Flagstaff Art in The Park July 2010

We always luck out and have the BEST neighbors at our shows! No exception this past weekend. If you're ever in Flagstaff please check out the Art in the Park shows - always July 4th and Labor Day weekends.

Brian & Pauline Vaughn were right next to our tent. They make beautiful, functional and creative fused glass pieces. They are based in Tucson, AZ. You can check out their gorgeous glassware at Tortolita Creations http://www.tortolitacreations.com/

Adam & Becky Frus were right across from us at the show. Adam creates organic, sculptural and functional glass pieces. He also brings his background in Geology to his unique creations. Based in Mesa, AZ you can check out his amazing work at Frus Glass http://www.frusglass.com/Index.html

The other great neighbor we had was Marv Poulson. He is a photographer AND a sculpture from Utah. You can check out his extraordinary photography and kinetic sculpture at Imagedancer http://www.imagedancer.com/

I never tire of the new friends we make and the inspiration from being around their creations!

June 29th - July 4th On Our New Adventure

After leaving Alpine we stayed with our Friends Kristen, Bert, Ethan and Hudson for a few days before heading up to Flagstaff for our Show. Thank you so much guys! We had a great time getting to know the boys better, eating so well and hanging out with you two!

Sam, our "Buddha Dog" LOVES being at our Craft Shows. Every day he met hundreds of dogs. Every night he was so pooped out after socializing . On the last day he had it and didn't want anymore social time.

Some of the MANY dogs Sam met. Dad corgi and his two 15 week old babies. He's so good with puppies. Grandpa Sam.

The little Corgi babies - Brother & Sister.


One of our neighbors at Motel 6 in Flagstaff. Very funny - and he was a real character too! From the deep South. We always like to be at the Art in The Park Show in Flagstaff. We meet so many friendly eclectic people and enjoy the city's vibe!

Our Studio Will Be Closed 6/15-9/15

We will be moving our studio this September. We live in a remote area and need to get back to civilization. :)

If you are thinking of an upcoming gift please place your order ASAP because our workshop will be closing down the week of June 15th. After that we'll be on the road until the beginning of September at which time we'll be setting up the new workshop.

We have a lot of upcoming traveling to do - we may even be in your area! Please see our Show Schedule for confirmed dates.

If you place your order by June 7th we can ship it to you before we leave. We will still process orders as we travel if your item is in stock but any orders that can't be filled wouldn't be able to ship until, at the latest, the second week of October. We are starting wholesale in June so if you are wanting a custom piece for the holidays it would be good to have your order in our production schedule as soon as we get back.

Thanks for your patience! I'll be posting pictures of our new studio when it's set up - plus all our cross country show pictures as we travel. Can't wait to have a new, bigger workspace!!

Show in Sedona Mother's Day Weekend

We're back from our show in Sedona over Mother's Day Weekend. WHAT a weekend!! There were 10-20mph winds on Saturday with gusts over 35mph - then on Sunday we had gusts up to 45mph and even higher as we packed up!! We stuck it out to the very end. Not a good venue for us overall but once again we were able to stay with our new friends Gerry and Debbi - two artists from the Verde Valley - great people and very talented. It was so good for the soul to spend time with other arists - especially such sincere, caring people. Please check out their website and stop by to see them at their new gallery if you're in the area! http://www.gquotskuyva.com/

Gerry, Debbie and Sam saying their goodbyes Monday Morning.

Fishing pond in Camp Verde - the desert in the Verde Valley is so beautiful - a lush valley flanking the Verde River.

The Lollicake Company

We met Courtney and her husband at the Litchfield Park Culinary Arts & Craft Festival. What a great neighbor! Her Lollicakes are cupcakes on a stick! Great for housewarming gifts, shower gifts, children's parties, brunches, you name it! Check out her website for more information on this fun and delicious gift idea! www.thelollicakecompany.com

Tempe Arts Festival March 2010

Come see Black Mountain Jewelry Co. at Tempe Festival of the Arts! March 26-28 10am - dusk.

The show has a great vibe and there are amazing artists attending from all over the country.

We are booth # 5567 - on 5th St, on the corner, right across from Tempe Mission Palms Hotel and Conference Center.

For More Information Please see their show link http://tempefestivalofthearts.com/

If you're in Phoenix that weekend hope to see you there!

Thank You

We are so grateful for our jewelry customers. As we meet you face to face at our shows we find out that we're all in the same boat. We hear your background and what you're going through. A recurring conversation this year is the economy and how it is effecting all of us. How some of you have lost jobs you've had for years - how others of you have lost your homes or how you've reinvented yourself through these challenges. Whenever anyone visits our show booth or our website and decides to make a purchase from Black Mountain Jewelry Co. we are so thankful and appreciative that they chose us. Thank you so much.

