Still Having Fun with White Bronze Metal Clay (And Steel, And Viking Knit)

Here are some of my latest pieces listed. You can click on any jewelry photo to see if the piece is still available. To see everything that is currently available, click here.

The first is a white bronze pod pendant with Jasper, Pyrite, and African silver-colored beads.



Also in white bronze is this simple unisex necklace with a gecko theme.



Earrings made of steel with bronze inlay.



A Viking knit necklace with one of Alex’s fabulous glass beads as the focal.



And a minimalist bracelet of copper rolo chain and a lampwork bead charm.



Hope everyone is having a nice weekend. The weather here is great!

Part 1 of How to Get Published in a Jewelry or Bead Magazine

I’ve been asked to do a little write-up on how to get published in a magazine.

I’ve collected some info to help you get started. Some are magazines are online, some are hardcopy, and some are both.

Most magazines will tell you very clearly how to you can submit your work for their consideration. Follow each publisher’s guidelines (seriously).

Please do your homework! If you send an email or inquiry to an editor, make sure you’re not addressing it to someone who was the editor four years ago.

Show some interest in the magazine too. Read the current issues. Become familiar with a magazine’s style and content.

Here is a list of some of the current magazines in our field. I’ve included information on how many issues they put out, who publishes the magazine, a link to information about the magazine, and a link to their submission guidelines (if available).

Art Jewelry (6 issues per year) published by Kalmbach Publishing Co.
About the Magazine
Submission Guildelines

Bead & Button (6 issues per year) published by Kalmbach Publishing Co.
About the Magazine
Submission Guildelines

Bead Design Studio [transitioned from Bead Unique magazine] (6 issues per year) published by All American Crafts, Inc.
About the Magazine
Submission Guildelines

Bead Style (6 issues per year) published by Kalmbach Publishing Co.
About the Magazine
Submission Guildelines

Bead Trends (6/7 issues per year) published by Northridge Publishing
About the Magazine
Submission Guildelines

Beadwork (6 issues per year) published by Interweave
About the Magazine
Submission Guildelines

Belle Armoire Jewelry (4 issues per year) published by Stampington & Company
Slow loading web pages
About the Magazine
Submission Guildelines

Canadian Beading published by Canadian Beading Magazine
About the Magazine

Easy Wire [Special issues] published by Interweave
See “Step By Step Wire Jewelry” for submission guildelines

Handcrafted Jewelry [Special issues] published by Interweave

Jewelry Affaire published by Stampington & Company
Slow loading web pages
About the Magazine
Submission Guildelines

Jewelry Artist [Lapidary Journal] (9 issues per year) published by Interweave
About the Magazine
Submission Guildelines for Reviews

Jewelry Stringing (4 issues per year) published by Interweave
About the Magazine
Submission Guildelines

Metalclay Artist Magazine (4 issues per year) published by Brysella Publishing
About the Magazine
Submission Guildelines

Metalsmith (5 issues per year) published by SNAG
About the Magazine
Submission Guildelines

Polymer Café (6 issues per year) published by Scott Publications
About the Magazine
Submission Guildelines

Step by Step Wire Jewelry (6 issues per year) published by Interweave
About the Magazine
Submission Guildelines

Wirework [special issue] published by Kalmbach Publishing Co.
See “Art Jewelry” for submission guidelines

Stay tuned for more information on this subject...

Wirework Magazine Spring 2013 Article and End of Monica's Youth Hockey Career

Yes, it’s been awhile. I loved traveling with Monica to her end-of-season hockey championships, but now I’m glad to be back home and back to work (the work I love). See the end of this blog post for info on how the end of Monica’s season turned out.

I’ve been doing a lot of kiln testing so I can get the firing schedules just right for my metal clay projects. Sometimes when you combine the clays, you have to adjust for variations in the outcome.

Here are some of my latest pieces listed. You can click on any jewelry photo to see if the piece is still available. To see everything that is currently available, click here.

First up are the three necklaces I made for the Spring 2013 issue of Wirework magazine. This is an art nouveau take on an Egyptian lotus design.



Here’s a minimalist setting sun pendant made from copper with bronze inlay.



And a rustic copper Viking knit bangle bracelet.



I’m excited to announce that I am currently taking part in Hadar Jacobson’s accreditation course (only the first round of students were invite only; the second round in 2014 will be chosen from people who apply). We are following a rigorous, months-long program “to establish a team of high-level, professional teachers, who know the ins and outs of base metal clay and who received their teacher training directly from [Hadar]”.

As a wrap up for those who are following my daughter’s progress: The girls team had three amazing games in the round robin portion of Nationals. They made it to the quarter-finals where they ended up losing their first game, but at that point it was elimination rounds so their season was over.

Here’s a photo from a few weeks ago when they won the Regional Championships in Anaheim.



