Peter Chang Is King

It is terribly overdue and remiss of me to only be mentioning the UK jeweller/sculptor Peter Chang now. Part of the reason is because it has been hard to find a lot of really good information and images of his work on the net, which is surprising. If anyone is king of plastic jewellery it most is certainly him.

Today I googled him, which I have only done about a hundred times before, but this time I found his website. It must be new - but yay!

How To Survive Until Xmas

Time is racing. I feel the stress levels rising. I need to deal with this now before things spin tragically out of control. Deep breath. Another deep breath. Feeling calmer. Breathe again. OK, can deal now.

It is nearly November and I have so much on. I need to make so much and fill so many commitments. I could really scream at this point, but I'll try to take another deep breath, and breathe.

I have developed some rules to help me get through.

How to survive until Xmas - my rules:

1. Regular exercise. A daily habit now (mostly consists of some tragic dancing around).

2. Eat well - minimal junk food & lots of wholefoods (veg, fish, legumes). Chocolate is good for you - there are studies you know.

3. Loads of Music. This life needs a soundtrack.

4 Develop a positive attitude. Control what you can and leave the rest up to fate. Fate is my friend. But still, don't forget the trying. Happy with the trying.

5. Good friends - a daily dose of laughter & whingeing. You guys are the best - love ya with a cherry on top!

6. Water - drink it as much as possible, (although not before long trips on public transport). Swim whenever I can - early evening is lovely. Accept the fish within (Pisces).

7. Booze - not much. I really am rather silly after one drink. Social occasions are AOK. Wouldn't want to be unsocial - no way Jose. OK, maybe silly well before the drinking begins....

8. No rules - but guidelines are good.

All this should keep me as calm and at peace with the world as possible until I collapse under the Xmas tree on the big day. Fingers crossed!

above photo - thanks to Gerson Lessa - best Flickrite ever.

A Matter Of Style

My 'green' label seems to be growing strong. There is a 'green' book with images of my work on the cover & within, regular press, and even an offer to take part in newspaper ads for the Brisbane City Council's recycling program. There is no doubt that I am 'green', but those that know me well will agree that I actually am far more pink than 'green'. I know I have said something about this before but it seems worth saying it again.

I have been pondering recently how I became so 'green' without ever saying that I was this. I have concluded that being 'green' for me is really largely a matter of style. Some artists/designers/crafty-types find they work best designing first and then finding the appropriate materials to make it a reality. Others do stick to certain materials, but these are in the raw stage ,such as bags of clay or a blank canvas. What tends to work best for me, and others like me, is to start with existing materials. Starting with things that are already things. I like to deconstruct and then reconstruct. Imagining real things differently is just my preference. These things do tend to be old/discarded/vintage/rubbish because these are just the things that I also tend to like best.

pictured above - A recent newspaper photo of me in my home studio. Those that know me well will also know that this is terribly out of character for me to pop this up. But I think it's good to do something a little 'not your style' sometimes too!

Making Therapy

Sometimes repetitive making is just what the doctor ordered. I'll admit to being caught up in my own personal dramas lately, so it felt good to shake that off a bit and get into some serious can do productive work. The earrings (pictured above) are the result (I was going to get to the centres of those knitting needles eventually - waste not want not)!

Now I'll spend most of the weekend catching up with oodles of work, just because I'm lucky enough to have oodles of work, and because Xmas is shockingly close - ahhh!

Some rapidly approaching Xmas events:

Jewellery Party - Thursday 15 November 5-7pm @ QUT Art Museum

Umbrella Collective - Delightful Things For Christmas - Saturday 21 November 9am - 2pm

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=6124346

Click on the title to view the actual title of this post. There are a few friends I'd like to send this to. Maybe I'd send one to myself as well. Sometimes things are just that simple.

Anyway this post is really about writing a response to my friend Margaux Lange's recent craft show experience. I wanted to say more to her than I could say in a blog comment. I also thought her experiences are not unique and it was in the public interest to discuss this further.

Read her post first, if you haven't already done so.

Dear Margaux,

- Your work is better than that. A high-end craft show would probably work better for you. You don't need to be all things to all people, and not everyone will understand/appreciate your work. You can't please everyone, so why try.

