clay pendants for the pit firing.

Whew! It is no wonder my studio looks so messy. I find it difficult to work when my studio starts looking cluttered so I am going to stop from creating and start cleaning. I do this about three times a month and everytime I say , "I won't let it get so messy again".

The pictures are close-ups of my work spaces and some new Loteria necklaces which I will be posting soon. I never thought that I would one day be making jewelry out of game pieces that I grew up playing with.

This is my latest creation. I found a little heart printed inside an old dictionary and I just had to put it inside this pendant. I have been looking around other blogs to get some inspiration on how to photograph my jewelry. I am also going to look into getting a new camera, but in the mean time I will continue to experiment with my old camera.

I have also updated my business cards. I uploaded a picture that shows a variety of pieces in the front and a more simplified look in the back. I can't wait to get my new cards!

I will be having my next UVAs meeting this friday and I am looking forward to it. This month's swap is a piece of jewelry incorporating some type of textile. I can't wait to see their creations.

Skeletons

Finally! I was finally able to take better pictures of my Day of the Dead pendants. They didn't all turn out great, but a few came out o.k. I don't know if I will ever master the art of photographing my jewelry, I have tried everything short of standing on my head. Oh well. I had planned on taking pictures all day today and post in etsy, but my mom called and invited us over for a small cook-out. We ended up staying all day at moms.

Hopefully I will be able to take pictures tomorrow, or Monday since there is no school on Monday. Thank you Christopher Columbus!

Anyways, these pendants are made out of pieces of fabric in between two pieces of glass, I then gave my pieces a copper patina.

Clay beads

I'm still playing around with clay and trying to come up with some different images for my beads. I started making these for my daughter and her friends and now I can't seem to stop. They are mostly for fun but I'd like to perfect my technique. I'd like to make the transition to porcelain, but I have never worked with it. What cone do you fire porcelain? Does Stroke n' Coat work on porcelain?

I am on my way to Cloudcroft NM for an art festival where I will be selling my jewelry. Wish me luck, it has been a long time since I have sold at an art fair. I mostly rely on the shops here in town to sell my work.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Exhibit

My batik "The Nopal" was featured in an exhibit here in town. Some of you might recognize the image as "El Nopal" from the Mexican game "Loteria". This image represents my family tree. The reason behind chainging the spanish word "El" to the english word "The" represents the fact that I am an American. "Nopal" represents my culture as does the image. I am proud of my heritage and even prouder of the many traditions my family has, including playing "Loteria" in the winter time with hot "Chocolate Abuelita" in our mugs.

I have to say that I do not look very good in this picture, Idon't know what is going on with my eye! Apart from the bad pic, I enjoyed myself very much at the opening.

I received a very nice gift yesterday. My husband has a friend that is an artist and he was kind enough to send me two beautiful sugar skulls. They are both beautifully crafted, I feel very fortunate to have received the skulls. If you would like to contact the artist you can do so at alxsuenos@hotmail.com

Many artists in this area are preparing for Dia de los Muertos. Soon there will be displays in different parts of the city celebrating the holiday. Here in El Paso we have a small celebration with displays and many Dia de los Muertos inspired pieces for sale. Our school district also hosts a Day of the Day competition.

I think I'm going to create a few papier-mache skeletons this year. I'm so ready for the holidays to start rolling in!

Dia de los Muertos

I don't know what is up with my camera, my flash just wouldn't go off.

Photoshopping didn't help much either.

Once I figure it out I will take pics again.

Well, anyways, I'm getting ready for Dia de los Muertos. I have an order from a shop here at home and I'm also getting ready for art shows that are coming up soon.

I still havn't finished my charms, they are going to get a copper patina and finished off with some findings and chain.

I also have clay beads to glaze and I'm experimenting with some crocheted necklaces.

If only I could squeeze more hours into my day. I had promised myself that I would get ahead with my jewelry during the summer and here I am again, struggling to get my orders done and trying to keep up with work. Luckily I seem to have a good buch of students again this year, many talented artists in my beginning and advance art classes. As soon as I get pics of their work I will post in my teacher page.

Have a good one!

Grandmother

I created this necklace with young grandmothers in mind.
It's young and contemporary looking and would make a
great gift for a hip grandma. I'm still having trouble with
lighting when I photograph my pieces. I don't do my pieces justice. I have tried spot lights, outside lights, printed fabrics and white backgrounds and am still not
happy.
How do you photograph your jewelry?

Latest creation

This is my latest creation. I had a difficult time with this piece because of the side hinges. Even though it was a difficult piece I truly enjoyed making it.
I've also been battling a terrible cold. Unfortunately it is the beginning of the school year and there are so many new students still registering for school. Not a good idea to leave them alone with a sub right now.

On a lighter note, I finally sold something on etsy! I sold a necklace and a pendant on the same day! Hopefully I will continue to sell.

Wall of crosses

I have a small wall by my kitchen where I collect crosses. I don't know why exactly I started this, but it has slowly grown. I have a few more crosses on another section of the wall.

Well, it turns out that 6 of my friends are also collecting crosses. I find it interesting that so many of us are collecting them. I wonder if it is because of the region we live in. I only purchase crosses that are different or are from a place I have visited.

Do you collect crosses?

How do you generate traffic?

I opened my shop once again at etsy. So far not much traffic, no difference from when I first had my shop. How does one generate traffic? I also opened a shop at Made it Myself and am having more traffic. No sales at either shop.

I do have my sales here at home which allows me to keep making my jewelry, I suppose the fact that I can personalize my work when I take custom orders adds to the sales here at home.

I also heard about Silk Fair, I havn't joined and am wondering if I should.

Today is also my last day off before I return to inservice, another summer flew by. I didn't accomplish everything I had intended, but did do quite a bit.

I have included a picture of my latest creation. It has the word "mommy" inside.

Batik

Several friends (UVAs) got together in my classroom last weekend to create some batiks. Pictured here is one of my batiks. I am now hooked with this art form and have created a few more. I will post pics of those soon.

Then & Now

My daughter Christy & our cat Frida. Both very spoiled.