project runway episode 2!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.