alisa miller

project runway episode 2!

2011-08-11T19:51:00.011-05:00

first, a small rant. i wandered all over petco. you can look at the materials i chose. they cost $5. all together. they are "bird toys." but they sell the same toys for $3 each and call them cat toys. how dumb! /rant over.

so i bought these bird toys. but the colors were just too much. if you've ever met me in person, you may have noticed i have a penchant for crazy bright clothes and patterns. so my jewelry is often monochromatic. i had to paint these. i figured they could dye their pee pads on project runway, so i could paint the toys.

i paired the black orb forms with some brass wire (in place of the muslin). and voila!

i want this necklace in metal. i am currently plotting how i make do this. (we will keep the fact that it's based on pet toys between you and me, k?)

also, here's a picture of one of my cats, lucy, checking her gmail today. she liked the new toys. even if they are for birds.

check out the etsymetal blog tomorrow afternoon for all the results!

EtsyMetal Project Runway Challenge Week 1

2011-08-02T16:53:00.009-05:00

here we go again. i will try to do all the challenges, but no promises. :-)

from the etsymetal blog

The Project Runway Challenge:

The designers had to use the clothes they slept in the night before plus one of their bedsheets to create a new look. They also had access to dye and trimmings.

For our EtsyMetal Translation:

Since this challenge was all about using what you have in an unexpected way, and since most of us don’t sleep in jewelry, the challenge this week is to make something only from material that is sitting on your bench! If you don’t have a bench or access to your studio, then choose another area like your desk. Since the designers got a sheet, we get some sheet metal. You are welcome to use enhancements like stones from your supplies. But the final piece should be made of a majority of your found pieces if possible. Ok now, make it work!

soooo.... this is my bench right now. well, one of them. i recently moved and my studio is a ginormous mess. i am looking for better furniture, but this pile 'o crap is what i'm working with. so, basically, everything was on hand. i needed something else for inspiration.

i am a regular reader of perez hilton. not high brow or anything, but it makes my bus ride home fly by.

so i saw this picture the other day on perez. i have to link to it because blogger is being rude and not letting me steal the picture. anyhoo... oh my god. her purse. so in love. and i happened to have a million pieces on thin wire cut up to make some of these.

here is the result! i'm kind of in love with them. they will be on etsy in a day or so.

i had great plans

2011-04-05T21:29:00.003-05:00

i was thinking i would redesign my whole blog and start blogging again. but then i went to the studio. and then i went to target. and then it was late. again. so i'm just going to start writing again. we'll have to see if i can stick to it.

i feel like i've been flailing around a bit since i last checked in here. i had a crazy year last year with a ton of retail shows and i am scaling that back quite a bit this year. i am trying to focus on making what i want to make. oddly enough, the metal market has changed my perpective quite a bit. i was so worried about making sales last year, that i made a lot of less expensive work. which was so fun and rewarding, but i just can't do that this year. silver is the highest by far that i have ever seen. and i have so little time to work in the studio now. i just really want to focus on what i want to make. which seems to be more elaborate one of a kind pieces. i have been so excited to make new work. not necesarily "alisa miller" work.

all of this is a round about way of saying changes are happening and i'm really excited to see what this year will bring. not that i won't be doing production work, it just won't take up the majority of my time. and everything is changing. and change is really good. thanks for sticking with me while i explore.

also.... i'm this month's featured artist at Facere!!! take a looksy! this is kind of where i'm going today. who knows tomorrow.

handmade division

2010-10-15T00:01:00.000-05:00

i am part of a team called the handmade division. every month there is a talk about blog where a bunch of member answer the same question.

this month it is : how did you get to where you are now with your skills?

quick history- i started messing around with metal when i was 19. i was an avid beader and wanted to learn how to set stones. and i was working at a jewelry supply shop. i bought a crappy butane torch and that was it. i was in love. i went to the University of Washington and earned by BFA in metalsmithing. i've been working with metal ever since then.

i began teaching at Lill Street Arts Center in Chicago this year. i've been teaching beginning metalsmithing. I will say that it has changed my work and my relationship with metal. and i am immensely thankful for that. i was in a rut. i hated my work. i hated making it. photographing it. selling it. i was pretty unhappy.

then i started teaching and i fell in love with metalsmithing all over again. seeing my students get excited over their work got me excited about mine. also, working in a community studio like that is invigorating! even for just one day a week. so, although i haven't learned too many new skills in the past year, i feel like i have started using all the skills i've had for many years. i had just forgotten how fun it was to saw, or rivet or even bezel set.

click these links to see what these other artists had to say about their skills!

http://andescruz.wordpress.com

http://nova-designs.blogspot.com

http://bellabijoujewellery.blogspot.com

http://purifiedart.blogspot.com

http://nedbeads.blogspot.com

http://jewelrybynatsuko.blogspot.com

http://sandfibers.blogspot.com

http://istanbuldesigns.blogspot.com

http://metalriot.blogspot.com

http://susarto.blogspot.com

http://bcyrjewelry.blogspot.com

http://nocoloratall.tumblr.com

http://nanopod.wordpress.com

http://lisahopkinsdesign.blogspot.com

http://www.jewelrydesignchronicles.com

http://rosyrevolover.blogspot.com

ave ring a day

2010-09-22T18:16:00.004-05:00

ave ring a day, originally uploaded by alisa miller.

artist week day two.

i love kiki smith. i have seen numerous shows by her and own quite a few books about her work now. i am always intrigued by her interpretations of love, death, birth, domesticity, and femininity. this is my interpretation of Ave. it is textured brass riveted onto copper with a sterling band. i've had this brass around for a while. it was lace i rollerprinted, but only the weft showed up. it reminds of riverbeds seen from a plane.

ring a day artist week

2010-09-21T20:20:00.004-05:00

just a super quick note to mention a few things.

a. i suck at blogging. i think i start every post with this statement.

b. thank you to everyone who came out to the renegade craft fair in chicago! i had a blast and it was best renegade yet!

c. i wanted to let people know that i'm jumping back into ring a day for a week. i am going to do 7 days of paying homage to my favorite artists.

day one is andy goldsworthy.

see you tomorrow!

so i suck

2010-06-28T22:45:00.004-05:00

so i suck at blogging. it is official. how about you become my fan of facebook instead? i suck not as much there. http://tiny.cc/alisaonfacebook

really quick, turns out i heart teaching! and i'm not so bad at it. getting better every class...

also, i have a crazy show schedule coming up. (well crazy for me.)

i'll be at pitchfork in chicago july 16-18th.
http://www.pitchforkmusicfestival.com/

then i fly to san fransisco for the american craft council show. i got into the AltCraft portion! woo! and so did two of my best friends ever, http://www.mikeandmaryjewelry.com/. sweet! another vacation with friends i can write off!

then i come back to chicago for renegade! seriously my favorite show ever! http://www.renegadecraft.com/chicago

so, yeah. that's it. oh, and my torch is broken. that sucks.

let's do math!
alisa - torch = :-(

i'll be figuring that out tomorrow.

oh! no doy! i'm picking up ring a day again for the month of july. to get ready for ACC. just one month 30 rings. 31? hmmm. anyways, it will be fun. lots of crazy cocktail rings.

favorite ring a day

2010-02-01T15:01:00.006-06:00

this post is part of the etsymetal blog carnival. the question is what is your favorite ring from the ring a day challenge.

i have to admit that i'm behind on photos. i'm going to try to get caught up today. there just are not enogh hours in the day to make a ring, photograph it and post it to flickr and facebook. much less blog about each one. so please just check out my flickr. there's a badge in the sidebar.

i can't pick one favorite. so, i'll post a few.

here is my favorite of nina dinoff's.

and rachelle.

and mike.

and nina gibson.

catherine chandler.

and my favorite of my own rings. day nine.

there are many more i love, but i can't download some people's pictures for some reason. go to the flickr group ring a day 2010 to see all of them. and visit the blogs below to see other people's faves!

