I have been very quiet in my blog, sorry about that. I promise I will be posting more often to share with you my new adventures with my work and new designs for this year.
As some of you may know, I had a health problem in 2013 that forced me to stop creating jewelry for almost a year. It was a difficult journey because I enjoy creating something almost every day, but I also felt I needed this break to recover and get better.
Before I got sick I had so many plans, one of them was to do a bigger show outside Texas. One of the shows I wanted to be was the prestigious ACC (American Craft Council) in Baltimore. I knew it was not easy to be there but I never lost hope that one day it will happen.
I am more than happy to share with you that I was selected to be one of the invited artists by SNAG to attend ACC Baltimore this year in February. I am thankful to be part of the group of artists selected by SNAG and can not wait to be there next month!
ACC launched a Charm Collection program last year and I decided to participate too. I created 4 charms that I will be selling individually, in a bangle, a brooch and a necklace. You will have lots of options to choose from!
I am going to be BUSY this month for sure!! I have to finish putting all the details for my booth display and producing lots of jewelry to bring to the show.
I am also preparing for Fiesta Arts Fair in April at Southwest School of Art in San Antonio, Texas. I was fortunate to be accepted last year for the first time and I will be doing it again this year, hope I will see you there!!
I have been working on new pieces for my first show of the year. I am very happy to finally be able to show my work at Fiesta Arts Fair in San Antonio, Texas.
Fiesta Arts Fair is located in the beautiful historic Ursuline Campus of The Southwest School of Art .The event takes place during the Fiesta celebration in the city every year during April.
Fiesta Arts Fair showcases the work of more than 100 artists from all over the US and this year I am glad I will part of these wonderful group of artists.
I hope you can come and visit my booth and see all the work from the other artists! The show will take place in April 19 and 20, 2014.
Since I met Bob Eberdorf 3 years ago when he came to teach a workshop at the Southwest School of Art, I felt in love not only with his work but with him as a person. From that moment we have been in contact and he has been a great support for me and my work.
I am so thankful for all his wonderful words and for always being there for me when I need him. My family and I are particularly thankful for his support during a difficult time, he may not know this but his letter was a BIG help during the application process to obtain my permanent residency in this country. He was one of the wonderful people who helped me during this process and as soon as I ask him for help he did not hesitated to give me a hand.
Thank You Bob, you will always be in my heart !!
During these years of communication with Bob, I had the opportunity to meet so many wonderful artists that were his students, one of them is Laura Wood. Bob let me know she was coming my way and I was more than happy to meet this wonderful lady.
Laura worked for a year at the Southwest School of Art and also she started working with another fantastic artists here in San Antonio, Alejandro Sifuentes, at his gallery. Equinox Gallery was a new beautiful place and Laura working with Alejandro was the perfect match. They have accomplished so much and have given the opportunity to so many incredible artists to display their work and have exhibitions. When Laura told me she was planning in having an exhibition for Bob I was more than happy, I could not wait to see him again and have the opportunity to see more of his work in person.
May, 2013
Finally, the moment for his exhibition arrived and I saw him again after 3 years. I organized a casual dinner in my home the day he arrived to the city. Seeing him again was wonderful and finally I was able to thank him in person for all his support.
I invited a small group of people to my home to join us, one of them I knew he will be very happy to see; my wonderful mentor and first metals teacher Claire Holliday.
Claire was Bob's student when she came to this country in the 70's and they have a beautiful connection. Claire is also a very important person in my life because she gave me my wings to start creating my work, she was a wonderful teacher and a great mentor.
Wonderful company: Bob Ebendorf,Claire Holliday, Kathleen Sommers,Alejandro Sifuentes, Laura Wood, Claudia Rush, Nancy Wood, Peggy Potts, Louise O., Tara Locklear and my dear husband Jorge.
The exhibition at Equinox Gallery was the following day of our dinner.
"Keep it in the can" was a fantastic exhibition, Bob worked making this new collection for a year and every single piece is full of detail and sentiment. Having the fortune to be able to see and touch his pieces is something I will never forget. He is a great inspiration to keep creating but also to take our time to be with family and friends and to connect with the art community.
In this beautiful event, we also surprised Bob with " The Bob Ebendrof Commemorative Pin Exhibition" featuring 75 invited artists who created a pin for Bob. I was luck to have been invited to be part of this group of artists by Equinox gallery.
This is the pin I made for Bob.
I am happy to be the owner of one of Bob's pieces finally, my dear husband gave me as a gift one of Bob's brooches and I will wear it with such pride and honor all the time. Thanks Jorge !! ♥
My last day with Bob was during his "Brush of Creativity" workshop the following day of the exhibition. Equinox also organized this workshop in La Villita where the gallery is located. Bob started the day with a slideshow following by a creative day making brushes from different materials and objects.
