MEGAN AUMAN

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SFMOMA jewelry trunk show

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Last weekend I flew to San Francisco to participate in SFMOMA jewelry trunk show. This is my third time participating, and it’s always a fun show to do. The mix of designers is great (and small), the museum store staff is so friendly and enthusiastic, and who doesn’t love an excuse to fly to California!

I brought the canvases from my regular display, which made it pretty easy to set up a table display that I was really happy with!

The museum is closing this summer for a major, multi-year renovation, but the museum store will remain open in a different location, which is fantastic, because its such a great shopping destination

Building Up: Paintings 12 – 14

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All three of these paintings took a while to come together, but I love how the resulting layers create so much depth. I seem to be jumping back and forth between paintings that come together quickly in an intense burst of brushstrokes and these slower, built up paintings. I don’t see myself picking one over the other anytime soon, because there are things I love about each method,

“After the Rain”
Acrylic on canvas
36″ by 36″

“Someday Soon”
Acrylic on canvas
24″ x 24″

“Lost in Thought”
Acrylic on canvas
12″ x 12″

Amy Klainer at Heidi Lowe

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This weekend I went to Delaware to see the opening of my friend (and production manager) Amy Klainer’s show at Heidi Lowe Gallery.

Amy’s work is inspired by the urban and industrial landscape. Amy and I use similar materials (steel) and processes (welding) but I love how different our work is. Especially because Amy powder coats her pieces in incredibly bright neon colors!

I took home two brooches but the hit of the show was definitely this big neon yellow necklace. Everyone wanted to try it on!

running in the rain (painting #11)

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I recently started a new running training program that I’m really excited about. We had some serious rain on Friday morning, but I wasn’t going to let that stop me. I’m sure I looked pretty ridiculous but I felt pretty badass charging through puddles while parents sat in their cars waiting to drop kids off at the elementary school.

Something about that experience (and my rain soaked clothes hanging in the bathroom) reminded me of this giant painting I made right after I got back from Europe:

“Running in the Rain”
Acrylic on canvas
30″ x 48″

Paintings 8 – 10

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I finished these three paintings before I left for Europe. They were definitely inspired by all the days I spent sitting with my jewelry while at a trade show!

“Chandelier”
Acrylic on canvas
24″ x 24″

“Take Flight”
Acrylic on canvas
24″ x 48″

“Magpie”
Acrylic on canvas
16″ x 20″

Vienna in black and white

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I couldn’t have loved Vienna more! The buildings were beautiful, the city was clean and easy to navigate, and the museums were incredible (and abundant)! But my favorite part was that, no matter where I went, I was greeted by incredible black and white decoration.

Oh, Vienna, you sure do know the way to a girl’s heart…

This incredible black and white building was across the street from the famous Secession building.

The lobby of the Upper Belvedere was so incredible, I had to sneak a few pictures.

The floor in the cafe at the Kunsthistorisches Museum.

The walls and ceiling of the cafe in the Lower Belvedere.

Part of the “Design Engaging the City” exhibition at the MAK.

Europe: traveling by train

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There is something about traveling Europe by train that is so romantic to me. I took a sleeper train from Milan to Vienna, and I was positively giddy!

I had plenty of opportunities for train travel on this trip: Milan to Vienna, Vienna to Salzburg, Salzburg to Munich, Munich to Pforzheim and back, and Munich to Prague.

It’s a little challenging to capture the scenery from a moving train, but here are some of my favorite shots from along the way:

Milan: the Duomo

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I can’t believe that it’s been almost a week since I arrived home from Europe. The trip was amazing and incredible and I am more than a little inspired to get into my studio and make beautiful things! But at the same time, I spent most of this last week feeling completely exhausted. The pace of the trip was insane, and when you add in jet lag and some family drama, this week hasn’t been super productive.

But now I’m easing my way back in and I’ve got so many amazing images to share from my trip.

Today I want to share a few of my (many) pictures of the Duomo in Milan. I spent my first two days of the trip in Milan, and Sunday morning was downright magical!

First, I had an early morning ticket to see DaVinci’s Last Supper. (Sadly, you weren’t allowed to take pictures inside.). I tried to prepare myself for potential disappoint (it can happen when you see a work of art in person that you’ve in print for years.) But the Last Supper was truly amazing! Words can’t even describe! Seeing this painting in person should be on everyone’s life list!

After seeing the Last Supper, I walked over to the Duomo, which is the main cathedral in Milan. This Gothic cathedral is pretty impressive both inside and out, but what really made me fall in love was my trip up to the roof.

After taking the elevator up, I walked along the sides of the cathedral before making my way to the uppermost roof. The detail of this building is incredible. The fact that all that stone was carved and every little detail considered by human hands just blows me away.

The layers of ornamentation means that every time you take a step or look a different way, you see something new and incredible. I’d round a corner and I couldn’t stop myself from saying “Are you kidding me, building!” over and over again.

I took about a million pictures, but here are a few of the highlights:

Greetings from Europe!

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The last few days have been a whirlwind of new experiences and very little sleep! (A red-eye flight, one brief night in a hotel, and a sleeper train makes me one exhausted girl!).

Flying over the Alps for the first was beautiful but slightly terrifying (the mountains are so close) and I can say the same about going to the roof of the Duomo (which was so incredible it’s getting its own, ok, several, posts)!

Yesterday morning in Milan (that’s Sunday morning, if you’re having trouble keeping track of the days like I am) was amazing. Before visiting the Dumo, I got to see DaVinci’s Last Supper (a painting I’ve been dreaming about seeing for years) and it did not disappoint! It was stunning and captivating and a little haunting and more than a little amazing that this incredible piece of art has survived that long!

If I had to pick a theme for this trip so far, it’s that human skill is astounding! The things people have made just blows me away. (And I love that, as someone who’s been a maker my whole life, I still feel that way.)

Last night I went to sleep on a train in Italy and woke up in Austria! I’m so happy to cross two countries off my list of 2013 goals (and I’ll hit the other two by the end of this trip) but I’m very disappointed that I didn’t have to go through customs leaving Milan or arriving in Vienna, so no Austria stamp for me. I guess you’ll just have to take my word for it that I’m actually here!

you’ve just been pep talked!

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I can’t believe I leave for Europe in two days! While my plan all along was to go without my laptop (and just take my iPad), today my workaholic self started to have doubts about this plan. So like any good social media obsessed girl, I posted my doubts in the form of an Instagram pic with the statement, “I need a pep talk.”

To which my brother responded with this video:

Ah. Maze. Ing. If this doesn’t make you ready to tackle the world, nothing will!

You’ve just been pep talked!