Exciting News and New Earrings - motif #8

Its been an exciting week which is hard to have when you are on IV antibiotics for a staph infection and a second antibiotic for an upper respiratory infection. Now that I am tatting in silver, I found out I have to be judged in a new category in the Craftmen's Guild even though I am still tatting, my new work is in a new medium. Well, Saturday I met with the head of the committee that judges the member's work. We met at her studio/store and she was so impressed with my work that she offered to mentor me and spent over two hours teaching me how to make earring findings, jump rings and clasps. She then went on to offer to host a trunk show,with advertising just like a gallery show and wanted to carry my tatted jewelry year round in her store. She also asked if it was OK with me if she could raise my prices about 75 to a 100 dollars, she was confident that her clients would pay it. Needless to say I left her studio walking on air. The fun didn't end there, Sunday night I decided to try out a technique she taught me on how to turn pearls into dangles and added a 7mm cultured pearl to a motif from Patti Duff's "Mini Tats". I finished them Monday morning about 12 noon, at 2:00 I had a Doctor appointment, within minutes of showing them to the nurses they sold! I took a quick picture with my cell phone and pocketed her check. I may not be selling anything in my ETSY store but it is selling locally. I'm also, tatting up a bunch of horsehead earrings to be taken on consignment to an equestrian show in south Florida, wish me luck.
Here is the picture of the earrings I mentioned.

Silver and Pearls motif #7

I recently received a very generous gift from a fellow craftsman in the Mississippi Craftsman's Guild. They had ordered some small pearls that were too small for the type of wire wrapped jewelry they make so they sent them to me as a gift to encourage me in this new direction of tating in silver. They are seed bead size and fit perfectly with the wire I use. I spent days just looking at them before deciding how to use them. I finally came up with a heart pendant using 9 pearls (Tri Heart pattern by Susan Taliaferro) and Marilee's "Keyed Up" pattern for earrings, each have 6 pearls in them. I tatted the heart in size 20 thread first and then did the silver one, they were almost identical in size. I may have found my tatting niche (ha! ha!)












I haven't sold anything on ETSY yet but have sold several pendants and earrings while waiting in the Doctor's office and to friends. Still holding out hope for my ETSY store though!

Attack of the "Cuteness" motif#6

It was bound to happen sooner or later, I succumbed to all the cuteness. I knew eventually it would overflow into my tatting someday. How could I expect live in a home filled with puppets , clown props and balloons and not have it happen. My wife and I even have a giant 4 foot long clown fish that looks like Nemo currently sitting in our living room (recently returned from a visit to the local library's teddy bear sleepover). Well I guess its OK since I make part of my living as a clown. I finally gave in to the "cuteness" and made a set of teddy bear earrings in silver wire from the book, "Mini-Tats" by Patti Duff.

Silver Horse Head Earrings motif#5

Tatting in silver gives you a very different perspective. 1) you can't just try out a pattern in silver, mistakes are costly. 2) you have to have very strong and steady hands, 3) you can't watch TV and tat in silver ( a real bummer) - you have to focus 4) you have think about negative space in a new way - you can't stiffen it.
----- but I'm still having fun doing it!

These are Dawn's horse head earrings in silver, my latest work. Watch for them in my ETSY store.

Its Like Learning To Tatt All Over Again motif# 2, 3, 4

Tatting in silver is a real challenge. If you make a mistake in thread you can either retro-tat or start again, no big deal. With silver you can't undo and silver costs an arm and a leg. But I have to admit it is a lot of fun, its like learning to tat all over again, with a whole new set of challenges, it has that feeling you get when you first learn to tat and you realize you've created something beautiful from just an ordinary piece of thread. I still have lot to learn about working in the different types of silver (who knew there was different types), in the mean time here are some pictures of my latest projects. The photos are not all that great, but I do have some professional photos on the way for my Etsy store.

Special credit goes to Briget Phelps for sharing her wonderful "Sweetheart" pattern. Its perfect with St. Valentine's Day coming up.

Stay tuned for more pictures (earrings are next) and watch for new items in my Etsy store.

I'm Back and Tatting in Silver

It's been months since I had time to blog, between my duties as Pastor, my birthday party business and my first high end craft show, I've been swamped. I'm just now finishing my Christmas gifts.
Now for the tatting...
I've been tatting up a storm trying to get enough stuff ready for upcoming shows that I have actually developed a tatting callus. Who knew that was even possible?
The most exciting part has to do with the show I did. I met a lot of other crafts people, one was someone who makes jewelry with wire, using knitting and knotting techniques. She encouraged me to try tatting with silver, she even gave me a good size length of wire to start with. It's taken a bit to get a handle on how to work with wire but the results are awesome. Here are some pictures I took of a pendant and earrings in silver, the pattern is the center of the "arches" doily.

I won!!! I won!!! I won!!!

I can hardly believe it... I've been awarded a Folk Art Fellowship by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Mississippi Arts Commission in the amount of $4400 for my tatting. I applied way back in March and only applied because my wonderful wife encouraged me to fill out the forms and send in the photos/samples of my work. It was a juried at both the State and Federal level. The Fellowship is to encourage and enable artists to continue and grow in their work. There will be write ups in the paper and possibly a award ceremony. I can't believe I've been acknowledged at this level, I never thought I would get a Fellowship, especially such a wonderful one, I guess it's time to shout, "Praise The Lord" and do a little happy dance.