Thanks for a great show!

Thanks everyone, for coming to Arts on the Arcade!

Last Day!

Today (Wednesday, the 29th) is the final day of Arts on the Arcade, in Government Center.  Stop by for some one-of-a-kind crafts, locally-grown produce, and excellent live music!  We'll be there, under our tent, 11 AM to 3 PM!

Post Arts on the Arcade, a Treasury, & Cancer Research

Arts on the Arcade was a lot of fun today.  I came home to find Hieropice's fundraising/awareness necklace, that I designed to raise funds for the Susan G. Komen 3-Day, was featured in this social-justice-themed treasury by Theresa from TAKJewelryDesigns.  It's wonderful to have support in getting the word out there about Hieropice's fundraising efforts; so many of us have had a loved one diagnosed with cancer, it's a disease that warrants all of the research possible.  We hope the proceeds from the sale of our Terrarium Necklace for Charity aids in the important work that the Komen Foundation does!

Arts on the Arcade, Tomorrow!

Arts on the Arcade is tomorrow, 11 AM to 3 PM, at City Hall Plaza, Boston.  Hope to see you all there!

Pig in a...Glass?

 Recently, a customer requested a mini terrarium necklace for her sister, who has a pet pig.  The customer had an existing terrarium she loved with a tree and blue eggs inside, so I created a pendant incorporating elements she mentioned with some Hieropice twists.  The miniature pig was a particular challenge!  The opening of the glass vial is only 3 mms wide, so creating a pig with enough signature details (a coiled tail, miniature snout, etc.) that could be maneuvered into the vial without being damaged.  I'm pleased with what I created, and really hope the customer, and her sister, are happy with it!

Arts on the Arcade!

Hieropice is back in Boston!  And I'm excited for the art/craft/farmer's market/concert series sponsored by the City of Boston, Arts on the Arcade, beginning tomorrow!  Hieropice will be one of the juried art vendors, and I've got some pretty cool new items to debut. 
Arts on the Arcade will be every Wednesday, through August 29th (so Aug. 15th, 22nd, and 29th) from 11 AM to 3 PM, in City Hall Plaza/Government Center.  We'll be under the tent, and hope to see you there!
For more info on the event, check out the City's site here: http://www.cityofboston.gov/arts/visual/artmart.asp
Or, check out the Facebook event here: https://www.facebook.com/events/417390741650449/

Where I Have Been

   
  So, because I have a day job, I’ve migrated to the Berkshires for the next 6 weeks. If you’re not familiar with the Berkshires, they’re a mountain range bordering Massachusetts and New York (and possibly some other states I’m not aware of). 
   Long ago, when I was a young artist, a teacher at my school nominated me to participate in a week-long arts-intensive program for youth, held at an old dorm in the woods. We’d see performances by the Boston Symphony Orchestra, dancers at Jacob’s Pillow, and a myriad of famous plays. We’d study our chosen area of arts interest; visual arts, vocal music, theater, etc. for several hours a day, and sleep at the dorms at night, 2 hours away from home in Boston. It seemed like an amazing opportunity.  Unfortunately, the week I went was a special one, where Seiji Ozawa and Wynton Marsalis were filming a music special on campus. We (the students) spent the week sitting in a hot barn, while the celebs did take after take. Parents were pissed. I can’t say I learned much, but, years later when I was invited back as a teenager to be a Counselor In Training, I went for it, and had the time of my life.  I wish those teenage friendships had lasted, but, they went the way of most things teen-age.
 This Summer, I was asked to come back as faculty. I was honored to teach visual arts in the same program I’d attended as a child, and excited at the prospect of working with kids whole love the arts, have art-skills, and really want to be here.

  It comes with challenges. The traditional camp culture seems at-odds with art-making/artists to me; how do you maintain the energy to “rah rah” your way through a lengthy school-bus ride after spending 3 hours painting?  I can’t say it’s in my nature to make hours of conversation with a ten year old about dorm rooms, truncated showers and the intricacies of their talent show presentations. I don’t have much interest in entertaining, or being the star of  the show.  I’m more likely to go for a glass of wine and a good movie. Maybe some Words With Friends?
  But my students are great. They want to create things. They’re talented and smart. They’re mature for their ages, and are coming into themselves.  I enjoy working with them and look forward to seeing what they’ll create. They lack confidence still, but have curiosity for days. We’re working around the theme of traditions this week, since we saw “Fiddler on the Roof” last evening. Get it? “Traditions”? Yeah. I’m having my students consider their traditions, and what is “traditional” to them, and dismantle/modify/recreate a traditional, recycled, object.  They’ve turned juice bottles into dog bowls, soda cans into robots, milk cartons into robots, egg crates into a field of flowers. I had them collaborate, and they’re working on a makeshift messaging  system with a lightbulb indicator. Are they geniuses? Yes. I think they are.

 While I’m here, Hieropice on Etsy is still open, I’m still creating, and, finding inspiration in the mountains, gorgeous forests, flora and fauna here. There are chipmunks everywhere. Deer. Groundhogs and hawks. The logs are mossy and lichenous. It’s the perfect place to make the things I love.  But I haven't seen a mailbox, or a mailman for that matter since I got here, so, I may be a little delayed in getting those shipments out.  I'm finding ways around the challenges though!
  I don’t have much down-time though, so the blog updates might be less frequent in the coming weeks. I will do my best to keep you updated!