Get in One of My Last Workshops Before It's Too Late!

If you’ve ever considered taking one of my workshops, you’d better sign up for one of the last 3! I am announcing the end of my North American + More Tour.

I have more big projects in the studio that I’m working to finish, and that’s not going to happen if I keep running out the door to the airport. It’s time I unpacked my tool box for a while.

Elegant Sculptural Rings, Space Available

August 8-10, 2018

Metalwerx, Waltham, MA

I like saying “yes” when people want to learn what I have mastered. I meet so many dedicated, interesting, and talented people. It’s really tough for me to say “no” to teaching workshops when I get so many fabulous invitations to be a guest instructor. As I consider how many times I’ve boarded an airplane or rented a car in only the last 3 years of an 11 year travel/teaching streak, it gets a little easier to say, “thanks, but…not right now.” I recently told my husband my new name is “The Artist Who Formerly Said Yes All the Time.”

It’s not the teaching; teaching is usually the fun part, although my days of standing on concrete floors are definitely numbered. It’s the endless hours of logistics, emails, travel booking, handout writing, supply list tweaking, shipping students’ materials and my tools, and lots of demo preparation that adds up to far more hours than the time I spend actually teaching each workshop. As for the travel, don’t get me started. Let’s just say it long ago lost its glamour. – If we’re friends on Facebook, you probably saw the post about the creep who assaulted and harassed me on my most recent flight…ugh…

Freddie, Shirley, Skyler, Victoria, and Lee squished in a Land Rover in Cornwall

One night a few weeks ago I made the mistake of counting all the trips and workshops just since January of 2015.

Cities Visited between January, 2015 and July, 2018

1. Tryon, NC – visit collector

2. Austin, TX – 2-day All Chained Up and 3-day Russian Filigree workshops + artist talk Creative Side Jewelry Academy

3. Albuquerque, NM – Judging final round of 2015 Saul Bell Awards competition

4. Acoma Sky City, NM

5. Mineapolis, MN – 3-day Eastern Repousse Workshop at Quench Jewelry Arts

6. Denver, CO – Film Granulation Demystified online course for Craftsy.com

7. Ridgefield, CT – 3-day Eastern Repousse Workshop at Guilded Lynx

8. NYC

9. Boston, MA – SNAG Conference

10. Snohomish, WA – 3-day Russian Filigree Workshop at The Ranch

11. Poulsbo, WA

12. Seattle, WA – 3-day Eastern Repousse Workshop at Danaca Design

13. Paducah, KY – 2-day Russian Filigree Workshop at Paducah School of Art and Design + artist talk

14. Albuquerque, NM – 3-day Eastern Repousse and 2-day Russian Filigree workshops at Rio Grande

Students Trammel and Paul (aka "Critter") at my Russian Filigree workshop at Creative Side Jewelry Academy — Students Trammel and Paul (aka “Critter”) at my Russian Filigree workshop at Creative Side Jewelry Academy

15. Asheville, NC – site visit with Gwynne Rukenbrod Smith for upcoming SNAG Conference

16. Tyron, NC – 2-day Eastern Repousse Workshop + solo exhibit and artist talk at Tryon Arts Center

17. Austin, TX – 3-day Eastern Repousse Workshop and 2-day Russian Filigree workshop + artist talk at Creative Side Jewelry Academy

