Ann's Gem Art

Twelve Weeks of Christmas - Third Week

2010-10-27T16:37:00.000-07:00

I know it's been a long time since my last post on my blog. I needed to take some time away from the hussle and bustle and let my creative side work quietly away. I've done lots of drawing and experimenting with wire and have come up with five new patterns: crystals, pins/pendants combos; small faceted gemstone pendants, cabochon braceket and a pearl pendant. Some are already offered on my web site. More to come. in the remaining weeks until Christmas.

I started my 12 Weeks of Christmas newsletter series and tomorrow will be the 3rd week. In the 1st week of Christmas, I promised to post some of the various herbal recipes I've taught to people over the years. Here's a nice bath & and body oil .

Herbal/Floral Bath & Body Oil

1 cup Sunflower Oil or Apricot Kernel Oil
½ cup sweet almond oil
½ cup Jojoba Oil
1 tsp. Vitamin E
Essential Oil (Optional)– eyedropper measure of 2 to 10 mls. of choice
Dried Flowers: Use petals, flower heads, or complete flowers on stems, such as, rose bud on stem. You can also use rosemary, chamomile, mint, wintergreen or sage. (Dried material will not impart any fragrance.)

Instructions: Place dried lowers or herbs in decorative bottle. Be careful not to overfill the bottle. Fill bottle with blended oils. Add essential oil last. Let sit for 1 week before using.

Cost Plus World Market have a nice array of bottles appropriate for this gift giving item.

Home Again

2010-04-07T20:08:00.000-07:00

It’s been a week and a day since we finished packing everything up and bringing it home from the Celebration of Fine Art. I’ve been nesting – working to pack and put all the show equipment away and I’ve caught up a little bit on sleep. I still have a couple of custom orders to do and I'm ready to begin that in another day or so. I’ve got some paperwork and some computer work to finish first, give my jewelry making hands a little break.

Late last summer, I took a an on-line course called Blog Triage with Alison Stanfield and Cynthia Morris . It is a great course but I had some family issues that took my attention away from properly attending to the course. So, I’m back to get the through the whole course. This course lasts for 4 weeks and there should be a transformation in my blog, my blogging style and increased frequency of blogging.

Last Two Days of Celebration of Fine Art 2010

2010-03-27T09:49:00.000-07:00

The Celebration artists are exchanging their contact information and filling out their applications for Celebration of Fine Art 2011. Yes, we really do have to apply and be juried in for next year. We need to have our applications in by April 7th and then we wait…until May or so.

On the home front, our cat Reggie is ready for Ray and me to be at is service 24/7 again. He’s quite demanding and quite a character. He helps me and my students during classes in my Home Studio.

This season has been a very creative and productive time for me. I’ve purchased some very beautiful and unusual stones and they are all looking for a good person to be taken to a new home. Here are a couple of my latest pieces. The first piece is "Intarsia II" that is made up of three stones and are fused togehter. You can not even feel a seem. It is set in 14K gold and is priced at $ 1,250.00. The second is a pair so many have been after me to do - Ear Sweeps. It is a pierced earring that only one piercing and sweeps up the outer edge of the ear. This pair is set in Argentium Sterling Silver with Amythyst and Silver sandblasted balls and is priced at
$ 75.00. I have pieces in all price ranges.

If you are in Phoenix Metro area, come on out to the Celebration one last time… before we’re gone.

Nine Days Left of Celebration of Fine Art 2010

2010-03-20T08:16:00.000-07:00

The time has gone by so fast this season. I'm just amazed how fast. My fellow artists are exchanging their information to keep in touch with each other. We become family. Several artists have had events in their lives, losing family members, that have rallied all the rest of us around them - yes, we're family.

For me, this has been my best season at the Celebration creatively. I think I've done some of my best work. Oh, by the designs that are in my head are so exciting for me. These new challenging designs will keep me busy for the rest of the year.

Two of my newest pieces are both eye candy for those who love my work.