Litchfield Park Spring Fine Art & Culinary Festival

Come see us at Litchfield Park Spring Fine Art & Culinary Festival March 13-14th! Click here for more details. Hope to see you at the show!

Southwest Arts Festival, Indio, CA

We've had quite the adventure this last week - escaping the snow at home and driving to Indio, CA for the Southwest Arts Festival. It was an experience being at sea level and seeing the beautiful snow capped 10,000' mountains ringing the valley. The show itself had some of the most talented artists in the US. There were lots of fine jewelry artists too - amazing work. Once again we were blessed with great neighbors and made some new friends.

Our morning commute to the show. Surreal. Dessert, palm trees and snow.

Our one neighbor Jack Charney. Jack's not only a ceramic artist but also a writer. His pottery is vibrant, colorful and free-spirited just like him. Please check out his website for more info and his show schedule. www.jackcharney.com

Jack's Acrobats are really cool!

I was really drawn to Melissa Graves Brown's paintings of trees and groves. Colorful Aspen trees reminded me of home in the fall. I hope we cross paths again in the future, I would love to purchase one of her pieces. Please check out her website www.melissagravesbrown.com

Kent Kraus and his partner Susan were directly across from us. New friends from Santa Fe, NM. :) Kent's ceramic sculptures and fountains are flowing, organic, abstract floral designs. I was coveting his bronze finish Calla Lilly Candlesticks. Please check out his website at www.kentkrausstudio.com

It felt so good to get back to Mark's Sister's home after the show. Sam was really happy too because he could play again with his new friend Riley. All three of us are relaxing and enjoying being here - not looking forward to going back to our snowy frozen home.

Gifts of Grapefruit, Tangelos, Tangerines and lemons from Kath's yard. Taking them back to our neighbors that have been looking out for us while we've been gone. I'm used to picking tomatoes and other veggies, growing up in NJ but it's really cool to go into the back yard and pick buckets of citrus fruit off the trees. They're so sweet and delicious too!

So that's it. Don't want to leave but can't wait to get back home and work in the studio again. It was a great trip and an experience from the snow storm before we left, to the show and the relaxing times with Family in Phoenix.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year - belated! Time goes by so quickly - can't believe I haven't posted since December! I hope you had a great holiday and that this new year is fantastic for you.

I've gone right from our holiday orders into getting organized for 2010. Trying new things this year! At the end of the month we'll be attending a show in California for the first time - we're very excited to go to a warmer climate for a week. The snow that started in Alpine around Thanksgiving is still on the ground! This August we're making a big trek back east. The entire month we will be in the Adirondacks doing a show every weekend. This will be the first time I've been back east in 8 years!! Can't wait to see family and gorge on NY pizza! That's about all that is new right now.

Hope this year is getting off to a great start for you too and that it's filled with health, happiness and prosperity!!

ArtFest of Scottsdale

We'll be exhibitors at ArtFest of Scottsdale this weekend. http://www.888artfest.com/art-shows/arizona/artfest-of-scottsdale
Located at the beautiful Civic Center park in Old Town Scottsdale. Please stop by if you visit the show. We're right in front of the Civic Center building.

Hope to see you there!

Judy Mohr - Ceramic Artist

We were fortunate to be next to my favorite ceramic artist this weekend at Chris Bubany's Holiday Marketplace at Harlow Gardens. Judy Mohr,from Tucson creates amazing serving dishes, mugs, vases, bird feeders, Ikebana vessels and raku sculptures. Thank you for horsetrading with me Judy - I love to go home with some of your work!

One of Judy's whimsical horse sculptures - with genuine horsehair tail. These are some of her raku pieces.

The hanging pieces are bird feeders. I've had one up for two years now. The birds love it because it's so natural. A branch slides through holes in the feeder and they perch on it to access the feeder. A lot of fun to watch!

Judy doesn't have a website but you can find her work at the following galleries:

- In Tucson - Tohono Chul Park, Old Town Artisans

- In Tubac - Lilly's

- In Sedona - Esteban's, Zonies

- In Moab, UT - Hogan Trading Co.

Chris Bubany's Holiday Marketplace at Harlow Gardens

We enjoyed being a part of Chris Bubany's Holiday Marketplace at Harlow Gardens this past weekend! What a beautiful location at this 70 year old family business. We set up our tents among the nursery plants. Along with the visiting artists there are outdoor sculptures throughout the nursery. What a lovely location and very busy!

Chris Bubany and Sandy Ricker the show organizer. Sandy really took care of all of us and made sure the show ran smoothly. It was a pleasure to be part of it.

