Aside from jewelry making and pottery, I do enjoy drawing from time to time.  I created this piece last week from a photo I took of a beautiful scene not far from home.
As you can see, I live in the desert so this type of natural beauty abounds around me.  I just love the colors and textures of the desert with its expansive skies and beautiful sunsets. 
It had been a very long time since I had worked with solft pastels so it was a challenge, but I enjoyed the process!

To see more of my work, please vitis @nenasart

Dayof the Dead Jewelry

I have affection towards everything Day of the Dead.  I grew up on the border and spent time with my family in MX. so I've never been one to shy away from color and culture.

As Dia de los Muertos approaches, I decided to pay homage to my Aztec roots by creating these lovely jewelry pieces. 

So far, this is the only one I have posted in my etsy shop, I hope to have a few more soon.

The pendant is made using white clay which I bisque fired in my new kiln ( I had to throw that in).  After it was bisque fired I glazed it and re-fired.

On a side note, I have created many ceramic pendants and beads, I might begin to sell some of these as supplies, and not finished pieces.  I will still continue to make finished jewelry pieces, but I would also like to offer some of my pendant to jewelry artists.  Something to think about.

Ceramic Cross Necklace

I really enjoyed making this ceramic cross necklace.  I made several of these ceramic crosses, but haven't had the time to turn them into finished pieces.  I am working at a feverish pace, trying to prepare for my upcoming art festival.  

The plan is to get these completed by this week, but, as always, it is just a tentative plan.

As soon as they are done, I will be sure to make a shop announcement.

Good night.

Where does the time go?

 Where did the time go?  I can't believe I've been away for a year!  

So much has happened in a years time,  but creating has not stopped.   I became a grandma for the first time!  What can I say about being a grandma that grandparents all around the world don't already know.  Heavenly!!

I also finished graduate school!  It was tough going this past  year with a thesis to write and a portfolio to complete.  I'm glad that journey is over and I can refocus on creating my work.

I have begun to use more clay in my jewelry work and have also included my own art work in my jewelry.  The blue pendant with the black and white print is such a piece.  The image comes from a mono-print that I created in my printmaking class.  I then added resin to preserve the print in its ceramic bezel.  This is definitely something I want to continue to do. 

I have some maintenance to do on my blog, there are a few things I want to change and some things I need to edit out.  There is also a big mistake on my banner that needs some fixing.  

So much to do, but I am happy to say that with grad school out of the way, I should be able to refocus my energy.

Day of the Dead Festival

The annual Day of the Dead Festival that I participate in is just a few weeks away and I am working diligently trying to finish all of my projects. 
Pictured here are my Dead of the Day ornaments and luchadores, which I will be selling on line soon.
I have also been working on some Day of the Dead jewelry, but I decided just last night, that I would now concentrate on finishing the work that I have on my workbench and not start anything new.
I'm too close to crunch time!
It doesn't help that I am still working on my thesis and I have to dedicate my energy on planning out my works of art for my thesis.
Once the month of Oct. is over, it will be full steam ahead on my thesis. 
At least I hope so.

I've been playing with clay lately, there is something about working with clay that I find very appealing.   Clay lends itself to so many forms that the possibilities are endless.
I signed up for a throwing pottery class and I was able to practice throwing and learned new techniques.  I loved it so much that I am looking at buying my own potters wheel.  When I don't feel like throwing, but still want to work with clay, I create pendants, beads and buttons.  I am creating an inventory of these items and my goal is to list these before the summer on my etsy shop. 

For some time, I concentrated solely on the creation of jewelry and took breaks in order to work with other mediums whenever I felt a tug to do so.  These breaks from jewelry making were short lived because I did not want to spend too much time away from making jewelry because I had orders to fill and shows to prepare for.
Even though I still spend the majority of my time working on jewelry making, I now allow myself permission to spend time on other mediums without feeling guilty about my time away from jewelry making.  This has allowed artistic growth in other areas and this has affected my work in jewelry making in a positive manner.

The images I am featuring are of my most recent pieces.  All of them feature clay, the small bowl is a piece I threw recently.  I am glazing it at the moment, hopefully I will be able to fire this week and I will share the results.