Come out and see us before the end of the show - Sunday, March 28, 2010. http://www.celebrateart.com

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

2010-03-03T22:40:00.000-08:00

While I've not been blogging over the last several weeks, I have not been idle. Besides being and working at the Celebration of Fine Art 5 or 6 days a week, I have had to work from home on my day(s) off. Is that a misnomer or what? I've had many "special orders" and I have been able to do all but one order so far.

The creative energy running through The Big White Tents this year are almost electric for me. I've always received great idea during the show but this year I'm able to bring the creations into the physical realm so quickly. I've introduced my Ear Sweeps. People have asked me to do them for 3 or4 years. I will post a photo of them soon.

I've been tinckering with an adjustable ring for about a year now and it has taken of several new looks. I featured it during the "Twelve Days of Christmas" and it has evolved yet again into the Susan Potje Charm Ring. I will post a picture of this new incarnation as soon as I receive them from my photographer.

I've made some new pieces over the last couple of weeks and they are shown here. First picture is Tibetan Turquoise. It's a lovely greenish-blue with matrix. Its set in 14K Gold-Filled wire.It will be up on my website early next week.

These Druzies are so popular. This one is about 1 inch tall and less wide. Orange Brazilian Agate with Druzy will also be up on tmy website as soon as possible.

More soon.

First Day of Celebration of Fine Art

2010-01-17T06:41:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was a gorgeous day in Scottsdale Arizona complete with sunny skies for the opening of the 20th Annual Celebration of Fine Art . As they say, the joint was jumping with lots people going home with art.

I worked on getting price tags on all the new pieces I've made since Christmas as well as adding a few more gems to the "Gems of Arizona" collection - Ant Hill Garnet and Arizona Peridot. My local paper, the Ahwatukee Foothills News printed most of my press release with a photo of Sleeping Beauty Turquoise with a Freshwater Pearl in 14K gold.

The first couple of days is getting situated where I want it and all my paperwork out of the way. Today I will start working on making jewelry. I have a Four Peaks Amethyst pendant nearly done that I'm sure I'll finish and I'm in the midst of making another 2-stone pendant - Black Coral and Amber.

Here are a few of the pictues from setting up and we'll take more today. From top to bottom: Two walls, supplies and tools; Cole and Ray planning; Susan Morrow Potje and Cole Allen- Morning hug; and Dick Doubek and Ray putting up drywall.

Preview Party at the Celebration of Fine Art

2010-01-15T09:20:00.000-08:00

After four days of building and setting up our studios, it's Magic Time! But even better - Check out my art show's 20th anniversary grand opening tonight at http://www.createliveaz.com/ !! The Celebration of Fine Art previews tonight and opens tomorrow for 10 weeks! Full of beautiful work from over 100 artists in Scottsdale Arizona....watch tonight from 5-7 MST; 6-8 CST; 7-9 EST and that's 4-6 PST.

Just log in and watch!

The days have been long ones and I will put pictures up of the building of my studio.
If you watch tonight, here's a picture of my studio. You'll know it's me.

And here's one of my new pieces on display. Rain Forest Jasper.

Now, on to a simply fabulous opening of a great show!

A New Season of Art Begins

2010-01-12T11:07:00.000-08:00

We began building my studio at the Celebration of Fine Art yesterday. I haven't bloggd or Facebooked much because of all the jewelry I've been making and paperwork that has to be done before the show starts on Saturday. The Press Release has been sent off to the media and it appears below.

I will post some of the pictures we've been taking of the studio set up.

More tomorrow.

JEWELRY DESIGNER ANN TURPIN THAYER UNVEILS HER GEMS OF ARIZONA COLLECTION AT CELEBRATION OF FINE ART IN SCOTTSDALE, ARIZONA

Artists shares unusual stones native to the Grand Canyon State

AHWATUKEE, AZ – January 11, 2010 – Ann Turpin Thayer unveils her new collection and exhibit, Gems of Arizona at the prestigious Celebration of Fine Art show January 16 - March 28, 2010 in Scottsdale, Arizona. The exhibit will kick off January 16, and will continue throughout the Celebration event, with new pieces debuting each week. Included in the collection are favorite Arizona gemstones as well as seldom seen treasures.