Alisa Miller http://alisamiller.blogspot.com

Colleen Baran http://seeseebe.blogspot.com/

Danielle Miller http://daniellemillerjewelry.blogspot.com/

stacey hansen http://wildflowerdesigns.blogspot.com

Chris Parry http://chris-parry.blogspot.com

kerin rose http://kerinrose.blogspot.com

Sara Westermark http://sarawestermark.blogspot.com/

Victoria Takahashi http://vtakahashi.blogspot.com/

Su Trindle http://quercussilver.blogspot.com/

Nina Dinoff http://ninadinoff.blogspot.com/

Maureen "Cosmo's Moon" BZ http://cosmosmoonjewelry.blogspot.com

Thomasin Durgin http://metalriot.blogspot.com/

Colleen Baran http://seeseebe.blogspot.com/

Beth Cyr http://bcyrjewelry.blogspot.com/

Caitlyn Davey/discomedusa http://discomedusa.typepad.com

Catherine Chandler http://catherinechandler.blogspot.com/

nine through twelve

2010-01-12T17:03:00.004-06:00

day nine

sterling silver.

day ten

lady gaga ticket, tape.

day eleven

brass, silver.

day twelve

lace, staple.

six and seven

2010-01-07T21:30:00.005-06:00

day six

sterling silver and brass.

day seven

sterling silver. um, yeah. this one needs some work. will try again tomorrow.

one week down.

day three, four, and five

2010-01-05T14:32:00.004-06:00

ok, i guess i won't be posting here every day. but everything will get posted in due time. it's just alot. flickr, etsymetal, facebook, blog, and sometimes twitter. here's the last three days.

day three. paper on string. i love the shadows.

day four. brass on silver.

day five. electroformed copper on silver.

first day of teaching went ok. i am not a natural. but i could have figured that out. i am just so shy and nervous in front of people. i know we'll all warm up to each other and i'll be better when i feel more comfortable. i do have to say for a beginning class they are already making some brilliant stuff. maybe i've become a bit jaded about what you can and can't do. and in that spirit, i'm off too saw something i always thought would be too crazy to attempt.

day two.

2010-01-02T20:47:00.002-06:00

day two.

ring a day. day one.

2010-01-01T19:53:00.005-06:00

first off, hello! i've been gone from blogging for so long. life got busy. busy is good, but it left me little time for blogging. i also really hate to talk about my work. this is something i need to work on. one of my new years resolutions was to blog more. we'll see how long this one sticks...

what i will be blogging for the next month is a challenge initaited by nina dinoff from etsy metal. we'll be making a ring a day throughout january. it can take 30 seconds or five hours. it's up to us. the point is just to create. i really like challenges like this because i often find myself stuck in rut with only making what is saleable. and sometimes that is really really boring. so, along with the project runway challenges that will be starting up in 2 weeks (!!!!), i will be doing these.

i'm also super super excited to start doing the project runway challenges again. i had a great time last season following along with etsymetal. i couldn't do all of them, but it was nice to drop in when i did have the time. and this winter i really really want to make them a priority. so, hopefully i can get them all done.

and finally, my super exciting news is that i got a job teaching beginning metalsmithing at Lill Street Arts Center. i am so so so excited for this opportunity and i think it will help me grow as an artist. i miss a community studio and am excited to start working there. i used to help people when i was in school and i have always wondered if teaching might be fun. now i get to find out. plus, i get to use the studio. oh.my.gosh.hydraulic.press.rolling.mill.sandblaster.

ok, first ring a day. made in, oh, 10 minutes. plastic riveted onto a ring shank i had lying around.

whew! so that wasn't so hard to write! maybe i will get in the hang of this again.

happy new years! it's already looking better than the last few!

since you been gone

2009-08-28T18:58:00.003-05:00

oh, hi internet. i missed you! but i got an awful lot done without you. and now i have to go back to work. just wanted everyone to know i'm not dead. just that my router was broken. now i have to finish up some jewelry for the renegade craft fair and answer 164 emails. seriously. 164. not junk mail. i'll be working chronologically. i'm sorry. look here to see what etsymetal is doing for the one a week challenges. thank god i at least had cable, so i could watch project runway. this season is pretty interesting so far...

and yeah, i have kelly clarkson stuck in my head. stupid pandora.

we're all feeling slow

2009-07-13T17:39:00.003-05:00

hmmm... i'm not done. (i've been super busy apartment hunting. but i signed a lease today!!! yay!!!!) rachelle and lora aren't done either. and i haven't heard from anyone else today. i'm headed out for the night. so we'll see who can get what done by tomorrow night. i'll be posting the pictures then.

sorry! (but not really. it's a beautiful night in chicago and i want to go sit outside with drink in hand...) see you tomorrow!

part two!

2009-07-09T21:08:00.004-05:00

i only have negative 15 seconds. and flickr and i aren't very good friends right now.

without further ado, here's nina's!!! i remember this piece that she started a year ago. so so so happy she finished it!

and again, victoria's isn't working. :-( we will get to the bottom of this. hopefully by next week. again. go to her flickr page. now. you will regret it forever if you don't.

seriously.

jewelry makeover time! part one

2009-07-08T15:03:00.010-05:00

i really had fun with this one. i think i will have to revisit this one again.

i have to be honest. i always have a huge pile of stuff in a box. whenever i cleanmy studio, i put all the scraps/old work/things that need tweaking into said box. when i'm stuck, i often revisit this box. and i usually get overwhelmed and put it away again. i pulled out a tangled mess for this challenge and decided to only use what was in the tangle. (well. ok, i also used some findings. but you get the idea.) can you spot my old work? i see an earring i stepped on, a bracelet that didn't pass the alisa test, and some stuff from my first craft show 5 years ago. note to self. why didn't i send this stuff in when i sent in my scrap list time?

i cut apart some handmade chain earrings that were far too boring for me. then i took this old pendant with 4 circles and attached the chain in 3 rows. i'm pretty happy with the way it turned out.

rachelle finished a piece that had been on her bench for 10 months.

lora made over a ring that she felt never quite worked.

The uneven angle of the top isn't dramatic enough to make a statement, the arch thingie was a piece of a broken toggle that fit perfectly, but looks horrible in silver. I was thinking of threading some felt through it, or adding beads and baubles, but nothing ever felt right. So I cut it off!

before

after

victoria and nina dinoff's are coming up!

new challenge!!!

2009-07-07T07:39:00.005-05:00

this one is going to be the last week i can participate in for a few weeks. i just know that my life is about to get insanely busy for a few weeks. if people still want to, i can keep posting challenges. or if someone else would like to take over for a while, i'd love it!

this challenge is from season four. it was one of my favorites!

Episode 8: En Garde!
Each designer is randomly paired with another designer and asked to select a team leader. Each team is asked to create an avant-garde outfit based on inspiration from their models' hair styles. They are given a budget of $300 and two days to create this look. The following day, each team is asked to create another, simpler, ready-to-wear outfit which embodies the "essence" of the avant-garde look they have been working on. For the second piece, the designers have a budget of $50. The leader of the winning team receives immunity in the next challenge, while the winning team and their outfits are featured in a TRESemme fashion shoot.

we've been taking some creative license with these challenges. but i think it would be fun to make an avante garde piece and also a ready to wear piece. (i suppose in jewelry we would call that a production piece.) but it's totally up to you and your time constraints, if you want to just make the avante garde piece.

see you wednesday for the makeover challange!

makeover!!!

2009-07-02T20:04:00.004-05:00

at penland right now, a fellow etsymetal member, nina dinoff, is at a workshop called radical jewelry makeover. it's all about recycling and making jewelry out of old work. i was pretty jealous when i heard about it. my friend amy is a resident there and stopped in for a few days. see her blog posts about it here. there was a makeover challenge from pr season 2 episode 10.

Episode 10: Makeover
Designers created a new look to makeover a fellow contestant who then models the new look on the runway.

so rather than making over anyone, let's makeover an old piece of ours. or an antique/thrift store piece. or even just finish something we never could figure out how to finish. look through your scrap box, your grandma or mom's jewelry box or ask a friend if they have some old stuff they don't want anymore.

since i am ridiculously late getting this up, how about if we make it due wednesday. but i'll post the next challenge monday. is that ok?

finally!

2009-07-02T19:54:00.005-05:00

omg!!! i've been offline for a few days running all over looking for a new home. and i came back to the most lovely piece by victoria of experimetal. but again, flickr isn't letting me saves pictures. (grrrr...) so go here. now. i'll wait....

go back and click on all the pictures!

holy moley! i'm glad this isn't project runway for real, because i would be auf'd and victoria would so be in. (um, bravo or lifetime, are you reading this? just give her $100,000 already. or at least start a show about jewelers.)

and here's mine. late again. i like it. it's my version of the long flapper necklace. i tried to make the circles a simplfied version of an art deco design. but it looks more art nouveau. i'm not so good with angular.

new post in a few with the new challenge. and then i'm going to get to the bottom of this flickr thing.

history lesson part one

2009-06-29T21:27:00.006-05:00

mine is going to be late. i've been running around in almost all my spare time for the last week looking at apartments so i can move. and it's exhausting. ugh. i'll post mine tomorrow morning. i'm taking the morning off to work in the studio and get caught up on emails. don't think i've answered one since friday. oh, and i have a cold. wtf? who gets a cold in june? argh.

other people are better at time management than me, though.

here's rachelle's.

This challenge was to take inspiration from a famous historical look. Rachelle took her inspiration from greek goddess.This piece is a sterling silver and brass frame filled with iron wire, resin, and gold glass micro spheres.

and nina took inspiration from the greek goddess.