18. Disney World, FL

19. Denver, CO – Craftsy Instructors Summit

20. Albuquerque, NM – 2, 2-day back-to-back Eastern Repousse workshops for Rio Grande’s Winter Workshop series

21. Richmond, VA – 2-day Russian Filigree Workshop at Richmond Visual Art Center

22. Ridgefield, CT- 3-day Rings Workshop at Guilded Lynx

23. NYC

24. Albuquerque, NM – Santa Fe Symposium

25. Asheville, NC – SNAG Conference (SNAG Links Volunteer Coordinator and Education Dialogue facilitator)

26. Idyllwild, CA – 5-day Eastern Repousse Workshop + artist talk for Metals Week at Idyllwild

27. New Orleans/Covington, LA – 5-day private engraving lesson with master engraver Sam Alfano

28. Birmingham, AL – Enchanted Meadow Workshop with master calligrapher Heather Held

29. Austin, TX – 2-day All Chained Up and 3-day Russian Filigree workshops at Creative Side Jewelry Academy

30. San Diego, CA

At SNAG, Nola with Sarah Sitarz of Quench Jewelry Arts

31. Hillsboro, NC – 3-day Eastern Repousse Workshop at OQZO Metalsmith

32. Albuquerque – 3-day Eastern Repousse workshop for Rio Grande + video filming

33. Phoenix/Yuma, AZ – Yuma Symposium

34. New Orleans, LA – SNAG conference, presenter at Education Dialogue (presentations + discussion leader)

35. Seattle, WA – 3-day Russian Filigree workshop at Danaca Design

36. Poulsbo, WA

37. London, England – museums, metal, and tea (oh, my!)

38. Truro, Cornwall, UK – Russian Filigree Workshop at Jewellery Making Cornwall

39. An adventure to the Minack Theatre, Penzance, Land’s End, and all points in between in Cornwall via a 40 year old Land Rover (Stuart and Shirley, it was a blast, though I might still be a bit “squiffy” from the narrow hedgerow lanes, and the fact that you Brits insist on driving on the “wrong” side of the road! 😉 )

40. St. Ives, Cornwall

"Hair twins" Skyler and Shirley with Stuart at Lands End — “Hair twins” Skyler and Shirley with Stuart at Lands End

41. Oxford, England – unbelievably fabulous museums

42. Paris, France – lots more museums + baguettes

43. Berlin, Germany – even more museums + old friends

44. Back to London – mostly more fish & chips

45. Long Beach, CA – 2-day Granulation Ring Workshop at Diane Weimer’s Studio

46. Niagra Falls, ON (via Buffalo, NY) – endless inspiration and butterflies

47. Washing, D.C. – Genre Paining and the Dutch Masters, National Gallery

Another of Skyler's witticisms with yet more fish and chips, Oxford, England — Another of Skyler’s witticisms with yet more fish and chips, Oxford, England (We discovered there is no such thing as too much fish and chips!)

48. Hillsboro, NC – 3-day Russian Filigree Workshop at OQZO Metalsmith
49. Portland, OR – SNAG Conference

50. Idyllwild, CA – 5-day Russian Filigreee Workshop at Metals Week in Idyllwild + artist talk.

51. Asheville, NC – Puppeteers of America Southeast Puppet Festival – yet more inspiration…

52. Smithville, TN – 3-day Eastern Repousse Workshop at Appalachian Center for Craft

53. More than 18 trips to Chattanooga, TN and 1 trip to Knoxville, TN during those years to see family.

In just these 3-1/2 years I have

Taught 26 metalsmithing workshops

Given 7+ artist talks

Driven more than 30 trips of 100 miles or more each way

A new best friend at San Diego Zoo, I loved her so much I painted her in miniature.

Taken 8 trips by train (including the Eurostar through the Chunnel…the memory still makes me gasp for breath)

Rented 9 cars (for a total of 4.5 hours in line, despite having Avis “Preferred” status)

Taken 5 long, internal organ jarring, shuttle rides

Taken 9 calligraphic, painting, and engraving workshops

Tagged along to 3 conferences in gorgeous locations where I was the novelty, artist spouse

AND

Boarded an airplane 93 times, YES! 93 times!!! (and yet, unbelievably, I still don’t have bloody A-List status on Southwest!)

It’s probably best if I don’t also count all the previous work trips in this century…

And there are still 3 more trips to go in 2018:

Double rainbow at Niagara Falls, Ontario

1. Waltham, MA via Boston – 3-day Sculptural Ring + 2-day Russian Filigree workshops for the Summer with the Masters series at Metalwerx (see ring image above and necklace just below for more info)

2. Albuquerque, NM – 3-day Eastern Repousse workshop at Rio Grande (see cuff image just below for more info)

3. New London, CT / Arlington, VA by way of New York and Baltimore – Commemoration of the 75th Anniversary of the sinking of the USS Wahoo and all her crew, commanded by my husband’s grandfather, “Mush” Morton at New London Submarine Base and a laying of a wreath at The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery…the toughest trip of all…

The scooter was for my bad back in 2016 at Metals Week, Idyllwild. The helmet...well, it happened to be in my studio...I'm a dangerous person to dare. Thanks to Rebecca Bubenas for the photo and added text. — The scooter was for my bad back in 2016 at Metals Week, Idyllwild. The helmet…well, it happened to be in my studio…I’m a dangerous person to dare. Thanks to Rebecca Bubenas for the photo and added text.

I used to say, “Have tools, will travel.” Now I’m saying, “Sign up while you can.” There might (and only might) be 1-2 workshops between 2019 and 2021, but that’s it! iCal says it’s just me in my studio next year.