“In addition to Sleeping Beauty and Morenci turquoise, I will share with collectors Smithsonite, Four Peaks Amethyst, AZ Absolute Black Jade, Azurite, Aragonite, Chrysocolla, Wulfenite, and more,” says Thayer.“ Each of the exquisite Arizona stones will be set in a one-of-a-kind, precious metal wire wrap.”

1. Sleeping Beauty Turquoie in 14K

2. AZ Abolute Black Jade in 18K Gold

3. Turquoise Face Watch

All Photos by Raymond M. Thayer

Thayer, who owns a studio in Ahwatukee, is known nationally for her innovative jewelry designs that uses only wrapped precious metal wire and gems with no solder or casting used.

People interested in learning more about Arizona gems can meet Ann at her working studio at the Celebration of Fine Art show and sale. Celebration features 100 of the finest national and international artists to Scottsdale and attracts more than 50,000 visitors during its 10-week run. The show is housed “under the big white tents” just south of the Loop 101 at Exit 34 in the big white tents. Ticket price is $8.00 for adults and $7.00 for seniors and military. The Celebration of Fine Art ticket is an all-event pass that is good for all 10 weeks of the show and sale. Children under 12 are admitted at no charge. The Celebration Café on the premises serves light fare.

For information on Ann Turpin Thayer and Gems of Arizona visit her web site www.annturpinthayer.com .

Working on Inventory and the Wise Old Man

2009-12-18T13:50:00.000-08:00

This summer we've been working to convert our inventory system from a spreadsheet to software that keeps track on Raw Goods in and Finished Goods out. After ten years in the business, I'm here to tell you that it is a tedious process. We're taking pictures of both the Raw and the Finished but when we finish, we will know what we have where, and that is a good thing. In the process, I've uncovered pieces I bought in the early "grigo" days but I also did get some special ones too.

I love Merlin, always have. Well, that goes for King Arthur and Gwenvieve. I think it was 2001 I went out to Quartzite for their January Gem & Mineral Show. Quartzite, AZ is a town with a population of about 4,000 people about 20 miles east of the California border. Arizona Highways wrote it up about 15 years ago on how this little town transformed to 250,000 with retired RVer Rock Hounds. Visiting the show is like visiting the 70's. There are all kinds of things besides rocks for sale; antique glass, socks, essential oils, etc. There were also some really great vendors there too.

So, on that winter day, I met and bought several really special pieces from a lapidary carver from Alaska. One of the pieces was carved fossilized ivory. It was Merlin! How could I resist it? I couldn't. The only thing was, my skills to wire wrap him were not developed enough in 2001. Flash forward to the late summer of 2009 and the beginning of the "Inventory Project" and what did I find? Merlin.

That's the thing about making wire wrap for me, I love a challenge. About a week later, I woke up one morning and knew how to set him as a pendant. The other thing I remember is that I didn't buy Merlin for me. No, it's someone who I think loves Merlin more than I do. It's a friend from Milwaukee, WI. Her name is Kit and she's had quite a year with family illness and passings and thankfully she's had some good things come her way. She's in the process of having her Sci-Fi Fantasy novel published. I think she needs someone to watch over her and whisper in her ear how to navigate her path. Merlin.

Merlin Ambrosius: Front

Holding Rubellite Crystal Wand

And below Merlin's backside where the wire follows the contours of the carving.

Merry Christmas, Kit!

Wire Wrapped Amber with Fly Pendant

2009-12-11T17:16:00.000-08:00

I've been working diligently at my workbench setting gemstones, cabochons and pearls, building my inventory for Celebration of Fine Art from January 16 - March 28, 2010. I am very excited about my new wearable works of art. So much so, that I'm going to showcase 36 or so pieces over the next "Twelve Days of Christmas" beginning tomorrow.

I received a call a few weeks ago asking if I would wire wrap someone else's stone. I said I would.and that I do that all the time. I met with Jeff and we agreed to keep it simple so that the fly imbedded in the Amber piece he had acquired with a "long legged fly " that is only 50 million years old could be easily seen.

