Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Studio Time: Demure


It's April 1! It's official! I'm launched as Kanna Glass Studios! The newsletter is done and will be sent out at noon today. Newsletter subscribers have early access to some of the goodies I've been working on...an Inspiration Journal for those who like to print off ideas and something to jog their muse...and another goodie I'll blog about in a week or so.


The inspirations are designed with the reader in mind: sometimes our creative sprite takes a vacation and leaves us with very little to work with. Or, sometimes we're new and trying to switch on the creative engine. I believe people have loads of inspiration swirling in their heads...sometimes it's just learning to lasso and corral those thoughts and give it focus. I'll be taking photos of things that inspire me and show the various directions my mind wanders with the theme. If you do feel inspired, please share your results!

pallid green haze
dove-grey clouds
pale robins egg blue
what is inspiring me?

Muted, subdued shades. It pushes me out of my comfort zone of bright, cheery colors. What about you? How does the photo challenge you? Do the words compel you in a direction? What are you inspired to create when you see and read the above?


First off, here is a fun little necklace named, "A Little Bit East, A Little Bit West." It's a 22-inch necklace featuring a gorgeous Sarah Hornik focal. I have a tendency to love color and create color riots in my jewelry. I tried to tone down this tendency just a bit. While I didn't completely eliminate color, I did try to focus on the beads and materials that would play up the glass bead focal. As a former nine-year resident of Texas and a new resident of Hong Kong, I find myself trying to blend some influences from each area. In my mind, turquoise is synonymous with the American Southwest and cultured pearls are synonymous with the Far East...therefore, a Little Bit East, a Little Bit West. Available in my Artfire shop.
And I must make a sidebar and rave about Sarah's beads. She pushed herself out of her comfort zone and did some encased florals. They aren't exactly "her thing," but she does them so well! (More, Sarah, please!) And they were exactly the type of florals I love...bright and cheery. She did seven of these, I bought six...three of them will appear in this month's blog.

One thing I find with my "signature style" is that some people struggle with how to wear it since it's a little bit, well, different. Here are some of my suggestions: I really like wearing this with a turtleneck or on the outside of a white button-down shirt. It's a slightly longer length and looks great with shirts that have some kind of collar like the ones mentioned. The glass bead has a number of colors in it like turquoise, pink, blue, green...any of those colors look great with this necklace. It also stands out against any of the classic neutrals such as black, white, navy, brown, and gray. If you're a little more daring, you can pick up on a darker shade in the glass bead to really make the necklace pop.

Monday, March 30, 2009

Hong Kong Chronicles: Sun Joy

Yay! After a month without sun, it's finally stopping by to visit! Happy, happy, joy, joy!! (That's from a cartoon, but I can't remember which one...Edit: I remembered...it's from Ren & Stimpy. Only I don't mean happy, happy, joy, joy in the satirical way they sang it...I mean Happy for real that there is SUN in my world!) Ah, vitamin D is good!

I'm going to soak up my sun-joy and store it for the periods of no sun. Usually the mountains and sea make up for the lack of sun, but the fog was shrouding all of it. Fog is a wee bit oppressive.


In spite of the sun-lack, I'm still finding endless sources of inspiration here in Hong Kong. Molly and I take inspiration walks on Sunday. I plan to have monthly themes for my newsletter. The above is a sample of one of the themes I'm going to refine..."Textures." This was my first in a line of experiments I have in mind. This was the best of the photos...but I want to improve angles, lighting, composition. Just a little preview of plans in the works.

Official launch as Kanna Glass Studios is tomorrow, April 1. (Not a joke.) Updated links:
Website * Blog * Flickr * Artfire

Thursday, March 26, 2009

Studio News: Sneak peek of the newsletter...

I've been wracking my brain for what to post in the iterim between now and my official launch of April 1. I have so much pouring out of my head that I'm excited to share with you, but I want to share it once I've officially launched.

However, I thought it would be helpful to show you the sneak peek of the newsletter. I've agonized and struggled with the formatting, content, and layout. I want it to be worthy of your readership...to inspire, inform, and entertain. I'm pretty happy with the result. Here is the peek of the first section:




Don't forget to update your bookmarks with the new addresses:
Website * Blog * Store * Flickr

ZaiJian, y'all! (ZaiJian is Mandarin for "See you later!")

Monday, March 16, 2009

Hong Kong Chronicles: Mom finally took me for a walk!


Hi!
Mom finally took me for a walk. But, she had to keep stopping to take pictures of me and the flowers. And I had to keep posing. Oh, well. At least I got to get out of the apartment and say, "Wang!" to my new little Chinese doggy buddies.

Wang!
Hong Kong Molly
(Note: actually Molly said, "Wang, wang, wang, wang, wang, wang." She's learned Mandarin and Cantonese much faster than me. I took the liberty of translating for her on this post. ~ Molly's Mom)

Saturday, March 14, 2009

Studio Time: Previews of work

I have a pile o' jewelry that is getting ready for posting. I'm still experimenting around with my photography, and backgrounds, but I'm heading in the direction I want to head. I still need a bust to display the jewelry and how it lays, but, that will come.

Here are some little previews...

A little more eyecandy here.




Thursday, March 12, 2009

Studio News: I'm getting a little nervous

***bbgaaakkk***

I'm starting to turn chicken. I'm getting nervous. Scared really.

It's comforting to read successful artists who have fear. And fight their fear.

These are some of the most inspiring blogs I absolutely adore reading. These are must-reads when I need something pretty to look at and something inspiring to think about.

