As (hopefully) many of our various and sundry followers know, Twinflame Studios has somewhat withdrawn from Etsy due to personal disagreement with some of their recent changes in policy. We still have a presence on their site, to support other artists, but we no longer sell through their company. This has gone on for some months, with no internet shop presence for the Studio, but our dry spell is (also hopefully) over.
Fox has discovered another online marketplace, set up much the way Etsy used to be. Their listing fees are percentage per sale - as in we artists only pay if we sell! Over the next few days, I'll be posting listings at Foxfire Musings, as a sort of test run to see how well the website works. It's all active and ready, just in time for the holidays, so have at! If there's a piece you've been eyeing in our FB or deviantART gallery, feel free to request it be listed for sale.
Support (real!) local, handmade, etc, this holiday season. Try out scottsmarketplace.com instead, and let me know what your experiences are like!
Showing posts with label Fox's Art. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Fox's Art. Show all posts
Sunday, September 18, 2016
Sunday, November 23, 2014
Artist's Sunday #10: Thanksgiving, or "and now, for Something Completely Different."
I'm going to change it up a bit this Sunday, and instead of featuring other artists' works (yes, I know, that was the entire point of Artist's Sunday and all that), I'm going to present a story, and call for you artists, crafters, writers, and all you other creative people out there to do the same. I'm going to tell you the story that best demonstrates why I continue to create and share my art.
I'm going to tell you the story that shows most perfectly why I am thankful for the talent and skill and opportunity to make art and share it with the world. (See what I did there, I worked in Thanksgiving. Hee hee.)
In truth, the point to Artist's Sunday was, is, and will always be communion between like-minded individuals. Whatever our internal disagreements - over mediums, materials, techniques, pricing, advertising, etc., etc., etc. - we are still artists, still of like mind, still creating beauty to share with the world.
So here's my story:
Now, it's your turn! My call out to all you other artists this Sunday, is to dig deep (or maybe not so deep?) and find the story that best displays why you continue to make art in spite of all the mud that life flings in your face.
Live, Love, and Make Art
-your Artful White Fox.
I'm going to tell you the story that shows most perfectly why I am thankful for the talent and skill and opportunity to make art and share it with the world. (See what I did there, I worked in Thanksgiving. Hee hee.)
In truth, the point to Artist's Sunday was, is, and will always be communion between like-minded individuals. Whatever our internal disagreements - over mediums, materials, techniques, pricing, advertising, etc., etc., etc. - we are still artists, still of like mind, still creating beauty to share with the world.
So here's my story:
It was the Stone Mountain Highland Games of... oh, several years ago, back when I was first learning some of my now-favorite techniques and mediums, back when I was still affiliated with the Wild Highlanders, selling my jewelry under their aegis. I had just finished some classes at a local jeweler's, on Precious Metal Clay(PMC) and chainmaille jewelry. The PMC pieces I'd made went on the table next to my beadwork, my purposely primitive ogham pieces and equally (but not as purposely) primitive wirework... and what do you know, the PMC got the most attention that year. Part of the class had been on how to create a PMC box and include gems in the piece. Mine was an (I thought) ugly little abstract trapezoidal thing with three little gems embedded in the random, pointless swirls on its face.
Someone didn't agree with my assessment of the underestimated little box, however. A woman stopped by the tent, browsed over my now-ex-husband's handmade knives (the Wild Highlanders tend to celebrate the more ancient and primitive Celtic ways over the more modern Bonnie Prince Charlie stuff), and then gave my jewelry a quick, brushing glance. Now, I'd seen this woman stop at several other tents, give their merchandise that same brushing glance, and move on. I noticed she was wearing jewelry from a couple of the other artists at that Games, namely Marc of Kent and the Crafty Celts, and with an idiotic, delusional certainty, I just knew she'd pass by my work, same as I'd watched her do at the other tents.
I was dead wrong. It took her less than five minutes to decide she wanted that ugly little box. I was thrilled, because her eyes sparkled with a delight that lit up my life. Now, un-remembered to me, this dear lady was the same customer who had, the year before, purchased an antler pendant inscribed with a harp and the ogham for Taliesin the Bard. I told her a little of Taliesin's story, and as things will go, I'd forgotten the incident. If you've ever been a vendor at a craft fair, you know how it goes; so many people stop and chat, some purchase and some don't, but it ends up being hard to remember faces after a while. So, anyway, I told her how excited I was that this particular little piece was going to a good home, and she looked at me in this piercing sort of way, and told me that the Taliesin piece had been a blessing. It took me only moments to put it together - the Taliesin piece had been one of my favorites, after all - and as soon as she saw the recognition in my face, she went on to explain it. She was a harpist (harper?), specifically playing the Celtic lap harp, and she'd fallen out of practice for a few years before purchasing my Taliesin piece - health, life, etc getting in the way. The pendant had been like a talisman for her, inspiring her to get back into playing, and she wore it every time she sat down to practice. Due to my work, my art, this dear lady had gotten back into doing something she loved, that warmed her heart and blessed her spirit.
Come to find out, she was the wife of one of the Games commissioners, and her purchase of the ugly little box came just as some inner commission politics were trying to edge the Wild Highlanders out of the Games. She and her husband (who was proudly wearing one of my ex-husband's knives in his sock), argued our case to the Games Commission, and ultimately won.
Not only was my art instrumental for this lovely lady's own artistic life, but it aided in avoiding an unpleasant situation and the loss of the biggest Games the Wild Highlanders attended. And this is why I continue to make my art... because it touches lives, in ways I can never predict, and I can't wait to see how the ripples spread.
Now, it's your turn! My call out to all you other artists this Sunday, is to dig deep (or maybe not so deep?) and find the story that best displays why you continue to make art in spite of all the mud that life flings in your face.
Live, Love, and Make Art
-your Artful White Fox.
Thursday, April 3, 2014
Foxfire Daily: Art as a Business
A friend and I were recently having a (slightly) heated discussion about to sell or not to sell art. It got me thinking...
