Humboldt Artisans Craft and Music Festival

Join us this weekend (Nov 30th, Dec 1st and 2nd) at the Redwood Acres Fairgrounds for a dose of holiday cheer! This year our booth will be located in the Vickers Building. Stop by, say hello, sip hot chocolate, go for the big bag of kettle corn, and check out new work by NCMAG members!

Randy Terra casts his Sterling Silver and Resin Rings from hand carved wax:

Erin Austin has new additions to her Eyelet Lace Collection:

as well as a collection of pieces that incorporate fiber:

Lia Sharp has also been working in fiber with her "kanzashi" (folded cloth flowers) rings: :

Other new items this year include Christmas ornaments, golf ball markers, and an array of other treasures! Stop by and say hello!

Fair Hours:

Friday 12:00 - 9:00
Saturday 10:00 - 7:00
Sunday 10:00 - 6:00
Admission is free after 5pm or with a toy donation.

 

Browse unique handmade items from local artisans and support small business this holiday season! Our favorite booths from previous years include live mushroom kits for foodies, handmade wooden toys for the littles, gorgeous brooms for the hearth, a variety of ceramics, Christmas decorations galore, and much more!

Happy Holidays from the North Coast Metal Arts Guild! 

Enameling Techniques Workshop

Work featuring Champleve enamel by Erin House

We are really excited about the February workshop: Enameling Techniques. Enameling is a great way to add color to jewelry and metal work. Not only does it produce incredible results, the process is fun as well. In this workshop NCMAG members Erin Austin and Erin House will lead students through basic enameling techniques including choosing and preparing metals and enamels, using the enameling kiln, and finishing enameled pieces. Sifting, Stamping and Champleve enameling techniques will be covered. Each student will leave with at least one finished piece and will have plenty of time for experimentation!

Materials Required for this workshop:
   Face Mask with Respirator
   Your favorite rubber stamp 

February 18th and 19th
Time: 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM


For more information or to sign up for this workshop please visit the workshop page!
As always if you have any questions please contact us at ncmetalartsguild@gmail.com.

Fun with Cuttle Bone Casting!

Randy Terra

Last weekends Cuttle Bone Casting Workshop was so much fun! Erin House started off the workshop with a look at some very inspiring work from metalsmiths using the technique in their work and then we dove right in to making molds. Although this process can be somewhat messy, it's relatively quick and cleans up without too much hassle.

Here students create a flat surface by rubbing two pieces of cuttle bone together and then press objects into the mold. Randy is using a swizzle stick out of his incredible collection that we had a great time looking over. Thanks for sharing Randy!

Next Erin House demonstrated how to melt the metal (the fun part!). We used sterling, bronze, and copper to create several different alloys.

 

Here's Randy making his first pour! And the results from that swizzle stick:

On day two we moved on to three part molds. A bit more challenging, but they allowed for undercuts and a more developed second plane. Here's a two finger ring using a three part mold from the assistant Erin Austin:

And since we had the equipment out, we decided to run next door to the hardware store for a broom so we could try out some broom casting. Everyone agreed that the resulting forms were from another planet (krypton perhaps).

For information on upcoming workshops check out the Workshop page of the blog. Next up: Enameling!
http://northcoastmag.blogspot.com/p/workshops.html

January Exhibition

 Hibernation and Rebirth

Erin Austin, "Clutch", Sterling Silver, Brass, Silk, Wool, Thread

In 2012 we plan on putting on a mini exhibition every month in the NCMAG Studio! Whether the exhibitions work around a theme or feature a guild member, we hope that they will inspire members to create new work and the public to come out and see it. This months exhibition, Hibernation and Rebirth, will feature work from NCMAG members Erin Austin, Erin House, and Lia Sharp. Opens tomorrow, January 13th during Arts Arcata at Hunter Plaid Gallery, 90 Sunny Brae Center.

Cuttlebone Casting Workshop

Learn an ancient casting technique using the soft, carve-able bone of the cuttle fish with NCMAG member Erin House. You might recall this technique illustrated at the beginning of The Lord of the Rings, when the infamous ring was made. Students will learn to cut, carve and cast into the cuttle bone. Everyone will make a ring or pendant that showcases the unique texture of the cuttle bone using bronze that will be provided.

Dates: January 21st and 22nd
Time: 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM
Sign up deadline: January 13th


Materials Required for this workshop:
   Splash Safety Goggles
   Waterproof Sandpaper (400 and 600 grit, one sheet each)
   Needle File Set

Student Work from Erin's last cuttle bone workshop (before cleanup):

To sign up for this workshop please visit the Workshop page of the NCMAG blog or drop by the
NCMAG studio in Hunter Plaid Gallery, 90 Sunny Brae Center, Arcata, CA Wed-Sat from 12-5pm. For more information please email us at ncmetalartsguild@gmail.com.

