Newyorkamera.com

I am working on a new silver wine cup and have decided to take people along with me as I begin to chase the surface. The first 7 parts have been posted on you tube. You can get to my channel by clicking in this LINK to see the series so far. I will try to post something every few days after I complete work at each stage of  working the design into the cup’s surface.

Here is a ‘preview’ in the form of Parts 3 and 4 where I sketch in the design to see the it in place before making final adjustments. I intend to take you along with these videos using real time where it isn’t boring and showing all the steps it takes to finish a cup, even when I misstep. I am still a student but I have been doing this long enough to know that I can correct or improvise when necessary to complete the project, even if it goes awry or veers from the original plan.

I feel like I passed a milestone last night, there are now over 200 people subscribing to my YouTube Channel.  It’s been gratifying to have such a positive response to my work on line. I enjoy making the videos, they and the response to them, give me as much satisfaction as teaching a class or workshop.

The Art By The Ferry Show will be coming up the first two weekends in June. I have been making a number of new pieces of jewelry for the event. Now that the Friends of Fire Store is open I have pieces there as well as the Red Carpet Gallery on Castleton, both of the establishments are on Staten Island.

The first pieces are Part of the fluorite collection I have been making for summer wear.  The fluorite beads are always cool to the touch and come in colors ranging from clear to greens and purples. A few of the beads will have several colors in them in bands or stripes.

This is an eggplant or deep amethyst colored  necklace. I chose the beads to make an elegant monochromatic statement. All the wires and findings are sterling silver, I make the hooks myself.

The next piece is more typically colored Fluorite showing a good range of the colors.

In person, these are all shades of green, the camera and lighting don’t do them justice. I added flashing hammered silver rings to make the piece sparkle as well as glow.

This last piece is made with Dragon Skin Agate. I like the reticulated character of the markings in the stone. The earth tones will compliment  almost every colored outfit, I like to make things that can be worn daily in stead of being saved for a night out or special occasion.  This is being old as a set too.

The show this year seemed a little smaller than in past years. The plants were beautiful and it was again a quality show.  My only complaint is the use of those terrible red tablecloths. Not very dignified and terribly distracting, especially for photographing the plants. I would also like to see them use smaller entry tags for the plants, it seemed particularly messy, long scraps of paper strewn all over the display tables (also a major distraction when combined with the ribbons).

Some of the first things seen as we entered the show were tufa tub gardens on tables in the center of the cactus part of the show. This one was so nice to see with all of the pink buds announcing Spring.

Naturally we went to the sales area first, we were a day late and the best  plants had probably already been bought and taken away.  It was nice to see Judy Becker  with all of her plants; cactus, succulents, gesneriads and  some unusual begonias (that’s what I bought).

I really like these gesneriads but I just don’t have the space and time for them anymore.

After shopping we went to see the exhibits, starting with the thorny plants.  There were some really well grown fasciated specimens.

This is a particularly nice variegated plant.

Another favorite, but nearly impossible for me to grow plant, a tylecodon.

This conophytum was in bloom, a rare feat for a show, the grower deserves the blue ribbon for his excellent growing.

Another nicely grown conophytum.

A sinningia with a crusty tuber.

Two beautifully grown euphorbias.

A varigated haworthia.

A tight little gasteria.

A festively colored, variegated gasteria.

Two more plants rarely displayed with flowers.  The one on the right is a massonia.

Some plants in the caudex section.

Crested succulents.

A crested echeveria pulvinata.

My trichocaulons never looked like this,  thisone must have been carefully pruned for YEARS. . .

This is a spectacular varigated haworthia.  It won all the top prizes in the show.

This cucurbit has a magnificent caudex and was bearing fruit.

Someone planted this exuberant mix in a birdbath. A wonderful arrangement,  the star of which is the red echeveria.

Part of the educational display.

A gymnocalycium.

A couple of Ubelmanias.

A budded astrophytum.

A shot of the auction in progress, Dr gerry Barad is  up front to the right of the auctioneer.

A boweia.

The furry cactus display.

This is a grand adenium.