He made a simply stunning butterfly-wing rose trellis, which I spotted pictures of on his Facebook, and then he made a comment that he has a problem with charging people for his art. "It's a moral dilemma," he said. "...the Greek word for art is tekne. The Greeks never separated art from technology, so as I see it, whether I'm machining, welding, wood working, fitting pipe or otherwise, as long as I put love in it, it is art. The things that I make at home, I make out of love and share with love. If you want me to post pictures fine. But I don't like selling art."
I love his perspective. I love his attitude about it. He's right! We shouldn't (have to) charge money for our art... but this is the world we live in. It is unfortunate. It's a hateful thing. If I could, I'd give away every piece I make. But I can't afford that. I have to buy materials. I have my family to think of. I'm slowly building a reputation as an artist, both in the artistic community and with those who enjoy our art from the other side, customers and fans. And I respect other artists, who *need* the money their art brings them, enough to support the idea that artists should be paid for their art.
We deserve it.
Now, I have to say this... I do *not* disagree with his viewpoint, nor is this an attempt to rant or argue in response to his opinion, but as I said, it got me thinking. And we all know, when something gets me thinking, I have to write it down. And I love finding out what other people think. I think there are a lot of things we don't think about when deciding whether or not to sell our art.
Namely, that there are other things to consider as an artist besides having a fundamental personal issue with selling art, or even whether our art is only supporting ourselves. I make gifts for Christmas or birthdays, or because I think someone needed a pick-me-up; I have donated to giveaways. I even donated to a friend's church's charity silent auction. However, on a day-to-day basis, there's also the artist/artisan/crafter community at large to think of. Gifting to friends and family is one thing. If you give away art as a rule, then someone who might have given money to another artist will come to you instead, and that other artist may have needed that purchase to pay rent, or buy food, or... well, you get the idea.
And, there are certain fundamental rules to follow as an artist. Some are more important than others.
My #1: Always document your work. The reason? It's *your* work.
::Use the pictures to mark your progress, improve on old mistakes, and discover how to make new mistakes work for you. I have kept every sketchbook I've ever doodled in. I go back and look through them sometimes, just to see how far I've gotten. It's one way I encourage myself to keep improving.
::If you ever get commissioned, you're going to want examples of your work to show your customer.
::If you ever get employment as an artist, you need a portfolio.
::And God forbid anyone should ever steal your work. But someone else claiming your work as their own and/or making money off your work, (whether you do or not) without your permission, is illegal, immoral, and just plain hurtful to us artists. Always, always, always have dated & signed/logo-ed/watermarked pictures of your work. Always.
If you do or don't sell your art, remember that you are a representative of thousands and thousands of other artists across the globe. Many of them make a living off their art. Many of them have a day job and use the money from selling to put back into their art - materials, tools, etc. Some few are successful enough to be able to quit that day job and pour every waking minute into what they do. Many of them trade on a well-earned reputation as much as, if not more than, how attractive their art is to their customer base.
A lot of people don't think art should be a paid occupation. There is this societal stigma that we're lazy, that we're superfluous and even shallow for thinking we deserve payment for making someone's life prettier. A lot of people see artists as stuck-up hippie/hipster/high-society pricks. (Let's be honest; some of us are. Many of us are not) A lot of people don't understand how much work it is, being an artist. We put blood, sweat, and tears into our work. We put love and sorrow, grief and joy into our work. Heart and soul are etched and soaked and carved and painted and melted into every line of our work. Our works are like our children... beloved, worried over, sometimes wayward, but always make us proud when they go out into the world.
We deserve it, as much as the power line worker or forester or construction worker or farmer or any one of a thousand other professions that keep our lives liveable. Yeah, so we're not necessary for survival or even for you, as a customer, to be successful at your life... but we make things prettier, brighter, and what is so wrong with knowing what our hearts and souls are worth when plastered on your wall, or worn around your neck, or adorning your yard?
Live, Love, and Make Art
-your Artful White Fox.
He made a simply stunning butterfly-wing rose trellis, which I spotted pictures of on his Facebook, and then he made a comment that he has a problem with charging people for his art. "It's a moral dilemma," he said. "...the Greek word for art is tekne. The Greeks never separated art from technology, so as I see it, whether I'm machining, welding, wood working, fitting pipe or otherwise, as long as I put love in it, it is art. The things that I make at home, I make out of love and share with love. If you want me to post pictures fine. But I don't like selling art."
I love his perspective. I love his attitude about it. He's right! We shouldn't (have to) charge money for our art... but this is the world we live in. It is unfortunate. It's a hateful thing. If I could, I'd give away every piece I make. But I can't afford that. I have to buy materials. I have my family to think of. I'm slowly building a reputation as an artist, both in the artistic community and with those who enjoy our art from the other side, customers and fans. And I respect other artists, who *need* the money their art brings them, enough to support the idea that artists should be paid for their art.
We deserve it.
Now, I have to say this... I do *not* disagree with his viewpoint, nor is this an attempt to rant or argue in response to his opinion, but as I said, it got me thinking. And we all know, when something gets me thinking, I have to write it down. And I love finding out what other people think. I think there are a lot of things we don't think about when deciding whether or not to sell our art.
Namely, that there are other things to consider as an artist besides having a fundamental personal issue with selling art, or even whether our art is only supporting ourselves. I make gifts for Christmas or birthdays, or because I think someone needed a pick-me-up; I have donated to giveaways. I even donated to a friend's church's charity silent auction. However, on a day-to-day basis, there's also the artist/artisan/crafter community at large to think of. Gifting to friends and family is one thing. If you give away art as a rule, then someone who might have given money to another artist will come to you instead, and that other artist may have needed that purchase to pay rent, or buy food, or... well, you get the idea.
And, there are certain fundamental rules to follow as an artist. Some are more important than others.
My #1: Always document your work. The reason? It's *your* work.