Bye!

Wow, it has been a very long time since I've shared on my blog.  I've had good intentions, but it seems that good intentions will take me only so far.

Even though I have not continued to write, I have diligently continued to create.  I have been through many metamorphosis, depending on my mood :) 

As an art educator, I am constantly switching from 2-d to 3-d work.  I hope to chronical my work and share with you my experiences. 

Pictured above are few of my experiments form this past year.  At the moment, I am completely enamored by clay.  My husband and I have immersed ourselves in throwing clay and predict we will soon be knee deep in ceramic cups and saucers.  It doesn't matter, there is something hypnotic about the potter's wheel.

Along with throwing clay, I have begun to experiment with ceramic buttons, beads and pendants.  I had taken for granted how long it takes to actually create a large inventory of ceramic beads!  

Many of my pieces can be found in my etsy shop, although I am not as quick as I wish I was in updating my shop.

Feel free to inquire about my work. 

 

2015

 

I always begin the year with renewed efforts, a burst of energy.  At times this burst of energy makes it through the first month of the year and then slowly turns into a trickle.  I renew my efforts throughout the year, but, it seems that my efforts are not always enough.

Like many, I jumped ship and put all of my efforts on Facebook and Instagram.  I admire those artists that have remained steadfast on blogging, it does take great effort.

I've continued with my jewelry making and it has gone through many transformations.  At the moment I'm focusing on earrings!

I'm playing with color and texture and I am thoroughly enjoying myself.

Here's to 2015!

This is how it all started,  so many years ago.  Every once in a while I make them again.   I enjoy the hunt for the special word that is going to be encased, it depends on my mood and what it is I want to say at that moment.

I spent a glorious week in my art studio, creating, allowing my mind to get lost in the zen of creating.  I'm down to one day of rest and it is back to work and away from my studio.  I won't dwell on that, I will enjoy my last day of spring break!

Metal and Resin Necklaces

I've been enjoying working with metal and resin.  It had been since my college days that I last worked with these materials. 
Pictured on the bottom is one of my favorite artists, Friday Khalo.

Rio Grande Winter Workshop

I took Rio Grande's Winter Workshop this past week in Albuquerque, NM.  I took the PMC+ pendant class and it was an amazing experience.  I learned so many new techniques, met some wonderful artists and I am more inspired than ever.
We worked for two days on creating frame pendants for our images and created a "branch" to hang them from.  We used a kiln to fire our pieces, but did get a demo on how to torch fire the material.
I am pleased of my results and I can't wait to experiment on some new designs.
I believe I can incorporate this material with materials I work with now, hopefully, this will take me into new territory.
I also managed to buy a few things from their warehouse; such an amazing place.  I was lucky enough to take a tour of their business, it is such a modern facility with modern technology in place.  Now I know how my order and materials are processed.
I can't wait to get into my studio, I'm so excited of the new possibilities.
Till next time...

 

I tried to keep up, I promise I did.  But, like many of you, I have been trying to balance work, life, business and family. 

Something had to give.

I am going to do my best to keep up, now that most of the art festivals are behind me.  I do want to take my jewelry business to the next level, which means I must make a greater effort to post and keep myself visible on line.

I finally decided to add bracelets to my line of jewelry.  I enjoyed making them and found them easy to make.  I don't know why I didn't take the plunge earlier. 

On another note, as I had last written, my father battled cancer this year and I am happy to report that his health continues to improve and he is slowly gaining back the quality of life he once enjoyed.

So, as you can imagine, I had so much to be thankful for this past Thanksgiving.  I hope you had a wonderful holiday with your loved ones.

Till next time.

 

 

 

Blue and green stained glass earrings

Blue and green stained glass earrings

Wow, it has been a while since I last posted, I did have the best of intentions, I promise.  But, life has a way of changing one's plans.  Unfortunately, my family has struggled with health issues and I find myself in a very new position. 
I continue to work in my studio, which I consider my sanctuary.  I am able to escape for a while, my mind wanders and I allow myself to think freely and feel freely, whatever that might be.
Hopefully, I will be able to check in from time to time and hopefully things will get better on my side of the screen...