  • Kelly Rae, I love her inspiration and how she has been working to overcome and live with her uncomfortable feelings.
  • My most favorite blog, The Noisy Plume. She writes in poetry and prose all the time and makes gorgeous silver jewelry. And she's successful. And she still has fear.
In spite on knowing that being scared is normal: when you're launching, when you're in the middle of success, when you're changing, when you're putting you're work out there. I know I should expect it. And I do feel scared. I'm scared of putting my work out there. I'm scared it won't be good enough. I'm scared it's too quirky. I'm scared of being weird and annoying. I'm afraid of online stalkers.
I'm also scared of success. While I haven’t tended to and grown my internet business into a successful, productive endeavor (yet), I get a pleasant buzz of excitement from IRL (In Real Life) people for my work. And things were starting to lift off on the internet when I had to put everything on hold for my move to Hong Kong. I get custom orders. Which is exciting! I'm just scared I won't be able to keep up!
When I consider the question, "What would you do if money wasn't an object?" Well, this is it. I don't do jewelry for the money. I do it because I thoroughly enjoy making jewelry, need the creative outlet, and end up sharing what I love. I’m able to understand techniques and explain them to the end consumer which helps increase their appreciation for handmade jewelry. I am also able to share little bits and pieces of what I learn about some of the technical aspects of running a small business with fellow artists and have a unique perspective as a project manager in my day job.
I don't know if I want to make it my full-time job. I’ve seriously given the subject some thought and crunched the numbers. A few factors play into my decision to keep this part-time. I actually like the intersection of my day job and my creative outlet. Also, because I want to always enjoy doing jewelry, I don't want to be driven by the need to make a living off of it. (And, it’s a tough economy to be doing something that falls into an “extra.”) While it's a necessity for me to create, an emotional release, it just falls to the bottom in my pile-o'-tasks and will be the first thing to get dropped when life is busy.
****bgak, bgk, bgk, bgk****
Swallowing the fear.
If you've been hanging out here, lately, don't forget to move over to the new blog: Kanna Glass Studios.

Monday, March 9, 2009

Studio News: Newsletter Sign-Up


Here is some information on the newsletter I'm planning to launch on April 1.
The Kanna Spark!
sharing creative and business inspirations for launching artists
After a major relocation (from Hong Kong to Texas) and two years of experimenting with my online presence, and fielding questions from other new artists regarding online activities, my brain suddenly latched onto the little niche I'm planning to explore.
A little history: everyone is a unique intersection of experiences, thoughts, and feelings. One of my alter egos is as a project manager in the IT field. While I'm not uber-technical (I'm just a project manager...which means I don't actually do any of the work) technology doesn't scare me. I do get frustrated. Often. But I'll chip away at it until I can make it "heel" good enough to suit my needs. I often find myself in a position of assisting others who are a little more intimidated by technology.
I plan to use my blend of day job experiences with my creative inspirations to help newer artists find their online, business, and creative footing.
Regular sections of the newsletter will contain:
  • Ignite the Fire - what is sparking my creative imagination at the moment
  • A Business Bite - some technical tidbits about lampworking or various business activities that may be of use as you develop your business
  • Interpretations - how my brain took the theme from "Ignite the Fire" and interpreted it into jewelry
  • My Favorite Things - favorite online destinations, books, or whatever I'm finding particularly useful at the moment.
  • Kanna Glass Studios Online - the KGS promotion bit.
The sign-up box is over on the left.
I will archive the newsletters on my website in chronological order as well as by subject order.
I will continue to use my blog as a complement to the newsletter, posting the finished pieces of jewelry and some current musings.

Studio News: Pre-launch info


K, y'all. I've set a date. Here is the official information. It will continue to morph into the realized new me: Kanna Glass Studios. Thank you so much for hanging in there and continuing to follow!


The official launch: April 1.


I will be "double-publishing" on both sites until y'all have moved over. Here are the new addy's (addresses):


Website:
Home
Blog:
Blog
Store:
Artfire
Gallery:
Flickr


I have a special gift for those who sign up for my newsletter! Please respond to this post if you're interested in the newsletter...here is a sneak peek of the gift... 20 pages of fresh, unique, original photography, etc. by l'il ole me for you to do with as you please.

Studio News: Launch Date - April 1

Big deep breath.

Yep.

I'm publishing a date. April 1.

I will be "double-publishing" on both sites until y'all have moved over.

Here are the new addy's (addresses):
Website: Home
Blog: Blog
Store: Artfire
Gallery: Flickr

Wednesday, March 4, 2009

Artfully Meandering: I knew it!

Doodling is good for you.

I've always doodled. Sometimes, I doodle more than other times. I've started more doodling in the last few years when I started my art focus in earnest. It's an interesting correlation - I started art as a relief valve for stress. I started doodling more to get more design ideas. After reading this blog and watching this video, I think the two are intertwined. Can't tell which came first. After getting razzed for doodling in meetings and people commenting on how bored I must be, this little post and video shows that people get more out of listening when they doodle!

Blog post:
http://cbslocalblogs.prospero.com/n/blogs/blog.aspx?nav=main&webtag=KCNC_Hnida&entry=141

Video:
http://cbs4denver.com/health/doodling.memory.stress.2.949648.html

Regarding the new digs: I'm getting closer! I have the content of my first newsletter ready to go, and several newsletters after that. Right now, I'm working on all the mechanics of changing my brand. Running into some technical snags (what's new) with a dead computer, reloading software, etc. I hate to set a date and then miss it, so I'm going to hold off for now...if I can get the technical issues under control, I will project a date. Right now, it's too early to say.

In the meantime, I thought I'd just post a little note to say, "It's okay to doodle." :-)