MEGAN AUMAN

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5 bowls

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My summer class is over – but I think I managed to make some good progress.  Here are the 5 bowls I completed.  
But I’m still not done with my raising exploration – I’m planning on spending some more time in the studio at school this summer.  After we get back from the beach, that is!

ornament prototypes

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After getting everyone’s feedback on the ornament (both here and on Twitter), I was able to step back and really think about my collection and what I wanted to do.  I also thought about some of my goals when designing the new collection, including the major goal of developing things I didn’t have to make.  And yet as much as I love the new collection, I realize that the price point is a little high for many people, especially right now.
So it seems only fitting to develop a line of laser cut ornaments using the patterns in my new collection.  They could function as a much more affordable version of my line.  (Hopefully – I have sent the designs to my laser cutter for a quote yet.)  
These are just the prototypes that I hand pierced to get a feel for the designs.  What do you think?  I still haven’t settled on how to hang them yet.

marking time

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Part way through bowl #4, I started tracing the rim of the bowl to see the progression of the diameter.  I like that it makes this reverse tree ring sort of effect – marking the history of my bowl.
It also reminds me of a chapter in Aldo Leopold’s A Sand County Almanac, where he traces the history of the county by the rings in the tree they are cutting into for firewood.

4 and 5

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I meant to post this on Thursday, but the day got away from me…
Bowl #4 is progressing rather slowly, because I’m trying to bring the sides up to vertical, so I went ahead and started #5.  I’m experimenting with different forms to try to see what works for me.  I keep asking myself, “what does a megan bowl look like?”

#4

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When I left the studio on Thursday night, I was really disappointed that I wouldn’t be able to do any raising again until Tuesday.  And by yesterday afternoon, I was jonesing to get started on bowl #4.
I’m not sure why I’ve been so compelled to do suddenly do all this raising.  It started as a desire to remind myself that I knew how to do it.  Its been almost three years since I taught the raising class, and I just wanted to check in with my muscle memory.
But raising one bowl probably should have fulfilled that.  Instead, I moved right on to the next one.  Perhaps its because the process is so gratifying – to go from a flat sheet of metal to something that can hold water.  Or perhaps because the process is so physical compared to most of the work I’ve been doing lately.  Its really gratifying to know that I’ve wrestled that flat sheet into exactly the form that I wanted.  (Or sometimes not quite the form I’m after.)
And there’s a small part of me that is thinking if I continue out this exploration, perhaps I’ll get to a place where this works its way into my collection.  I love the new items I’ve been designing, but I feel like so many people laser cut.  I want to see if I can bring back a level of skill to my work that is indicative of seven years of higher education in metalsmithing.  I want to distinguish myself from the pack.
I don’t really have all the answers, but I plan on continuing this exploration – making and thinking as I go.

the jig is up

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When I was in grad school, I used to marvel at how quickly my friend Corey could raise a bowl.  Turns out that with a little practice and some 22 gauge copper, I too can raise a bowl in an afternoon.  Corey, I’m on to you!
(Actually, I could never hold a candle to Corey’s metalsmithing skills.  I own two of her bowls, and my bowls could never be in the same room as hers.  They would just be embarrassed.)

following along

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Wow, it does seem like its been difficult to find time to blog these last couple of weeks.  My weekends have been filled with lots of bike rides and spending time outdoors.  And during the week, I’ve been wrapped up in teaching my class and playing in the studio.
As I mentioned in my last post, I’ve been working on the projects along with my class.  So I thought I’d share a process shot from the Pop-up Lighting Project.  The idea behind this project is to create a piece of lighting by piercing a sheet of metal and then make it three-dimensional by some combination of bending and forming, slots and tabs, or cold connections.  I’m making a pair of candlestick holders.

summer school

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As I mentioned before, I’m teaching a summer session class – Jewelry for Non-Art Majors.  I’ve never taught a summer class or a non-majors class before, so I really had no idea what to expect.
Well, I’m happy to say I’m loving it.  I’m the only faculty member teaching in our studio, so I have the place to myself.  My students are fantastic – fun and curious and so excited about everything they’re learning.  Their first project was a cuff bracelet, and I’m very happy with the results.  (And I love this picture, its like I’ve got a whole class of Wonder Woman or She-Ra Princess of Power.)
In fact, I actually have time to make the projects along with them!  Its great because I get to work on something for fun, and its really helping me evaluate what does and doesn’t work in each project.
Plus, I’ve been treating the days I teach as my own mini summer art camp.  Most afternoons after my students leave, I’ve been staying to work in the studio (which I have all to myself).  Its so fun to work on things I can’t do in my own studio because I don’t have those tools – I’ve even been doing some raising!  (If you went to school with me at all, you’ll understand how crazy that last statement is.)  And I’m letting myself work with no finished product or goal in mind – just experimentation and some good old fashioned metalsmithing.
I promise to share pics of what I’m working on soon.  I’m so excited to see where all this creative freedom is going to take me!

tease

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Just got these in the mail – lovely COLOR in time for spring (but not available for sale yet)…
And don’t forget to suggest a retailer and be entered for a chance to win a cozy/cuff of your very own.  (Thanks for all the wonderful suggestions so far!)
Have a lovely spring weekend!