Her boys team doesn’t have a national level. For them “States” is as high as they could go and it was an awesome ending to her youth hockey career being in net as her team won the State Championship title.



She has a few goalie camps this summer (both as student as instructor), then it’s off to Brown some time in August, I guess.

New Jewelry Creations with White Bronze Metal Clay

On Sunday, I listed three new items, all featuring metal clay.

Note: You can click on any jewelry photo to see if the piece is still available (or to get more info/photos). To see everything that is currently available, click here.

The first is a pair of earrings with Hadars Brilliant Bronze (which truly looks like gold).



Next is a unisex necklace of white bronze.



The third listing is a necklace and earrings set made from white bronze with Turquoise accents.



No time for too much chit-chat as I’m between hockey tournaments at the moment, but I’ll be back Monday with more jewelry making experiments to show you.

Day Three of Nationals

The girls played last night and then again this morning.

Last night, they won, with Monica getting a shutout.

This morning, they won, with Monica getting a second shutout.

Here are the goalie stats after round one of the National Championships:

Four teams have been eliminated and the remaining teams move into the quarterfinals tomorrow.

First day of Nationals

There are two teams from the Alaska All Stars club.  One is the 14u AA and the other is the 19u AAA (that's the one Monica is on).

Both teams won their games yesterday.  Yay!

I think I'm going to break out the Viking knit and work on that until the next game (3pm).

So I start the water for a shower then notice a spider trying to escape the tub.  Sigh...  Okay, get a magazine and let the spider crawl onto it... but I can't take him outside because I'm already nekkid.  Into the empty garbage pail he goes as a temporary solution.  After my shower, I step onto the bathrug and feel something weird and suddenly remember about the spider and wonder if he escape the garbage pail while I was showering.  Eek!  But no, he's still there.  Okay, so I rescued him from the shower.  It's just as cruel to let him waste away in the garbage pail.  After dressing, I take him outside and leave him on the lawn, musing for a few minutes my sense of obligation to the spider.

And on a totally unrelated note: We all know that using our brains is one way to keep them active and in good working order.  But they (the experts) also say that you must learn NEW skills, not just repeat things you like to do.

So I put together a jigsaw puzzle yesterday.  Something I haven't done in decades.  That's gotta count toward some useful synapse stuff, right?

Trying New Things (not jewelry related)

I see how life is changing.  Can you imagine, for example, if I didn't want to try the new-fangled thing called ATM?

ATM's seem ordinary, everyday, commonplace, right?

Then there's all KINDS of things on the internet, and we've got ... oh, not only cell phones, but SMART phones.

I have no desire to be on the cutting edge of technology, so I don't even try.  But lately I've begun to feel a bit like a dinosaur.

I'm sort of attached to my PC.  It's a desktop.  I've never liked typing on laptops.  I see how convenient they are, yet it's just so stifling to the way I work on a computer.

But here I am, sitting in San Francisco, going to be away from home for about six days, typing on a laptop.  Mind you, it's an eight year old laptop, so there's nothing cutting edge about it.  But for me, this is a big step.

As I type, the thing wants to tip backward, over my knees.  I have to hold it down with the weight of my wrists as I type.  This thing is way too big for my lap.  I"m sure they make them smaller nowadays.  I feel like I've been doing an hour on Suzanne Summer's thighmaster, as my legs work to hold the laptop in place.

I used to have a mouse that plugged into one of the USB ports, but then we start getting into territory that defies the reason for using a laptop in the first place, right?  I can't say I'm a fan of using a laptop's mouse pad.  Maybe those too have improved in the last eight years.

This is just an outdated 8th grade graduation present that I inherited when I bought my son a more up-to-date laptop.  Now I'm glad I kept it (although that fuels my bad habit of, "Hey, I should keep this.  You never know when you may need it again someday.")

Okay, so I don't want to be on the cutting edge of technology but I do want to keep up with regular, modern conveniences.  Look how handy tablets are getting.  Who'd have thunk?  I have no desire to be there with my foot firmly planted in the ground while life moves on without me into wonderful new directions.

So here I am, trying to embrace the usefulness of laptops (I know... even THAT is old school).

And look, because of this laptop, I get to have this totally blathering blog entry.

I'm back in the Bay Area because Monica's girls hockey team qualified to represent the Pacific division at the National level.  This weekend is the end of the hockey season for girls tier hockey.  And for some, like Monica, it's the end of youth hockey.  What a fabulous way to go out... at Nationals.  It's the first time her team has earned a spot.  When Mon was 12, she got to go to Nationals because the rink she was playing at was hosting the event (host team gets an automatic "in").

Here's an article on the USA Hockey website detailing some of the uphill battle of Monica's current team: http://nationals.usahockey.com/news_article/show/241126?referrer_id=781295

And here are some photos from their triumphant weekend at Regionals (that earned them their spot at Nationals):

 

Good luck at Nationals, girls!