Thoughts from the Studio

First, my apologies for the lapse in the monthly updates. Life does get busy for us all doesn't it? The holiday season is upon us again, and this year it sees many changes in my life. (One change being the BIG birthday this December!)

I have been busy this fall teaching PMC workshops and classes, and I am now working at Hyatt's art supply store here in Rochester. A change was in order to help ride out the economic uncertainties that have surely affected us all in one way or another this year. It's a pleasant change of scenery, and I enjoy the chance to talk daily with other artists, and get a glimpse at what they are up to.

This new job means that I do miss some of the other staples of my life, such as lapidary club, hiking on Sundays, and volunteering at the Arts and Cultural Council of Greater Rochester, but everything does have its season.

I continue to take orders from my website for jewelry and repairs, and I am enjoying some time to tackle some new work in the studio. I have wanted the opportunity to explore more of my mixed-media work, and have wanted to spend more time exploring PMC with polymer clay and enamels.

Come see me at the Annual Alternative Fair sponsored by Metro Justice. At it's usual location at the Winton Avenue Unitarian Church it runs Friday and Saturday December 6th and 7th.

I have had the opportunity to see the Degas show at the Memorial Art Gallery, was delighted with the recent play "Proof" at GEVA, and was thrilled to be at the publication party for my friend Sarah Freligh at Writers & Books. During the peak of our wonderful autumn, Ed and I dug out my copy of Derek Doeffinger's "Waterfalls" and discovered some splendid and hidden beauties that are peppered throughout the Finger Lakes region. We also helped our friend Russ celebrate his 70th birthday. Peg and Russ have been the best friends a person could ask for, and not just for the foot reflexology treatments and curried lentils.

This summer my dear cat Maggie May was diagnosed with cancer. My vet pronounced a miracle had happened in my household when I told her last week that Maggie is, in fact, thriving at this point. Yep, that feisty little stray is the biggest fighter I have ever seen, and has even taken to galloping across the backyard as I do yard work. She still rules over Puda and Imogen Cunningham, who are twice her size.

I am looking forward to the New Year, and a new run of workshops. I will be discontinuing the PMC workshops and replacing them with PMC 3 workshops which will offer a slightly different format, and a chance to use gem stones set right in the PMC during firing. I am very excited about it, and my students are already marking their calendars. I will post the upcoming dates in January.

It's easy to lose sight of the true pleasure of the holidays, but please don't. It is truly a time of blessing, a time to reflect on all that is good in our lives, and the people who make it so. I look forward to a season of connection with all those people in my life, and am less worried about if the tree gets up.

Be well, spread happiness, and wish on a star,
Elizabeth.

July 2002

Summer is a time for a little lighthearted whimsy. And my paper mache ladies are all of that and more. Once in a while I have to put away the control that is required with a torch and saw and files, and get into wallpaper paste up to my elbows.

It was fun to watch my friends, customers and students puzzle over what on earth I was doing with the box of found objects that began to take shape and certainly not resembling anything remotely related to jewelry. Moreover was their query as to how a few light bulbs, wine bottles, and toilet paper cores found their way in my mind to the shape of a woman. Isn't that just the best part?

It's like driving along and seeing a cloud that looks like a sheep, and then a pig, and then a castle and then a sports car… yikes! Or the dream I had the other night about Paul McCartney. We met up along the ocean somewhere, and I was on my way to an important appointment, and as we talked I was worried about being late, but jeepers this was Paul McCartney! But when he showed up with funny hats and musical instruments so we could jam together, I said heck this is MY dream! I made it a holiday so I wouldn't have to cancel the appointment, and put on my funny hat.

It looks like I have planted too many zucchinis, and you know what that means, if you know me, you may find them on your doorstep in a few weeks. The whole garden is a delight and I was pleased by all the compliments from people who arrived for my summer solstice jewelry party. Though to tell the truth, I find the best way to garden is to stay out of natures way as much as possible. Impose my handiwork as seamlessly as possible.

