Showing posts with label inspiring artists. Show all posts

I'm sick in bed today with a dry-cold... everything is sore and swollen, congested and icky. However, this makes me feel better:

*SMILE*

TotusMel, an Etsy friend of which I own a few beautiful tattings, is wearing her RockLove Wrist Wrap in her online listings. She's so sweet :)

*cough cough* back to bed with me now...

Unfortunately, she beat me to the punch... I meant to write this blog two weeks ago! Instead she featured me first - check out the wonderful things she said about me today!

Introducing Ashley Nizolek, the talented artist of A.N. Original Jewelry - and my best business buddy. Online friends, we've never met, which is astounding considering how long and frequently we've been brainstorming on bettering our businesses. Very few creators in the industry share their deep dark secrets, though since the budding of both our companies, we've helped each other make graphics, websites, line sheets, press releases, and more. Stressed over the phone with the announcements of the Economic Crisis, celebrated over AIM as we get new press, and traded jewelry in thanks for the others assistance.

Very different in technique, Ashley creates whimsical silhouettes and floral beauties hand pierced in sterling silver. Each piece is from scratch, rather than molded and cast, and her lines and finish are immaculate. With a distinctive touch, I am honored to watch her release new collections (haha I even get previews before they go public) and see her grow a signature recognizable style. One of the best representations - she was Etsy's featured seller in October 2008, rocking the scene with her funky yet classy Halloween series! Dominating all the front pages, read the interview!

Not only is Ashley a devoted jeweler and friend, she is also one of the best photographers I've seen! A few weeks ago, I helped her code her new blog, and already it is filled with stunning snapshots brimming with outdoor joie de vive. I definitely recommend not only checking out her Main Website and Etsy Store, but to follow the AN Original Blog for a daily dosage of nostalgia and smiles.

A portrait by my favorite photographer, Philip Warner (aka Lithium Picnic).

A quick shot in my street clothes - Philadelphia - and yes, I really do wear all that jewelry on a normal day basis.

Hip chains... in the future.

Julie Beck - an Etsy artist friend whom I featured in the past on my blog for her stunning paintings...

Has included me in her Etsy.com Competition Video! Please click and rate it 5 stars if you like it! I think it's absolutely adorable and I'm thoroughly impressed with her editing skills... please do re-post it if you agree :)

Also don't worry - the "register" part is just so people don't screw with the voting system. You're not going to be spammed, nor do you need to enter more than an email, birth date, etc.

Featured in TotusMel's stunning steampunk blog! I just subscribed, full of amazing finds!

Wunderkammer

Late last night Chris and I returned from a beautiful trip to Miami - sunburnt and with the same cold with which I left, only now more severe. It's put me devastatingly behind, and I feel like at some point I may just hack out a lung (and I don't even smoke). Each night I go to bed as the sun comes up, unable to breathe if I lay down and coughing too loud and frequently for Chris to sleep either. I've tried everything from 6 types of losenges, zicam, niquil, robitussen, tylenolPM, hot tea, gurgling salt water, hot water, even hydrogen peroxide something or other.

Last night I self medicated by sitting amongst blankets upright on the family room floor watching horror movies till 7am while continuously drinking little sips of hot water so poor Chris could sleep a bit before work.

RockLove's anthem and name is based upon the idea of mutual respect and inspiration between artists... so it is a travesty that I have yet to introduce you to one of my favorite like-minded steamerpunkers, Pamela of TotusMel. Not only is she a radical mother with hair the color of Jelly Bellies (with just as many flavor options), but she too embraces an antiquated craft to create something fiercely unique while simultaneously edgy and anachronistic. Tatting, something we might have watched our grandmothers do in half-interest while playing at their feet, is an art near-lost...

Pam, along with a small community of other devotees, are reviving the form and exceeding the traditions of doilies, table cloths, buttons, and lace collars. With the prevalence of Victorian revival and Steampunk, the delicate work is becoming a staple in gothic fashion. Not that I know a thing about it's creation, mind - I can carve silver and cast gold, but cannot FATHOM the complexity of these intricate pieces!