Here's a look at our other upcoming workshops!

14th Annual Art, Crafts, Food and Wine Festival

Saturday, September 24 · 11:00am - 4:00pm

The North Coast Metal Arts Guild will be participating in the 14th Annual Art, Crafts, Food and Wine Festival at the Fieldbrook Valley Winery. This is a fund-raising event that benefits the children of Fieldbrook Elementary School. Come join us for good food, wine, and local arts and crafts. There will be local music and a raffle. This is fun for the whole family. The Guild will be selling member's jewelry and one pair of earrings will be donated to the raffle. We hope to see you there!

Fieldbrook Valley Winery

4241 Fieldbrook Rd

Fieldbrook, CA

Opening Night Fundraiser

A big thank you to everyone who came out to support the Guild and celebrate our new space! We had a great time and were able to raise money that will go toward maintaining the space and purchasing supplies for our first workshop, Cuttle Bone Casting, on September 24th. For those of you who were unable to make it out for the fundraiser, here's a peak at our new studio space !

NCMAG Studio and Silent Auction

Don't worry, the tasty treats by donation in the picture below will be making appearances at Arts Arcata in the future!

Erin Austin and Erin House with some tasty treats

Don't miss out on the Trunk Show happening on September 10th! It's the perfect chance to get some great deals on jewelry from local artists!

NCMAG and Hunter Plaid Gallery

We are very excited to announce that the guild has found a home! We are currently busy moving into Hunter Plaid Gallery and Studios in Arcata, California. Please come join us Friday, August 12th during Arts Arcata (6-9pm) to help us celebrate our new location and raise money so that we can better bring the metal arts to our community. A silent auction will be held from 6-8pm and will feature member work, gift certificates for workshops, as well as some other metalsmithing goodies. There will also be baked goods including brownies, rice krispy treats and cup cakes available by donation. All proceeds will go to buying tools and maintaining the space so that we can offer workshops to the community.  Workshop schedules, sign up sheets, and membership applications will also be available.



Hunter Plaid Gallery and Studios
90 Sunnybrae Center
Arcata, CA 95521

Featured Artists: An Aggregation of Artistic Aptitude

Opening Reception for "An Aggregation of Artistic Aptitude" is tonight during Arts Arcata at Hunter Plaid Gallery in the Sunny Brae Center. Featuring work by NCMAG members:

Erin Austin

Armor Ring

Erin House 

Sundial Ring

and Lia Sharp

as well as work by:

Phyllis Barba
Michael Batty
Tim Clewell
Kristin Clohessy
Kelley Donahue
Eric Furman
Jeff Hunter
Kristen Hunter
Sam Kirby
Tess Keller
Jennifer McKibbin
Ruth Miller
Drew Mohr
Matt Porr
Radar
Jen Towne

John Vitale

What's new this week: Roller printed earrings by Erin House

One of our member's, Erin House,  has some new earrings that we would like to share with you.  Erin has incorporated roller printing in some of her other larger pieces in the past, now she is carrying that over into her production lines.  The process Erin uses to create the "embossed" look on the metal involves etching a 14 to 16 gauge piece of half hard brass using ferric chloride (chemical salt solution) and rolling that through a rolling mill sandwiched with a piece of  sterling or copper.  The pressure of the rolling mill imparts the design onto the metal.  Keep a look out for a tutorial on this process soon!  Also, if you like these earrings, you can get them at Ironside Gallery in Arcata, or Erin House Designs etsy page.

                       

Featured Artist: HSU Alumni Lindsay Behr, Becky Grant and Casey Ganely

Metal artists Lindsay Behr, Casey Ganley  and Becky Grant (with ceramics) are amongst the 28 artists that will have work at the HSU emerging alumni exhibition opening tomorrow night and running through August 7th.  If you are in the Humboldt area make sure to get into First Street Gallery to check it out. The work is always inspiring.

Lindsay Behr

Casey Ganley

Becky Grant 

Elastic opens this weekend (July 2) during Arts Alive at First Street Gallery.

NCMAG is now at Ironside Gallery!

Erin House; Sterling Silver

New work from the members of the North Coast Metal Arts Guild can now be found at Ironside Gallery in Arcata, California! We are really excited about this new opportunity for the guild. A huge thank you goes out to the wonderful people at Ironside Gallery for this great opportunity. If you are in the Arcata area stop by 900 9th street and take a look at all the amazing work on display from some very talented local artists!

Erin Austin; Copper

Jessie Howes; Sterling Silver, Paper

Trinidad Fish Festival

NCMAG will be at the 54th annual Trinidad Fish Festival on Sunday June 19th.  Come out and enjoy some local fish,  beer, wine and art on Main Street in beautiful Trinidad!

