ring update

Ok... things are going very well - don't worry Jon; I'm on schedule so far. All of the pieces on Sue's ring soldered very quickly and in one pass. I've never had that happen before, and I work with tiny pieces a lot, especially when I work in filigree. It was beautiful!

I laid out all of the pieces on Jon's ring, and am letting the pieces dry before soldering to prevent the tiny bits from jumping. The flux paste is what makes it look wet in the photos, and once it's dry it looks powdery white. The first photo is Sue's ring before soldering (with bits of solder on it), and the other two are the slow and methodical process of laying out the motif on Jon's ring.

At first I had a thinner silver wire for the his vine (the same size as for Sue's), but the scale made it look too feminine so I beefed it up with an 18 gauge and less curl, which worked perfectly. The leaves are also slightly larger on his, 3-4mm vs. the 2mm leaves on Sue's. I also added extra leaves that are spread throughout the design since there aren't any stones (and it fills the space nicely).

Tomorrow I solder Sue's ring closed, size it properly, and work on getting all the pieces of Jon's design on the ring. Keep watching for updates!

~Jeni

Wedding rings

Has it really been that long since my last post? Wow, time flew by... but also, if there's nothing to say, than why make something up? Sometimes I just like to hunker down, get lots of work done, and then step back to reassess where I've been, where I'm at, and where I want to be. And it's led to this... A serendipitous request for wedding rings by two very sweet people who need them made quickly! I try not to feel ill when I think of just how soon they need to be done!

Jon, I thought you might enjoy watching them from start to finish - although you might not want to let Sue see them so she'll be surprised on your day!

~Jeni

Chicago

I'm back from my travels for awhile, and dearly looking forward to resting and spending time in my garden. Chicago was disappointing as far as sales go, but was also one of the loveliest settings I've shown at. This art festival was an Amdur production, and Amy was there in person to make sure everything went smoothly. I was pleasantly shocked to see her in an orange traffic vest directing artists and cars to their assigned spots. She even came around to warn us of high winds for Saturday night so we could buckle down extra tight. This is a woman not afraid to get in there and make sure things are done right!

Before leaving the area, we stopped at the Chicago Botanic Garden - what a treat! 360 some acres of beautifully maintained garden, including a gem of a Japanese garden on its own little island. That alone was worth the trip...

I'll be back in Chicago soon for another of her shows, and hope to see a better return on my investment this time. If not, this sort of thing drives me to improve my work, find better shows, and re-evaluate my direction and how to get where I want to go.

See you on the road,

Jeni

from tornado winds to the windy city

Virginia Beach Boardwalk art show was a blast, if not an interesting collection of weather phenomenon. A tornado touch down near the show late Friday night tested the strength of every tent not to mention the nerves of each artist. This followed by sweltering heat in the 90's on Saturday, and then Sunday's high winds that culminated in a sand storm. Whew!

Smaller crowds and fewer sales surprised the veterans of this show, some who have been coming for over 30 years. Even so, I enjoyed myself completely, meeting new artists and patrons, jumping in the waves after show hours, and trying to body surf, too. I now have sand in places I didn't know were possible!

After restocking a bit, I'm off to Chicago to the Glencoe Festival of the Masters art show. Here's hoping for fewer tornadoes, cooler weather, and no sand in my teeth - am I asking for too much?

Artistically yours,

Jeni

Updates

Show season's in full swing, so my posts will be a bit spotty as I scramble to fill orders, create new pieces, and travel the countryside.

Legacy Village on Cleveland's east side (near Beachwood) went well - and I got to meet so many new people! A special hello goes out to Linda and Lea who both have surprises coming in the mail very soon! Now I'm running around creating, cleaning, and packing for the big Va Beach Boardwalk show. The weather there is warm and sunny, but thunderstorms are a threat every day of the show, and coming off the ocean, sometimes they're pretty freaking violent. Let's see if I come back in one piece or if I have some terrific stories to tell you!

Relax, get yourself a lovely umbrella drink, and enjoy summer...

~Jeni

Q news and art successes

It wasn't good news for our kitty. He has the aggressive kind of cancer that has probably spread throughout his body already, so there's nothing we can do for him. We decided to keep him comfortable as long as we can, but he probably won't make it through the summer. Evidently this kind of cancer can consume everything w/in 3 to 6 months. (sigh) I am glad that we get some time with him; and he's so happy! It feels like we were perfectly placed at the right time to get him from the cat rescue, give him a great home for 3 years, and love him to the very end. When he's gone and the time is right again, we'll give another cat a loving home.

On the art front, my oldest daughter won best of show for her category in a local art show, and my other two daughters placed in theirs! A good day for them, and tomorrow I go to the Ohio Designer Craftsmen exhibition for the artist's reception for a piece of mine that was selected to go on tour for the next year.

Our Q

So many things happen every day that I end up not sharing anything at all. Bad habit - maybe. I try to keep things focused on my work, but sometimes other events just fill up and overflow into every part of my life and end up on here. Today is one of those days.

My sweet kitty Q (named after the Star Trek troublemaker) who just turned 3 has had a rough week. We found him limping around the house Sunday, and figured one of the little critters he tried to hunt must have fought back and scored a few points. I couldn't find any wounds on his foot, so expected him to feel better the next day. On Monday I found a lump on his thigh, and figured it was the source of his limp, called the vet and explained that it was pretty large and hard. I thought it was swollen from a bite or bee sting. Today he had an emergency biopsy, 54 cc's of fluid removed, and a large tumor taken out.

It seems that 1 out of 10,000 cats will react to normal immunizations by growing cancer cells at the site of the injection. Dear, sweet Q was number 10,000. By Friday we'll know if it's the very fast growing aggressive type of cancer or not. If it is, there's nothing we can do. If he narrowly escapes this horrible end, then they'll try to remove his entire leg to save his life.