Artist description:  It represents me, looking up at the sky and thinking about my mother who passed away.
Dimensions: 3" x 3" x 3.5" 
Material: Sterling silver, fine silver, Japanese alloys, diamond
Origin: Lake Forest, IL, U.S. 
Photo by Guy Nicol.

Artist description:  Tall Vase, raised, with rising Fold-formed element inserted.
Dimensions: Height 55cm 
Material: Britannia Silver
Origin: Caernarfon, Wales, U.K.
Photo by Clarissa Bruce.

Artist description:  Enamel on cross & line folded copper, synclastic & anticlastic raised.  Enamel both highlights and is influenced by the shape of the fold formed metal.
Dimensions: 6" x 6" x 3.5"
Material: Copper, Vitreous Enamel
Origin: El Cerrito, CA, U.S.

Artist description: Fold formed and reticulated sections form this bracelet. Framed in sterling silver with hinged connections. Completed with a fabricated box clasp with safety catch.
Dimensions: 1" x 6 3/4"
Material: Sterling silver and reticulation silver. 
Origin: Santa Barbara, CA, U.S.

Artist Description: This piece suggests the ephemeral moment of the air caressing the skin, or the wind embracing a sail boat. It conveys the lightness of a brief sensation. Photo Credit: Seth Papac
Dimensions: 8 1/2" x 6 1/2" x 1/2"
Material: Sterling Silver
Origin: Carlsbad, CA, U.S.
Photo by Seth Papac.

Charles Lewton-Brain, Hazel Wheaton, and Rhoda Weber Mack also recognize these Jurors' Choice entries:

Click open each image to see the full piece and caption. Enjoy!

Congratulations, all!

This is my 2012 wrap-up video, just finished this morning. 
http://youtu.be/U5aWvYl6dQk  

If you're seeing a blurry thumbnail it should update at some point, when Youtube gets around to it.  Here is some of the video description:

www.suelacydesigns.com (blog: SueLacy Wired.)  These are selections of my foldform work from the year 2012.  Foldforming is a metal technique developed by world renowned goldsmith and educator, Charles Lewton-Brain. The technique results in three dimensional organic designs. 

I’m fortunate to have learned foldforming from Charles at the Center for Metal Arts in Florida, New York.  He visits annually to offer a 4-day conference / workshop that is simply off the charts.  The next one is Aug 2-5, 2013; for information contact info@centerformetalarts.com .  Seating is limited but I don’t mind sharing the news since my seat is already reserved.  Can’t wait-- this will be my third visit!  

I was the official live blogger of the 5th Annual Charles Lewton-Brain Conference in 2012.  If you’d like the insider’s view to last year’s shindigs, here you go… press your nose up to the studio glass and catch some precious moments.  www.suelacydesigns.com/1/post/2012/08/blog-index-for-5th-annual-charles-lewton-brain-conference.html .  

Metal artists:  The annual Lewton-Brain Foldform Award competition coincides with the conference each year.  If you want to compete, stay tuned to www.centerformetalarts.com for this year’s details.  View this video to see the 2012 results:  http://youtu.be/r2s0d1HqU7Q 

Over the past couple years I’ve worked with Charles and Center for Metal Arts to build community around foldforming.  Visit the public Facebook page at www.facebook.com/foldforming.  Or if you are a metalsmith join us at Foldforming Central, a specialty group for metalsmiths around the world at http://www.facebook.com/foldforming .  (Contact me directly via Facebook to request membership if your profile doesn’t show your metal work.)

Thanks for visiting!  
Sue Lacy / Jewelry artist, metalsmith, and community organizer
www.suelacydesigns.com

---------------------------------------
Hey my thumb is all healed up, so I'm finally ready to start on 2013 metal projects.  Yay!

2012 ended with a little mishap in the kitchen.  I sliced off a small piece of my thumb with a mandolin slicer.  Wow, those things work great-- and not just on veggies.  So on New Year’s Eve our afternoon was spent at an Urgent Care getting my thumb wrapped up by a very nice doctor who obviously specializes in something else entirely, and our evening was spent at the ER getting the first ridiculous mess corrected.  

You know you're in trouble when the ER nurse and doctor bust out laughing at the handiwork of your Urgent Care doctor.  

This is the part I sliced completely off, nice and clean.  Clearly stitches were not an option.  Thank goodness the mandolin was set at 1/8" and not 1/4" right?

