It has been a year!

Yikes it has been an entire years since I last posted on my blog... to the day. A lot has changed in that year. Not my location, thank goodness, but my job and my art have changed quite a bit. I am now working full time at the Broadway Cafe on Kelley Barracks, here in Germany. I get to say I'm the 'Manager', but we use this term very loosely since it is not in fact actually true... lol But because I am full time and do the shopping and am the chiefest coffee slinger, I use that title so the customers will have someone they can direct any issues to. Alan who is all of ours' boss is responsible for a plethora of things and leaves the cafe running to me. The cafe is a bit of an art gallery as well and we display pieces by artists here in the military community that have contracted through MWR for that privilege. Of course I am one and happily discuss my art with anyone willing to stand still long enough. Stephen (the computer genius hubby)also has pieces on display. I have explained HDR photography innumerable times and even though I have never even tried to do it, (not fancying myself a photographer of anything more than flowers and cats) I think I could teach a class if I had a good power point. No not really, but I can explain it well enough that someone who has no idea what HDR is at the beginning will walk away with a glimmer of an idea about what it is afterward. :) I have been selling my work at a rate of about on piece a month since December. The trouble is that I can not display the art I am doing the most of though. Since our arrival here in Germany I have been really making an effort (and strides if I get to toot my own horn) in the way of figurative abstract. Mostly divine feminine pieces that contain nudity (not that you were unaware of that). I am still doing the odd piece that I can display as well, to get people interested enough in my work to maybe want one of my nude pieces in the future. I have also taught a few non-formal painting classes. They have been very small,just one or two people, add paint and wine and we have fun. I definitely want to continue doing them, and may schedule one soon. In may I entered two pieces into the yearly arts and crafts contest ran by the Patch Multi Crafts Center. Both the pieces I entered placed second in their categories. I have been amazed by the art community here. Stephen recently joined a local photography group for Americans and he had been going non-stop doing shoots, teaching and learning from them. They are a really fun group of people. I can not find a link to their page on facebook, but when I get one I will post it.
I will leave you with a progress pic of what is on my easel right now. It is a mixed media: pencil, acrylic paint & washes, oil pastel, oil paint, craft paper and an artsy map of the Neckar river here in the area.

Crossing the Neckar

Hope to post a bit quicker next time.
Cheers,
Nikka

Fun things to do at Patch Arts & Crafts

My first candle making class will be @ Patch Arts & Crafts, on September 22nd, 6-8PM. With a second meeting September 29 @ 6pm to pick up finished candles and a brief Q&A. I am told this will be a small group, so contact the store soon to sign up.
Reclaimed candles are made from recycled wax saved from old candles. They are fun and easy to make and really unique looking and are a low cost homemade gift that you will enjoy giving.


Although Patch Arts & Crafts does not regularly have ceramic clay in stock, we can acquire some on your behalf if requested. Beginner and Intermediate classes are available at the store. This September I will be taking the beginner class with Katelyn instructing. Basic techniques include Pinch, Coil and Slump molding. I would invite anyone wanting to get their hands dirty in September to take this class.


My most recent ceramic painting piece is this latte mug. It has yet to be fired, but I am excited to see how the colors come to life. There are several types of cups available for painting, from stacking teacups to jumbo cappuccino mugs. They are perfect for gifts.


A while back our store inherited many ceramic glazes from Kelley Woodshop's ceramic department. It has been on the back burner, but we are finally getting text tiles done, so people can see what the glazes look like upon firing. Eventually they will be available for customers to use.

That's all for now. Thanks for reading and if you find yourself on Patch Tuesday-Friday between the hours of 10AM & 2PM, feel free to come on in and chat with me.

Cheers,
Nikka

One Month on the Job

Hi Everybody, I seem to have made it through just about a month at the craft store. It has been a mostly enjoyable experience. My daily schedule is pretty set. 10-2 Tuesday-Friday, some Saturdays and some later hours for classes and birthday parties. It will add up to about 20 hours a week.

I am still one of the new faces though and remembering everyone's name is a challenge. Some of the employees only come in a few days a week.

My sushi dish is all finished. I think it came out pretty good considering it is my first piece. Here it is as I found it this AM upon opening the kiln.

I have yet to do anything with the purse pattern, aside from cutting out the cloth and ironing the interface on. The hat project turned out pretty sad. I seem to be very rusty with a sewing machine. I hope to get better, but finances and spare time are holding that up. I want to do a few more simple projects before I try to tackle the purse. I really want to do a good job on it, so it will have to wait. All the ironing may make me less likely to sew though. It is my least favorite chore after all.

I have done a few fun and easy things with wire lately. Here is a pendant I made with wire, paper clay and acrylic paints. It is suppose to be a taproot.

Here is one I made with wire and a ceramic bead I made years ago.

A few days ago we had quite a group in the pottery classroom. The weather was rainy and the tables were full. They were kind enough to let me take a few pics.

Today I taught my first ever ceramic painting class. There were three groups and two were together in one class. The kids were all from the CDC at the different bases here in the area. They painted jungle animals and then colored with markers until everyone was done. They asked a lot of really good questions and kept me on my toes.