::Use the pictures to mark your progress, improve on old mistakes, and discover how to make new mistakes work for you. I have kept every sketchbook I've ever doodled in. I go back and look through them sometimes, just to see how far I've gotten. It's one way I encourage myself to keep improving.
::If you ever get commissioned, you're going to want examples of your work to show your customer.
::If you ever get employment as an artist, you need a portfolio.
::And God forbid anyone should ever steal your work. But someone else claiming your work as their own and/or making money off your work, (whether you do or not) without your permission, is illegal, immoral, and just plain hurtful to us artists. Always, always, always have dated & signed/logo-ed/watermarked pictures of your work. Always.
If you do or don't sell your art, remember that you are a representative of thousands and thousands of other artists across the globe. Many of them make a living off their art. Many of them have a day job and use the money from selling to put back into their art - materials, tools, etc. Some few are successful enough to be able to quit that day job and pour every waking minute into what they do. Many of them trade on a well-earned reputation as much as, if not more than, how attractive their art is to their customer base.
A lot of people don't think art should be a paid occupation. There is this societal stigma that we're lazy, that we're superfluous and even shallow for thinking we deserve payment for making someone's life prettier. A lot of people see artists as stuck-up hippie/hipster/high-society pricks. (Let's be honest; some of us are. Many of us are not) A lot of people don't understand how much work it is, being an artist. We put blood, sweat, and tears into our work. We put love and sorrow, grief and joy into our work. Heart and soul are etched and soaked and carved and painted and melted into every line of our work. Our works are like our children... beloved, worried over, sometimes wayward, but always make us proud when they go out into the world.
We deserve it, as much as the power line worker or forester or construction worker or farmer or any one of a thousand other professions that keep our lives liveable. Yeah, so we're not necessary for survival or even for you, as a customer, to be successful at your life... but we make things prettier, brighter, and what is so wrong with knowing what our hearts and souls are worth when plastered on your wall, or worn around your neck, or adorning your yard?
Live, Love, and Make Art
-your Artful White Fox.
Tuesday, February 4, 2014
Foxfire Daily: Documented Life Project, Chapter 2
Week 4: Write a secret message and paint over all but one word.
Ok, so I cheated slightly and painted (colored-penciled) over all but 4 words. But Artistic License is what it's all about, right? And I do love me some artistic license... I look at this and see amateurish work - too many angles combined with the organic look of other parts, crappy color combnations, and let's not even go into the "doodles" on the left-hand side of the page - but then I remind myself that I'm out of practice. And I don't have a lot of materials to work with. The only part of this I'm really pleased with is the message I chose, and the Celtic knotwork at the top of the page.
Now, next up, for your perusal... remember those leaves from my last post? With no glue, no fancy-pants gouache or any other such thing, I found some gift-wrap tape at the bottom of a box and went to town. You can barely tell where the edges of the tape are. (I hope.) I'm just glad my Bic markers actually stayed on the tape.
Thirdly, my initial (official) attempt at the Week 5 Doodled Border, which mutated into something with no border as of yet, but... well, see for yourself:
Week 6: Open Your Pinterest Board and be Inspired. The lotus has been blooming in my mind lately, as you can see in this in-progress pic. My inspiration was not any one board or artist, but antique Chinese jade carvings. I actually went a little hog-wild for a couple of days straight, obsessively collecting pictures of various and sundry jade sculptures, urns, jewelry, etc and pinning them to my board. You can see the WIP results:
This last one... the flame and the lotus roots... was in part brought into being due to my uncle's touching tribute to his father, who went on to the Summerlands very recently. He was a sweet, darling man who inspired his sons and was greatly loved. His passing came just after a trip with several family members to Panama, where he had done psychoanalytical work with dreams with a tribal chieftan. The chief actually came from several islands away to visit with this man during the vacation. The photos from the trip were a beautiful tribute to my uncle's father, and such a blessing that he got to have that adventure with his family before taking a path they couldn't follow. May we all be so lucky when it's our time.
Live, Love, and Make Art
Ever Yours,
-the Artful White Fox.
Ok, so I cheated slightly and painted (colored-penciled) over all but 4 words. But Artistic License is what it's all about, right? And I do love me some artistic license... I look at this and see amateurish work - too many angles combined with the organic look of other parts, crappy color combnations, and let's not even go into the "doodles" on the left-hand side of the page - but then I remind myself that I'm out of practice. And I don't have a lot of materials to work with. The only part of this I'm really pleased with is the message I chose, and the Celtic knotwork at the top of the page.
Now, next up, for your perusal... remember those leaves from my last post? With no glue, no fancy-pants gouache or any other such thing, I found some gift-wrap tape at the bottom of a box and went to town. You can barely tell where the edges of the tape are. (I hope.) I'm just glad my Bic markers actually stayed on the tape.
Thirdly, my initial (official) attempt at the Week 5 Doodled Border, which mutated into something with no border as of yet, but... well, see for yourself:
Week 6: Open Your Pinterest Board and be Inspired. The lotus has been blooming in my mind lately, as you can see in this in-progress pic. My inspiration was not any one board or artist, but antique Chinese jade carvings. I actually went a little hog-wild for a couple of days straight, obsessively collecting pictures of various and sundry jade sculptures, urns, jewelry, etc and pinning them to my board. You can see the WIP results:
This last one... the flame and the lotus roots... was in part brought into being due to my uncle's touching tribute to his father, who went on to the Summerlands very recently. He was a sweet, darling man who inspired his sons and was greatly loved. His passing came just after a trip with several family members to Panama, where he had done psychoanalytical work with dreams with a tribal chieftan. The chief actually came from several islands away to visit with this man during the vacation. The photos from the trip were a beautiful tribute to my uncle's father, and such a blessing that he got to have that adventure with his family before taking a path they couldn't follow. May we all be so lucky when it's our time.
Live, Love, and Make Art
Ever Yours,
-the Artful White Fox.