The earrings I made are inspired by ancient Greece, Mycenae. One of the motifs I saw while looking up the jewelry of this period was the coil. I used copper because that was what was at hand, and the geeks did use copper, but I see these coils in bronze or gold more likely.

lora hart meshed time periods together. (edit. i can't get lora's pictures to save right. not sure what i'm doing wrong, but go to the link. i really love that she used bronze! i'll try to fix this later. i'm sorry.)

One a Week jewelry making challenge based on Project Runway. Design a piece inspired by either Greek, Gypsy, Marie Antoinette, Punk or Flapper fashion. I chose a hybrid of Greek and Flapper. My necklace isn't quite a long as a flapper's, but It's my interpretation anyway. For the bronze pieces wet clay was arranged with my fingers (using no under structure) to give the illusion of the draped fabric used as toga's in ancient Greece.The coral stands in for Flapper-esque pearls, wired to symbolize a gladiator's chariot wheels.

i'll have mine up in the morning. and experimetal's too!

we're going canadian!

2009-06-23T11:24:00.003-05:00

this week, we're turning to a challenge from project runway canada season season 1. as an avid watcher of pr, i'va also watched both seasons of the canadian version and the australian version. i have to say i often often disagree with iman in her judging, but it's her show, so whatever. the canadian version has some really, really good challenges. so yay for us!

It’s a lesson in fashion history as the designers take inspiration from some famous historical looks. They must use their costume inspiration to create two swimsuits: one for their model and one for a plus-size model.
During model selection, the models were dressed in costume to represent the inspiration for the bathing suits. The designers picked from geisha, british punk, flapper, marie antoinette, gypsy, or greek goddess.

obviously, we aren't making bathing suits. but pick a style and make something appropriate. i'll proabably be doing a modern version of marie antoinette or flapper jewelry. and only one piece. that's one of the great things about jewelry! any size person can wear it. see you next monday!

flower power

2009-06-22T21:01:00.016-05:00

we have some new people jumping in this week. yay! the more the merrier!

i made a ring to hold a fresh flower. i used a hydrangea. they are some of my favorite flowers. i built a ring with a piece of tubing acting as a vase. it has tiny pins that go through the flower's stem in 2 directions to hold it in place. obviously, this is more of a cocktail ring. but imagine the conversations it would start.

rachelle says This ring is seed pods from the clematis in our back yard and silver.I like metal too much and find that I always end up using it in the challenges.

i love that this can look space age-y or completely modern.

mike made a ring out of sterling silver and moss. love it!

lora hart went around her neighborhood to gather supplies. i am really impressed with the results.

Each of these components was just so lush that I had to use them both. The grass looks like the tail of a red fox. I petted it the whole way home. And the purple flowers are so velvety. I can totally see them adorning a fabulous Fin de Siecle hat on it's way to a garden party.

victoria from experimetal bent these twigs to make bracelets. i had totally forgotten that you could do that! fantastic!

nina gibson made this bracelet. those flowers are stunning!

I used leaves from my guava tree which are sturdy for the base of the cuff bracelet and blossoms from my neighbor's bougainvillea vine. A little hot glue to keep it all together. The bracelet is large and dramatic. I love the bright color of the flowers. The leaves and the flowers will actually dry nicely - the colors will not be quite so vibrant, but I think it will continue to be wearable.

i'll post the next challenge tomorrow morning!

oops!

2009-06-15T12:34:00.004-05:00

i realized this morning that i never posted that i was taking last week off. i had a friend in town and time was so tight anyway, i never did have time to get into the studio. so, i hope everyone is well rested and ready to go again. this week we're revisiting the flower power challenge. kait schott, annie and i did this last year. and now it's finally starting to be summer here i thought it would be a good time to do it again.

Episode 9: Flower Power
Designers created a dress using only natural materials purchased in the New York Flower District.

we're basically going to make jewelry out of plants or flowers. there can be metal in it, of course. but it should have some element that is a real plant. here's my entry from last time.

fashion giant

2009-06-08T17:34:00.006-05:00

this week it's just rachelle and i. mike's been a busy bee at work and lora had a show and needs a day off.

this challenge was fashion giant. on pr, they had to deisgn for menswear for tiki barber. we decided to make jewelry for men. after years of making work pretty much exclusively for women, this was not so easy to wrap my mind around.

i still think mine's too dainty. i think i need thicker metal and a wider band. but overall i really like it.

rachelle used this opportunity to push herself some cufflinks she had in her head. i love them! and that's kind of why we wanted to do these challenges. to get out of our normal routine and make something we might not have without the challenges. and from doing shows, i often get asked for cufflinks, so i think these are perfect!

total eclipse of the heart. literal version.

2009-06-04T00:18:00.002-05:00

this is awesome. that is all.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lj-x9ygQEGA

um, and how do i embed videos?

fashion giant

2009-05-27T14:39:00.004-05:00

my rock 'n runway necklace is already late and going to be later. i really like it and want to finish it the right way.

in the mean time, the next challenge is the tiki barber challenge.

Episode 3: Fashion Giant
The remaining designers are asked to create a three piece menswear outfit for guest judge Tiki Barber to wear on The Today Show. The designers are randomly assigned male models.

so, we're trying our hands at men's jewelry. this is something i am constantly asked about. but i have to say that i find it hard to think of men's jewelry. i'm always drawn to cute and flamboyant. so, it'll be interesting.

also, my lack of timely updates have because i'm working at my day job a lot again. so, if it's ok with everyone, can we have a week and a half for this one? so, it would be due monday june 8th? i'm just ridiculously behind right now and see no hope of catching up by next monday.

super super quick.

2009-05-26T11:41:00.002-05:00

i'm running out the door to go to work. and now blogger isn't letting me post images. i'll post a longer post tonight when i get home.

here is rachelle's rock 'n runway necklace based on rock 'n roll.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mikeandmaryjewelry/sets/72157618717201017/

here's mike's. he chose experimental music and made a theremin, the first electronic musical instrument.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mikeandmaryjewelry/sets/72157618717026039/

here's lora's, based on celtic music.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lorahart/sets/72157618741528787/

hopefully i can post the pictures tonight. and i'll post mine tonight too. thanks for being patient!

i want candy pt. 2 and new challenge

2009-05-18T14:50:00.004-05:00

yay for better lighting! my ring, made of nerds, still looks like larvae. but pink larvae with gold glitter nails? love it! and the glue finally dried.

and here's lora's! read about it here. i love it! especailly the idea of using the foil wrappers to make the ring gold. brilliant!

the next challenge is from season 5, episode 11. rock 'n runway.

The designers were given the task of designing for each other. The looks were to be inspired by different genres of music. The designers wore their outfits down the runway; the models were not used for this challenge.
Teams (Designers names are in bold; genre applies to teammate):
· Jerell designed for Kenley (Pop Music)
· Kenley designed for Leanne (Hip Hop Music)
· Leanne designed for Korto (Country Music)
· Korto designed for Suede (Punk rock)
· Suede designed for Jerell (Rock and Roll)

we were thinking that we would just pick a genre of music and make a piece of jewelry inspired by said genre. i'm pretty excited about this one!
due next monday.

delay and schedule update.

2009-05-16T20:54:00.004-05:00

dangit. keep getting home too late to take pictures. but the glue finally dried. i'll get pics up monday. that's also when i'll put up another challenge. we're going back to mondays now. sorry about the delay.

i want candy! pt.1

2009-05-14T22:27:00.005-05:00

k.it's late. just watched grey's finale. puffy eyes. and apparently.super glue doesn't work with sugars. dangit. i'm keeping the ring under a light overnight. maybe it will dry.

but first! here's rachelle's! sweet!

and here's mike's! we discussed how much of this candy we were eating. i think i gained a few pounds from this challenge. mmm... swedish fish... i like the height alot! and that's a lot of sawing.

and here's my prelim crappy lighting shot. it's nerds. but it looks like larvae. i kind of like the larvae look.

better photos and lora hart's tomorrow. and better commentary from yours truly. maybe even pics of my attempts with red vines. but i'm sleepy and sad about grey's. yeah. i'm a dork. i'm well aware.

eye candy

2009-05-07T21:17:00.002-05:00

from tim.
We meet Hershey's Michelle Gloeckler who tells them that anything and everything in the store is available to them. Furthermore, there's no budget for this challenge. Rather, the designers are given two shopping bags each and five minutes to amass their materials. To their relief, the design challenge is open: create an outfit of your choice. Whew.
this was a great episode. so, make something with candy or candy wrappers. or anything in a candy store.

here's a link to a sweet story about kit's dress.