I'm looking forward to new workshops, and I'm going to the first Precious Metal Clay Conference this month with thanks in part to The Arts and Cultural Council of Rochester for a grant to cover some of the expenses.

Have a great month, throw some fish on the grill with those zucchini you'll be getting from me, and read a good book under your favorite tree.

Elizabeth

June 2002

It's hard not to get excited about the arrival of summer. Memorial Day weekend proved to be a tempting appetizer with lots of perfect weather. I duly celebrated the wonderful weekend with a hike through Turning Point Park, along the Genesee River Gorge, a Monday morning bike ride along the Erie Canal from Pittsford to Fairport, and of course lots of yard work.

It is also time to think about the fun clothes that go with summer. Little sun dresses, billowy linen, and those rayon outfits that just beg for a romantic walk on the beach. With those outfits are all the delightful accessories that make them unique, festive signatures of our personalities. Straw hats, painted toenails, ankle bracelets, dangling earrings, delightfully fun pendants hanging from leather cords, cuff bracelets and hair sticks.

June is also time for me to think about my annual Summer Solstice Jewelry Party and sale. This year the longest day of the year arrives on a Friday and I am looking forward to seeing all of my favorite customers and friends. If you are not on the mailing list, do contact me soon, for this event is by invitation only.

I have new Precious Metal Clay/ polymer clay necklaces, turquoise cuff bracelets like those featured in Seventeen Magazine this spring, copper boat pendants shown on my "What's New" page, and other items too numerous to mention. Come browse my wide selection of bracelets, and order a complimentary pair of matching earrings with each purchase!

I have had a number of requests by students from my Precious Metal Clay workshops to hold an enameling workshop this summer. Enamel is a perfect addition to finished PMC. If you would like to participate do let me know. At this time I am anticipating an early August workshop. This will be extremely limited enrollment so contact me as soon as possible.

Have a wonderful month and don't forget your sunscreen!

Elizabeth

May 2002

There is just no denying it, Rochester is beautiful in the spring. Just as all the flowering trees are in bloom, and the birds have returned, everyone here seems to wake up too, and there is so much activity.

I'm looking forward to new workshops, and new faces. In the summer time I usually get lots of school teachers who are free for the summer, and looking for something new to pass on to their own students in the fall. Check the workshop page for complete listings.

Coming up on May 11th I will be a guest artist at the Neighborhood of the Arts, Anderson Alley Second Saturdays. (I'll be in Jan Towsley's studio, her weaving is awesome!) This month they are featuring wearable art, (that's where I come in!). It's lots of fun and if you have never been there, it's a wonderful afternoon outing. The artists on three floors above the Fabrics and Findings building open their doors so you can see work for sale as well as work in progress. For more information you can go to the NOTA website at www.artsrochester.com

I will be hosting the second annual jewelry-making party this month. It's a day of fun and frolic as artist members of Rochester Contemporary get together and make one-of-a-kind pieces of jewelry to donate to the annual auction. Last year's pieces were a big success.

Oh, and I bet you are wondering about the picture this month. I have been stockpiling all sorts of treasures in my shed for the purpose of venting some of my other creative urges. My studio has become a popular destination for people after they go to the Public Market on Saturday mornings. They drop off repairs, buy earrings for birthday presents, have tea, and always comment on the strange and wonderful things I decorate my house with. Some of these items will now be for sale. This lawn table for instance is made with a fan cage, the bottom of a coat rack, a yarn spool, chopsticks, a rusted gear, and chair springs.

I hope you are enjoying this wonderful and magical time of year as much as I am.

Elizabeth.

March 2002

How many broken earrings and necklaces do you have in your jewelry box?

Customers are always delighted to find out that they can bring repairs to me. I hear a similar story almost every time. They were disappointed to be told by a jewelry store that their repair couldn't be done. When you think about it, it makes sense. Most storefront jewelry stores just don't have the time to bother with the repair of a piece of jewelry they cannot readily replace out of their own inventory should something go wrong.