Thursday, January 23, 2014
Foxfire Daily: Documented (Artful Reader's) Life Project
Your favorite Artful White Fox Has begun some new personal projects on top of and working around studying up on her new wireworking technique books, and so I thought I'd share some pix of the work:
Documented Life Project, a community effort where members create art journal pages based on weekly prompts from the organizers. Here's some of my efforts.
My journal, acquired years ago, never used until now, and wrapped in an OmegaWolfe Designs leather case:
You can also see my Week 1 project on the right, which was to photograph or draw your front door. Since my front door is not technically -my- front door, I decided to draw what I'd like it to look and feel like someday.
My Week 2 project, "selfie":
I've been tired, stressed, and worn out lately, with good reason. But, I'm also clinging to some last vestiges of hope and looking up...
Week 3, incorporating envelopes from the mail into the journal:
The leaves were collected here in Albemarle this past Autumn, as were the flowers. The yellow one is from the flowers my Dragon planted in secret one night for me, spread all over the other side of the road... The envelopes with the flowers and leaves scrawled on them are keeping my dried leaves and flowers safe until I can come up with a way to incorporate them in my journal. And you can see the Dragonling bombing my project with her own leaf.
Week 4 is "Write a secret message and paint over all but one word" and I'm still deciding what my message should be...
And this is where I realize (and panic) that amongst all this, I've been neglecting my Artful Reader thing. Well, maybe if I miss January, they won't hate me. Maybe I can double up one month. Or... oh, hell, I'll come up with something.
-your Artful (busy) Fox.
Documented Life Project, a community effort where members create art journal pages based on weekly prompts from the organizers. Here's some of my efforts.
My journal, acquired years ago, never used until now, and wrapped in an OmegaWolfe Designs leather case:
You can also see my Week 1 project on the right, which was to photograph or draw your front door. Since my front door is not technically -my- front door, I decided to draw what I'd like it to look and feel like someday.
My Week 2 project, "selfie":
I've been tired, stressed, and worn out lately, with good reason. But, I'm also clinging to some last vestiges of hope and looking up...
Week 3, incorporating envelopes from the mail into the journal:
The leaves were collected here in Albemarle this past Autumn, as were the flowers. The yellow one is from the flowers my Dragon planted in secret one night for me, spread all over the other side of the road... The envelopes with the flowers and leaves scrawled on them are keeping my dried leaves and flowers safe until I can come up with a way to incorporate them in my journal. And you can see the Dragonling bombing my project with her own leaf.
Week 4 is "Write a secret message and paint over all but one word" and I'm still deciding what my message should be...
And this is where I realize (and panic) that amongst all this, I've been neglecting my Artful Reader thing. Well, maybe if I miss January, they won't hate me. Maybe I can double up one month. Or... oh, hell, I'll come up with something.
-your Artful (busy) Fox.
Tuesday, September 10, 2013
Foxfire Daily: Worktable
Fox's work today: some crystals, a chunk of raw (unpolished) amber, some painted bone bits, an ear cuff, and a delicate little labradorite pendant. Still practicing the basket-weaving technique. Better photos coming, I promise!
And a Wyrmling Interlude... the 2-yr-old decides it's time to practice her color words with Mommy's pens. This is what homeschooling looks like for an artist.
And a Wyrmling Interlude... the 2-yr-old decides it's time to practice her color words with Mommy's pens. This is what homeschooling looks like for an artist.
Saturday, September 7, 2013
Fox's Muse: Help Pick One!
As my self-imposed hiatus ends (I hope) and I feel some measure of renewed dogged tenacity for my work (enthusiasm's running a bit low, so all I've got to work with is stubbornness), I feel this is an appropriate time for a request for feedback.
I am attempting to create a simple logo that I can paint/engrave/imprint on my work as a signature. I have created three different versions of a simple line kitsune. I don't know which I prefer. So I need some help!
Look at this picture (ignore the weird winged thing in the upper left hand corner and concentrate on the foxes please) and tell me which you like better:
1. Sitting-up Fox
2. Long-ways Dancing Fox
3. Curled-up Fox
4. Find a way to use all three!!!
I am attempting to create a simple logo that I can paint/engrave/imprint on my work as a signature. I have created three different versions of a simple line kitsune. I don't know which I prefer. So I need some help!
Look at this picture (ignore the weird winged thing in the upper left hand corner and concentrate on the foxes please) and tell me which you like better:
1. Sitting-up Fox
2. Long-ways Dancing Fox
3. Curled-up Fox
4. Find a way to use all three!!!
Copyright Leigh Evans 2013.
Do not steal, use, alter, or redistribute without permission.
Tuesday, July 16, 2013
Foxfire Daily: Paint the Runes
All painted up and drying. The other bone bits will become pendants and earrings. Now's the time to weigh in if you want a custom piece. *wink wink nudge nudge*
Monday, July 15, 2013
Foxfire Daily: Cut and Shape the Bones
Fox is working on a new Rune set, cut from whitetail deer rib bones. It's a pain in the fuzzy tail when all she has to work with is a hand saw and some detail files, but the bones whisper and sing, and she works until her hands ache and her skin is raw...
She forgets, while she works, sometimes to breathe, or eat, or drink. She communes with her materials and mediums, and they nourish her, body and soul, until she doesn't need anything external to sustain her...
And then when she finishes, and comes back to herself, she realizes she's ravenous, and thirsty, and aching... but it was so worth it.
And as a bonus: a 10-song excerpt from Fox's Muse Playlist, as she works with the bones today:
The Root of All Evil by Abney Park
Berlin by Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
Blue Alice by Ayria
Anthem of Our Dying Day by Story of the Year
Joy by VNV Nation
Black Sheep by Metric
Skin is Burning by Burlap to Cashmere
The Wrath of Fate by Abney Park
The Living Daylights by a-Ha
Savin' Me by Nickelback.
She forgets, while she works, sometimes to breathe, or eat, or drink. She communes with her materials and mediums, and they nourish her, body and soul, until she doesn't need anything external to sustain her...