2009-05-07T20:00:00.008-05:00

wow. what a great comeback. there is some delicious jewelry this week. yay! and it's fitting since the fashion show is premeiring on bravo tonight. i'm excited to see their new version of project runway.

my inspiration was the side of this building. the roofing, i guess? (as much as i want to change my work, i'm always drawn to the same motifs. i guess i should just give in and go with it.)

the hexagons are brass on a silver backing mimicing the roof tile shapes.

i like the back, too.

rachelle was inspired by a metal drum that was rusting though the paint.

and made this little piece of deliciousness!

mike was inspired by a watertower.

and made one as a ring. oh my goodness, i love this so so so much!

lora was inspired by this buddha fountain that she passes often.

the pendant has keum boo foil to mimic the weathering on the fountain. and the little granulation beads? so sweet!

what a great week! next challenge will be posted a bit later tonight.

one a week is back!

2009-04-30T20:47:00.002-05:00

oh my it's been a long time. i've spent the last 2 months working like a mad woman at my day job. but i seem to have a somewhat normal schedule now. yay! so we're stating up the one a week challenges again. without further adieu...

bright lights, big city from season 5.

the designers were tasked to create a look of their choice inspired by the vibrant nightlife of new york city. tim gunn drove the designers around the city via a sightseeing tour bus, then provided them with digital cameras to take photographs of their inspiration. four groups of designers were dropped off at different stops and had an hour to take their photos. they were given $100 and one day to complete their design. the winner received immunity for the next challenge.

so basically, it's spring! get out! walk around! and take pictures of what inspires you. post your pictures and pieces by next thursday. above is kenley's winning design.

2009-04-08T11:46:00.003-05:00

progress is being made with some new work, but no pictures yet. or even finished pieces for that matter. my time in the studio has been erratic to say the least. i've been working like crazy at my day job and, although i love it, it leaves me pretty exhausted.

joanna at a cup of jo posted a link to this website just now. it's an amazing photojournal of phillip toledano's last years with his father. for personal reasons, it's really resonating with me today. completely beautiful, inspiring and heartbreaking all at once.

edit- i guess i never knew his name, but i've been a big fan of his other work! check out his website. http://mrtoledano.com/ especially the projects page. arctic and hope and fear are the two that i've seen bofore.

ok, back to organizing and maybe getting to making today. i'll be back soon with some new work!

i'm back!

2009-03-24T19:51:00.004-05:00

well, that was sure crazy. but i guess bad things happen in threes. in my case, the three things kept happening and it took me away from here and the internet for a bit. i am so sorry. i hope you all checked out mike, rachelle and lora's one a week projects while i was indisposed. here is mine. it's made from cut up milk cartons fused together and glued to a pinback. i was pretty happy with it. a few weeks ago. :-) i'm going to be super busy for the next little bit as i'm working full time again. i'll be around, but not as much. also, i'm changing my etsy shop to only things in stock as my studio is dismantled and a total wreck. i need to get everything organized so i can start working on some new ideas i've been batting around in my head. so my shop is a bit empty right now.

also, that sweater? totally like this one worn by suri cruise. and i have those shoes, too. but i have to veto the maxi dresses. so, yeah. i dress like a 3 year old.

jello + laptop = bad

2009-03-04T22:11:00.003-06:00

still having some technical difficulty...

oops!

2009-03-03T10:46:00.003-06:00

sorry for no post yesterday. i fell asleep on my couch last night working on my piece. bleh. recycling post coming up in a bit!

just thinking aloud...

2009-02-25T22:09:00.003-06:00

you know, recession and all... should i have a tiered pricing system?

from npr blogs:all songs considered

Who? Josh Freese, dude! He's a session drummer who's appeared on nearly 300 albums. He's worked with Devo, Nine Inch Nails, A Perfect Circle, Guns N' Roses and others. More importantly, Josh Freese has a new solo album coming out toward the end of March, and has a few special offers for you.

According to his Web site, Freese has devised a multi-tiered pricing system for his album (Since 1972) and the tour to support it:

$7Download the album, including three videos.

$15Download the double-disc CD/DVD set.

$50The CD/DVD set, a T-shirt and a personal phone call from Josh thanking you for buying the album.

$250A signed CD/DVD set and digital download, a signed drum head and drumsticks, AND... you can go on a lunch date with Josh. (He recommends the Cheesecake Factory.)

$500Signed CD/DVD, digital download, T-shirt, signed cymbal and drumsticks, and you can meet Josh for dinner. He also suggests you float with him in a sensory-deprivation tank.

$1,000Signed CD/DVD, digital download, T-shirt, signed cymbal and drum head and drum sticks, and Josh will wash your car for you... or do your laundry. Your choice. You can also have dinner with Josh, get drunk and cut each other's hair (all of which can be filmed and posted on YouTube).

$2,500Signed CD/DVD, digital download, a private drum lesson with Josh, a foot or back massage (couples welcome), lunch, signed snare drum, and pick any three items from his closet.

$5,000Signed CD/DVD and digital download, T-shirt, Josh will write a song about you and put it on iTunes, you can co-direct a video with him for the song and post it on YouTube, and Josh will give you a private tour of Disneyland. He also says you can get drunk with him at his dad's place.

$10,000Signed CD/DVD and digital download, T-shirt, signed snare drum, foot or back massage, he'll take you to Roscoe's Chicken and Waffle in Long Beach for dinner and Club 33 after, plus a trip to Disneyland. He'll also give you the keys to his Volvo stationwagon.

$20,000Signed CD/DVD, digital download, T-shirt, signed drum from the 2008 Nine Inch Nails tour; he'll take you miniature golfing and give you a tour of his favorite haunts in Long Beach. You'll get the foot or back massage, a private drum lesson and any three items from Josh's closet.

$75,000Most of the above, plus you can go on tour with Josh for a few days. He'll also write, record and release a five-song EP about you and your life story. You can take home any of his drum sets, go drinking and play with him on his Ouija board. Also enjoy a trip with Josh to Tijuana, take a flying-trapeze lesson and then join him for lasagna.

On his Web site, Josh assures everyone he's completely serious: "I had a press release go out the other day, and there's been a lot of talk on the ol' Internet about what I'm doing and 'if it's real' or if I'm 'joking.' It is very much real, and I am surely not joking."

kind of uncomfortable with the couples welcome thing. but the rest of it might be ok. except i would start a bit higher.

jewelry tennis

2009-02-24T16:11:00.005-06:00

inspired by beth cyr and sophie from duckduckgooseStuff, rachelle and i talked about doing a collaboration. although our work is quite different, we are often on the same kind of wavelength. we sent packages to each other with components we had sitting around, but could not figure out how to use.

i got these fantastic components in the mail. there are a lot more that i'll be posting as i use them.

below is the first piece i've finished with her work. saw those little shapes and just felt they needed to be a little chain soldered together.

waste not want not

2009-02-23T19:45:00.004-06:00

i'm going to go ahead put up the next challenge before i post results from the last challenge.

from season 3, episode 6. waste not want not.

The remaining designers are asked to create an outfit in just one day using only
materials found at the Waste Management
Recycle America Center in Port
Newark, New Jersey and $25 USD for
materials found at an art supplies store. This challenge requires the designers
to create garments that innovate and are judged accordingly. The winner has
immunity for this challenge.

i'm going to just take the essence of this challenge and use something found in my recycling. i actually did this last year when annie was first starting these challenges. it was a favorite episode of mine and i make some earrings. but that was before i had a blog. so, no pics. and i think they got crushed during an evening of debauchery. oops!

a quick aside. i loved the hairbow, and although i know it wasn't really what alison was going for, it is now very in. look at lady gaga, my current fashion hero. :-) also, i just wanted to mention that jeffrey was robbed. so there.

The Art of Fashion

2009-02-23T19:16:00.009-06:00

surprisingly, i had a hard time with this. i love art. more than i love jewelry right now. when i travel, i will always seek out the art museums. contemporary is my favorite, but i've been to the louvre 3 times. (however, the last time i did it in 30 minutes. i really get sick of old art. i don't need to see that many pictures of jesus.)

anyway, i just had a really hard time with this. my original thought was to go with a kiki smith piece. i love kiki smith. she is one of my favorite artists of all times. i was so sad to lose a book of hers from an installation in venice in my breakup. but it was kind of a trade for another artist's book. ahhhh.... all's fair in love and art, right? but i decided that the piece i want to make inspired by kiki smith is too personal for me to have to describe on this blog. at least right now. i did start work on it, but i want to take my time with it.

so instead, i chose the swing by jean-honore fragonard. i love this painting. i really enjoy most rococo art. it's so over the top and lovely, with a bit of subversion thrown in for good measure. from this website

The young nobleman is not only getting an interesting view up the lady's skirt,
but she is being pushed into this position by her priest-lover, shown in the
rear.

my piece is a long necklace with an antiqued brass oval adorned with a ton of little flowers laquered purple. i was going to do blue, but i liked the shade of purple better. i wish i had gone more over the top and make the whole necklace the little flowers. i think it would have been so much more rococo. but i had to punch out those little flowers by hand. (they are 30g. sterling. the punch is a paper punch from joann's. i have a ton of them! but they can be pretty hard to punch out.)

and here is lora hart's entry this week. i love it!

and oh my. mike and rachelle kind of blew me out of the water with this one.

rachelle says

This is my inspiration.Odilon Redon. (French, 1840-1916). L'Oeil, comme un
ballon bizarre se dirige vers l'infini (The Eye Like a Strange Balloon Mounts
Toward Infinity). (1882). Lithograph
it's sterling silver, fashion lashes, beadalon, patina

and mike's is so so good!

