New Year and New Adventures !

Happy New Year 2015 to all !

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!

Charm Collection 2015
©Lorena Angulo
ACC Baltimore

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!!

New "Pajaritos" designs for 2014

I have been making little sculpted birds since I started creating my jewelry and this year I decided to come back again and design new pieces. I can honestly say I enjoy very much sculpting the tiny birds with metal clay. Sometimes it gets a little difficult because they are super tiny but these miniature birds are the ones I enjoy making the most!

This time I created 2 sets of earrings and a necklace with the same bird motif, I managed to add a mini butterfly (one of my new elements in my work) into the necklace design.

I can not wait to show all these pieces in my show in April at SSA, Fiesta Arts Fair.

©2014 Lorena Angulo
Silver and pearls

©2014 Lorena Angulo
Silver 

©2014 Lorena Angulo
Silver and pearls

Getting ready for Fiesta Arts Fair in April

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.

©2014 Lorena Angulo

©2014 Lorena Angulo

©2014 Lorena Angulo

©2014 Lorena Angulo

©2014 Lorena Angulo

The Bracelet show at Kathleen Sommers, 2012.

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.

These are my bracelets that will be in the show.

Folk Bird
©2012 Lorena Angulo
Sterling PMC; hand sculpted and carved.

Paloma
©2012 Lorena Angulo
Sterling PMC and LOS patina; hand carved and sculpted.

Dia de los Muertos: La Ofrenda at SSA

I am getting super excited about putting together the altar this coming Saturday at SSA. It is a great honor to have been invited to be the lead artists this year and I will do my best to represent this wonderful tradition from my country, Mexico.

My Fall Class at SSA: Sterling PMC

My Fall class at Southwest School of Art is now open for registration.

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.

See you there !!

My Virgin is finished

Since I was invited to be the lead artist for Dia de los Muertos: La Ofrenda at SSA, I have been painting some pieces I will display during the event. 

I am planning in having some of my pieces of jewelry, paintings, figurines and folk art inspired in the day of the dead tradition of my country Mexico. All these pieces will be made by me and it will be the first time I will show more than just my jewelry.

Painting and making folk art is something I enjoy doing a lot. I have never taken classes for painting or learn how to create the folk art but I like it to be this way much better because all my work is 100% what comes from my heart.

One piece that will be the center piece for my altar is a painting I made in a hand carved wood tray of the Virgin of Guadalupe. It took me more than 5 months to finished it, I painted almost everything but I left the face plain until today that I felt it was the right time to bring her in my painting.

Mi Virgen Morena
©2012 Lorena Angulo
Hand carved wood tray painted with acrylics.
25" x 12.5"

I am the Lead Artist for Dia de los Muertos: La Ofrenda at Southwest School of Art

It is a great honor to have been invited to be the Lead Artist for Dia de los Muertos: La Ofrenda at the wonderful Southwest School of Art in San Antonio, Texas.

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.

Powder Coating class with Michael Dale Bernard

I just had the most amazing and fun class this weekend. Michael Dale Bernard came to Southwest School of Art to teach Powder Coating.

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.

©2010  Michael Dale Bernard  
Wood be Diamonds, brooch series
Steel, copper, wood, silver, powder coat, enamel paint

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.

©2012 Lorena Angulo
CORAZON
Copper, Bronze, powder coat

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.

Michael photographed this picture of
my piece.

A look from Behind

I have always thought that the back of any jewelry piece is as important as the front. I always try to have something on the back of my pieces as a surprise for the wearer and also because I think it says a lot about the maker.
Most of the work I do has a detail on the back, I enjoy very much doing it.

CRUZ PASION (front and back view)
©2011 Lorena Angulo
Pure silver (PMC3), sterling and LOS patina

Soulful Heart (front and back view)
©2011 Lorena Angulo
Bronzclay, brass and coral

MILAGRO HEART pendant (front and back view)
©2010 Lorena Angulo
Pure Silver (PMC3) and LOS patina

CORAZON (front and back view)
©2009 Lorena Angulo
Brass and copper

Lately I started making brooches but I was very curious to see how other artists where making their pin backs and the back of their designs. I looked for inspiration everywhere but it was very hard to find images of the back side of the brooches.
Because I had a difficult time finding images of the back view of brooches I started thinking it will be great if I can create a collection of images from other artists as an inspirational tool.


