…stays at SNAG. (Unless you’ve got a room full of people taking pictures.)

I’m about to board a plane home, but SNAG was a blast. I can’t wait to go home and get back into the studio.

Above: Phil and Doug duke it out at the final night party.

I feel like I’m blogging about the conference in reverse order, but I’m just trying to get everything down.

On Wednesday I spoke about blogging and web 2.0 at the Professional Development Seminar. Overall, it was a great event. I think people were really excited about all the information that was presented. Thanks to everyone who came out, and especially those who introduced themselves!

It was great to spend time with fellow presenters Marthe Le Van of Lark Books, Ivan Barnett of Patina Gallery, and Amy Tavern (pictured above). Amy spoke on new trends and indie opportunities, and I though her presentation was a nice compliment to mine. Amy also has a blog, so check that out as well.

While at SNAG, I had the chance to talk to Gabriel Craig, who I met briefly at ACC. Gabriel is a grad student at VCU, and writes an excellent blog called Conceptual Metalsmithing. Gabriel’s blog turns a critical eye at what is going on in our field, and is definitely a must read.

In addition, Gabriel is seeking submissions – so if you’ve got a burning topic to discuss, contact him at gabriel.craig(at)gmail.com.

Today we went to the Jepson Center for the Arts to see the exhibition titled Contemporary Jewelry: Channels of Communication. This exhibition included work by perennial favorites Tina Rath and Manfred Bischoff.

Then we stumbled into an area called ArtZeum – a hands on area designed to appeal to kids (and metalsmiths). With places to draw and make magnetic sculpture, this area certainly gave me some thoughts on how to stimulate creativity in the studio.

Our last stop on the gallery tour was the Art/Industry exhibition, curated by Don Friedlich, at the Pinnacle Gallery. This was an exhibit of artists using industrial processes such as laser cutting and rapid prototyping. This was a small exhibition, but really showcased how some of these industrial processes are coming into their own.

I really enjoyed the laser cut mylar jewelry of Gabrielle Fitzgibbon. (We actually ran into Gabrielle at the exhibition, nicely modeling her own work.)

At the SNAG Juried Student Exhibition, one of the artists who generated a lot of buzz (and rightfully so) was Allyson Bone. Her layered, oxidized sterling pieces have a blend of ornament and kitsch that feels very contemporary.

I was equally impressed by the vessels of Allyson’s University of Iowa classmate Jillian Moore.

Jennifer Wall‘s felt and sterling pieces appeared to be popping up all over SNAG – including the student show.

And finally, Anne Fiala‘s laser-cut vessel was another strong piece among this year’s student work.

Last night was the SNAG gallery tour. We actually hit up on of the of the exhibitions – Materialistic at the Whitney Gallery – a little earlier in the day. This was a must see for me in order to check out this brooch by Margaux Lange, one of my favorite people.

I was really impressed by this brooch made of cupcake sprinkles by Kristi Sword.

Kristi also has images of some amazing site-specific installations on her website as well.

Today was the most beautiful day in Savannah, far too nice to sit in lectures all day. This morning we went to Bonaventure Cemetery, where I became enamored with these “grave tiles.” I’m trying to track down information, but its definitely scarce. I took a number of pictures at the cemetery, that I’ll be posting later.

In the afternoon, we went to check out SCAD‘s Working Class Studio which is housed under an old bridge. It was great to see a functioning design studio run in a large part by students (and some dedicated alumni).

I arrived in Savannah yesterday (my first time on a plane in 5 years!) for the annual SNAG conference. While there are definitely some lectures I’m interested in, I’m even more excited about the chance to explore the city with Annie.

This afternoon, I’ll be presenting about navigating the web 2.0. Wish me luck!

I just wanted to share a few of the great artists I met during ACC wholesale days.

Heather Guidero (who I was lucky enough to trade with)

Rhonda from Figs & Ginger

Ananda Khalsa

Miel-Margarita Paredes