You're welcome for not posting my actual bloody thumb.  If you want to see one, Google away... there are plenty posted out there.  

Why share this?  

According to the ER, this often happens around the holidays when people are cooking more (you know, those of us who rarely cook otherwise) and in the summer when we're pruning in the garden.  And some of us here are metalsmiths who use jewelers' saws and metal shears year round.  So it seems right to share a few tips, obvious as they may seem, since they would  have helped me.  

Tip #4:  Listen to the doctor.  As in listen actively, critically, and logically.

At least I knew right away to see a doctor.  We chose a nearby Urgent Care because the issue seemed minor / routine but also urgent, as in continuing to bleed.  I'm not saying that all Urgent Care facilities would mess this up.  I'm just saying mine did.

These are some red flag quotes from urgent care personnel to me:

Doctor:  "This one is a real bugaboo."
Nurse:  "I don't mind a lot of blood, that doesn't bother me, but I don't like to see cut skin."
Doctor:  "Stitches are not an option, so the only way to stop the bleeding is with a compression bandage. 
This will be a real headache for 3-4 weeks."  
Me: "How do I know if the bandage is too tight and cutting off circulation?"
Doctor:  "It's a fine line.  You can come back tomorrow if there is a problem."
Nurse:  "You want to be really careful changing the dressing and keep an eye on it so you don't bleed out."
Me: "Bleed out??"
Doctor:  "If the bandage falls off while you're sleeping, your bed will look like a crime scene when you wake up." 

So I did listen with a bit of healthy skepticism.

Tip #5:  It's usually not good to cut off circulation to a body part. 
(Careful with this tip.  There are obviously some injuries that require a tourniquet.)

The doctor wrapped my thumb very tightly with some gauze and nine band-aids, then sent me home.  It felt tight but didn't hurt much at first.  After about two hours my entire hand, all the fingers, wrist, and arm up to the elbow started throbbing.  It just felt so tight.

We went to the ER to get a second opinion.  Thank goodness.

Well that's my Happy New Year post, folks :-D  Everyone have a very safe, healthy, and happy 2013!


Disclaimer:  This post is based on subjective experience and some Google searches. I'm no doctor and this is not offered as medical advice.   Please do your own research to determine any course of action.  These are my opinions based on an isolated occurrence that may not accurately reflect the medical skills of those involved.

Very best wishes to everyone this holiday season!  We're just kicking back now, enjoying family and a few new treasures.  

Guess what I got today?  A kitchen blender system that actually works! You know how the stuff on the bottom of a bad blender just shifts around while the stuff on top sits there doing nothing?  Yeah.  I've been wanting to try some healthy green smoothies but have never owned a decent blender.  Today I threw in these ingredients and whipped up a really delicious smoothie:
 
2 peeled quartered granny smith apples
4 big kale leaves (curly kale, stems removed)
1/4 t fresh grated ginger
1 cup frozen blueberries
1/2 cup orange juice
couple dashes of Stevia
a few ice cubes

Don't be scared of the kale.  It was awesome.

With the last 1/4 cup-ish of smoothie (along whatever was stuck on the inside of the blender), I poured in about 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil and maybe a little less than 1/2 cup white balsamic vinegar, along with a garlic clove, salt, and pepper.  That all blended very quickly into a great salad dressing.

Oh gosh I love Christmas toys.

Anyway just to keep to my regular theme, here are a couple photos of recent gifts/orders.  It's been awhile since I've done any wire wrapping so it was especially fun.  This first necklace was a gift for my daughter Lindsay.  Made from copper, turquoise, jade, and mother of pearl, it's an ocean inspired color palette.

This is order was particularly fun to make.  The crystals are emerald, opal, and pearl birthstone colors.  

I literally had no clue or design plan before making either the earrings or the pendant.  They just evolved from thin air, somehow ;-)  I love when that happens.  

Well that's it for me today.  Time to curl up with family and a holiday movie. I wish all of you a very happy, healthy, peaceful holiday season and New Year!   

I've been wanting to try out some larger objects in foldforming.  Maybe get into a little sculpture, etc.  This is a bit bigger although just baby steps.  Still working out the logistics of larger scale.

And back to jewelry.

We'll be away for the weekend so no studio time for a few days.  Oh well, it will just be all that much more fun when I'm back to it.  Enjoy your week!

Here's my early New Year's resolution -- getting back to weekly posts.  I've been crazy busy with holiday shows and got way off the blog track.  The biggest shows are behind me now though, and it's time to get back online!!  These are a few of the cuffs I've made recently.

