Casey Sharpe

Week 5 of Thing a Week

2012-02-05T22:23:00.000-08:00

For week five, I whipped this out during a Super Bowl party. (Actually, I crept off to a room with less people in it to make it, but still!

This ring is a project from Jodi Bombardier's book Weave, Wrap, Coil: Creating Artisan Wire Jewelry. I've actually never done wire wrapping or weaving before and thought it would be an interesting technique to have, in case I ever need it, so I'll be working through projects from this book when I get stuck without a weekly project. You can see my wrapping isn't quite perfect, but not bad for a first shot. (Also, that ring shank would have been a lot rounder if I'd been home with my ring mandrel, but alas!)

Bees!

2012-01-29T22:59:00.000-08:00

I've had bees on the brain a bit lately, so here's a rendering with one in it. I've got plans for this rendering, so you only get to see a snippet for now.

Now with properly scanned rendering!

Finally Finished!

2012-01-22T20:39:00.000-08:00

For week three, my piece is actually an older piece that I've finally finished. It's one of the series that my two other bracelets belong to. I haven't decided on a name for this one yet, but I'm thinking on it. I'm already planning on another piece in the series, and I'm pretty excited about it.

I'm saving up some other finished pieces, and then I'm planning on sending them in for proper photography, and they're going to be FABULOUS. This isn't my favorite piece in the series, but I've got high hopes for the next piece.

I'm also working on a couple of pairs of earrings and I'm pretty pumped for them. Some brilliant ideas fermenting, and I think I'm planning on a second series to run parallel to this one, completely different because I have trouble focusing on a single concept entirely.

Society of North American Goldsmith's Website!

2012-01-17T13:30:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to let everyone know that the Society of North American Goldsmiths (SNAG) has my work up on their site! It's part of a rotating showcase of member's work, which is pretty awesome, and I'm way excited about it. It should be up for a few months, so feel free to take a look! (Also, if you make jewelry, I recommend joining SNAG. The subscription to Metalsmith magazine alone is worth it!)

Second Variation

2012-01-15T23:30:00.000-08:00

For my second week of Thing a Week, I present a variation on last weeks project. Pardon the photography, I've got to hunt down the better camera (and stop taking these pictures after it's gotten dark out!)

I may do a third variation as well, but I'm pretty close to finishing some other projects, so it'll be a toss up as to what I post next weekend. Until then!

Thing a Week - 2012

2012-01-08T23:24:00.000-08:00

So, I got some really awesome metalsmithing & jewelry books and supplies for Christmas (thanks family!) and one of them was the Ring A Day book. It's based on the idea that for a whole year, the participants made, you guessed it, a ring a day. They were made out of anything, and the project produced a lot of work.

And I thought it was a really good idea. Not because I need 365 rings, or because I liked all the rings, but because one of my biggest problems is that I don't have enough work made. I work on things for ages before they finally get finished, and the Ring a Day project has an immediacy that's very appealing to me because it's so different from the way I work. We had projects in college in which we were only given a week to make a piece, or two weeks, and they forced me to focus and finish things, and I miss that.

So this year, I'm going to make it happen. I originally thought I was going to do a Thing a Day, but someone wiser than I pointed out that maybe it'd be better to be a little more realistic and do a Thing a Week. So that's the plan.Every Saturday, come hell or high water, I will post a thing here. (Because if I say it on the internet, I've got to hold myself to it.) Possibly they will be posted Sunday, if it's been a challenging week, but they will be posted.So, for the first week of 2012, I present...

It's probably not quite actually finished, but it COULD BE. I think I'm adding paint. But it's for a class I'm putting together on CraftArtEdu. I'll post another picture when it's completely finished, and I'll let you all know when the class goes up.

Call For Entries: January Post

2012-01-06T11:10:00.000-08:00

Emi pointed out that I haven't done one of these in a while, and in case the rest of you are missing it too, here's a list of upcoming calls for entries for the next few months.

January

January 20 - Honey
January 23 - Green
January 24 - 13th Realism Online Show
January 24 - Our Earth
January 23 - Blue
January 23 - Coastside Land Trust Gallery Mid-winter show
January 25 - Textuality
January 25 - Small Expressions 2012
January 31 - Art A Whirl

February

February 1 - May Show
February 1 - Exhibition in Print, Gothic Jewelry
February 1 - 2012 Open Exhibition
February 7 - World Championship Belt Buckle
February 10 - Petroleum Paradox
February 10 - Texas National 2012
February 11 - Mystery of Man
February 14 - Tallahassee International
February 15 - Shine
February 15 - Pacific Currents: Wearable Art Fashion Show and Exhibit 2012
February 15 - 10th Nation Juried Exhibition Ceres Gallery
February 22 - Latitude: All Media 2012

March

March 1 - 2012 and Beyond: Charting the Future
March 6 - Bead Dreams
March 7 - Botanical

April

April 18 - Magnitude 7.8

Fall Expo!

2011-11-29T10:31:00.001-08:00

I'm pleased to announce that I was selected by Infinity Art Gallery as a Fall Expo Finalist for their 2011 online show! You can view the show at http://www.infinityartgallery.com/fall-expo/gallery/ and see my pieces along with lots of other great art. Not a lot of 3D work, but plenty of paintings.

Honorable Mention: Chameleons in a Dress Shop

2011-11-04T12:15:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone! I'm pleased to let you all know the piece I had show in Repetition, Repetition, Repetition was awarded an Honorable Mention. Here's a close up of one of the chameleons in the piece. There are in fact ten chameleons, and this little guy is a part of a series called Chameleons in a Dress Shop. For the show, I mounted them into a shadowbox for display purposes, but they're actually pendants. I haven't had them professionally photographed yet, so I'm only posting one of them as a teaser. This is Basketweave, in orange and blue. (If you're really interested in them, let me know, because I'm more than willing to customize the color patterns for you.)

Two shows!

2011-10-28T10:51:00.000-07:00

So I just wanted to let everyone know that I have a piece in this show! You can see it on the show flyer, in fact, which is pretty cool. And since I'm less than an hour away, I should be at the reception, barring any unforeseen catastrophes!

I've also got another show coming up, out in New Mexico. It's called Repetition, Repetition, Repetition, and my newest pieces are in it. I haven't even posted them up here yet, which I'll have to do in the near future. The show is in Roswell, NM at Eastern New Mexico University in Gallery 117. The opening reception is November 1st at 4:30. Unfortunately, I won't be making it to this one, since it's over in New Mexico on a Tuesday, so I'll be at work instead. But clearly they've got good taste, so I have no doubt that all the pieces will be stunning.

I'm also working on about three other pieces, including the jackalope, which has been mocking me for months. I may, possibly, have sorted out all the technical issues I've been having with that, so it might be finished soon. You know, possibly.