Not only does TotusMel represent exquisite work, but she pushes the gamut of conventional accessories. Her latest work, anklet and foot adornments, are my personal favorite! Collars fit for Queen Elizabeth, with more knots than the blackwork on Isabella of Spains chemise! Another stunning addition to her collection are the beaded masks, perfect for a ball, carnivale, masquerade, or midnight tryst.

A frequenter of my own blog, we keep tabs on the others musings and doings - currently she is offering a generous discount and an exciting giveaway to commemorate her first anniversary of blogging and near third on Etsy. Congratulations!

Needle Tatting and Other Nonsense
TotusMel Etsy Store

Better yet... Pamela proudly wears a RockLove black rubber wrist wrap. Thanks TotusMel!

I love living in New York City - magical things can happen both when you A) open your mouth when you shouldn't and B) sit quietly and listen when you don't have the time.

Today I had a few business meetings in Manhattan, starting downtown and working my way up. Rising early to finish shipping out 30 more Repo Scalpel Necklaces at the post, my first stop is Union Square. Meeting in Barnes & Noble to pick up the latest Gothic Beauty Magazine (in which Repo, Dances of Vice, and my Clockwork Earrings are all featured), I hand off some stuff to Bianca, a fellow shadow cast member for this weekend's Wicked Faire.

Then onto Herald Square, in which I am hand delivering a custom Lust Chain and Medallion Necklace to a customer; for his very lucky girlfriend's birthday. Graciously he buys me a frappuccino before returning to work in the Empire State Building. Me and my loud mouth, I notice a man and his friend waiting for java behind me - one is stunningly dressed in a burgundy buttoned shirt, black vest, tucked tie accented by a cameo pin - I am impressed by his gothic aristocratic flair. Additionally offset by a pocket watch and layers of heavy silver chain bracelets, I have to compliment him on how fabulous he looks. "Steampunk" is one of the first words out of his mouth and before I know it, introductions are made and I am invited to enjoy my coffee at their table (at which there was a black top hat with small animal skull - vole? - waiting with their overcoats).

The man happens to be Steward Noack - the very steampunk photographer and engineer who is pictured on my website and myspace! The previous MTV Steampunk feature pauses on him and his monocle contraption when not playing...

He also is a fan of Repo, attends Dances of Vice, and runs in the same circle... as I listen to the sounds of the world shrinking, I then find out that the other man is even more familiar.

Steven Ellis is an award-winning fantasy illustrator and comics creator with such work as Magic Cards, Vampire Masquerade, World of Warcraft, High Moon... in fact, I'm pretty sure that as I look at my bookshelf, I have his work in numerous volumes. Secretly geeking out (or not so surreptitious after he stumbles upon my blog) he grants me a collage print copy and signs it.

After realizing at least an hour has gone by discussing steamy culture, Fangoria, business, future projects, and watching my favorite Steampunk Duel Video on YouTube, Steward goes back to work and Steve and I depart for the subway. As he and I part ways I recognize the violinist playing on the platform... Julliard trained James Graseck.

James and I have spoken before when I've either see him in Herald Square's subway or the Ferry Station of Staten Island... today he remembers me, my violinist to fashion designer career, and plays my beloved Monti Csardas and Rimsky-Korsakov's Scheherazade. I sit for an hour on the R/W track enjoying his exceptional technique, enthusiastic conversation, and a cordial attitude to listeners you don't often witness on the streets of Manhattan. Then, much to my surprise, an entire 5 person camera crew descends upon him - behold, he is being interviewed and filmed for a German TV show (see his website, he is quite acclaimed). I too am recorded as he and I chat about baroque and Paganini, before finally I jump onto a train after an hour and a half underground.

Now home and at my jewelry bench, I reflect upon the amazing opportunities and people we often neglect while forging through the daily grind. Today I am inspired by comic art, victorian fashion, classical music, and the openness of human spirit when like minds meet.

A lovely surprise - one of my customers, Julie Beck, wore a RockLove 16" Anchor Necklace for her first official gallery showing. Check out pictures from the event on her blog.

Julie's gorgeous paintings and prints are available for purchase at her Etsy store. I personally have been oogling a few for my walls a long time now, and may petition her to sell me a skeleton key print for my studio.