The Philadelphia Museum
of Art has an amazing Duchamp room and I've spent many hours there. Duchamp's "Ready Mades" were the inspiration for this piece by R,Mani...

the art of fashion.

2009-02-18T10:48:00.002-06:00

new challenge!

Episode 11: The Art of Fashion
The designers are given 45 minutes in three galleries (the Greek and Roman Sculpture courtyard, the European Painting wing, and the Temple of Dendur) at the Metropolitan Museum of Art to select a piece of art to use as inspiration for a dress, using provided cameras to capture the artwork. They are given $300 for materials at Mood, and two days to complete the design.

obviously, i can't go to the met for this challenge. but i've been to countless museums. the only thing i like looking at more than jewelry is art. preferably contemporary, but i like the old stuff too. i may head down to the museum of contemporary art. or maybe the art institute.

find a picture or sculpture and make something inspired by it! i'll see you monday!

2009-02-10T10:23:00.006-06:00

i mentioned when i was in seattle that this was too hard to do on the road. so, i'm taking a week off while i head to philadelphia for the buyers market of american craft. i'm not selling this time. i'm going to help my friend ali. doing these shows alone is a little daunting. sometimes, it's a breeze, but you always hope to be overwhelmed! so it's good to have back up. this show is wholesale to the trade only, otherwise, i'd be telling you to get yourself there and buy buy buy. instead, i'll tell you to head over to etsy and buy buy buy. above is ali's supper clutch. and i'm super excited to see amy tavern, danielle miller, tavia brown, and holly laginess. i know there's more i'm forgetting. i'll be back next week with another challenge and probably a lot to think about as i'm planning on applying to the buyers market again for february 2010. we'll see how this show goes. wish my friends luck!

you must be my lucky star!

2009-02-09T20:28:00.004-06:00

i had to play madonna today while i finished this necklace. lucky star has really held up over time. i have a cold, so this post will be light on words. and sorry to get all artsy on the photo. i don't like too many photos of me floating around the internets.

rachelle chose to do a modern take on a pearl necklace for jackie o.

and lora chose cher to inspire her piece, sanctuary.

mike took this week off, too. he has, like, a job or something.

iconic statement

2009-02-03T12:07:00.004-06:00

new challenge! i'll be posting better pics of my ring later. and look at what lora made!

the next challenge is iconic statement. i'm thinking madonna. or maybe jackie o. below is what michael made for the win.

The remaining designers are asked to modernize a look for a "fashion icon" in
just two days and $150 USD. The winner of this challenge will feature their look
and model in a print advertisement for TRESemmé in Elle magazine. This challenge
allowed remaining models to be randomly selected to choose a designer they
wanted to work with. Models would then choose a portrait which indicates the
icon they want the designer to modernize. The fashion icons are: Cher, Farrah Fawcett, Pam Grier, Audrey Hepburn, Katharine Hepburn, Madonna, Marilyn Monroe, Jackie
Onassis, Diana Ross, and Twiggy.

black and white

2009-02-02T21:36:00.005-06:00

whew! just in time.

i'm going lead with rachelle's. it's so so so good!

and here's mine. it was meant to be something else. did you know that even if you cover something with clear nail polish, it will still patina under the nail polish? i didn't either. therefore ruining what should have been something more fun. it's late and i can't get good pictures tonight. i'll get some better ones in the morning.

black and white

2009-01-26T15:47:00.002-06:00

not sure what happened to the last post. and i'm sorry i'm off schedule. will fix everything when i get back to chicago. i guess we'll change the challenges to a monday deadline? since i'm not posting this until monday?

the next challenge is black and white

Episode 10: Black and White
The designers are asked to create a cocktail dress using only black and white fabrics with only one day and $100 USD. An additional challenge requires designers to incorporate all of the fabric purchased into the outfit. Previously eliminated designers who have won at least one previous challenge are allowed back into the competition and are able to stay only if they win this challenge. Previously eliminated designers Angela Keslar and Vincent Libretti are invited back to compete. Three designers are eliminated. The winner does not have immunity for this challenge.
Judges: Heidi Klum, Nina Garcia, Michael Kors; and Zac Posen, designer.
WINNER: Laura
OUT: Angela, Vincent, and Kayne
First aired September 13, 2006

but of course, we can't use all the metal we have. so that parts out. i'm thinking a black and white cocktail ring?

i forgot how much i loved all those dresses. especially michael's. k, off to play in the sunshine that has finally made an appearance in seattle! yay!

2009-01-24T15:15:00.003-06:00

note to self. do not try this agian while on vacation. i finally got the camera working. but, not being my camera that i'm used to, the pictures aren't the best. i really liked working with textiles last week, so i raided my mom's old sewing boxes. i found this weird roll of fabric. it is almost rubberized on the beck, but it help it's shape really well. so i made a chain out of it. i was thinking of the construction paper chains you make in elementary school. obviously, i had hoped to elevate the idea, but i'm afraid it really just looks like i made a silly elementary school chain. oh well.

i'm at lake chelan in washington state right now. and the interent connection is a bit slower than i'm used to. so i'm going to just put up links right now to the other people who did this challenge. i'll come back later when i'm in seattle and add the pictures. check out mike and rachelle's answer. and laura at tangerine treehouse. and lora hart.

technical issues

2009-01-22T15:50:00.002-06:00

um, yeah. i don't have a camera here at my parents house. i'm headed out later tonight with someone who does, but the one a week pictures won't be going up until sometime tomorrow. i'm sorry.

Wall to Wall Fashion

2009-01-16T19:35:00.002-06:00

i have a few upcoming trips and i am forcing mike and rachelle to bear with me as i tailor the challenges to my needs. i'm off to seattle to family and friends for a bit. so this week's challenge is wall to wall fashion from season 3.

season 3 was really the best, in my humble opinion. jeffrey, laura, uli, michael, and, um, kayne. oh! and bradley! then there was vincent and angela. oy. but still. good fashion and fireworks? loves it.

here's the challenge...

The designers arrive in New York and are asked to create an outfit in just two days using only materials found in their apartments. All items found in the apartment must fit into a large bag and the designer who touches the object first gets it. This challenge requires the designers to create garments that innovate, best reflect who they are as a fashion designer, and are judged accordingly.

remember michael's coffee filter dress?

i'll try my best to be done by next thursday. promise. and it will be what's at my parents' house. goodies galore!

the clothes off your back

2009-01-15T21:12:00.008-06:00

whew! i barely got mine done on time. if i remember correctly, this is how i always was. it's thursday which my self imposed deadline. this week mike and rachelle from mike and mary jewelry both made pieces. and laura, i'll be watching your blog, just in case you decide to join in. no pressure, though.

without further ado....

mike made a ring out of iron, copper, silver, and a shirt. see the flickr set for all the pictures. i love how it's stitched with iron and off center! plus the scale. love me some big rings!

rachelle's necklace is so so so delicious! she cut up an embroidered skirt and made settings for the pieces that mimic the pattern.

and here's mine. i stitched the fabric together in a kind of a ruffle (ruff?) pattern. then they are spaced on some oxidized chain assymetrically. i kind of like it. it needs some work/ tweaking. but over, i think i could go somewhere with the ideas behind it. since i just finished, i'll have to think about it more over the next few days. mull it around.

sorry for the not so great pics. it was dark and i had to use my overhead lights. not so pretty. but you get the idea. i'll post next weeks challenge tomorrow. and if anyone decided to do this, let me know!

chop chop.

2009-01-12T20:49:00.003-06:00

here's the dress i've chosen to use. it's a vintage dress. my friend, aurora, gave it to me a long time ago. but i never wore it. it never fit right. then i lost a bunch of weight and now it has an extra six or so inches. plus this color is not so good on me.

i really loved it, though. so i've hung onto to it for years. i was thinking of selling it with some other clothes i'm purging from my closet. but it has a few stains and the hem is unravelling a bit. and you know how those vintage clothing shop buyers can be. the power totally goes to their perfectly coiffed heads. also, although i never wear it, i love the color. and the appliques. and the little beads. so, i'm going to start cutting it up tonight. wish me luck!

one a week challenges are back!

