Thankful to Live in Raleigh

After today, I really appreciate living in such a FANTASTIC place! There is so much support here for emerging artists.  Today I went to a great lecture series given by the Visual Art Exchange (http://visualartexchange.org) called Business of Being an Artist.  Topics covered included; creating a cohesive series, photographing your work, applying for grants and fellowships and navigating social media.  All the topics covered were very valuable.  There wasn't a moment when I wasn't learning something. 
Back to how great Raleigh is.  There are so many patrons here that are open to buying art and supporting artists.   Galleries are very supportive and willing to work with artists to help them and the artist grow.  There are also many different studio spaces for artists to create (ie http://artspacenc.org) Independent businesses are also willing to consign or purchase art for sale or decoration.  Then there are so many organizations like the VAE and the NC Arts Council that support artists to be able to continue creating and grow their careers. 
I feel very blessed to live in such a supportive area and grateful to those who made all this possible.  Keep Creating :)

Loving my Metal Smith Roots

The more I enamel, the more I realize that this is truly a metal smithing art.  Not only are you painting with grains of glass onto metal, but the setting you put your piece in is just as important as the enameled surface.  I am starting to focus my work into the set enameled pieces.  I find this challenges me as an artist to think ahead to the setting and take it into account form the beginning.  As a metal smith I am certainly challenged to use all of my knowledge to create the piece I have envisioned.  There is a fantastic quote that embodies this. Every creator painfully experiences the chasm between his inner vision and its ultimate expression.  ~Isaac Bashevis Singer  Just some food for thought.  Keep Creating