SMG Biennial Exhibition 2009

The Seattle Metals Guild is having their Biennial Exhibition starting next week and it runs from November 3rd through Dec 15th in Edmonds, WA. With over 50 artists exhibiting their work, it should be a great event. I hope everyone can get to the show to see it. Today I went to pick up some postcards which promote the event, and there was my jewelry piece displayed in the center! I am thrilled and honored. There will be a jury of the show by the People’s Choice Awards. Everyone attending the show at Frances Anderson Gallery will have an opportunity to vote on the submissions. Voting takes place in the month of November. So come and vote!

A Hike to Lake Minotaur

Lake Minotaur

Lake Theseus
The other day I took a little hike up to Lake Minotaur up in the North Cascades with my friend Ron. It's a grueling hike and the first mile climbs 1500 feet pretty much straight up. It's six miles round-trip, with a total gain of 2,000 feet. As you can see, it's a spectacular place of beauty in the Henry M. Jackson wilderness area. Labyrinth Mountain rises above Lake Minotaur at 6,376 feet. Taking a short walk from Lake Minotaur, you'll see another great view of Lake Theseus 600 feet below. A big reason for this hike was for the abundance of huckleberries which we picked on our way down. I thought the hike back down would be relatively simple, letting gravity help out, but it was still a grind.

Chrysocolla & Silver Pendant

I've just finished this pendant made from reticulated silver and a chrysocolla cabochon, which I cut. This piece started out as just a simple dome shaped reticulated silver pendant, but after what I call a "pleasant mistake" it totally changed and evolved into this. I had so many problems in the process of making this, it took me an extra eight hours to finish it. There is a hinge between the stone and the lower silver part.

I am going to submit this piece into the Seattle Metals Guild Biennial Exhibition. This is the Twentieth Anniversary of the SMG, and they are putting together a catalog of the members jewelry and then will also be an exhibit of their work in November of 2009.

Campbell & Nicole Cooper

It was another wonderful family wedding with the marriage of Campbell Cooper to Nicole Penning here in Seattle. Campbell's family and friends came all the way from New Zealand for the occasion last night. They are delightful people and we are so happy they could make the trip to the states. So it was just a great time with all of Nicole's and Campbell's relitives and friends. I've posted a couple of photos here on blog, until I can of get the rest of them processed and on to a web page. NOTE: There is now a link on the right side of this page to view all the wedding photos.

Chris Craft Rendezvous

The 20th annual Pacific Northwest Chris Craft Rendezvous was held over the weekend in Port Orchard. Classic Chris Craft boats dating back to the 1940's came from all over for the weekend. So Jim invited me to join him to take his 55 foot Chris Craft from Seattle across Puget Sound and dock by Bremerton. It was a lot of fun with great food and friendly people. Friday night there was a band on the pier and that made for a great evening as the sunset. And I have to say those boats were absolutely beautiful. The amount of work and time the owners put into their boats is amazing.

Airlington Fly-In

Last Thursday Jim Dunn and I went to the Arlington Fly-In up north of Seattle. There were lots of great planes to see. Everything from the home built planes to military WWII bombers, there was something for everybody. The planes were beautiful and must require a lot of $$$$$ to keep and maintain. And to see those fantastic men in their flying machines doing the air show stunts, was a lot of fun. It was my first time to an air show. Growing up as a kid, I had always wished I could have been a WWI flying ace.

Seattle's Duck Dodge

Recently it was Duck Dodge night on Lake Union in Seattle. It's not so much a race, it's more like a parade of boats trying to keep from running into each other. It's held on Tuesday evenings during the summer. I took these sunset shots looking down on Lake Union towards the ship canal. By the time the sun had set, most of the sailors were finished and had rafted their boats together to celebrate the evening with a cold one. It days like these that I wish I owned a sailboat.

2009 Fremont Solstice Parade

Being that I'm a photojournalist and also the fact that I've never been to the Fremont Solstice parade in 25 years of living in Seattle, I decided it was time I should go. It's a celebration of the Summer Solstice and artistic free spirits. Most of the parade revolves around the naked bicycle riders, and goodness knows there were a lot of them. Most of those photos can 't be posted on this blog. But it's just a very fun event that that the city of Seattle allows to go on year after year. They have tried to stop the naked bicycle riding in past years, but that was futile. So for those daring young cyclists on their riding machines... Let your freak-flag-fly.
I have to mention that those beautiful white dresses in the last photo were made entirely of paper. No idea how they were made, but they were fabulous!

Seattle Summer Evening

It was one of those evenings here in Seattle that reminds us why we all live here. I went down to Jim and Roxanne Dunn's boat on Lake Union yesterday. Jim and I made a batch of his honey amber ale in the afternoon. Then I was invited to stay for a feast cooked up by Roxanne for a article she is writing for a magazine. I took some photos for the story and then later, as the evening was coming to an end, I snapped this photo of the Seattle skyline as the sun set. The feast included crab, mussels, clams, sausage, potatos and corn, all cooked up in one big pot. It was so much fun and just an amazing dinner.

Three New Pendants

I've recently finished three new pendants. (From l to r) Willow Creek, Reticulated Silver and a Lapis pendant. They are in Denise Oliver's Gallery in Harrison, Idaho and are for sale. I also have obsidian wind chimes and some pottery there. It's a great little gallery on the shores of Coeur d' Alene Lake. I'll be adding some posts on other fun things to do around the area.

