Sunland Garden Party

We all had a very grand time getting to know each other in spite of the garden party being forced inside. There may have been an early dampening of the spirit outside but things inside were warm and hospitable indeed.

There was a lot of chatter over the new pearl and black beach rock pieces. It has turned out to be a stunning combination. I think the baroque freshwater pearls add a wonderful contrast to the weathered beach rocks. The luster of the Argentium sterling silver brings everything together.

A big “thank you” to Gin Friess and Karen Bulkeley for their help in making this delightful event possible. And a thank you to all that attended. We sincerely enjoyed meeting all of you. Next year we promise to have it earlier in the year so the “garden” part can actually happen.

A visit to Memphis, Tennessee

Memphis has always been a special place for us to visit for a number of reasons. You will find the dining is great as Memphis has the best bar-b-q pork in the world...sorry Texas...sorry St. Louis...but there is excellent bar-b-q every couple of blocks here. We have had many favorites but Mrs. Paine’s on Lamar Avenue in down town and the ever-popular Central bar-b-q on Central Avenue in mid-town have got to be at the top of our list.


This trip was particularly neat because after over six years of missing him one way or another...we finally got Kim Roberts number one guy, Steve to do a portrait of us. He is a very gifted photographer that has been in the area for years. He has had the opportunity to make images of many a musician. You need but pick up a copy of RSVP magazine to see his work. I think he brought out the very best in Pat and I. It was a bit of insanity that made me strike a poise for the “Hemmingway” look in the image on the right. Oh well...I guess it was one of those things that I just had to do at least once. Please visit his website and seek him out if you ever find yourself in his hometown. http://www.steverobertsphoto.com/biography/index.php

And as always...The National Ornamental Metals Museum is a must see on any trip that gets near Memphis. Tucked away under the "Old Bridge" is a small collection of buildings from an old Veteran's Army hospital. These were set aside and restored to house a very special collection of people, talents and metals arts. Although the main focus is on heavier ornamental forged and cast metal pieces the grounds feature a wide and constantly changing array of metal sculptures. With the mighty Mississippi River rolling on just down the embankment as a backdrop, it is hard to find a more beautiful and spectacular setting at sunset.

The second week in October has always been "Repair Days" at the Metals Museum a moment (okay…it’s really a three day weekend that often gets stretched into four days) each year when metal artisans come from all over the country to “camp out” on the campus and repair items that the general public brings in. This rag tag army of volunteers works to the mantra that they will fix anything at all “but cats...cars and broken hearts”.


It rained this year…it always does…but you couldn't have found a more heart-warming group of people if you tried. On Saturday night after a hardy meal and toasts to the ones that were not there, the restraints came off and spirit of the weekend came to a crescendo during the live auction. Holly Fisher of Smartshop Metal Arts Center, Kalamazoo, MI was the main auctioneer you can see her as the “iron queen” in this image. She is always a big hit and can easily whip the audience into a frenzy with her quirky nature and sharp wit. She seems to always have just the "right" thing to say about each item. But even this seasoned crowd was temporarily taken back...you see the bidding had slumped for a moment and the tempo needed to be recaptured...Holly off-handedly suggested that “Logan” take off his shirt to model a stunning hand woven silver necklace that was on the block. Well he

did…and the necklace received a very nice bid…but it took a few moments for some of us to…shall I say…catch our breath. I must say after all these many years of attending "Repair Days" I am still not totally prepared for the goings on. Later there was what has got to be one of the largest preparations of the dessert “bananas foster” that I have ever seen to top of the formal offerings for the evening. That by no means that anyone "camped" on the grounds really retires. The party just breaks down into many smaller groupings. So as the crackle and snaps of the several impromptu campfires send columns of “stars” into the night sky another “Repair Days” began to wind down. Did I mention it was a weekend like this about fifteen years ago that made me realize that I needed to learn more about blacksmiths and the iron arts? Jewelry by itself was never going to be enough again.

Wing on Wing

These earrings and matching pendent are my tribute to the sailing maneuver often referred to as “wing on wing”. It is a down wind set that is both beautifully symmetric and deceptively calming and still as the vessel glides thru to seas at very nearly the same speed as the wind. It is ironically also one of the more tense sets for the captain. The slightest change in the wind can cause the boom to “sweep the deck” as it snaps to the opposite side. Only the keenest eye and constant vigilance by the captain to the wind and sail can avoid a mishap.