- Do try to educate your public. They need it. Maybe a flier with info about your process, education and experience would help. You are doing a great job with this already through your website & blog.

- There is a real art to selling. Not everyone is good at it, and like most skills it takes time and practice to develop.

- You probably achieved more than you realised. Not all success is immediately obvious. I always thought people need to see you three times before they'll buy. This isn't a hard and fast rule but I believe it is often true.

- Be prepared for failure. It's going to happen again and again. Remember all your successes too, you already have heaps and you will have heaps more, because you are fabulous. Failure does not cancel out success.

- Embrace failure if you can. Nobody wants it, but you do tend to learn a lot more that way. Personally It's rare that I feel something wasn't worth trying, regardless of the result. Although don't keep doing the same thing that didn't work several times before expecting things to turn out differently this time - unlikely!

- Sometimes you DO need to just suck it up. But DO have a really good whinge first.

From Little Things.......

I've had quite a bit of media attention. I have spent a lot of time and energy getting that attention. It is terrific thing when you get a good plug in some prominent publication with full credit. That's great, and it is always appreciated.

When I first started trying to get my name/designs out there it was always such a let down when those things didn't happen. Perhaps an image may have been used, but my name wasn't included with it. I always thought of that as a wasted opportunity. How will anyone know that was mine? How will they get to know my name? Ahhhh!

These days I'm not generally fussed if I get a credit or not. As long as I get one some of the time, it doesn't have to be all of the time. I like the little mentions, or images used in various places. I think of them as a form of subtle promotion. Each time these things happen I imagine I'm getting into a few more people's subconscious, and perhaps the next time they see something of mine it will trigger a memory. A form of subliminal advertising perhaps!

Recent examples:

The above K.W.DOGGETT Fine Paper brochure has an image of a Craft Victoria booklet opened on a page that features my work (the spotty one).

Some of my pieces get a mention in this Age article (the bangles of course!)

Arc

ARC: ART, DESIGN & CRAFT BIENNIAL 2007 is currently on show at the QUT Art Museum. Do check it out.

Crappy camera strikes again!

Snap

I need a camera! Actually, I find it pretty amazing that I have gotten away with using a crappy $100 Kodak camera for this long. Said crappy camera used to take the above image & the floral brooch on this book cover.

Being pretty brand loyal I want a Canon, having owned a couple of their SLR's in the past. I still have the lenses (and cameras!) so I'm thinking a digital SLR is the way to go. Perhaps this one? Any thoughts, experiences, opinions?

I probably have a pretty decent eye for colour and composition, but this can only get you so far. It seems well and truly time that I purchased some better equipment. Otherwise I may miss out on future publishing opportunities, and I just can't let that happen!

Fabricgal

My mate Kara Smith will be selling her FABULOUS bags at the Hope Street Markets this weekend. If you're a Sydneysider I'd recommend going along. I won't make this one but maybe I'll get a chance to pop down to Sydney for the next one and do a bit of Xmas shopping (for myself)!

I have two of Kara's bags and I use them ever day - love them, love them & love them some more!

I made these bangles, pictured above, for Kara to wear to the opening event. Pink & Red are her favourite colours so it was lucky she found the pink needles. It was a bit sad to hand them over because those pink ones are so hard to find and just gorgeous!

Wishing you all the best Kara. If you happen to see her over the weekend feel free to say "Hi" from me.

Another 6 Things

I was tagged by art4friends. I don't always follow through with these things but Renee Ann is an art student (COFA) who seems to be working hard to get somewhere. So I say thank you for the tag and good luck to you. I won't tag anyone else though.

1. Here Comes The Sun is my all time favourite song. I'm not a great Beatles fan, no more than most people I guess, but every time I hear that song I feel good & positive, no matter what.

2. I don't like sunshine. I love overcast, drizzly days best.

3. I have the hots for David Duchovny - so much better now!

4. My favourite place to be is underwater.

5. I'm a starry eyed dreamer, who is also ambitious and practical - gosh does that sound like a personals ad? Maybe I should say something about liking long walks on the beach too!

6. I love jelly, but please don't ask me to eat any.

image - stuff on my corkboard