The picture here is shows the pendant that emerged in Argentium Sterling Silver. Jeff said the setting was "brilliant". Why, thank you! I hoped it would please not only Jeff but Jeff's wife, Danielle even more so. Merry Christmas, Danielle. May you wear this special piece for many years to come.

The Fly is visiable in this larger view. Middle and half way up.

It's a funny thing, most people think that Amber is always set in Streling Silver. Well, that's partially true. Much of the commerciall traded Amber comes from the Baltic Sea area, and in the region, silver is the metal that is available for setting jewelry. The same thing is true for native american turquoise. 99% of the time you'll see it in silver. For me, both amber and turquoise look equally good in golld.

Amber is transparent to translucent and has a greasy luster. The color is normally butterscotch yellow/golden to brown, and often is clouded. The hardness is 2 – 2 ½ on the Mohs scale with a specific gravity of 1.2 is very low. A few other colors are available. Myanmar (Burma) has a redder variety because the chemical composition differs making is harder and denser. In several places in Romania, Amber has more hydrogen sulphide and less succinic acid and gives a variety of colors from yellow, to brownish green, green and blue.

(Photo - left side view.)

2009-08-24T20:05:00.000-07:00

Blog Triage - Day 3, 2nd assignment. Today I made some changes to some of my preferences, but the assignment was to create a new "About Me" page. What's hard is that in blogger it has to be less than 1,200 characters including spaces. Should you care to read it, I hope you find surprise at my many "careers of nine lives".

Today is a rather quiet day for me as far as tasks are concerned but I have so much work I need to think out in my mind. Someone reminded me on Facebook that there's only 115 days until opening day of my next show -Celebration of Fine Art, (http://www.celebrateart.com/). I have a lot of new jewelry to make and many new creations using new techniques since last year and none I beleive have ever been used before in Wire Wrapped Jewelry. As the pieces are finished I will be developing photos we've taken to show here in days to come.

Loving the stones - gems and minerals alike - I've been accumulating gems, minerals and metals from the state of Arizona and will call it "The Arizona Collection" that will be available for purchase at the Celebration of Fine Art in Scottsdale Arizona from January 16 through March 28, 2010. I know right away, you're thinking of turquoise. Well, yes I will have many different types of Arizona's turquoise, but Arizona has so many other beautiful gems. Have you ever seen Arizona Rainbow Hematite or Arizona Absolute Black Jade? How about Smithsonite - oooo, yummy in three colors. I have a Malachite Druzy that will make you drool in lust for it. I will also have Arizona's own Four Peaks Amethyst, Peridot and Ant Hill Garnet...oh, and Wulfenite, Argonite. Azurite and splash Copper set in Argentium Silver and Gold. I will offer many of the pieces in all price ranges based on the precious metal I use for each piece. Hmm. I've got an itch to draw up some designs.

Become a follower if you want to read and see more. http://www.annsgemart.blogspot.com/
and/or you can visit me at http://www.annturpinthayer.com/.

2009-08-20T01:18:00.000-07:00

Stretch,,, I'be been hibernating for most of the summer now. Well, I do live in the Valley of the sun and we Phoenicians hibernate in the summer, just as everyone in the cold climates hibernate in the winter. Having been born and raised in the Midwest, I know of what I speak of those cold nasty below zero winter days. But now, over this last weekend I got the first hint that the worst of summer is over here in Phoenix. How? Well, it's an exciting thing for us, it's when we turn on the cold water and the water is really fairly cold, and not luke-warm, as it would be coming out of the hose you just turned on that's been laying in the sun. Yes, it doesn't take much to excite us in Phoenix. You should see us when it starts to rain! It just doesn't happen that often.

I am emerging because I've committed to get my self and my business organized in ways I've not attained before. I put up my blog in January 2009 while setting up for my 73 day art show - the Celebration of Fine Art (http://www.celebrateart.com/). Then life got complicated and days were really long. After the show, I need to hibernate and process all that went on during the winter months. So, now, wanting to write and reach a new and expanding audience, I've signed up and committed to a 4-week "Blog Triage" with Alyson Stanfield (http://www.artbizblog.com/) and Cynthia Moris (http://www.journeyjuju.com/ as instructors to 30 artists wanting to get a handle on their blogs.

