I’d just like to take a minute to wish everybody a happy and prosperous 2009.

There is a lot of change coming… personally, I am looking forward to the new year, and am looking ahead with hope for positive change.

My Mom has a talent that was well hidden until recently. A few months ago, while looking for a new pasttime, she discovered wire wrap. While she loves beads and stones, she says she just didn’t have the desire to “string beads together” so started playing with wire design and accenting the pieces with beautiful, natural stones. Starting with copper, she learned to wrap beads, make chains and clasps, hammer and antique the metal. Once she got comfortable with the copper, she moved on to sterling silver. The results are amazing! I can’t believe she has had this talent hidden somewhere for all these years.

I have to admit, I’m addicted to jewelry. I love a nice, chunky, handmade necklace just as much (or more) than the next girl, and the two nails on the bathroom wall can barely hold all of them. Since Mom started making her stuff, I have to find a new place to store my collection! And then there are the bracelets. One of a kind, gorgeous, chunky yet delicate bracelets. Yum.

I think what impresses me most about her jewelry is that the true beauty is in the chains and clasps. Sure, the stone beads are pretty, but they really just serve as an accent to the uniquely-shaped metal pieces. And it’s not just chunky bracelets and necklaces - some of the chains are over fifty inches long, designed to wrap once or even twice, giving it an elegant yet funky look.

I have started to list some of Mom’s work in my Etsy shop. We’ll see how that goes and just might set up a shop of her own in a few months.

I just wish I could wear more than one at a time.

Last Friday’s Art Walk was great! The Jazzercise studio is the perfect venue for displaying art; roomy, well-lit and comfortable. The band was fantastic and my fellow artists put up some beautiful work. All in all, a very fun evening.

Friday’s show was a lot of fun! I’ll post pictures in the next few days. In the meantime, I’ve listed some new items in my Etsy shop. Check ‘em out! There is still time to order for the holidays. I’d say it’s safe to order through the 11th and expect delivery in time for Christmas.

I would like to thank everybody who stopped by my booth at the NAU Holiday Arts & Crafts Fair. It was a great couple of days! I really enjoyed seeing old friends and meeting new people, getting great feedback on my ceramics and all of the new ideas for next year. I am really excited to get back into the studio!

Here are some pictures of my booth setup. I think the setup worked well. It was a large space (10×10). I kept the floor plan open and had pieces spread out throughout the space on the tables and the two wire racks. I also hung up a white background on the trellis behind the table after these pictures were taken, to reduce the visual busy-ness. (is that a word?)

The show was held in a gymnasium with a rubberized floor, so there wasn’t much I could do about the blue and yellow floor. I thought about putting backs on the wire racks but noticed that a lot of people came over to my booth after eyeballing the backs of the pots that were on the racks. So I’m glad I left the backs open. I borrowed the racks from a friend of mine who owns a garden center. They fold flat and are lightweight; I need to get some of those! They worked out perfectly for displaying pots.

If you stopped by and have any feedback on my booth setup, I would love to hear from you. I am new at arranging my work in this type of setting and am always open to suggestions!