 Highlights include:

• Charcoal-grilled salmon and whitefish, or deep-fried whitefish dinners – Salmon $15, Whitefish $11, Combo $13.  Children under 12, $8.  Senior Discount, $1
• Soda, beer, and wine from Moonstone Crossing and Winnett Vineyards
• Free live music all day – Lineup TBA
• Children’s activities area
• Street fair with artists and artisans from Main Street to the Memorial Lighthouse
• Tours of Trinidad Head Lighthouse tours (only happens once a year!)
• Coast Guard helicopter rescue demonstration
• Shuttles up Trinidad Head for free tours of the working lighthouse
• Free Parking behind Saunders Shopping Center (off View Street)

Thanks Humboldt Arts Festival!

NCMAG Booth

  Samba Parade

On May 13th and 14th The North Coast Metal Arts Guild  participated in the second annual Humboldt Arts Festival in Arcata, California.  This arts, music and dance festival coincides with the graduation ceremony at Humboldt State University, also located in Arcata, California.  This is a festival that celebrates local artists of all kinds in Humboldt County California.  We had such a good time connecting with the community and other local artists.  All four members(Erin House, Erin Austin, Lia Sharp and Jessie Howes) of the guild were there at the festival to sell their wears.  There was some great local art represented and for sale at the festival like, ceramics, jewelry, sculpture, clothing and some great screen printing too.  We met these two hilarious ladies selling screen printed shirts cardigans, and sweatshirts.  They call themselves Tease and their stuff is great! There is also an art show at the Ironside Gallery that opened the day of the festival and will be up until June 30th.   After the sun went down on the first night there was an amazing fire dancing show complete with three large metal sculptures shooting fire into the air!  It was the most incredible fire show I have ever seen.
I included pictures of our booth and our fancy new banner that Erin Austin and her husband Geoff did the graphics for.  Also, a picture of our free standing wall that Erin Austin and I (Erin House)made and finished with some great fabric Erin had lying around.  Thank you to everyone who participated in the Humboldt Arts Festival!  It was a blast!

Member Interview: Lia Liette Sharp

Tell us a bit about yourself

A) I'm really just a big kid.  B) I like contradictions/juxtapositions  C) Once upon a time my aspiration was fashion design.  I got scared and didn't pursue it.  Three years later I finally took my first art class and realized I could actually draw a little, but still didn't have a lot of confidence.  Six years after that I took my first Jewelry class.  I feel like jewelry design/fabrication is the perfect nexus of fashion and art. 

 

Describe your work in one sentence
I like making characters by combining traditional methods/materials with whatever oddness strikes my fancy


What pieces are you most proud of?

I'm currently most proud of what I'm calling 'the Tisha Necklace' because, for the first time, I got my 14 year old son to work on jewelry with me. My favorite pieces tend to change with every new wave of work. I'm really happy with the "Grass is Always Greener" skully (pictured above).

What are you favorite materials to work with?
If I had to name specific things it would be copper, enamel, laminate, and Shrinky Dink Paper- but really my favorite is the unexpected outside object that is different every time.  One time it will be an eye from a doll, the next it's 3M orthodontic supplies.


What direction do you see your work going in?

I feel like I'm still 'finding myself' through my art.  Framing is here to stay, but the way it manifests will continue to morph.  My life is currently is mostly pleasant upheaval, and I myself am uncertain how this will affect my art.

Who or what is your biggest artistic influence?
The accouterments of childhood (toys, plastic hair barrettes, etc.) and retro aesthetics. 


What is the best advice you've ever been given?
Work Smarter Not Harder!


If you could add one tool to your collection what would it be?
Sandblaster or vacuum former

What do you listen to in the studio?
I have two in studio playlists.  One is composed of Ratatat, Mimosa, Bonobo, Orbital, and Daft Punk.  The other is anything I find fun to sing to, from Nina Simone to Electric Six.

What is your most prized possession?
My collection of odd bits of this and that.


Do you collect anything? If so, do you display your collections?
See last Question. The display part happens when they find their place in my work.


How do you spend most of your free time?
I ride my bike, listen to music, and I watch cartoons with my shiny new boyfriend.


What do you wish you were doing with your free time?
I sorta gave up on my monthly coloring books.  I'd like to get back to that at some point.

Where can we see your work?

Hunter Plaid in Arcata, CA; Essence Of Humboldt in Arcata, CA; and Origin Design Lab in Eureka, CA. 

On Etsy: Concupiscence

I'll also be at the Humboldt Arts Festival with the NCMAG on May 14th and 15th in Arcata, CA.