And then when she finishes, and comes back to herself, she realizes she's ravenous, and thirsty, and aching... but it was so worth it.
And as a bonus: a 10-song excerpt from Fox's Muse Playlist, as she works with the bones today:
The Root of All Evil by Abney Park
Berlin by Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
Blue Alice by Ayria
Anthem of Our Dying Day by Story of the Year
Joy by VNV Nation
Black Sheep by Metric
Skin is Burning by Burlap to Cashmere
The Wrath of Fate by Abney Park
The Living Daylights by a-Ha
Savin' Me by Nickelback.
Thursday, March 14, 2013
Foxfire Daily: Fox's Dirty Little Secret
We all have them. Sometimes as artists and/or geeks, we either have more of them than normal, or fewer, depending on how "out there" a geek/artist you are. If you're both, well... you're just screwed. Like me and my Dragon, for instance. Sometimes it's something we hope and pray that our fellow geek/artist friends, acquaintances, and/or family never find out about us. Say, a secret obsession or passion that would quite possibly destroy one's "geek cred" or forever alter others' perceptions...
My dirty little secret?
I love fashion.
There, I said it. I love seeing the latest stuff coming down the runways. I love seeing the gorgeous (and not so gorgeous) styles on the red carpet. I love seeing the new designs for wedding styles. I adore what some people can do with a piece of fabric and a handful of beads or a buckle or two or... well, you get the idea. I love clothes and shoes and accessories... however, I like to think I'm a little more picky about the things I obsess over than a lot of "fashionistas" as the vernacular goes. It's been hard over the years to downplay it, especially when the season's fashion turns to something I actually like...
Let me clarify. I am not the "OMG I MUST HAVE THE LATEST IN SPRING FASHION EVEN THOUGH THE COLORS CLASH HORRIBLY AND THE STYLE NEVER LOOKS FLATTERING NO MATTER WHAT MY BODY TYPE!!!!" kind of fashionista. I know what I like; it's a very specific set of styles. I know what looks good on me, which is not always the things I like. I can appreciate a good design without it being something I would ever wear. And I know the difference between something actually wearable, and the purely artistic pieces coming out on the runways so very often. I know that there are some things that should never see the light of day, and I know there are some things I will never be able to wear no matter how much I like them. I enjoy shoes, but my taste in shoes is governed by the same sort of likes and dislikes as my taste in clothes.
So this is my "coming out" as it were. This is the one dirty little artistic secret I have hidden all these years. I didn't feel that a fashion designer could, or should, be taken seriously as an artist. I hated listening to all the girls in my school blather on about clothes and shoes and hair and blah blah blah. I was very cerebral when I was younger. I wore t-shirts and whatever jeans my parents bought for me, and never thought twice about it. Pretty clothes were for people on tv, or people who didn't have anything better to do with their time. And then I started to discover that I could be one of those pretty girls with just a few small adjustments to my wardrobe, and I discovered that there were a lot of things that were pretty and also comfortable, AND looked pretty good on me... and then I figured out I could make my own jewelry...
And the rest is history.
To me, for a long time, the fashion world was shallow, pointless, and often harmful to women who couldn't live up to its images of beauty. I still think the world and industry can be like that. But I can also appreciate the artistry and work that goes into the creation of new styles and discovery of new materials and new ways to use the old materials. Some of the major designers today are absolute geniuses... and some of them I wouldn't touch with a thirty-nine and a half foot pole. I don't want to be counted with these women who obsess over the season's new shoes, or the latest in ridiculously expensive jackets that will never look good on anyone. To me, fashion shouldn't be about status symbols. Clothing should always reflect the person who wears it, man or woman. You can tell a lot about a person by what he or she wears. You know when someone doesn't care about their clothes. You can tell when someone's got an instinct for It should enhance the wearer's natural attributes and downplay whatever the wearer feels uncomfortable with. Human bodies are not vessels to show off a designer's latest. We should not feel we have to conform ourselves to what the designers' ideas of beauty are. (Has anyone paid attention to the runway models in recent years? Who in the nine hells decided that anorexic models were a good idea!?!?) The designers should remember that it's the consumers whose hard-earned cash (or not so hard-earned, depending on who it is) keep them in business. Creating designs that are only good for their artistic value and then expecting real, normal people of greatly varying shapes and sizes to actually wear them is simply... well. There are better ways to run things. Everyone knows that one person can often pull off a look that another would look clownish trying to wear. And everyone knows... or should know... that there are some outfits that look clownish no matter who tries to wear it.
I find that the most beautiful clothes are the ones that flatter the person wearing them, without regard to what's in style that season. And that, my friends, is heresy of the highest order.
Mostly because it's true.
My dirty little secret?
I love fashion.
There, I said it. I love seeing the latest stuff coming down the runways. I love seeing the gorgeous (and not so gorgeous) styles on the red carpet. I love seeing the new designs for wedding styles. I adore what some people can do with a piece of fabric and a handful of beads or a buckle or two or... well, you get the idea. I love clothes and shoes and accessories... however, I like to think I'm a little more picky about the things I obsess over than a lot of "fashionistas" as the vernacular goes. It's been hard over the years to downplay it, especially when the season's fashion turns to something I actually like...
Let me clarify. I am not the "OMG I MUST HAVE THE LATEST IN SPRING FASHION EVEN THOUGH THE COLORS CLASH HORRIBLY AND THE STYLE NEVER LOOKS FLATTERING NO MATTER WHAT MY BODY TYPE!!!!" kind of fashionista. I know what I like; it's a very specific set of styles. I know what looks good on me, which is not always the things I like. I can appreciate a good design without it being something I would ever wear. And I know the difference between something actually wearable, and the purely artistic pieces coming out on the runways so very often. I know that there are some things that should never see the light of day, and I know there are some things I will never be able to wear no matter how much I like them. I enjoy shoes, but my taste in shoes is governed by the same sort of likes and dislikes as my taste in clothes.