2009-01-07T19:09:00.010-06:00

for those of you that don't remember, the one a week challenges were started by annie at imogene. the idea is to go through some of the project runway challenges and adapt them to jewelry. take a look through her archives here. kait schott joined in over at her blog, tether. and laura crawford jumped in too. this time my friend rachelle of mike and mary jewelry will be jumping in with me. yay!

reading kait's archives, i realized that i meant to keep doing them on my own. maybe a new challenge every month. but then i had to get ready for the buyers market. then my personal life fell apart. then came the crippling depression. and really the last 6 months have been a blur. that's why i've barely blogged, took down my etsy shop and basically fell off the face of the internet, not to mention the world for the last bit. but, it's a new year. i'm feeling like i'm climbing out of my hole and i'm ready to get back to work. but not the same work i was doing/ am semi-kinda-a-little-bit-known-for. i wanted to start doing these challenges to see if i can ignite my creativity again. i was restless before anything in my life changed and i feel like this is the perfect opportunity for me to reevaluate my work and career and where i want to go. if you're still reading this, thanks for sticking with me. i promise i'm going to start writing about jewelry again. and making it, natch.

soooooo... drumroll please... the one a week challenge for this week is the clothes off your back!

here's a link to the episode on you tube. (this episode actually starts at the 5:05 mark.) on the show the designers went out for a night on the town. they were then told they had to cut apart the clothes they were wearing to make a new look for their models. they had one day to complete their designs. but since i'm not actually competing for $100,000, i'm not cutting up what i'm wearing right now. i will grab a shot of what i decide to cut up. i'll be finishing these challenges either on mondays or thursdays. this time it will be next thursday.

secret santa!

2009-01-07T13:43:00.005-06:00

i am so late on this. i apologize. was having camera issues.

i signed up for a secret santa swap through a group i'm a part of on flickr. i received mine and opened it on christmas. it is an amazing necklace from the justified sinner. it is a a collar, goddess in blue. from the note "the main sections are made from steel which was found in the street, set with a beautiful labradorite stone, a lapis lazuli and a couple of blue topaz. the rest of the metal is silver. i have set the labdadorite upside down as someone had engraved a trite flower on the top. you can still see the flower on the back."

i cannot even tell you how much i love this necklace! it is completely my new favorite and i've been wearing it everyday! thank you so so so much to dauvit alexander, the justified sinner! check out his flickr and website! he really does amazing work and i am so excited to own a piece of his!

make sure to check back tomorrow! i am reviving the one a week challenges! first challenge goes up tomorrow!

i'm assuming we're all adults here...

2008-12-16T21:28:00.005-06:00

my friend, nina, posted about this blog today. and i cannot. get. enough. seriously. this is the antidote to cute overload.

i've been having a hard time deciding which post to highlight.

sneaky hedgehogs want it both ways?

taking kittens down a notch?

oh, now orange isn't cute enough?

i think it has to be mo monkeys, mo problems.

Those better be giant fingers, Monkeys. Or you're in real trouble. I'll let you
go this time. But if I don't see some article somewhere about a giant
50-foot-tall man going around holding monkeys in his fingers, I'm coming for
you, and guess what? HUGGING MY THUMB WILL ONLY GET YOU SO FAR.

if you're feeling snarky about cute animals (don't feel bad. it happens to all of us sometimes.) visit fuck you, penguin.

super quick

2008-12-15T22:40:00.003-06:00

did you know that carrie brownstein writes a blog for npr music? i love her even more than i thought i could. here's the article i was looking for when i found her blog. i heard it broadcast this afternoon and figured i should start working through the list to find some new goodies. yes, i am that nerdy. and i'm not apologizing for it.

hungover.

2008-12-08T14:06:00.003-06:00

not that kind of a hangover. a craft show hangover. i'm in a haze. getting caught up on emails and the orders from the show. it's a tough transition to go from being alone in the studio everyday to the super social interaction of a show and then back again to working in the studio. whew!

thank you so much to everyone that came out! one of a kind was quite an amazing show! i'll be posting some of my new work to etsy this week. but right now i need some tea or hot chocolate. anything but coffee.

one of a kind

2008-12-06T08:15:00.003-06:00

just popping in super quick to say if you're in chicago come see me at one of a kind. i guess this is kinda what blogs are for. and i forgot. better late than never?

come see me! it's been going on for two days so far and has been so fantastic! it runs until sunday at 5pm. there are other great artists there, too. come down and shop!

eta. duh, booth 4078.

wishlist part 2

2008-11-18T10:20:00.004-06:00

ooooh! megan auman's ornaments are back! yay! and don't forget to check out her jewelry, too! one of these you would be super cute to decorate a box with, say, this lovely necklace in it.

wishlist

2008-11-17T23:38:00.003-06:00

i would really love to start a collection of jewelry by my favorite artists. here are some rings that i really really want by the lovely sophie of duckduckGoosestuff.

2008-11-17T22:57:00.004-06:00

two weekends ago i went to SOFA chicago at navy pier. i had a friend that had a press pass, so we got to go to the opening party. having worked at sofa last year, i know that it's more of party, but it was fun to get in for free and people treat you better with a press pass. :-) i'm going to write about a few of the people's work i saw there that i liked. sofa is a huge show and there is so much there. but i've also gone 4 out of the 5 years i've lived in chicago. there are usually the same galleries with the same stable of artists. i'll focus on the new ones that caught my eye.

first up is sharon massey. sharon showed at charon kranson. always a favorite stop of mine. he carries some of the most innovative art jewelry being made today. sharon uses cotton muslon over steel and rusts the pieces. i've been a big fan for a while. i actually saw her walking around, but was too shy to introduce myself. yeah, i'm a dork. see more of her work here and here. she also gave a talk, but i had to work. i wish i could have seen it!

more stuff other than jewelry

2008-11-05T01:29:00.004-06:00

i know. i know. jewelry. i've just been caught up with all sorts of other stuff. like, you know. OBAMA winning!!!!! i'm going to post pictures to my flickr from the rally in grant park. it was so moving and happy! i am so proud of my country right now. there are no words. only tears and that strange feeling. what is that? oh, i know. patriotic! i actually cried during the national anthem. either i'm turning into a total sap or this is HUGE.

holiday prep

2008-10-16T22:11:00.005-05:00

here is my table as i get ready to send out holiday orders to some stores. sorry for the crappy lighting. it's late.

and here are my new hangtags, before adding the string. k, off to string tags and watch the daily show.

also, there might be a sale coming up in my etsy shop. it might be a sale of one of a kind work. so, like, if you want to be added to my mailing list to be the first to know, send me an email at alisamiller at gmail dot com with mailing list in the subject line. and i might add you. oh wait. i will add you. sorry, i got carried away....

debates and pr part 2

2008-10-16T22:04:00.003-05:00

for serious.

and congratulations, leanne! you soooooo deserve it!

pr or debates?

2008-10-15T10:55:00.001-05:00

both! having a few friends over tonight to watch the debates and project runway afterwards. i would watch pr first, but this season hasn't been too exciting. so i'll do my civic duty and watch the debates. and maybe yell at the tv. then watch project runway and maybe yell at the tv. blogging project runway has posted a link to these project runway bingo cards. i wonder if there are bingo cards for the debates?

there will be new pictures of new work tomorrow. because although it hasn't sounded like it, i have been making a ton of new jewelry for my next show!

oh come on!

2008-10-01T20:58:00.001-05:00

that was dumb. i think project runway is phoning this season in.

pr madness continues...

2008-10-01T13:36:00.002-05:00

tonight is the big decision! who will go to fashion week on project runway? ooooh! i am so excited! the previews promise drama. i just hope there's some real fashion. because this season had really come up short on that. alan has these predictions (scroll down to the toilet.) and i pretty much agree with everything he says. but i hope he's wrong. i really really really want jerell to go to fashion week. i guess we'll be finding out in a few hours!

if i was rich

2008-09-29T13:55:00.003-05:00

i would buy this skirt from christopher kane.

and maybe this dress.

watch this with your cats.

2008-09-18T13:41:00.002-05:00

i don't know how to embed videos, so here's the link. totally safe for work. unless you work at a pound.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z3U0udLH974

i guess i'll need new business cards...

2008-09-17T15:50:00.004-05:00

nina dinoff tipped me off to the sarah palin baby name generator. oh my goodness, this is fun! my new name is......{drumroll please}.....shank piston palin. i'll have to get a new banner for shows, but i really think shank has a nice ring to it. and it's perfect for a jeweler! although, i usually think of shank as a verb. from my prison days.

so on to renegade... that was some crazy storm! even on monday all my cash and receipts were still damp. but i had a great show! i had the chance to meet so many people in chicago that knew my work. that was so exciting! and to have repeat customers! i consider that the ultimate compliment and get kind of giddy knowing i have fans. i wish we could have had electricity before 9:15pm on sunday night, but i can appreciate that the electrical crew and renegade organizers didn't want to electrocute me or the customers. i guess that's not so good for sales. i met so many fantastic artists that i've only met or admired over the internet and had a chance to hang out with some dear friends too! i'll try to get some pictures up soon! i'm off to photograph all the new work and get it up on etsy!

haha!