That's where I come in. I have successfully been repairing jewelry for years, and have gotten pretty good at eyeballing the pieces I can fix, and those I can't. I tell customers right up front if I think the cost is overwhelming for the value of the piece. But I am also the person to come to if you do want that sentimental friendship ring you got at the carnival repaired. I give your piece of jewelry my best service, with the mutual knowledge that I cannot be a mind reader about how a piece may have been originally constructed, and therefore am not responsible for an unforeseen disaster. (I've never had one yet.)

I've included a partial list of prices, it grows as the variety of repairs grows, if you have a question about a repair you have that is not on this list, certainly contact me. Turn around on repairs is about two weeks.

Enjoy the coming of spring, the longer days and the sound of the birds singing in the morning.

Until next month,
Elizabeth.

Why do some of us have the overwhelming need to make things? Jewelry for instance. For me, I think there is something compelling about the exchange of human experience. I find a deep statement about dis-attachment when I see the obvious result of someone moving, almost everything they own on the curb, they simply move on and replace it with more plastic when they arrive someplace else. The things they own have no stories, have not been created and caressed by other hands, and in their domiciles, the items do not radiate back any kind of energy or glow.

But, when someone enters my home, they feel instantly at peace, and that makes me feel really happy. For it means I have found a visual harmony that not only speaks to me but that translates unspoken to someone else. It is the highest complement that my artistic sense has an immediate impact.

I am honored and flattered when anyone enters my home or studio, or sees my work at shows, and has a desire to find some of that for themselves. I am always encouraged by the number of people who have a desire to create. But, the hardest lesson a teacher has to teach is the real work that must be waded through to attain a substantial sense of inner success. Let's face it, at some point you have to get dirty, you have to face failure, and find the answer that lies in that failure, and grow from it. Otherwise, where is the "success"?

In the studio I rarely see anything as failure other then the resistance to take chances. I try to instill in my students the desire to find their own path rather then just walk in the footsteps of others, because I think one has to have a little bit of mad scientist inside to be an artist. A student has to say, "what if I try this?" "What if I follow my instincts and go for it, and 'invent' something?" I feel my own lacking when a student goes to a place of self-devaluation instead of taking a deep breath and tries to see the whole. What they often forget when they see me make something look easy, are all the times I ended up in tears over the past decades trying to find my own way with a process or skill.

I understand their need to escape for a while and go someplace where they live in another skin if only for a few hours. And as such, I do try to make their experience a rich and rewarding one. But just as parent has to finally push a child out of the nest to test their own wings, I think that the most rewarding part is learning to fly on one's own, without looking constantly over one's shoulder and asking, "Am I doing this right?" In the world of art, it's right if it's right for you, and you have to have a vision of your own, or you never know if you arrived.

Taking piano lessons for me was an experience in being on the other side, and I realized I could moan and complain about how bad I was, or I could invest myself, and practice, and take from the experience what I could. I had to make peace with the fact that I would never be a child prodigy, but that the experience could still be one of fulfillment and growth. My dream of being able to sit down comfortably in front of others and play beautiful music will probably never be realized, but what I did realize was that I learned more about myself, more about music, and appreciated the knowledge that my teacher was willing to bestow on me.

Learning any new skill is slow and careful and often frustrating path. You have to dream it. And as an adult you have to narrow your focus and say, what is it I really want here? We live in a society that constantly preaches that we can have it all. But in my own life I have discovered with much pain and heartache that by narrowing one's expectations it is possible to feel less overwhelmed and more aware.

If your only expectation when you take a jewelry class for example, is that you will be able to knock off some piece of jewelry you saw at the mall for less then they were selling it for, you face certain disappointment. But if you yearn to know the mysteries of the flame, the dance one must do with inanimate materials in order to make them sing, then venture on.

I once had a heated argument with someone who said give the customer what they want. And I resisted. I replied, if you ask a person what they want, in most cases, they will simple describe to you what they have already seen. But it is our job as artists to present to them something they have not envisioned, and make it happen; otherwise we are simply reinventing the wheel.