So this is my "coming out" as it were. This is the one dirty little artistic secret I have hidden all these years. I didn't feel that a fashion designer could, or should, be taken seriously as an artist. I hated listening to all the girls in my school blather on about clothes and shoes and hair and blah blah blah. I was very cerebral when I was younger. I wore t-shirts and whatever jeans my parents bought for me, and never thought twice about it. Pretty clothes were for people on tv, or people who didn't have anything better to do with their time. And then I started to discover that I could be one of those pretty girls with just a few small adjustments to my wardrobe, and I discovered that there were a lot of things that were pretty and also comfortable, AND looked pretty good on me... and then I figured out I could make my own jewelry...
And the rest is history.
To me, for a long time, the fashion world was shallow, pointless, and often harmful to women who couldn't live up to its images of beauty. I still think the world and industry can be like that. But I can also appreciate the artistry and work that goes into the creation of new styles and discovery of new materials and new ways to use the old materials. Some of the major designers today are absolute geniuses... and some of them I wouldn't touch with a thirty-nine and a half foot pole. I don't want to be counted with these women who obsess over the season's new shoes, or the latest in ridiculously expensive jackets that will never look good on anyone. To me, fashion shouldn't be about status symbols. Clothing should always reflect the person who wears it, man or woman. You can tell a lot about a person by what he or she wears. You know when someone doesn't care about their clothes. You can tell when someone's got an instinct for It should enhance the wearer's natural attributes and downplay whatever the wearer feels uncomfortable with. Human bodies are not vessels to show off a designer's latest. We should not feel we have to conform ourselves to what the designers' ideas of beauty are. (Has anyone paid attention to the runway models in recent years? Who in the nine hells decided that anorexic models were a good idea!?!?) The designers should remember that it's the consumers whose hard-earned cash (or not so hard-earned, depending on who it is) keep them in business. Creating designs that are only good for their artistic value and then expecting real, normal people of greatly varying shapes and sizes to actually wear them is simply... well. There are better ways to run things. Everyone knows that one person can often pull off a look that another would look clownish trying to wear. And everyone knows... or should know... that there are some outfits that look clownish no matter who tries to wear it.
I find that the most beautiful clothes are the ones that flatter the person wearing them, without regard to what's in style that season. And that, my friends, is heresy of the highest order.
Mostly because it's true.
Friday, July 22, 2011
Studio News: New listings on Etsy
pendants, earrings, and chainmaille, oh my! Feel free to browse, comment... and buy!
http://www.etsy.com/shop/TwinflameStudios
Brought to you by Fox of Twinflame Studios.
http://www.etsy.com/shop/TwinflameStudios
Brought to you by Fox of Twinflame Studios.
Saturday, June 25, 2011
Foxfire Daily: Happy news, and a Bonus Quote
I've managed to re-acquire a good portion of my materials and jewelry pieces that had gone into storage last summer!
What does this mean? It means I've got new(old) stock available that will be up on deviantART and Etsy soon. AAAAAANNNDDD it means I have new(old) beads and stones to play with!
I'm a very happy Fox right now.
Further details on what's in stock again soon as I go through it all. <3
Also - Fox's Quote of the Day:
Home is the one place in all this world where hearts are sure of each other. It is the place of confidence. It is the place where we tear off that mask of guarded and suspicious coldness which the world forces us to wear in self-defense, and where we pour out the unreserved communications of full and confiding hearts. It is the spot where expressions of tenderness gush out without any sensation of awkwardness and without any dread of ridicule. ~Frederick W. Robertson
What does this mean? It means I've got new(old) stock available that will be up on deviantART and Etsy soon. AAAAAANNNDDD it means I have new(old) beads and stones to play with!
I'm a very happy Fox right now.
Further details on what's in stock again soon as I go through it all. <3
Also - Fox's Quote of the Day:
Home is the one place in all this world where hearts are sure of each other. It is the place of confidence. It is the place where we tear off that mask of guarded and suspicious coldness which the world forces us to wear in self-defense, and where we pour out the unreserved communications of full and confiding hearts. It is the spot where expressions of tenderness gush out without any sensation of awkwardness and without any dread of ridicule. ~Frederick W. Robertson
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Foxfire Daily: Materials, Price, Design
I was browsing some of the jewelry pages I watch, from Facebook to deviantART, and began to hear the rant muse in my head. I notice the differences in style and materials and workmanship... and then I start to twitch at the terrible disparity between cost of materials and what the so-called artist is charging for a piece made from three-dollar faux-bronze components, or fake pearls that should only be worn by a six-year-old at a fancy church function, or... ah, well, the list goes on.
Steampunk style seems to attract a large number of people taking pre-made elements of a brass or copper color, sometimes silver, and stringing them together and calling it jewelry. Now, while I do a lot of beadwork which, I'll admit, is essentially the same thing, I have to protest when someone goes to their local Michael's craft store, picks up half a dozen cheap metal findings, and slaps them together in a majorly haphazard fashion... and then has the guts to put it up on Etsy for 3-4 times what they paid for materials! I know, I've done the research. And I'll admit, I've gone to Michael's and picked up some of those bits and bobs to make some things, but I don't generally sell them in my shop or at shows - those, I play with for fun, or use as inspirational ideas for some of my other design elements. Those little components - the keys, the birds, the gears, the vintage-style filigree - can be gotten for a few bucks, and people sell pendants and necklaces of these things for upwards of $40. The best work I've ever seen done with these was a little shoddy solder-work to affix two or more pieces together that really don't match in the first place.
Now, there are a good number of steampunk jewelry artists that do actually work at their product. Many of them hunt down their components with care. They typically use authentic watch gears and actual vintage or antique bits in their work, and most of them tend to be very fair in their pricing, AND they are careful as to their materials - a lot of the cheap little components you get at craft stores are who-knows-what kind of alloy (in other words, you don't know if that pretty little bronze-colored pseudo-vintage style pendant you picked up at Michael's the other day contains lead or other toxic metals. No offense to Michaels - you can actually find quality components there for decent prices). My big complaint about these cheap little pieces that hobby-crafters expect you to wear, is that they can often contain sufficient amounts of toxic metals to make a measurable impact on your body, and these hobby-crafters don't always do their checking, or even know that they should be.
