OKC you there

For those of you who will be in Oklahoma City this weekend, check out the OUI pop-up shop.  I'll have some of my mini hanging planters for sale!
-Erin

The Canvas is a teen arts center in St. Paul. The building itself is entirely built from cinder blocks, and has that elementary school feel about it. There is so much that needs to be done in order to make this space feel more like an intelligent and creative environment for teens. Brett and I couldn't help but be charmed by some of the old fixtures in this space. Ideally, we're hoping to preserve the parts we love, and balance them with newness.

clayzy about clays

This winter was spent with my hands submersed in clays of all sorts. I'm excited to reveal some new projects for the spring set at SHIP & SHAPE, on April 1st. This is a necklace I made this winter, similar to the spring collection. All the beads were hand made and glazed from terra cotta.
Keep your eyes peeled!

Lasers and Teens

We have a lot of exciting things going on.. We met with some really great teens at the Canvas last Friday, and are really excited to be doing some collaborative remodeling of their center in St. Paul. We'll be sure to post some images of the progress soon!

Otherwise, there are a handful of items that I am working on for the Spring release at SHIP&SHAPE, launching April 1st. No Joke. Today I received some laser-cut leather that I sent out, and I'm so excited to assemble everything!

Granted

Brett Smith, The Suns of Cudd (2011), Minneapolis College of Art and Design

Brett has worked hard all year, and the installation is complete.
Here is one of the pieces in the show.
Why not go to the MCAD Gallery tonight for the artist discussion?!

Wednesday, October 12, 6:30 p.m.

finger licking

Four more days until we close on our house! If anyone so much as sets a finger on those copper pipes again, they will get some unexpected brass knuckles. I will continue to evolve these knuckles into bigger and better things, but for my first pass, I'm pretty happy to be wearing this other knuckle around my pinky.
Cross your fingers that the next posts will be about home renovation!

Things have been a little crazy around here. We are attempting to buy a house, settle down, open up a grand sisbro studio, and really dedicate ourselves and our extra time to cranking out the goods. So so close to close, then someone stole all the copper pipes in the basement!

We'll keep posting though!

I made a silicone mold of those knuckles and put my wax injector to use, SO EASY! Next, I mounted all those knuckles onto a wax tree. Last night, I was finally able to caste them into metal! Pictures soon..

Knuckle nuggs

I finished with the next step. I carefully carved out each finger into a little knuckle gem, and hollowed each one out using a heated wire, and some wax carving tools. I want as little wax as possible in these shapes so when I cast them, I will not need as much metal, and they won't be so heavy.

chuckles

As an adolescent youth, creative freedom of the self conscious reigns. I chose the unsuspecting knuckles to be the recipient of my embarrassment. I always thought I had the wrinkliest knuckles. I would go to measures such as always keeping my fingers slightly bent, in order to stretch all those wrinkly little joints out. Being older, and a little more secure with these hands, I wanted to create my next piece of jewelry from this part of my body which gave me such horror. This past week, with so much Christmas and New Years vacation, I cast my knuckles in wax! I am thrilled with all those creases and crevices!

This one's dedicated..

To the one, the only, Brett Smith. The guy who puts the bro in sisbro, the one who puts the big in brother, and the dude that puts the B in worker. I want to take the time to congratulate Brett on being a 2010 recipient of the MCAD Jerome Foundation Fellowship!! He is one of 5 selected from 322 applicants. Well deserved brother! Now he just has to figure out what to do with the money (besides buying a tanning bed). I'm sure whatever it is, it will be BIG TIME! Congratulations brett!

you've got mail

With no more large looming projects, we can get back to the little things.. Because that's what counts, right?
We just shipped a red hand from our webshop to the bustling city of London. Touching new continents.

ALZO..Our knit tetrahedron lamps will be lit up and on sale at the MCAD art sale Thursday Nov. 18th, to Saturday the 20th. Fuel the economy, sisters, brothers and such.

New Land of Milk and Honeycomb Salon

We've finished it. Done. No more. Erin Flavin, you have your own salon. Brett and I have some time to breath for the first time in a long time. Now it is time to get haircuts and enjoy the fall. You should get haircuts too. see what we've done.

FLAVINARDO

The big day was last weekend. The whole thing went off without a hitch, ending in a hitch. Flowers and Feasts made by friends, tent communities, freeman karaoke,and a beautiful dress by Ms. Annie Lee Larson. There were so many hands involved in this wedding, but only two left with new rings.

floor leaf clover

We finished putting in the floors.
We got to the final keystone section and noticed that something was missing. I found that something in a patch of grass outside. Our wishes were written in sweat and blood on a tiny piece of paper, in a tiny envelope, fashioned by tiny hands. We secured the last little section floor containing some good luck for the tenant of this space.

EF + JL

Bing bong ding dong!!! That is the sound of wedding bells!!!
Ahhhhh the smell of true love is in the air.. Erin Flavin and James Leonardo are joining forces through matrimony in the coming month.

Flavinardo have asked me to make a couple of wedding bands,an honor that has left me honored.

I've been given two maternal rings. Not to get too poetic, but I plan to melt these two metals together to form the new bands. The diamond setting on Erin's mothers' ring has already been sawn out and preserved, leaving a trace of the old ring on the new.. I'll post photo's as soon as I finish them.

Here's wishing a bright future for these two lovebirds.

MOREBFOREANDAFTOR

Hey! It's cushion time! Are you sitting there wondering "hmmm... I wonder which one is before, and which is after?"
Well, let me clue you in.. I'm not into flowers, UNLESS they are on a bed, a garden bed.

pillow peeple

These pillows are stacking up in the hallway. Whatever free time is left (i.e. waking up too early, going to sleep too late)is spent ripping seams and sewing through my finger.. It will feel so nice to get all these done.. But that floor installation is calling!

after

that chair was so gross to fix. I have a new layer of disintegrated foam flesh now.
Now there are only 12 cushions to go..

before

This poor thing has been through two cats.

ramalamalamakadingadinga dong

Things a coming together, literally. We have 15 boards hand stained and poly'd, ten more to go! Since we are waiting on our routering robot friend, it may be about time to get to work on some re-upholstering. It's been a long time since I took out the old sewing machine, hopefully I didn't break all my needles on the garden bedding for NLMH..