When next you think of venturing down a path, stop and take time to enjoy your anticipation, think about why you want to go down that path, and narrow your perspective and find the kernel. And once you know why you are going there, enjoy the journey, and that means the heartache, the misery and the sunrise. Pay attention and it will come to you, and you can't fail.

Happy New Year to all you good folk!

Here it is half way through the month of January and I am still tying up loose ends from the end of the year. (Do you have your lights down yet?)  Happens every year, I think that January is going to be this slow-going, sleepy month after the rush of the holidays, and zip, it’s over before I know it. Show applications, grant deadlines, workshops, supply orders, new students, organize last year’s files, well you know…

This January it’s funny to note that the only thing that got Rochester in the national news was the fact that Buffalo shipped us snow for our Cold Rush festival! Dan Rather actually said…”And tonight we find out why Buffalo is giving Rochester a snow job”. Oh geeze:) I guess I have to admit I don’t miss shoveling snow, but I do miss the adventure of strapping on cross-country skis and sailing down the middle of the street to go have hot Irish coffees and a heated game of Scrabble at friend’s.

I did have the thrill of stumbling on the fanfare as the Olympic torch was run right through my neighborhood, just four houses down from me! I’ll admit the sudden surprise of something that powerful and positive happening almost outside my door gave me a lump in my throat.

I have a new listing of Precious Metal Clay workshops below, and just a reminder, I also post these listings on the Arts and Cultural Council of Greater Rochester calendar of events, which can be found on their website at www.artsrochester.org

Just a caveat here, I often list workshops at other locations based on their information from a previous catalog, and may not have the current prices listed. Be sure to call the contact number I list just to be sure.

Do the dates or times just NOT work out for you? I have a constant list of people for the next scheduled workshop here at the studio. These workshops are $50 plus the cost of the PMC, with a limit of five per workshop. Email me if you want to be on the next list.

I still offer silver Precious Metal Clay for sale for those who want to work on their own, at $35.00 plus tax per ounce, with a firing fee of $20 per ounce. You can expect your fired PMC within a week.

Have an itch to go further in jewelry? I have a limited number of openings for my studio jewelry courses. They run $25 for an hour and a half session of private instruction and are purchased in eight session blocks. Materials are extra.

Precious Metal Clay”
When: Wednesday; March 6, March 13, March 20 from 6:00 p.m.– 8:00 p.m.
Location: Genesee Pottery713 Monroe Avenue Rochester, NY 14607
Cost: $50 for the workshop $35 plus tax for each ounce package of Precious Metal Clay
Description: Make silver jewelry in just three sessions with “Precious Metal Clay”. This revolutionary material works and feels like clay, but once it is kiln fired the finished object is pure silver. Precious Metal Clay comes in one-ounce containers that will yield approximately 4-8 pieces of jewelry. Each ounce is $35 plus tax and can be purchased from the instructor. This cost is in addition to the course fee. For additional information on PMC check www.agte.com or www.pmcguild.com
More info: Genesee Pottery: (585) 271-5183 Margie Slinker
Or Elizabeth Agte: (585) 232-8317

“Making Jewelry with “Precious Metal Clay”
When: Tuesday; April 23, April 30, May 7 from 6:30 p.m.– 8:30 p.m.
Location: Rochester Museum and Science Center 655 East Avenue Rochester, NY 14607
Cost: $57 for the workshop $35 plus tax for each ounce package of Precious Metal Clay
Description: Make silver jewelry in just three sessions with “Precious Metal Clay”. This revolutionary material works and feels like clay, but once it is kiln fired the finished object is pure silver. Precious Metal Clay comes in one-ounce containers that will yield approximately 4-8 pieces of jewelry. Each ounce is $35 plus tax and can be purchased from the instructor. This cost is in addition to the course fee. For additional information on PMC check www.agte.com or www.pmcguild.com
More info: RMSC: (585) 271-4320 x365 Sarah Jordan Program Coordinator
Or Elizabeth Agte: (585) 232-8317