Since I both sell my art and teach my techniques of jewelry making, my audience are mostly women, but yes, I do have men clients and students and they are welcome to come and read what I'm creating, writing, doing, and/or thinking about. I want to use my blog as a journal to chronical what I'm working on or how things get frustrating and how I plan to grow my art career. Who do I want to have as steady readers? My clients and my students of course, my family and friend may stop by from time to time. I've been making some major breakthroughs in my medium jewelry and this blog would be where I would talk about my general progress with my jewelry.

I am even more committed and enthusiastic about doing my blog now after having seen "Julie and Julia". What a fabulous movie! I would go to see it again on the big screen in a heartbeat. I will definitely own the DVD. I've been a huge Julia Chilc fan since living in Milwaukee, WI where watching her hooked me into making a strawberry souffle. After that, I gained weight but conquered making Grande Marnier Souffle with Vanilla Sauce, Creme Brule and Tiramisu. These conquests le me to take cooking classes where I learned how to remove that silver membrane of Beef Tenderloin and a Leg of Lam. I will only say that my Step-Daughters, Debby and Shari, call me the Sauce Queen, only to find out that instead of being Scotch, Irish and English, that this Turpin is French (and Irish). Debby said, "Well, no wonder!" Ah, but then my Dad was a chef for a time when he owned a cabaret during WWII.

I became a Maricopa County Master Gardener in 1996 after being a volunteer at the Desert Botanical Garden here in Phoenix, and was very active until I went into business for myself. I have been a herb enthusiast since the early 1990s. I've written small books and taught how to grow, harvest and cook with herbs and herbal cosmetics back when I was active with the Arizona Herb Association. Debby gave me an ad for a T-shirt that said "Stop me before I Volunteer Again" after I had completed 6,000+ hours just at the Desert Botanical Garden, mostly as the Chair for the Volunteers in the Garden's "Las Noches de las Luminarias" from 1997 through 1999. Oh, how I loved that job!

So, as I unclutter my office, also with the guidance of Alyson Stanfield at http://artbizcoach.com/ and have a desk that is clear of papers and no stacks of jewelry supply catalogs and notebooks on the floor, I may share tidbits of found memories and maybe recipes from time to time. Now, what am I making for dinner?

If you would like to see how I progress through this Blog Triage class, please subscribe as a follower of this blog, and you can also visit my website at http://www.annturpintthayer.com/

2009-06-01T13:45:00.000-07:00

Here it is June 1st! Where has the time gone?

I've been working on special projects and making some beautiful jewelry since Celebration of Fine Art ended.

This is a Spessartite Garnet Ring in 14K Gold with 2 3mm White Sapphires side stones. It was a custom order I received at Celebration in late February. It was my first ring in 14K yellow gold. I delivered the ring last Wednesday to Barbarb A. and she nearly cried. Me, too. I'm happy she was so happy.

I still have a few special orders to finish but I'm also working on new pieces that will appear in 2010 Arizona Collector's Guide.

I've been teaching both my Beginning 6-week Course on the Fine Art of Wire Wrap Jewelry, as well as, launching my Intermediate 6-Session Course that will span the next 3 months.

This next week will be spent reorganizing and planning the next year and beyond for Ann Turpin Thayer, LLC. June is typically the month I recharge my batteries and set my goals for the next year or so. This week wil be spent reorganizing my office and blocking out my plans for the y

2009-03-28T05:08:00.000-07:00

There are only two more days of Celebration of Fine Art and I have mixed feelings. I'm both sad to say good-bye to all my fellow artists, at the same time, I'm looking forward to having a little more time to plant my spring herb & vegetable garden. Last summer here in Phoenix burned up most of my hardy herbs and I have to start all over again. Working in my garden always grounds me.

