The New York State Fair

Hello everyone!

This weekend was an extra long one for me. Besides not having class on Fridays we also had Monday off for Labor Day. Although I did have some homework to complete, I was able to take a break on Sunday to visit the State Fair. Although this is my fourth fall in Syracuse, I had never been to the fair before and it proved to be a fun way to spend the afternoon. The food was all fried and tasty and there was delicious 25 cent chocolate milk. Of course there were odd dairy specialty items such as the butter sculpture. There were many of my favorite farm animals for the petting including cows, sheep, donkeys, goats and llamas. The big attraction as far as animals go was the giraffe. I bought some carrots and fed (meaning got my hand licked) the giraffe. My roommate and I also won two gold fish, Winston and Webster, by playing the game where you throw the ping pong ball into the little bowl. Winston, unfortunately, has since gone the way of many carnival fish and is no longer swimming in the clear waters of his bowl.

In my home town we have a fair as well, called the Grange Fair and being at this fair, although larger than what I'm used to, made me feel like I was at home.

Until next time,
Gitta

Back to School!

Hi everybody!

A quick post today. Its the first day of school and I just wanted to wish everyone starting at (or returning to) SU GOOD LUCK! and have fun!

Until next time,
Gitta

work on display!

Hello everybody!

School is rapidly approaching-classes start in one week from today! I can hardly believe it. Summer has gone by so quickly! The weather is beginning to cool off and soon I can start wearing my favorite articles of clothing (boots and cardigans). The time to start stocking up on pencils and notebooks is here. As you can probably tell I love fall and back to school planning and I am looking forward to the start of the semester.

But my love of autumn is not the purpose of this post. I have some exciting news to share-my jewelry is on display on the fourth floor of Bird Library. Its a combined show with Michelle Glasson, a photographer and fellow jewelry maker. I installed my work into a display case last Monday and we had a little reception Wednesday night. Here I am in the Biblio Gallery with Ann Skiold (the coordinator of the show) in the center of the group and  Michelle on the right. We are standing in front of some of Michelle's photographs and textiles.

The show will be up for about a month so if you get a chance you should stop by to check out my work and artists statement.

Until next time,
Gitta

HOME!!

Hi everybody!

Sorry for not having a post for a while. Last week I was on vacation in Aaronsburg, PA aka. HOME! Unfortunately, being that I've spent my summer in the 'Cuse, I haven't been able to spend too much at home. And though I call home almost everyday, its not quite the same as being there. My week was pretty busy with visits with friends and family but I did have some time to relax a bit and take some photos. I would like to share them with you because my home town, a very small rural community, provides a lot of inspiration for my work. I hope you enjoy!

Animals have become such an inspiration for me. Aren't these guys cute?

A country road

There is a large Amish community in my area. This is one of their farms.

The Concord grapes growing on the porch of my house are just starting to ripen. They're a bit early this year.

Our apples are a little early too. They are very small but tasty.

This beautiful hydrangea is called Lime Light. As you can see the little buds are a shade of green before turning white as they age.

And finally, my dog, Scottie. He's a Shetland Sheepdog dog and is very gentle.

Until next time,

Gitta

one more website

Hello everybody!

A few weeks ago I told you about a blog that I love-design*sponge. I must admit that I have become a slave to that blog checking it several times a day for updates (I don't even check my e-mail that often). It has plenty of diy projects that have really gotten me in the crafting spirit. So I'll share another website that always indulges my crafting side.

www.etsy.com

Etsy is a pretty popular shopping website. It is a trove of  all things cute, craft-y, handmade and adorable. I could honestly get lost on that site for hours if I'm not careful. If your not familiar with it I recommend you check it out!

Until next time,
Gitta

wax works!

Hi everybody!

Just a quick update on what I'm doing. I've been itching to make some jewelry but not having a personal metalsmithing studio in my apartment has been somewhat of a hindrance. However, a few weeks ago I ordered some tools from Rio Grande Jewelry Making Supplies. I bought carving wax and a little alcohol lamp that runs on denatured alcohol so I can carve some wax models. I was fortunate enough to have some dentist tools given to me a few months ago so now I'm all set to start carving. Dental tools are the best tools for carving jewelry or anything on a small scale (even old, broken tools still work great!) Working in wax is the first step in casting an object. Casting is my favorite process in metalsmithing and while I don't have any of my own casting equipment I can get some wax pieces ready this summer to cast for in fall. I'll post some pictures of the wax carving process and hopefully during fall semester, I'll be able to continue describing the rest of the casting process including investing, the burn out, using the centrifuge to cast the object, and then the clean up process of the cast piece. It should be fun!

Until next time,
Gitta

Wax Works ctd.

Hello everyone!

Here are a few pictures of wax tools and an earring that I've been making in wax. I hope it helps to clarify what I'm doing in wax.

                                          An assortment of dental tools used to carve the wax.

The wax. There are many different types of wax that range from soft to hard. They are organized by color and come in every shape imaginable. My favorite is the blue which is a soft wax.

A detail of the wax. Some sticks are quite small which is helpful when making jewelry.

My new alcohol lamp used for heating the dental tools and melting the wax. Even though denatured alcohol burns very cleanly, I created an improve ventilation system with a fan in my window to help keep fumes from building. 

A carved wax goose all ready for casting in the fall semester. It will hopefully become an earring.

I always save little boxes, they are the perfect size in which to store jewelry bits.

Every little bit of wax is useful so when I'm finished working for the day I always ball the little scraps and save them for the next project.

Until next time,

Gitta