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There is nothing that will block the path towards acceptance in a juried situation more quickly than a poor quality or unintelligible image-- be it digital or film. The goal is to convey as much information about the piece pictured as possible without ambiguity or confusion. Relying on the jurors having any time or desire to puzzle out what is going on in an image will result in an irritated jury indisposed to accepting the entry. A poor image may indicate to a jury that the artist doesnt take their work seriously enough to find a way to document it well. When the competition is stiff (the amount of quality images/entries is high) this can definitely affect an artists chances of making the cut. There are certainly instances when a piece is so strong that it can shine through a screen of poor photography. But relying on that is faith misplaced. If the only true acquaintance a juror--be they an exhibition juror, book or magazine editor or gallery director-- has with a piece is the image taken of it, then that image had better make a positive first impression. (2005) Complete Story
Lapis lazuli, as lovely as its exotic name, has decorated humans and enhanced their art for thousands of years. Normally a rich deep shade of blue or blue-violet, lapis lazuli may at times have a slight greenish cast.... (2001) Complete Story
The traditional Mokume process yields very beautiful results but is extremely labor intensive. Along with the high price of labor is the large amount of waste. The shape of the finished product is also limited to the limits of the ancient process, no cast pieces. The Satow method gives you the ability to transform almost any finished piece that is cast, hand fabricated or even a wax model to create your own custom Mokume piece.... (2006) Complete Story
There are two brands of metal clay available today; Precious Metal Clay and Art Clay Silver. There are a lot of similarities between the two, and some differences. My experience is with Precious Metal Clay (PMC), so the techniques and methods that I write about will be from this vantage point.... (2004) Complete Story
Pewter, an alloy of tin, antimony, and copper, dominated European tableware for half a millennium until it was eclipsed by porcelain in the early 19th century. Now, almost two hundred years later pewter has entered a renaissance in the hands of creative metalsmiths. In this project, suitable for beginners, you will learn how to cut, form, fuse, solder, and finish pewter to produce a lovely and function cup.... (2007) Complete Story
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