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

Hello everyone!

Here's a quick photo update of all of the things that I've been talking about in my past few blogs.

Ceramics class:

 Its always fun to unload a fired kiln.

Some small bowls

A few interesting glaze effects

Glass Fusing Projects:

A detail of a glass platter held up to the light. Isn't translucent glass pretty?

I can't remember if I mentioned it before but I've begun volunteering for the Syracuse Rose Society. It really just means donating a few hours a week to weed the rose garden near campus. Its a beautiful garden and the people of Rose Society are so welcoming. 

 Everyone hard at work in the garden.

A few of the beautiful roses that are kept in the rose garden.

Until next time,

Gitta

summer rolls on

Hello everyone!

The heat of summer is definitely settling in after few weeks of cool weather and rain. (I look back fondly on those days now that I'm sweltering in my attic apartment.) However there are ways to beat the heat here in Syracuse. My friends and I have discovered the joys of the community pool in Thornden Park. A few perks of the pool: it's outside, it's filled with families and children, there's morning lane swimming and swim classes for the youngsters (which is adorable to watch), it's within walking distance (essential for we car-less students), and most importantly it's free!

However fun the pool may be, what could be a better way to spend summer than with the classic American summertime activity: the barbecue. A few times a week my friends and I gather at someone's house for some tasty food, refreshing beverages, good music and (best of all) entertaining company. This was how my Fourth of July was spent with the addition of climbing to the tallest hill in Thornden park to watch some fireworks. Nothing beats watching a hot day transform in to a warm summer night from the porch of a friend's house.

Last week held the last few days of my summer classes. (There is a second summer session but I'm not participating in any of those classes.) Although I really enjoyed the subjects that I was taking, I'm ready for a break from classes. (I'll post some photos of my work later this week. Right now its all still wrapped up in boxes.) I have a lot of projects that I want to start in preparation for the fall and now I finally have time to work on them. Yesterday, I ordered some wax and carving tools from Rio Grande (the main jewelry tool supplier that I use) so I will be able to start making some wax models later this week. (The waxes will then be invested and cast in the jewelry studio in the fall.) I've been itching to make some new jewelry and am excited to be able start.

You've all been with me through the commission I got for the summer bride and so I'll give the last update on that project. After chatting about what she wanted and going fabric shopping together, I finally sat down to make the hair accessories. I was nervous that they wouldn't be what she expected but she seemed delighted with the finished product. So all's well that ends well. But my connections with her may not be ended yet. She works for the University and said that she and a friend have knowledge of law for artists. While many may not think of it, and understanding of law is pretty essential for artists who have to constantly protect their work and intellectual property. Since she is such a kind and delightful woman she said that after the commotion caused by her wedding settles we will meet again and chat about legal issues pertaining to artists. I'm not sure what will come of this but I have a good feeling about it.

Coming up next: another photo update

Until next time,
Gitta

2 cool websites

Hello everyone!

On these rainy summer days I've been spending more time on the Internet. Here are two websites that are getting a lot of viewing time from me lately.

http://www.designspongeonline.com/

Now that I have a place of my very own (temporarily at least) I've been looking for ways to make it cute, cheery and contemporary. Design sponge was recommended to me by a friend who was also doing some living space renovations and now I'm a bit of an addict. Even though I probably won't be doing any major makeover to my new apartment, its still fun to think about. Also, this blog has business advice for aspiring female entrepreneurs which is both helpful and inspiring.

http://www.klimt02.net/

This website is a classic one for me. Featuring jewelry artists from across the globe, klimt02 is always a good source for inspiration. Its a great way to keep up-to-date with new art jewelry that is being made and I also think that it would be a great way for any prospective student interested in JAM to see the potential of art jewelry.

Until next time,
Gitta

photo update

Hello everyone!

So I said that I would keep you all up dated on my possible commission for the July bride so here it is! I met with her on Saturday and it went really well! She is a super nice woman and I'm happy to be working with her. She ordered 8 fabric flowers for her hair. We're going materials shopping tomorrow and I will post so me photos of the final project when they're completed. Her wedding is in less than two weeks so that will be pretty soon!

Other than that there's not too much else exciting going on. My classes are winding up quickly. Tuesday is the last day to work in wet clay before the end of the session  (they do this so that there is ample time to fire and glaze the projects.) For my final project I'm making a cup and saucer set. I'd never thrown a plate(saucer)  before so I ended up making that set twice because my first set were thrown too thinly.

That's all that's new. I finally found the cord that connects my camera to my computer so I'll give you a photo update on what was happening in the last few weeks. (I brought my camera to the ceramics studio to give you a taste of what I've been up to in there but the only photo I was able to take before my battery died was the one of my failed saucers.) I'm also going to add some random photos from my last few weeks abroad.

                               My mom, my sister and me on my sister's graduation day from Cornell.

People of all ages came to admire the beautiful ceramic work at the Carved Vase Contest at Clayscapes.

A stack of my unfortunate, too-thin saucers.

Me and my Italian family.

At the top of the beautiful cathedral in Milano.

The bluest natural water I've ever seen in Blue Grotto on the Island of Capri.

Cheery umbrellas-also on Capri.

Florence by night.