I finally did it in my Pinterest page, I created a board about the back view of brooches called "Behind the brooch."

Come and take a look at the wonderful work by these artists. I am sure you will find it very interesting and helpful.


I took a class with the talented Gary Schott at Southwest School of Art and I learned how to make my first pin back with him. It was fun and I know I have to practice much more to feel more comfortable making my own pin backs and also start thinking of different ways I can design my own.

Back view of my first time making a pin back.
©2011 Lorena Angulo
Copper and steel wire

I also work a lot with metal clay and took the challenge to make my own pin back and pendant finding for my piece.

Back view of my first brooch/pendant combo
in pure silver (PMC3)
©2011 Lorena Angulo

How do you approach the design of your work ? Do you do something special for the back side? I will love to find out what your ideas about this topic are and if you want me to share an image of your back view of a brooch, let me know and I will add it to my board.


Love,
Lorena Angulo
Pin It

My last shows of the year, 2011

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 !

VIRGEN MORENA
©2011 Lorena Angulo
Copper, acrylic and silver

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.

CROSSES
©2011 Lorena Angulo
Pure Silver

MARIPOSA
©2011 Lorena Angulo
Pure SIlver

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.

Wishing you all a BEAUTIFUL Holiday Season !!!!


Love,
Lorena Angulo

My beginnings

I clearly remember my first time working with a new material that looked like clay but was not clay at all. I just could not believe this clay was in reality pulverized pure silver mixed with organic binders to make the metal have a consistency of clay.
I was starting taking metalsmithing classes at  Southwest School of Art in San Antonio with the wonderful Chair of the department (metals) at that moment, Claire Holliday. She mentioned to me about this great material that she tough I will love to learn how to use it. I was very curious to see this "magical" clay and decided I will be taking her introduction class. When the class started I was anxious to get my hand into this material and see first hand what was all this about.
I do have to be honest with you when I first put my hands into the clay I was so stressed because I have an obsession of having my hands clean ALL the time. The clay was in my hands and fingers and I had to clean them very often, I did not realized I was washing away SILVER !!!! The class was fun but I was not very much convinced about it, mostly because I did not like the idea of my hands getting dirty. I continued with my metals classes and left the metal clay on the side for a while. I just did not know what to do with that material, it was until I got in another class with Claire Holliday that I finally realized the great potential this amazing material has. Since then I have been creating most of my work with metal clay (PMC3) and every year that goes by I can see through my work how much I have progressed. 

These are some of my first pieces I made with silver metal clay. As you can see my obsession with hearts has always been present in my work.


The Milagro Heart at the bottom left corner was made during my first ever class with metal clay.




Next to this piece you can see a hollow carved bead, my first bead I ever made too.




The earrings were the first time also using a stone in the jewelry.




The heart on top was made because someone love my first heart (the one at the bottom) but I already had sold it so I had to recreate another in a bigger size.

This rosary was made a very long time ago !!! I used my first cross I made during my first class and a center piece also made on my first class.
I can definitively see how much my work has change since the time I made this piece.  


When my teacher and mentor, Claire Holliday, retired from Southwest School of Art; the students decided to make pins or pendants for her as a way to say Thank You to her great teaching and guidance all these years. I could have done the piece with sterling metal sheet but I decided to make it with metal clay since she was the person who taught me how to work with it. 

Later on more types of metal clay came to the market, first was bronze clay. I was eager to try the new clay and I played in my studio with it making these pieces.

It is so great to go back at my pictures and see what I was making more than 5 years ago, very few of this pieces are with me now. 
I can see how with a lot of practice and not getting discourage because maybe something did not fired correctly, I was able to mature and get better.
Now I do not care if my hands are dirty any more, on the other hand I WANT to get dirty with the clay and create, create, create !!!!


How was your experience when you started creating your art?