Personally, I try to make sure that the components I use in jewelry are lead-free pewter at the very least. Excepting that, I use sterling silver or jeweler's brass or a true bronze. Yes, it makes them a little more expensive, but it should be worth the extra money to create something that is actually safe to wear. This is one of the reasons I haven't done much "steampunk" jewelry. It's damn hard to find components that are steamy AND safe, for a price that isn't ridiculous.
And what about some of these sixty and seventy dollar pieces (or even the forty dollar ones) that are made from haphazard lumping-together of random beads that may or may not color match? Or people that don't realize that their lovely beaded strand is too much for the pendant they're trying to put it with. Lack of design sense applies to the crafter AND the customer. Something is only worth what a person is willing to pay for it, right? Too often, it proves true in the most wrong of ways. I see true artists put heart and soul into their work, only to have it passed over for a hobby-crafter's cheap attempt at making something to sell. The problem here is that the hobby-crafter often makes more money than the true artist, unless the true artist is very, very lucky.
Now, I truly have nothing against hobby-crafters. Some of my best friends are hobby-crafters. But they enact their hobbies with sense. And that is what I'm getting at... be a sensible hobbyist!
It's a ridiculous world. If I could make one request to the handmade community at large (to both hobby-crafters and professional artisans and everything in-between) it would be: Please, please consider the true worth of what you're trying to sell. Don't undercut the artists who spend hours and good money perfecting one piece, but don't overcharge for a piece that cost you virtually nothing to make, either.
And don't underestimate yourself, either.
Steampunk style seems to attract a large number of people taking pre-made elements of a brass or copper color, sometimes silver, and stringing them together and calling it jewelry. Now, while I do a lot of beadwork which, I'll admit, is essentially the same thing, I have to protest when someone goes to their local Michael's craft store, picks up half a dozen cheap metal findings, and slaps them together in a majorly haphazard fashion... and then has the guts to put it up on Etsy for 3-4 times what they paid for materials! I know, I've done the research. And I'll admit, I've gone to Michael's and picked up some of those bits and bobs to make some things, but I don't generally sell them in my shop or at shows - those, I play with for fun, or use as inspirational ideas for some of my other design elements. Those little components - the keys, the birds, the gears, the vintage-style filigree - can be gotten for a few bucks, and people sell pendants and necklaces of these things for upwards of $40. The best work I've ever seen done with these was a little shoddy solder-work to affix two or more pieces together that really don't match in the first place.
Now, there are a good number of steampunk jewelry artists that do actually work at their product. Many of them hunt down their components with care. They typically use authentic watch gears and actual vintage or antique bits in their work, and most of them tend to be very fair in their pricing, AND they are careful as to their materials - a lot of the cheap little components you get at craft stores are who-knows-what kind of alloy (in other words, you don't know if that pretty little bronze-colored pseudo-vintage style pendant you picked up at Michael's the other day contains lead or other toxic metals. No offense to Michaels - you can actually find quality components there for decent prices). My big complaint about these cheap little pieces that hobby-crafters expect you to wear, is that they can often contain sufficient amounts of toxic metals to make a measurable impact on your body, and these hobby-crafters don't always do their checking, or even know that they should be.
Personally, I try to make sure that the components I use in jewelry are lead-free pewter at the very least. Excepting that, I use sterling silver or jeweler's brass or a true bronze. Yes, it makes them a little more expensive, but it should be worth the extra money to create something that is actually safe to wear. This is one of the reasons I haven't done much "steampunk" jewelry. It's damn hard to find components that are steamy AND safe, for a price that isn't ridiculous.
And what about some of these sixty and seventy dollar pieces (or even the forty dollar ones) that are made from haphazard lumping-together of random beads that may or may not color match? Or people that don't realize that their lovely beaded strand is too much for the pendant they're trying to put it with. Lack of design sense applies to the crafter AND the customer. Something is only worth what a person is willing to pay for it, right? Too often, it proves true in the most wrong of ways. I see true artists put heart and soul into their work, only to have it passed over for a hobby-crafter's cheap attempt at making something to sell. The problem here is that the hobby-crafter often makes more money than the true artist, unless the true artist is very, very lucky.
Now, I truly have nothing against hobby-crafters. Some of my best friends are hobby-crafters. But they enact their hobbies with sense. And that is what I'm getting at... be a sensible hobbyist!
It's a ridiculous world. If I could make one request to the handmade community at large (to both hobby-crafters and professional artisans and everything in-between) it would be: Please, please consider the true worth of what you're trying to sell. Don't undercut the artists who spend hours and good money perfecting one piece, but don't overcharge for a piece that cost you virtually nothing to make, either.
And don't underestimate yourself, either.
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Etsy shop now stocked!
Jewelry up for sale on Etsy! Thanks for browsing... and hopefully buying! :D
Twinflame Studios Etsy Shop!
Twinflame Studios Etsy Shop!
Friday, April 8, 2011
Foxfire Daily: a Word on My Art
a friend on dA (deviantART for those of you unaware of the site - where I keep my galleries) posted a question asking whether it bothered her watchers that she was moving away from pencil & paper towards a crafting style. It got me to thinking about my own art, and how I move from medium to medium...
I've found that my art runs in cycles, from pencil & paper (and/or digital) mediums to "solid" mediums (aka my crafting) and back again, and every time it cycles I find myself better at the one I'm coming back to than I was before. I feel, for me at least, it's a natural circle that my artistic self has to make in its own season.