Still nicely busy but having loads of fun and hope you are too.  Meet me back here next week ok?

Winners of the inaugural Lewton-Brain Foldform Competition were announced on Aug 6, 2012 at the 5th Annual Charles Lewton-Brain Conference hosted by the Center for Metal Arts in downstate, New York. This video showcases the winning entries and also twenty Jurors' Choice pieces selected from among the hundreds of entries submitted by artists around the world. 

"It is wonderful to see the beautiful objects and new developments in foldforming that are occurring. The pieces here represent the best of what is being created today using foldforming." - Charles Lewton-Brain 

Jurors:  Charles Lewton-Brain, Tim McCreight, Ed Mack.

Competition Winners 
First place: "Undersea Candelabra" by Rauni Higson; Second place:  "Spiritus" by Theresa Nguyen; Third place:  "Quadrant" by Kaiya Rainbolt; Honorable Mention:  "Pleated Silver Drinking Set" by Grant McCaig.

Jurors' Choice featured artists 
Alison Antelman, Melody Armstrong, Peter Danilo, Christine Finch, Deborah Jemmott, Sue Lacy, Evelyn Markasky, Theresa Nguyen, Aimee Petkus, Judith Renstrom, Anna Robinson, George Sawyer, Brad Severtson, Lyn Stoll, Patricia Tschetter, Paul Wells, Anne Wolf.

Resources
The annual competition is open to artists everywhere and coincides with the Charles Lewton-Brain Conference on Foldforming.  Both are hosted by Center for Metal Arts in downstate, New York.  Visit www.centerformetalarts.com for more information and visit this SueLacy Wired post for an extensive live blog documenting the 2012 conference in text, photos, and video. 

If you work with metal and would like to join the official Foldforming group on Facebook, visit here:  http://www.facebook.com/groups/foldforming .  (If your public Facebook profile does not reflect your involvement with metal, please message me with details.) 

Today is my daughter Kathy's birthday.  This copper and sterling silver flower pendant, corrugated earrings, and foldform cuff are all for her.  I am so delighted how the patina turned out :-)  Anyhow, I held this post until after the birthday celebration.  Fun evening!!

Happy birthday, Kathy!! :-)

This past Saturday, I was invited to briefly visit Quadstate Conference 2012, a massive blacksmiths conference put on in Troy, OH by Southern Ohio Forge and Anvil (SOFA).  This was my first time attending any sort of blacksmith function at all, let alone a huge conference like this one.  I was so grateful to be able to duck in as a guest to see what these shindigs are all about.  

Man, was I impressed.  Demos going on all the time... a ton of great tools for sale... a gallery full of absolutely beautiful work by attendees... and the nicest people you'd ever want to meet.  

You can bet that next year I'll sign up for the weekend pass.  If you're anywhere in the midwest and you're crazy for this kind of stuff like I am, then you'd better put it on your radar for next year, too.

I love that shot of John in the mirror :-) 

OK, fasten your seat belts... this one can only be presented with a video.  It's a simply amazing piece of hand crafting by Barry Wheeler.  Enjoy... and try to imagine creating that shoe by hand!

And a few more shots of some great work displayed in the conference gallery this weekend.  Once you click on the first one, you can cycle through them with your right arrow key.

Blacksmiths landing on this page may also be interested in foldforming.  
Check out this index page leading to detailed posts about the recent Charles Lewton-Brain conference on Foldforming.  It contains a wealth of pics, video, and a student's view (mine) of that amazing conference.   

And this is the official foldforming group on Facebook created especially for metalsmiths and blacksmiths interested in foldforming:  http://www.facebook.com/groups/foldforming .  If your Facebook page reflects your metal interests, I will approve your application to join.  If it doesn't, message me (or comment on this post) to fill me in on your metal related work.   

Please check us out!

Again, Quadstate Conference is presented by Southern Ohio Forge and Anvil.  Maybe I'll see you there next year!

Where can you find me?  Thought I'd share.
Things are getting interesting.   

What's up in the workshop lately?

It's been a busy week.  These are some of the cuffs I've been working on -- finished ones to the left, and a pile of just-started ones to the right.  There is also a half finished foldform pendant underway, a big one that is turning out super cool; will try to post it next week.

I also HAVE to share my latest thrift store find.  This monster vise was TEN BUCKS.  OMG.

So. Much. Fun.