Until next time,

Gitta

Summer's Flying By

I have been keeping myself very busy since my last posts. The usual class and work plus a few extras have been making my days jam packed. But that's the way I like it. I guess the best way to fill you all in with what I've been doing is to go in chronological order.

Through my ceramics class I found out about an opening for a exhibit of carved ceramic vases held on June 4th. It was a display of vases submitted to the Carved Vase Contest. This contest was juried competition in honor of the 100th anniversary of the completion of Adelaide Alsop Robineau's Scarab Vase, an elaborately carved  vase at the Everson Museum. The exhibit was held at Clayscapes Pottery Inc. in their gallery space. There were many amazing vases, some for sale and other not, and with my new found understanding of thrown pottery I was able to better understand the process of making the vases and enjoy them more thoroughly. Also, while I was at Clayscapes, I popped into their store and bought myself a new rubber rib for my class. (I love buying new tools and Clayscapes gives a student discount!)

This past Wednesday I moved into a new apartment. Its a bit farther away from campus but the apartment has plenty of space my new street is full of life (with a mix of student apartments and family homes) making the extra bit of walk fully worth it. And right now everybody's gardens are in bloom so the walk is a pleasant one.

On Friday as I was walking to work through the Quad, I found myself amidst a festival. There was a farmers market with vendors of food, jewelry, plants (I bought some herbs for my kitchen), and more. There was also a strawberry festival going on that sold various strawberry goodies. I also gave a tour of the Shaffer Art building to a prospective student. So if any of you visit Syracuse this summer I might be your tour guide-who knows?

On Saturday my mom drove from PA to visit my new apartment. After an inspection of the place her approval was earned. Then we grabbed a bite to eat from Tully's, a restaurant on Erie Boulevard, and then we did some grocery shopping at Wegmans.

Coming up this week, I have a meeting with a woman whom I met in December at a crafts fair in which I participated. She liked my jewelry and was interested in custom ordering some as bridesmaids gifts for her July wedding. I'm so happy that we managed to stay in touch while I was abroad and that she's still interested because having my jewelry in a wedding would be a great opportunity. I'm a bit nervous for this meeting so wish me luck!

Both of my classes are going really well. In my ceramics class we are learning about glazing, working on making larger objects and planning for our final projects. (I can't believe how quickly the session is progressing.) I finally fired my first glass project and it came out beautifully and I couldn't be happier.

In the move to the new apartment I have lost my memory card reader so I can't post any photos yet. But as soon as I find it I will upload photos to accompany this post.

Until next time,
Gitta

Cornell graduation and other things

This weekend my sister graduated from Cornell University with a graduate degree in Biomedical Engineering- Go Kirsten!! (Although we're similar in many ways, our areas of study are as different as night and day, but that's part of what makes us such great friends I guess.) So Friday my mom drove to Syracuse to pick me up, after putting in a few hours in the ceramics studio of course, to spend the weekend with Kirsten. It was a beautiful weekend in Ithaca (although extra busy with graduates and their families.) The ceremony on Sunday was lovely (although I wish I would have put on a little more sunscreen-ouch!) and it was great to finally meet all of my sister's friends and classmates whom I have heard so much about. On Monday, driving away from Cornell, I felt really sad to be leaving the campus knowing that I'll never go back to visit Kirsten there again. The drive from Syracuse to Ithaca is just under an hour and it has been so fantastic to have my sister so close (she also earned her undergraduate degree from Cornell) and was actually one of the reasons why I choose SU. Although shes no longer at CU shes not moving far. She landed a job in NYC which will also be a really fun place to visit her.

So far this summer the most time consuming thing has been my ceramics class. I've put in time at the studio almost every day and although its a bit tiring (clay can be tough to move around sometimes) the hard work is beginning to pay off. My cups are becoming more even, thinner, taller, and I'm beginning to be able to control the shape that I'm making a bit. This week we've advanced from straight cylindrical cups to mugs with handles-I'm learning that there are a lot of elements (both aesthetic and functional) that need to be taken into consideration when adding a handle to a mug. For Thursday's class we have to have eight mugs completed which is somewhat of an overwhelming amount of work for a beginner to produce in one day. Despite being a lot of work, its also a really fun and laid-back class. After Tuesday's class my professor-a graduate student- fired up a grill outside of the studio and we had a little cookout (eating and drinking off of hand made plates and cups of course). It's little events like this that make VPA a strong community and such a fun place to be.

Some other things that have been weighing on my mind:

It's funny but talking to the prospective students who come into the admissions office makes me realize how full circle I've come. Not only can I imagine 3 years ago when I was in their shoes-thinking about the future, applying to universities, nervously awaiting their responses-I'm in that same situation again. As my senior year rapidly approaches I'm trying to map out the future which is incredibly difficult and tremendously scary. As of right now I am unsure of what life after graduation holds-not because options are scarce, rather because there are too many directions that I could go. Should I continue my education (where), should I work (where and for whom), should I try and contact an artist in the field for some sort of apprenticeship (again where, for whom and how?). In order to figure this all out I need to develop more pieces for my portfolio, shoot photographs for a portfolio, write a resume and artists statement, work on applications, search the web for job opportunities, and so many other things that I'm sure I'm forgetting at this point. It's an overwhelming list of things to do but I'm sure with hard work and guidance from the professors whom I'm closest to I'll be able to complete it all and make the decisions that are right for my future.

Until next time
Gitta