Both the earrings and pendent have been “roller printed” with fine brass screening to bring out the canvas detailing in the 18 karat green gold sail. The other sails and the rest of the pieces are hand constructed of argentium sterling silver. The “mast” in this series is solid metal that has been turned to create the round tapers you see here.

“Wing on Wing” is also available in all argentium sterling silver both as earrings and pendent.

Port Townsend Wooden Boat Festival 2009

Always a delight to attend, the Port Townsend Wooden Boat Festival was held this last weekend in absolutely beautiful weather. My wife Pat and I helped host an exhibit by Michael Berman at the Pope Building waterside of the harbor. This exhibit, which also included "Transatlantic Passage", was called “Wooden Boats and the Sea”.




Michael Berman is a talented marine photographer with an uncanny knack for capturing those quintessential moments in a sailboats’ run. His exquisite images frame some of the West Coasts finest wooden boats with the magnificent coastline of Washington. On occasions I have been fortunate enough to pilot the craft he uses as his photographic platform. This leaves him free to bound from side to side, fore and aft taking images as he calls out piloting instructions. It is no easy task to be in the right place at the right time among these canvas and wooden behemoths of the seas.

I sailed a “day sailor” many years ago and love the science, math and engineering involved in sailing. Piloting Michael’s craft and seeing these wondrous schooners from his point of view has rekindled my interest in sail power. The pureness of form and the romance of the sea together with the regal ness of these grand old dames of the maritime are emotional investments that demand a revisit by me. I look forward to what new pieces of jewelry these new references will inspire.

the beach rocks garden art..."beach stacks" hose guards

the beach rocks garden art..."beach stacks"...these are the hose guards that we make to keep the garden hose out of your plantings when you move the hose from place to place. They make the cutest little squeak when they spin. I will be posting more about how these are made as well as additional images in a few days. The “beach stacks” are our little tributes to those cairns that you often see people building at the beach. But, in this case we have drilled a hole through the middle of each rock so it will spin on a long secure stake when the hose touches it. This causes the hose to glide by, accompanied by a chorus of squeaks and avoid the garden. We have topped each stack with what we call an “improbable”. That’s because it is very improbable that you could get a rock to stand like this without some serious help. As always, the beach rocks are collected from various places on the Olympic Peninsula of Washington State.
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"and water cuts rock"

This Saturday’s Port Townsend Market was of particular interest to me. I was able to introduce a piece I call “and water cuts rock”. It is a bit of a play on words as many of my titles are these days. It recalls the old game of “paper, rock, scissors” but it is a tribute to the fact that given enough time…a river of water will cut through a mountain of rock. This simple geological fact still fascinates me.

The argentium sterling silver in these pieces has a texture called coining. The highlights from this texture remind me of the shimmer of sunlight on the surface of rapids. The beach rocks have been cut in to two pieces then tilted and separated by a wedged shaped space. The pieces are reassembled using the “post and pad” method. This means that both side of the beach rock has been drilled to receive a post of argentium and it is also attached on a pad. This is the preferred method for securely attaching fine pearls to findings and it seems appropriate here as well.

I found it gratifying that about 25% of the visitors went to these pieces first. Both pieces are on they way to a new home in Tacoma, Washington. I have several other beach rocks already prepared for this same treatment, one of which is a turtle back rock. I can hardly wait to see how they turn out.

"the beach rocks" Argentium sterling silver rings

I have started making a line of straight forward “the beach rocks” rings. They all have a round wire shank and a fully closed back made of argentium sterling silver. The bezel is made of fine silver. I have gone to great effort to make the finish on the pieces as fine as possible. The result is that people that handle them often use the word “buttery” to describe them. These rings feature beach rocks found along the Olympic Peninsula here in Washington State. The backs of these beach rocks have been ground flat to make them much more stable in the mounting. But other than that, they are just the way the ocean offered them up on the shore.

The ring in the middle of the above photograph is set with what the people on the “West End” of the peninsula call a “turtle back jade”. It is a relatively rare find to see one this size, as they are usually found much larger. It is well to note that this beach rock has little to do with the gemstone “jade” apart from the color.