2008-09-14T23:17:00.001-05:00

http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/weather/09/14/chicago.rainfall/index.html

um, yeah.

i actually had a great show, though. more on that tomorrow... now off to bed.

renegade starts today!

2008-09-13T08:09:00.002-05:00

sorry i didn't get anymore sneak peeks up. this week has been crazy. i'm all packed and ready to go. and it's raining. hard.

the hour by hour weather forecast says heavy rain until 3pm. then just regular rain. starting at 6pm we're in for thunderstorms! yay! i'm going to go put on my galoshes and set up. wish me luck! today is going to be a long day. at least tomorrow they're only forecasting scattered showers. and my display is mostly waterproof...

renegade sneak peek #1

2008-09-08T11:08:00.001-05:00

renegade sneak peek #1, originally uploaded by alisa miller.

just a super quick sneak peek for renegade. these post earrings will be debuted at renegade chicago this weekend. i really wanted to still use the circles, but move into some more organic shapes. i always see the shapes i use as organic, but i think using sheet metal creates harder lines. these are hammered sterling wire with little circles arranged a bit randomly. stay tuned for more sneak peeks this week...

2008-09-06T21:20:00.005-05:00

i'm sorry i've been so absent. a lot of non- jewelry related crap just fell in my lap this month. i needed to spend some time not working on jewelry and pulling everything else together. luckily, it looks like everything is coming together and not a moment too soon! the renegade craft fair chicago is coming up next weeekend! woo! i've been working around the clock to make new work for it! i'm really excited about a lot of it. please come out and see me at booth 85! i'll be posting sneak peeks this week!

2008-08-07T17:45:00.003-05:00

thank you for the emails and words of encouragement i received. i knew there would be a steep learning curve. i did sit down today and go through all the contacts i made. i have almost 30 galleries to get in touch with. that alone may have made it all worth it. i never would have heard of almost any of those stores. (except 2 that i would love love love to be in. love!) i'm excited to do a follow up mailing! now i must go back to unpacking. i wish i could hire those people to unpack for me. they don't look as frazzled as i do. :-)

sing some peter frampton with me.

2008-08-06T15:39:00.006-05:00

ooh internet i love your way, every day.
wanna tell you I love your way every day
wanna be with you night and day....

i've been singing this song to myself all morning. i can't believe i went ten whole days without an internet connection. what did i do before the internet? i think i must have been bored. alot.
so i'm back and maybe all will be right with the world now. because it certainly wasn't while i was gone.

i am not ready to talk about the buyers market show yet. i'm still digesting it all. although i think annie said it best at the end of the show when she remarked "i think we just got schooled." yes. yes we did. and just like school, i'm wondering why i'm paying people gobs of money to make me cry. but just like school, i learned soooooo much and i will try again and make it work.

the one great thing about the show was i got to meet and hang out with some really really wonderful people. the lovely delias hopped a plane and came out to help me. poor thing. i was in quite a state during set up. i was honestly surprised and grateful she didn't just walk out.
i also had an absolutely lovely time meeting or reconnecting with ali dryer, amy tavern, joanna gollberg, danielle miller and her husband ben, annie and steve of imogene, beth pohlman and her boyfriend (eeek! what was his name? shoot. i'm sorry beth's boyfriend.), and adam smith and his totally freaking cute girlfriend halli.

alright, i have to go unpack. coming home to my life being in boxes might have had a little bit to do with the tears. at least i have you again, internet. we'll never be apart for so long again. k? k.

apologies and back to work

2008-07-21T19:50:00.003-05:00

so, i guess in all my manic preparations for BMAC, and moving, and the complete upheaval that my life is right now, i forgot one very important thing. always take care of yourself first. and my body decided to show me who's boss. i got sick. so i slept a ton and watched project runway australia on youtube. felt better by sunday, but i still ended up going to bed really early. thank the stars i feel better today! i started taking pictures and will put them on flickr tomorrow. sorry for the delay! below is a pretty picture of the flu virus. it reminds me a bit of some of my work. maybe i'll make a specific flu pendant to ward it off...

project runway!

2008-07-16T15:03:00.007-05:00

as i'm finishing up all my samples i am so so happy that there's a project runway marathon on. and tonight season 5 premieres!!!! woo! i always feel so creative and work so fast with pr on in the background. i wish they would do one for metalsmiths... who do you think will be the new ricky or vincent? you know, that person that inexplicably makes it through challenge after challenge even though there is, um, a question of taste.

i'll start posting photos of all the new work i've completed for the Buyers Market show tomorrow. i'm so excited to show it all!

bye bye booth!

2008-07-10T18:09:00.003-05:00

i honestly wish i knew where the time went. less than three weeks until the buyers market of american craft. um, did i mention i'm moving, too?

i did get one huge thing taken care of the other day, though. there's ups freight driving off with my booth. i decided to ship with the show's company. they really are so much cheaper than regular ups. even so, it's hard to justify $500+ to ship my booth to philadelphia. but the last time i drove to the east coast it was $700 and with the rising cost of gas i expect it would be more now. i did have to pare down my booth. so it will be a miniature version. whatever, it's my first whoelsale show. this whole thing is going to be one big learning experience.

2008-06-24T11:38:00.007-05:00

some observations today.

i just walked around for a few hours with toothpaste on my sweater. a huge gob of toothpaste. and there are people here working on my apartment. i really should get some more mirrors.

i spent almost an hour last night looking at table legs. i'm turning into my mother. not a bad thing necessarily, but it's still jarring to realize how much we are alike.

i like the out takes from my photo shoots better than the real shots. like the above one. i like that it's hazy and dreamy looking. although some might just call it out of focus.

back to work getting a crisp shot...

2008-06-18T21:01:00.003-05:00

just a little sneak peek at benjamin's show. check out benjamin's site and flatfiles galleries website for more info.

starting to hang the pillows.

rounding the first corner

then benjamin's brother, seth, showed up.

the second corner. where we left it for the night.

and we got fancy bracelets with the pins to wear!

2008-06-18T09:00:00.006-05:00

If you're in chicago come out and see my boyfriend's solo show friday night! His name is Benjamin June and he's been working for 10 months on his Iraq Suicide Pillow Project. The show is at Flatfiles Galleries on Carpenter and Lake streets. Friday Night 5-9pm.

2008-06-18T08:42:00.004-05:00

i've been crazy busy for the last week. but it's all been really great. so i can't complain. i just wish i was one of those people that could live on 4 hours of sleep a night. apparently diane sawyer is one of those people, which is strange because i really always thought she looks well rested. maybe it's the fuzzy lighting... anyways...

one of the things i was doing was having my friend ali from pistol stitched over. she was in chicago to do the wells st. art fair. i met ali at craftboston in march. our booths were across the aisle and we just hit it off. and she doing the buyers market of american craft for the first time this august, too! she won a merit award. that means she's the best of the best! she's also set up an etsy shop.

i have this one. it's called the medium market bag. it fits a surprising amount of stuff and it super cute. i can't go more than 2 days without someone complimenting me on it.

2008-06-10T16:42:00.003-05:00

i'm a part of etsymetal, a street team on etsy. and we've decided that since there are so many members, there is no reason we shouldn't be blogging everyday. a bunch of us took different days. i have tuesday and i will be doing the in the studio posts. i love seeing others' studios and i'm really excited about this! check out the first of the series, catherine chandler!

2008-06-04T11:43:00.005-05:00

isn't it funny how you post something and the very next day you find someone doing something similar, but one hundred million times better? check out allyson bone's website. amazing!

update! i got her permission, so here's a picture of allyson's Pierced #4. delicious!

2008-06-03T21:33:00.007-05:00

oh dear neglected blog, i'm sorry. i've been super busy. here's part of why. there will be a show at Facèré in August called Arte Fresca. it is all jewelry inspired by the renaissance. here's two of my pieces for it. they are based on textile designs from that era. i'm pretty happy with these two. but the third piece for the show needs some tlc. hopefully i will have a good shot of it tomorrow.

in making this new work, i've been trying in vain for a while to make a faceted stone shape out of metal. this has proven more dificult than i thought it would be. so, here is my compromise. but it's quite a bit of a rough draft still. and something that i may or may not continue to try to pursue. this one is pretty basic compared to my first few tries. and when i was done i realized it looks like the superman logo on top. oops! but overall i think i worked out the construction of it.

so, why go to all the trouble of making my own faceted stone out of metal? first, i'm really really bad at setting stones. not the most professional of answers, but it's the truth. i never had much of an interest in learning. to me, when stones are in jewelry, that's all people see. i don't really want to make something and have someone pick it up and say "oooooh. pretty stone." i want them to say, nice metalwork. it's probably the only time in my life that i like to be the center of attention. that being said there are some people using stones in interesting ways. (see here, here, or here.) i just could never come up with anything interesting to do with them. so i sit with a drawer full of stones that i pull out every six months and ogle, then quietly put away.

second, i like metal. i think in metal. i design in metal. i draw in metal. looking at moira k lime's blog today, i remembered i conducted an email interview in school with giovanni corvaja. he spoke of his language being metal and i didn't understand exactly what he meant at the time, but i do now. i'm a metalsmith. i love how metal fights back when you try to push it. i love how you have to coax into moving more by annealing it. i love the weight of it around my neck or on my finger. i love how the finish you give a piece can totally change what the piece is. i love how it compresses or stretches based on how you hammer it.

i get uncomfortable and question my work if there is anything non-metal in it. i'm working on getting over that, but i think if i do use other materials, they probably still won't be traditional stones. i do not need a new habit of buying stones. metal is expensive enough.