Busy doesn't even begin to explaiin my time away from the blogging world.  Some very good things and some very distressing things came my way.  My dad was diagnosed with cancer recently and I have to say that it has turned his life upside down.  Throughout all of this turmoil we have continued to go on life as usual.  Luckily (if you can say there is anything to feel lucky about) his cancer was found early and his prognosis is good.  Right now, we are just playing the waiting game.  Waiting to see if the radiation will do its job.  I have faith it will.
It took me a while to return to my studio, but when I did I was able to work through my emotions and keeping busy eased much of my tension.  I entered a few competitions, and won a few of them.  Now, I am working and getting prepared for some upcoming shows in a few galleries.  I love having a goal, it keeps you focused on something, which is what I need at the moment.
I've also enjoyed a few online workshops and am planning on one more. 
So now, I am two weeks away from the school year being over and I can concentrate on my own work over the summer.  I can't wait!
 I think I will relax tonight, look through all of the blogs and see what it is I have missed.
Oh, and can someone tell me what are all those weight loss adds appearing on my dashboard doing there and how do I get rid of them?
I hope you are warm and safe with your loved ones, and prayers for all of our military families.

My, how time flies!  I didn't think my life could get any busier, boy was I wrong.  With work, student competitions and jewelry making, very little time left to do much else.  Let's not forget family either.  Whew! 
These earrings are just a few examples of the work I have been creating lately.  I am relatively new to polymer clay and I am spending more and more time trying to learn this wonderful medium.  I still do soldered work, but I am slowly branching off to a few other mediums to add to my portfolio. 
Hopefully once school lets out I will be able to spend more time on my jewelry and posting on my blog.
At the moment I am trying to decide which online jewelry workshops to take, there are a few good ones being offered at this time.  It will be difficult to make the time to do them, but I love learning new techniques.  We'll see what I decide. 
As soon as I can catch my breath, I will share several pictures of my new polymer clay pieces.  It will be fun to chronicle my growth with polymer clay. 

I hope you are having a wonderful night.

Batik

I named this piece Nopal for reasons that I hope are obvious.  I created this piece while showing my art students how to create batiks.  They truly enjoyed the process and it was incredibly rewarding to create one of my own once again.  It had been a good three years since I had last made one and I'm so glad I haven't forgotten this beautiful art technique.

As for the subject matter, well, nopales are common in west Texas and parts of MX.  I tend to include nopales in my art.  I suppose it is because my grandmother had many nopales around her home in MX., she actually used them as a fence of sorts.  In the summer, the nopales gave their juicy fruit and my grandfather would fill a bucket of the delicious fruit for us to eat.  Placing nopales in my work is a tribute to my grandparents and the times I spent with them in MX. 

Now that I think about it, I have blogged about several of my pieces and I have cited my grandparents and my time with them as my inspiration, they were a huge part of my life and I still cherish those times and my memory of them.

I hope you are having a great week, until next time.

I hope the exit is joyful...

The prompt for this month's sketchbook entry( A year in the life...) is a favorite quote.  The quote from Frida Khalo quickly came to mind, "I hope the exit is joyful and I hope never to return."-FK  This quote seemed even more fitting because at the time I was conceiving my piece, I received news of the passing of one of my cousins from Juarez, MX.  I hope her exit was joyful and even though she leaves us broken hearted, I hope her soul is at rest.
For my piece, I used the bright colors of Mexico and included a small portrait of Frida with her two love birds.  On the right I included the heart from 'Loteria'.  I used acrylic on two pages of my sketchbook. This was a quick piece and only carved out a little bit of time, but it sure felt good working on it.
Until next time...

Headpins

Love My Art Jewelry is having an Art Jewelry Bootcamp.  This month the topic is headpins.  I had these headpins stashed away from my college days so I decided to use them for this blog post.  I don't use headpins very often in my work and this month's topic reminded me of the beauty and versatility of headpins.  I should use them more often in my work!

I went around looking at the other blogs and the work they featured using headpins, such wonderful work out there.  I think this bootcamp is going to be very inspirational and I hope it pushes me to try new things with my work.