As always happens to me during Celebration, the creative flow of energy settles in to my subconscious and works on new designs. I just never know when they'll emerge but when it does, I usually wake up one morning and know how to set one of my designers stones or how to create a new design. I've been working on an adjustable ring with 1.50 carats of faceted gemstones - 2 - 3/4 carat stones. I made one with Swiss Blue Topaz and put it in my case at the show. An hour later it was sold. Okay, I'm on to something, I just need to tweak the design a little.

Besides cleaning my house, and putting away all the show equipment, I'm setting up my schedule of classes. I'm adding an Intermediate and Advanced level, as well as, a Wrap-a-thon where my students can join me in making our individual jewelry inventory. I have about a dozen pieces of jewelry to make for the Courtyard Gallery in New Buffalo, Michigan. They have a new season opener about the third weekend in April - ah, spring breaks through in the midwest.

Now the question is, do I go back to bed for an hour or get the coffee started? I think coffee will win.

.

Wednesday, February 11, 2009 - In The Groove

2009-02-11T07:44:00.000-08:00

We're two days into our 4th week. I haven't made any posts to my blog since we started Celebration on the January 16th. There are so many adjustments to our routine and it takes awhile to get in the groove. It didn't help that I got one of the many colds that are going around last week. Ray manned the Studio while I was down for the count. He's getting an extra day off this week so he can rest up.

The creative energy is flowing well in the tent now. Everyone has settled in and are working away. My creativity works on me while I sleep. I wake up, sometimes before the alarm, with ideas on how to create something new in my medium. I think of it as mechanical rather than creative, but I guess what I do with the mechanical change makes what I create is the creative process.

I'll be putting up just the pictures of my new work here. It takes several days for me to get it up on my website. You can sign-up to follow my blog. You'll be notified everytime I make an entry to it.

I'll be working on some custom orders over the next couple of days. I'd better get at it.

Day 4 CFA Set-up - January 15, 2009

2009-01-15T22:10:00.000-08:00

Whoa, what a day! But we're ready. Ray and I ate dinner at 9:30 p.m.

Lots of little things got handled today. Organized all the electric cords for the cabinets and track lighting. More lights went up. My workbench got squared away. I bring in my tools tomorrow.

We put the cases together and put the light tracks in them. Then we put out all the display pieces and finally the jewelry was put in place.

I'm missing a few things. They are not ready. Why? Because Mercury is retrograde in its orbit - messenger of the gods and ruler of communications. Photos for the wall aren't ready; business cards aren't ready; framed diplomas aren't ready. Ack! Mercury goes direct again on February 2nd, then life can get back in order.

I need a good night's sleep, so I'm signing off with only 3 pictures.

Tomorrow is

SHOWTIME!

Day 3 CFA Set-up - January 14, 2009

2009-01-14T22:48:00.000-08:00

This has been quite a day. We were up at

6:00 a.m. Ray showed me a list that he got up as things popped up in his head - some just remember to take something - some solving problems. I just have a hard time when he wants to go down his list and I haven't even had coffee yet.

After breakfast, we packed the van and the Prius with the equipment we needed today.

Cousin Dick met up with us at the studio and we knew what we had to do. We had thought the
aisle frontage of our studio was a bit longer than it actually is, so we had to cut a corner off one of our new wood tops.

Dick did the honors and did it brilliantly. There wasn't so much as a splinter, with no touch up required.!

Somehow it always looks worse before it gets better. We have stuff out in the aisle. Today, we were moving things to the aisle or to the car or to the van so I could vacuum before "Putting it together".

We put the right side of the cabinet case cabinet together first. We decided to get some lunch at about 2;00p.m. across the street before putting the other side together.

The studio really started to come together after we set up my workbench. Then, we put the left side of the middle cabinet case cabinet together.

Ray couldn't wait until morning to put up a few lights to see if the lines were all live. They are! Whew! We even got the mirrors up. We usually don't get to the mirrors until early opening day.

In the last two pictures, you're seeing our tools sitting in the aisle as we were getting ready to leave when I took these pictures.

We're very pleased with our progress today. We will be ready for opening day. As we left the Big White Tents, we were amazed that on January 14th it's 70 degrees at 5:30 p.m.