When I get stuck in one medium I move to something different, maybe something new. For a long time all I did was draw; mechanical pencil and paper. It was the art class at my middle school that really got me to expand my sights to new avenues and new techniques. There are things we did that year in art class that I would still love to try again, and other things that I still use. We learned various inking techniques; I think the one that stood out the most for me was stippling. I don't use it very often (read: never) because my style doesn't really work with it right now, but I did enjoy it. The other two art projects we did that stand out are papermaking and batik. One of these days, I will (I hope) have a chance to try those again. They were fun, and different, and unique. They weren't as complicated as I expected them to be... even if the papermaking did stink to high heaven! It was still fun.
Later, I had the opportunity to go to Art of the Carolinas, a huge art convention largely sponsored by Jerry's Artarama (my favorite art supply store... shameless plug!). I took classes mostly in oil painting, which was my favorite medium of the time, and the one skill I really wanted to expand, but I also took a silk painting class. Aside from the abstract oil painting class, which was incredibly amusing thanks to the teacher who had a very cavalier approach to his art, my favorite class at that event was the silk painting. Again, it's something I want to try again some day. There were techniques discussed in that class that I want to play with and see what I can come up with.
As for my jewelrymaking, I've always loved gems and metals, for as long as I can remember, so it was as natural as breathing for me. When I was 12 or so, I first started playing with scraps of copper wire (my dad was an electrical engineer and had gobs and gobs of the stuff lying around) and rock crystal found in the driveway. Then I got a book or two and it just kept going from there. I've taken classes in chainmaille, Precious Metal Clay, and lost wax casting, and I've got so many books sitting on my shelf on so many different jewelrymaking techniques that I may never get to try them all.
But isn't that what being a crafter, an artist, and/or artisan is all about? Finding new ways (and revisiting old ways) to let the muse out to play? For me, that's exactly what it's all about: letting my muse out to play.
I -like- changing mediums every so often. The inspirations are the same, no matter how they manifest. It keeps me from getting bored or frustrated. And it keeps me learning new things. If you're an artist or artisan and feeling the need to change up your creative routine a little (or a lot), I say go with the flow. It's that inner nature, inner self, instincts telling you what you need and perhaps what the world needs to see from you.
I've found that my art runs in cycles, from pencil & paper (and/or digital) mediums to "solid" mediums (aka my crafting) and back again, and every time it cycles I find myself better at the one I'm coming back to than I was before. I feel, for me at least, it's a natural circle that my artistic self has to make in its own season.
When I get stuck in one medium I move to something different, maybe something new. For a long time all I did was draw; mechanical pencil and paper. It was the art class at my middle school that really got me to expand my sights to new avenues and new techniques. There are things we did that year in art class that I would still love to try again, and other things that I still use. We learned various inking techniques; I think the one that stood out the most for me was stippling. I don't use it very often (read: never) because my style doesn't really work with it right now, but I did enjoy it. The other two art projects we did that stand out are papermaking and batik. One of these days, I will (I hope) have a chance to try those again. They were fun, and different, and unique. They weren't as complicated as I expected them to be... even if the papermaking did stink to high heaven! It was still fun.
Later, I had the opportunity to go to Art of the Carolinas, a huge art convention largely sponsored by Jerry's Artarama (my favorite art supply store... shameless plug!). I took classes mostly in oil painting, which was my favorite medium of the time, and the one skill I really wanted to expand, but I also took a silk painting class. Aside from the abstract oil painting class, which was incredibly amusing thanks to the teacher who had a very cavalier approach to his art, my favorite class at that event was the silk painting. Again, it's something I want to try again some day. There were techniques discussed in that class that I want to play with and see what I can come up with.
As for my jewelrymaking, I've always loved gems and metals, for as long as I can remember, so it was as natural as breathing for me. When I was 12 or so, I first started playing with scraps of copper wire (my dad was an electrical engineer and had gobs and gobs of the stuff lying around) and rock crystal found in the driveway. Then I got a book or two and it just kept going from there. I've taken classes in chainmaille, Precious Metal Clay, and lost wax casting, and I've got so many books sitting on my shelf on so many different jewelrymaking techniques that I may never get to try them all.
But isn't that what being a crafter, an artist, and/or artisan is all about? Finding new ways (and revisiting old ways) to let the muse out to play? For me, that's exactly what it's all about: letting my muse out to play.
I -like- changing mediums every so often. The inspirations are the same, no matter how they manifest. It keeps me from getting bored or frustrated. And it keeps me learning new things. If you're an artist or artisan and feeling the need to change up your creative routine a little (or a lot), I say go with the flow. It's that inner nature, inner self, instincts telling you what you need and perhaps what the world needs to see from you.
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Fox and Dragon's blog: Handmade jewelry and other crafts.
Also on Facebook, Pinterest, deviantART, and Etsy for convenient access. Photos of our work can be found on Facebook and deviantART. Purchasable items can be found on Etsy. Also see links at the top of the sidebar. Please visit our various and sundry pages, add us, and tell your friends and family!
We use whatever mediums happen to be at hand. Fox prefers gemstones, antler, bone and metals, but has been known to try her hand at sculpture with polymer clay, and the occasional bit of wood or leather work. Dragon will put his hand to whatever strikes his fancy next, though he has done a little of everything from wire pendants to metalsmithing and woodworking. His latest - polyclay and bonecarving.
What's upcoming in the Studio's plans? We'll be exploring our own lives in sculpture and carving, with items such as offering bowls, wands, prayer beads, jewelry, spiritually inspired art... and whatever else strikes our fancy.
We use whatever mediums happen to be at hand. Fox prefers gemstones, antler, bone and metals, but has been known to try her hand at sculpture with polymer clay, and the occasional bit of wood or leather work. Dragon will put his hand to whatever strikes his fancy next, though he has done a little of everything from wire pendants to metalsmithing and woodworking. His latest - polyclay and bonecarving.
What's upcoming in the Studio's plans? We'll be exploring our own lives in sculpture and carving, with items such as offering bowls, wands, prayer beads, jewelry, spiritually inspired art... and whatever else strikes our fancy.
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