2008-05-21T08:28:00.003-05:00

shoot.

i've been trying to photograph all my new work to do a shop update. i forgot how many crappy shots it takes to get 5 good ones. hopefully i'll be able to get most of them done today. i like this one, though. i think that was around the point where i gave up. i wasn't even trying anymore.

2008-05-14T16:21:00.004-05:00

it's really lovely to have a boyfriend who works at a flower shop.
:-)

just a quick note to help spread the word about the raffle going on at the handmade nation blog. this movie is going to be amazing, so please go read about it, tell your friends and buy some raffle tickets! faythe levine is one of the owners of the paper boat gallery, one of the founders of art vs. craft (my first craft show), and an all around apparent workaholic. she's interviewed so many great artists and crafters for this.

ooooooh! i almost forgot! watch the preview!

garden party!

2008-05-12T16:34:00.006-05:00

so it turns out the parks by my house are super boring. and any plants that are in the parks are protected by fences. i just never had time this week to go somewhere else. so, i found a bunch of twigs and sticks and brought them home. then i went to a flower shop and bought these little things. i can't remember what they're called, but they're so sweet!

when i was playing with the twigs and different arrangements, i realized it really didn't look too springy at all. more like fall. so i painted the twigs white. it seems to brighten it up and also accentuate how much some of these sticks look like bones. i love how little knots in twigs look like joints.
it's also pretty large. it's a scale that i'm playing with more and more again. i think my work got kind of small for a while and i was really focused on tiny tiny parts. now it's spring and i want everything to be big and loud and bright!

this is the back. just so you can see my fancy wire work. and yes that's a big blob of hot glue. :-)

as for the little wood pieces i was cutting, here's a pair of earrings i made from them. i have a bunch, but i have something else in mind for them. and i broke all my big sawblades cutting the little stumps.

for other garden party one a week challenges see kait's blog tether, annie at imogene, and laura of tangerinehouse! and just a little side note. this is the last one a week challenge annie and kait are doing for a while. iam going to take a little hiatus, too. i have to spend the next few weeks tweaking my samples for the buyer's market of american craft in august. yay! my first wholesale show! i also want to rework some of these pieces i've made. i hope to start in june with challenges like these again. it's been so fun! if anyone else is going to carry on let me know!

2008-05-08T16:47:00.003-05:00

show me what you're working with...

the park by my house is mostly grassy. and there are signs to not pick the flowers. in two languages. so i think they mean it. i've decided to work with the sticks that have fallen. and make little stumps. hopefully it will be nice tomorrow and i can stop by a park by my work if i walk home. my deadline isn't until monday at 5pm. so.... we'll see what these little stumps become! i'm working with two ideas and i'll have to see which one works better. check out kait's blog, too. i think hers is going to be colorful! yay!

2008-05-08T09:10:00.006-05:00

look what i bought last night!

i need some new black shirts for my work. and i hate shopping in spring because everything is pink, orange, turquoise, and lime green! i want it all. but i have to buy black for my work. these are from zorya. she has all sorts or other cute stuff, too!

also, i saw this post about trading nesting dolls. i'm too late for the trade, but i love this idea. so i bought some nesting doll blanks and will soon have some to paint on my own. i really love the shape and have made jewelry based on them. growing up, my grandma had a set that i would play with endlessly. i'm excited to make my contemporary set. you can go here to buy your own set or stay tuned here for pictures from the swap.

i'll have photos of my work in progress for the one a week challenge later today.

2008-05-05T17:19:00.004-05:00

eek! i'm a little late. there was some drama happening over here.

here's my inspiration shot. it's the ordos art museum.

and here's the necklace.

it's really thin sterling silver layers of rectangles. the pendant hangs from a cotton cord. in retrospect i'd construct this necklace totally differently. but i still like it. it reminds of the building.

but the back is quite messy. i think i might end up remaking this, but a little bit better and more professional.

see kait's awesome brooches here. i love them!

2008-05-05T09:32:00.003-05:00

i've revived my one a week challenge with a new idea. i'll have it up by this evening at 5pm. and i'm really excited by it! yay!

kait asked if i would like to come up with the next one a week challenge. i went through all the project runway challenges and found the garden party challange from season 2. i loved this challenge.

here's photos from bravo's site. and just to refresh anyone's memory, here's a really funny video from that episode.

the challenge is to make something out of real plants. they can be alive or they can be dried. on the show they went to a floral shop to buy supplies, but they also had a budget of $150. i don't have that budget for this one. :-) you can also go to the park or if you're lucky enough to have a yard, then just go outside! i'm going to wander to some parks that are nearby. it's a beautiful day here and i'll use any excuse to get out for a bit.

on the show they said that they must buy all the supplies at the store, but they ended up using muslin. so i'm not going to restrict my use of metal.

ok, off to finish the project from last week!

2008-05-01T22:13:00.008-05:00

first off, i don't think i can do the one a week challenge this week. i was going to do a memorial brooch for a mom and her four kids who were killed in gaza by the isrealis. but i tried to find pictures of them and found some other pictures and videos that totally depressed me. maybe i'll work on it this weekend, but now all i see are the dead kids. :-(

i'm also pretty busy with some orders for stores this week. but i'll be back next week for sure! i can't wait to see the challenge.

last weekend my boyfriend, benjamin, and i went to art chicago. it's basically a few art shows all rolled into one one huge weekend. the regular art chicago show was ok. we didn't see the whole thing. we mostly went there to see tim roda's work at greg kucera. benjamin went to school with tim. his work is really amazing, especially when you hear some of the stories behind his work.

then we headed down to Next, the newer/younger/more experimental gallery section of the show. last year it was Bridge. Bridge was so much better. Next was boring and mostly the kind of art that you'd have to read the artists' thesis papers to understand. *sigh* at some point a lot art became less about art then about how obtuse one can be. there were a few highlights.

amanda hughen

and isidro blasco

i love new art crushes!

2008-04-28T16:52:00.004-05:00

oops! here's the shots of the two other ideas i had that didn't work out so well.

the first two are a huge emroidered piece. huge. i don't know what i was thinking. maybe if i was 8 feet tall i could wear it. but as it is, it's just too big.

the third one is hard to see. basically i didn't use baby powder, so the tape that was holding it together while i was emroidering wouldn't come off. tape goo makes me sad. lesson learned.

2008-04-28T16:43:00.003-05:00

down to the wire. tim gunn would totally be yelling at me. c'mon alisa! it's runway time!

vinyl, it turns out, is kind of a pain to work with. it sticks to itself unless you coat it with baby powder. i had two other designs that i spent a total of about 10 hours on only to have them all go wrong at the end. i still don't know that i'd wear this at the end of the day, but i have something done. i'll post tomorrow with more details and some other pieces i made with the vinyl that i actaully like. but for now here's what i would make some poor model wear.

2008-04-25T17:08:00.003-05:00

just a little sneak peek at what my one a week project will be. i think i went overboard on buying the vinyl. my one a week for this week might turn into a whole line of new work. we'll see... i'll post all the finished work by 5pm monday.

2008-04-24T16:34:00.003-05:00

ok. this is my first foray into blogging about my work. i've kept travel blogs, but this will be different.
i've decided to join in the one-a-week challenge. sort of a project runway inspired project started by imogene and kait schott.
you can read about this weeks challenge here.
i went to american science and surplus. http://www.sciplus.com/ i love this store. i rarely let myself go, because i always come home with all sorts of crap. but seriously. where else can you get a radiation meter, an old parachute and miniature pigs? brilliant!
i bought 5 vinyl bags. they are so ugly, but i really like vinyl and thought it would be fun to work with. now i'm kind of cheating. i only spent $8.75 on the bags. i saw the thread i needed there and could have fit it in my budget, but i have so much at home. so, we'll just allocate the $1.25 left to thread. it just seemed wasteful to buy more. here's a little peek at the vinyl after being cut out.