Being surrounded by so many creative people and having Bob guiding us was just the perfect day for me. I had the chance to be with friends I have not seen for a while and after having a couple of very challenging months and days after my diagnosis of Thyroid Cancer, this was just what I needed to fill my spirit with good energy and great friends.
I made some brushes and end up giving Bob one of them because he liked it and I was more than happy to give it to him. I do not have a picture of my brush because I did not have time to photograph it but I liked it a lot. It was something new for me to be able to put together a piece using a natural seed, part of a small brass brush I had in my studio and a coil I made with copper wire and red coral beads.
After this wonderful weekend full of laughter, friendship, love and art I can honestly say I am more than ready for my future surgery and recovery.
THANK YOU for this great weekend to all of the people who made this possible !!!!!
I am happy to be part of The Bracelet Show at Kathleen Sommers this year again. This is the fourth annual collective show and every year this event gets better and better. The reception will take place on December 6th from 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm at Kathleen Sommers located in 2417 N. Main St. in San Antonio, Texas.
The show will have over 100 designs by more than 60 artists
Bracelets will be on display and available for purchase until December the 15th.
10% of all proceeds will be donated to the Scholarship Fund at Southwest School of Art in San Antonio.
You may register by phone or online at any time. I am sure you will have a great time and you will learn a lot of things in how to work with this type of clay.
I am very happy to have the opportunity to share this wonderful tradition from my country, Mexico, with all the community in San Antonio.
Southwest School of Art has been doing the altars for years and this time I will lead this wonderful event. The invitation came at the best moment for me after having a very difficult summer in 2011 when I lost three very important family members.
This will give me the incredible opportunity to make a day of the dead altar to honor them and all my other family members that are not with us any more in body, but they will always be with us in spirit.
I will make my best to transmit why the altars are so important in our culture and why we see dead in a totally different way.
Hope you will come to see it if you live in San Antonio and the surrounding areas, I will love to see you there.
I was very excited to learn this great technique because I love to add color to my work without using beads or stones.
Powder coating is a thermo set, polymer paint process. The coated is applied electro-statically and is then cured under heat to allow it to flow out into a smooth, durable surface.
Here is a great video Michael has about this topic:
The class was intensive but we all had such a great time. Michael is an incredible artists and a very good teacher, he was always willing to answer all the questions the students had.
The first day of the class Michael let us used some of his found metal objects to start playing with powder coating. We were all eager to start adding some colors. Here you can see some examples that I made with the metal objects he let us used.
These two pieces are still in progress. I will make some
bronze metal clay pieces that will be riveted in the
center to attach all the pieces together.
For the second day I wanted to make something with my own creative style. Of course I had to create a heart and also I decided to powder coat some pieces I had for a necklace I am making.
I am still working in this piece. I am making a necklace using a beautiful
button that was embroidered by Ellen Louwes.
(Copper, Embroidered button , powder coat.)
I am very excited to keep on playing with powder coating, the equipment is not very expensive and I can see myself doing much more of this in the future.
Today I am going to the Opening night of La Noche del Broche exhibition at the beautiful Equinox Gallery in La Villita. This exhibition will display 100 brooches from 86 artists and I am sure it is going to be incredible.
I can not wait to see the brooches and mine on display !
My next event for this month is the fantastic third Bracelet Show at Kathleen Sommers, I have been honored to be invited the three years in a raw. This is another wonderful event in San Antonio and a portion of the sales for the bracelets will go for the Scholarship Fund at Southwest School of Art.
On December 10 from 9:30 am to 5 pm, I will be at Articopia in the beautiful Ursuline Campus of Southwest School of Art. This is my third year participating in this wonderful show. I am always very happy to be part and to promote this beautiful art school in San Antonio, if you have not been there this is a great opportunity to visit.
My last show of the year will be at the University of the Incarnate Word, the Christmas Art and Craft Market on December 16 and 17. I am more than honored to see they chose two of my pieces to promote the event.
Yesterday we had a great concert with all the kids of the NEISD. Fifth grade, Middle Schools and High Schools orchestras were reunited for the Annual Evening with Strings Concert. This is the third time our son plays his violin and we always enjoy listening to all these talented kids. I am a big believer that arts and music teach kids creativity, responsibility and help them get better grades in their classes. My son started playing the violin in Fifth grade and every year he enjoys it even more. It is incredible to see him practice at home and how excited he gets in all his concerts and competitions. The kids at his school, Barbara Bush Middle School, are very lucky to have such an incredible teacher like Mrs. Newman. She is passionate about teaching and the kids love her!
My son Christian getting ready for the concert.
My beautiful daughter Veronica and me enjoying the concert.
You can listen to my son's school performance in this link.
Great job to all the kids !!! We are very proud !!