Tulips -- Nature's Color Pallet

Since it was nearing the end of the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival, I decided to take a trip up there the other day to do a little photography. If you've never been, it's one of those things you have to see at some point in your life. The massive amount of vivid colors is overwhelming. I've been a number of times and it's always worth the trip. Click on the photos to view a larger image.

Willow Creek Jasper & Chain Link Pendant

Back to the jeweler's bench... Time to work on getting some stones cut and pendants made. This is another Willow Creek Jasper pendant with a chain link necklace I made with sterling silver. It's a simple setting, but it's such a pretty stone, it doesn't need much in the way of silver work to display it. I've seen a lot of Willow Creek Jasper for sale on eBay, but most doesn't compare in color and orbs as this one does. I hope you like it.

The End of the Seattle P-I

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After 146 years of publishing, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer printed it's last edition of the newspaper today. The Seattle P-I, where I've been employed for the past 10 years, had it's beginnings back in the civil war era and had a long history of informing and reporting the news of the Pacific Northwest. It's not just the death of a newspaper but it's reflects the demise of journalism. I will miss my talented colleagues, and society will find themselves much less informed without you. It's been a difficult journey to get to this point today, but with everything, time moves on and so does life. Thanks to everyone, including the local community, which has shown their unwavering support for us.

Marc & Laura Hammond's Wedding

Marc & Laura's wedding took place last Saturday, February 28th, near San Diego. It was such a beautiful day and a wonderful wedding, high up in the hills overlooking Carlsbad, California. I'm so happy for them. It was great fun and very nice getting to see many of my family members. I wish all the relatives could have made it.

Here are two photos from the occasion, Marc & Laura, the newly wed couple soon after the ceremony and the other happy couple Marc & DJ, the Hammond brothers, both now with lovely brides.

Note: There is now a link to Marc & Laura's wedding photos on the right side of this page. Once the page has loaded on your computer, you can use your arrow keys on your keyboard to easily scroll thru the photos.

P.S. - There is a new photo at the top of the page, which is the pool at Elfin Forest Estates where the wedding took place. The flickering light of floating candles and a beautiful sunset was the perfect way to fade into the evening.

Star Bright & Desert Light

Here are two new pendants I've just finished. This one is a Montana sapphire pendant with a sterling silver starfish & seashell, cast from an actual starfish and seashell. I like how the two pieces come together beautifully to form one pendant.



This pendant is made with rock called Royal Sahara Jasper. It comes from the Great Sahara desert in Africa, but I purchased locally from a couple who travel there to collect it out in the middle of nowhere. I cut and polished the jasper which takes a wonderful shine. Look closely at the jasper and you'll see, it resembles a desert scene. How cool is that?

Seattle Aquarium Dome Dive

I've been a volunteer at the Seattle Aquarium for the past 7 years now. I'm a SCUBA diver in the Underwater Dome which is a 390,000 gallon tank filled with saltwater and fish indigenous to this area of Puget Sound. This is a short video that I edited down from footage that my dive buddy, Curtis, shot of me feeding the fish. You'll see a halibut, lots of salmon, a wolf eel (my favorite in the Dome) and a spiny dog fish which is a small shark. In the final shot you'll see a ling cod sitting just to the left of me. With exception to an occasional salmon that smacks into our head, the fish are not at all aggressive, although they can look rather menacing. The water was about 48 degrees this day and it was snowing when we entered the water. Some days it's a little hard to get motivated to do the dive, but once I'm in the water I love being there. It's a lot of fun.

Little Boxes

Boxes are objects that fascinate me. This is a copper box that I made that is acid etched on the top and covered with a green patina. I guess I like boxes because they are not only art, but are functional. The working parts of hinges and latches must fit together perfectly to work properly. Boxes are a lot harder to make than you might think. I've given up on making them because it came to a point where I became so frustrated trying to finish them and just moved on to other projects. But I've never given up the idea completely. They keep calling to me to come back.

Simple Pleasures

I've updated the link to my photographs. You'll find it on the right of the page. I've added a couple of my favorite photos and given the web page has a new look.

Sterling Silver Chains

I've made a number of these chains over the past few years. They are labor intensive and intricate in nature to make. If you click on the photo, it will enlarge to show the detail. I start with sterling silver wire and then coil it around a steel shaft. After which I cut and soldered each link. Then the links are woven into each other to create the silver chain. This photo is of two chains, each 22" in length. Once polished, they are stunning.

Obsidian Fold Formed Wind Chimes

I took part in a workshop last summer taught by Charles Lewton-Brain on how to do fold forming using copper. He's from Canada and is amazing with what he is able to do with metal forming it into different shapes using just a hammer, a vice and his bare hands. Fold Forming is a little hard to explain, but basically it involves folding and unfolding the metal which creases the copper into various shapes. So being inspired by this workshop, I created some obsidian wind chimes out of fold formed copper. Copper is a wonderful material to work with because it's so forgiving and malleable. The leaf wind chime is an older one but I like the look so I included it in the set of photos. If you want to hear what the wind chimes sound like, go to one of my earlier posts where there are a couple of videos.