Metalsmiths Unite! in Tucson!

Whew! February in Tucson is an exciting and busy time- we are now in our second week of Gem show frenzy- Lots of cars on the roads from out of state, no parking downtown...and our favorite eateries? Booked solid! :-) We love it though- because in exchange, Tucson gets to host 40+ of the most wonderful gem shows you ever have opened your wallet for!

Last week was the most active week for me- The Agta show is in the Convention center, all the tents are up at Holidome and Tep. That first official week of the shows (not including the "pre-show" shows the weekend before) that first week is chock full of activities- many seminars to choose from (most are free!) and of course, party after party after opening to attend.

This year, I hosted a small gathering at my studio for members of Metalsmiths Unite who were in town for the shows- Luckily, the weather was in our favor and we had a cool, dry evening to enjoy a bit of outdoors and a warm bonfire (I even toasted a couple of marshmalows....then gave up when I found that I needed a longer stick- ouch!)

I was happy to see some of my Tucson metalsmithing friends come to the event- The crew from Krikawa Jewelry Designs, Shawna Lobmiller from Starr Gems, Danielle Embry, Mark Ramsaur from Tucson Parks and Rec and the Metallink program, Dave Arens (chain maker and inventer of the original jump ring tool) Kevin Potter a jeweler/machinist (who made my hydraulic press and dies)  and Jude Clark, a wonderful local jeweler and friend. My dear friend (an admitted non-creative person) Gina Reyes was there too, along with Guido and my super kiddo, Cosmo (who proceeded to entertain us by dragging out his drums..(I think he really wanted a big drum circle...I worry that he might be a bit of a hippy! lol)

Cosmo and Wendy Van Camp get their Drumming groove on

Then there were some out of towners...Andrea Robinson buzzed up on her motercycle from Sierra Vista, The amazing Gem and Jewelry trade Blogqueen Robyn Hawk came , as well as Whaley studios Teri Masters, Wendy Van Camp, Shari Seager and Karen Pfeiffer of "Hammered and Stoned" ...and later on we had Polly Mary Amalia Spencer and Thea Demitre (both who drove here...DROVE HERE from MAINE!) stop by to soak in a few moments of campfire.

My idea of using Skype proved to be a bit too problematic to pull off- We were able to chat a bit with Julie Sanford and even Erkki Kokko(though the feed from Finland was very choppy)  I think I'll be trying to figure out a way to use skype for metalsmiths Unite - I think it needs to be a Skype event on it's own....but that's a subject for future deliberation.

OK- to those who could not make it to the meet up- sorry, I know how hard it is to juggle all the demands of the Gem show- I hope that you can find more time next year to come to this fun and relaxing gathering- And I hope that you had a good time at the show- made lots of contacts and found gems and tools galore!

I'm now setting my sights on the next fun February event- The Yuma Symposium! I'll be going there in a few weeks with a couple of my friends- it's going to be my 4th time attending the event, and I anticipate a Hugely entertaining and creative weekend- (I'll be blogging about it for sure!)

Have a great week everyone- remember to post your events on the Metalsmiths Unite! wall- let us know what you are up to- Have fun in your studios! be safe-
Metalsmiths, Unite!
ciao- Maureen