Tomorrow, the jewelry cases get set up and the jewelry brought in. Come back tomorrow for more. Ann

Day 2 CFA Set-up

2009-01-13T21:42:00.000-08:00

Hi! Welcome back.

I still had a few pictures from yesterday morning as we arrived at Celebration. It's not quite ready for the public as are we artists, but we will be.

Susan Morrow Potje is working with Manny from Home Depot. I call this picture "Nails, Drywall, 2x4s, check, carpet."

Kathy Thorpe was working away getting the Cafe set up. We heard there will be coffee tomorrow. Yeah!

The "Women's" and Men's rooms signs went up this morning and the restrooms are working.

It is said that these two artists are the newly deputized "Parking Police". That job has been filled by Tom Morrow for many years.

Tom and Ann retired at the end of Celebration last year and have since moved to Georgia. It has been strange not to see them working about with Susan and Jake. We know they will be visiting us during this season.

We didn't get as much done as we had hoped but we'll still get it all put together by late Thursday afternoon.

We did get one coat of paint on yesterday but we were betting that we needed another coat. We were right. We also got the trim up except for this one upright piece this morning.

At the end of the day, we had the carpet laid and taped down and two of our cabinets moved in.

Tomorrow, the jewelry case tables and work bench will be moved in. And much more.... You'll have to come back and see the progress.

Everyday, I think that I'm finish up or start a piece of jewelry to have ready by the show. HA!

Thank you for stopping by. You can now find my blog on my website - Thanks, John!www.AnnTurpinThayer.com

Day 1 CFA - Supplement Photos

2009-01-13T20:21:00.000-08:00

Welcome back!

I talked with Debbie McClendon at the show and she told me how to upload more pictures.

So, let's begin with Grampa Dick with Jeremy and then we'll fill in our activities before and after lunch yesterday.

The set up for Celebration of Fine Art reminds me of a Broadway song "Putting It Together"

"Bit by bit, putting it together, ...

While waiting for the drywall to arrive, Ray and Dick laid out the carpet, made the major cuts to it and rolled it back up again.

..."A vision's just a vision if it's only in your head, it's got to come to life"...

The Home Depot really came through for us and delivered the wallboard we had ordered in a very timely manner. So, Ray and Dick put up the drywall.

..."piece by piece only to make a work of art.

Every moment makes a contribution."...

Cousin Dick mudded the seams between the sheets of drywall.

..."Every little detail plays a part. Having a vision's no solution, everything depends on execution"....

Ray installs a L-bracket to secure the 4-foot side wall.

..."putting it together. That's what counts."

Look for my blog on Day 2 CFA Set-up.

January 12, 2009 - Celebration Set-up Begins

2009-01-12T22:43:00.000-08:00

I'm so please to be going back for my eighth year to Celebration of Fine Art - The Big White Tents on Scottsdale Road. (http://www.celebrateart.com/)

I've change studios this year - Studio 246. It's a across the aisle and up a couple of booths from where I was. I'm kitty corner across from Marty Le Messurier.

We're taking the opportunity to dress up my studio a bit more this year. My cousin, Dick Doubek, is helping Ray get the walls up, carpet cut, electric lines run and lights up. Thankfully, not all in one day.

The first task we had planned was to put up drywall on our rough walls. Oh no! The drywall wasn't delivered. We got that worked out so while we wait for a quick delivery, we might as well bring in the carpet and get it cut. We'll roll it up again until after we finish painting the wallboard.

Right as we've rolled up the carpet, the drywall is delivered. That goes up fairly easily, then the guys mud the joints. While that dries, we took a lunch break across the street with Jackie, Sallie, Sara, and Jeremy 3 months old.

Back to work - sanded joints, put up trim and paint the walls. It's been a long day.

It always surprises us that even though it was 75 degrees today, it's cool in the tent and being outside, in the tent, just tuckers you out.

More tomorrow

Ann Turpin Thayer

http://www.annsgemart.blogspot.com/

http://www.annturpinthayer.com/