Some of Chris' beautiful colorful pottery! So many different designs displayed through the middle of the nursery. Please visit her website for more information http://www.chrisbubany.com/

Harlow Gardens is a destination for Tucson Gardeners - every inch is full of beautiful plants and gardening accents. If you're ever in Tucson please check them out http://www.harlowgardens.com/

Art For Sedona's Sake Artists

You've heard me talk about my friend John Wdowin of Natural Nook before. He creates beautiful organic wooden vases that hold water. We have a lot of show acquaintances but he has become a great friend over these last couple years. We have one of his vases that we bring to every show with us - it's great, being wood it can bounce around in our travels and not break but it is still elegant and gets compliments every where we go.

John doesn't have a website but you can contact him for his show schedule at naturalnook1@hotmail.com He lives in Mesa, AZ in the winter and does private showings. May - Oct can be found in NY state at shows. Please contact him for his east coast show schedule or for a private viewing.

Sumac vessel in foreground. I love how he sometimes keeps the bark on his pieces. You just have to see them in person to feel the warmth.

Turned burl vessel inlaid with Arizona Turquoise.

Birch Vessel inlaid with Arizona Turquoise.

Art For Sedona's Sake - Artists

We were just at our last show in Sedona for this year and I wanted to talk about some of the great people we meet. Chris Bendele and her sister Glow Ybarra of All A Glow Jewelry create beautiful beaded jewelry and are terrific neighbors! Please check out their website http://www.allaglowjewelry.com/

Greg Anderson, also a great neighbor creates beautiful mixed media, southwestern wall pieces. Greg has just started making gorgeous enameled copper jewelry. It's neat to see someone transitioning into a new media and so excited and inspired by it. I expect to see some amazing pieces next year when we're neighbors again. Greg doesn't have a website but you can reach him at artgreg@ymail.com for his show schedule.

Thom & MJ Stanley are our favorite show promoters. They really do care about the artists at their shows. Thom also has another passion - his eclectic newspaper - please visit this link to check it out http://www.sedonaexcentric.com/excentric/home.php

Craft Show In Sedona Arizona

We'll be exhibitors at a great show in Sedona Arizona this weekend - Red Rose Inspiration For Animals. For more info please see their link http://www.redroseinspiration.org/index.htm Hope to see you there!

Things to Do In Sedona, AZ

If you're in Sedona this weekend, October 10 & 11, come visit Art For Sedona's Sake. On Hwy 89-A across from New Frontiers Market - Sat/Sun 10-5. Great Artists, nice show!

Art For Sedona's Sake - Artists

We had a great time set up at Art for Sedona's Sake this weekend. I didn't realize that the promoter Thom Stanley raises money for local art groups with his venues. It's nice to know that your booth fee goes to good causes. We met people from all the country and the world! As usual we were surrounded by great artists and made new friends.

I like to spread the word about other artists we meet so here goes.Gerry Quotskuyva and his wife Debbi Menig. Gerry is an award winning Hopi Artist. His artwork is amazing - please check him out! http://www.kachinacarver.com/index.htm
Moraine Benny - Luminous LLC, creates Art Glass and specializes in Glow in the Dark Colors. Her website is in the works so the best way to see her work right now is through her shows. Please keep checking back to see this talented artist's creations http://www.luminousltd.com/index.html
Rick & Rose Gnerich of Fluting From The Heart craft Native American Style High Spirit Flutes that sound as beautiful as they look. They also offer workshops. Please check out their website http://www.flutingfromtheheart.com/flutes/double-flutesKyle Jacobson sculpts gorgeous nature inspired furniture out of native woods. Please check out this young artist's work at http://www.naturalelementsfurnishings.com/I made a new friend, Kiyomi Murayama, Herbal Therapist from Tokyo, Japan. We did a little horsetrading - a pair of my Sonora Star Earrings for some of her delicious Aromatherapy Natural Perfume Oils. You can learn more about her products at www.puravida-essentials.jp or contact her at info@puravida-essentials.jp

OK, this doesn't have anything to do with Artists we met but I cannot forget Amber the Goat. There was a rescue organization from Flagstaff, AZ (I should have got the man's card!) He walked Amber around the show all weekend to raise awareness about his organization that takes in all sorts of animals. She was a sweetie!

Art In Sedona September 26-27

We'll be at Art In Sedona 9-5 this Sat/Sun across from New Frontiers Natural Market - on Saddlebrook - see map link -http://tinyurl.com/mltrsw If you're in the area please come say hi!

Route 66 Days Flagstaff, AZ

We've been at back to back shows this month. Our last was Route 66 Days in Flagstaff, AZ. I wish I had more pictures of the amazing cars but we were pretty busy selling jewelry. I did manage to get a couple pictures of the winners. The Fire Engine was incredible! It had a pipe organ in the back that played recorded music or could be played by an actual person. Overall we had a blast. If you're able to visit next year it's a great car show that stretches all through downtown Flagstaff. The craft show is just getting started and will one day be a really great show too!