Metalsmiths Unite! (the blog): Canadian

This week we have Cathy Sutton from Manitoba Canada with us for our Artist Interview series. Thanks so much for sharing with us Cathy!!

Cathy Sutton

How would you describe what you do as an artist?
I create wearable art for women who want something entirely different from mainstream, to display and wear!

What inspires your designs?
I live right by the 13th largest fresh water lake in the world so I am inspired by the lake and all that is around it. My designs tend to be quite organic in nature. Earthy colours and textures predominate.

How long have you been involved in this type of making?
I have always been a "maker" of various things but the metalsmithing was an offshoot from making lampwork glass beads. I took a class in LampWork three and a half years ago and began stringing the beads into bracelets and necklaces. It wasn't long after that I got interested in silver soldering then that lead to purchasing silver sheet and fabricating and then casting. I took as many local classes as I could find and the rest I picked up from trial and error and the internet. So to answer the question more simply- about 3 years.

Amethyst, Citrine, and Rutilated Quartz Pendant © Cathy Sutton

Where are you located?
I live in Winnipeg Beach, Manitoba, Canada. Winnipeg Beach is about 4 hours directly north of Fargo North Dakota. If you look on a map right at the centre of the North American continent, you'll see Winnipeg. (referred to as "The Heart of the Continent"). Winnipeg Beach is one hour north- on the shores of our huge lake. My husband and I moved to "The Beach" 6 years ago. We rebuilt our family cottage into a home. The building I use as my studio used to be my sisters and my bunk house. Built years ago to get us young teens out of the cottage when we invited friends to the beach for a week in the summer. (girls can be such noisy gigglers at night). It was the scene of many a crime...sneaking out with the neighbourhood kids for bonfires and so on. Now Nepenthe Studio is a quiet and serene place (when I'm not cursing lost gems that have gone for a roll under my bench). Nepenthe is the name that our cottage was in 1950 when my parents bought it. Nepenthe means "sleep giving drug, peacefulness, euphoria". It was the drug that Homer gave his wife when he left on his travels.

Do you have a website?
www.nepenthestudio.com

What other ways do you market your work?
Mostly I sell wholesale to stores. My jewellery is available in Manitoba at Des Art, Bijou Treasures, Artifacts Gallery, Winnipeg Art Gallery, Woodlands Gallery, Fishfly Gallery, and in British Columbia at Juvelisto and Dragonfly and Amber. I also will be represented in Influx Gallery in Calgary- as soon as I get the stuff shipped!

Sterling and Gold Ring © Cathy Sutton

Do you teach? If so, where?
I teach lampwork bead making classes at Prairie Stained Glass in Winnipeg. I am still a "newbie" at jewellery making.

Any sage advice for newcomers that you would like to share?
Be brave. Try it.

Where do you envision your work going in the next year?
I am very keen on getting into a couple more stores in the East. (Ontario, Quebec and / or the Maritime Provinces). I do plan and taking an advanced stone setting class in the upcoming months. I want to hone my skills. Lots to learn!

Tortured Copper © Cathy Sutton

Anything else you would like to share?
I use a technique that I call “Tortured Copper”. I heat copper sheet until its bright red screaming hot. Then I drop many little snippets of sterling on the raging hot copper. The sterling submits to the copper and turns to a shiny liquid. My torch “blows” the molten silver around in patterns creating a permanent marriage of copper and silver and lives happily ever after.

Of course some people would simply call this fusing…

Today's Blog is an artist interview with Metalsmiths Unite! member Andes Cruz - Enjoy!

How would you describe what you do as an artist?

I am a Metalsmith. I specifically say Metalsmith, not “jeweler”, or “silversmith”.... I don’t want to be confined, and I want to work with everything.

What inspires your designs?

My designs come from Whatever inspires me in the moment. I don’t <yet> have a “defined” signature style, that is Ever Present in my work. My designs continue to change and grow all the time - influenced by what it going on in my life at the time.... Though, there is a mix with underlying themes that have been present in my creative process for many years.

It might be a feeling from a movie; a feeling present in my life, or a walk in the forest, a beautiful day skiing, reading an article, looking thru a book, or something as simple- and more likely - as just seeing what I have in front of me <stones> and letting them tell me what they want to become. My work flows from within. A lot of the time, I may have no idea (specifically), what I want to create. So I pull out the stone box, rifling thru it until I find the ones speaking to me… and then allow what they may be to speak - rings, pendants, combinations I want to put together... I build work up from there~ as it allows me to create in a spontaneous way. I find, most of the work I am most pleased with is created in this way of allowing it to happen. Instead of confining it to a fixed idea or outcome. I just let it flow. Some days I know I want to make “rings”. (I love making rings the most, incidentally) And so I start with the idea “rings”. and go from there.

How long have you been involved in this type of making?

I took my first Jewelry courses in the summer of 1994 in New Mexico, taking art classes at the Taos Institute of Art. Though I also took photography, and pottery; the metalsmithing courses immediately had me hook line and sinker. I have been hooked and creating ever since.

Since that summer, I have continued to learn and grow as an craftsperson, and have spent as much time as I can creating with metal.

I have had the opportunity over the years to spend bits of time working under and with several very talented Master Silversmiths and Goldsmiths; and have completed the “Bench Technician” Course at Revere Academy.

Where are you located?

Currently I live in Southern BC, Canada; in a small Mountain community called Rossland. I have been resident to this area for about 5 years now. The community is nestled in the high mountains, with access to skiing, backcountry skiing, mountain biking, hiking, rock climbing, kayaking, fresh air and endless forest. It is located 7 miles north of the USA boarder, north Spokane, Washington. It’s quiet, remote, and unpopulated. A bit of a desert from the Arts community, but the internet keeps me in constant communication with metalsmithing peers worldwide.

Do you have a website or etsy store?

Yes - of course :)

Andes Cruz Designs Website: http://www.andescruzdesigns.com 
Etsy Shop: http://www.andescruz.etsy.com
 Etsy Surplus shop: http://www.etsy.com/shop/AndesCruzSurplus

What other ways do you market your work?

I do at times show in galleries; but currently only show & sell my work online. I am open to the right locations. However, I have found the internet to be a fabulous gallery lately, with it’s worldwide audience.

Do you teach?

I do not currently teach (I have been an assistant in the past) Though, it is definitely in my future plans.

Any sage advice for newcomers that you would like to share?

Technique technique technique. Work on honing, improving, and expanding your skills ALL the time. With a quiver of good solid skills you can create anything.

You can do a lot , with only a few tools. It may take longer, but it’s possible, so don’t be discouraged by not having a studio with everything in it. Be creative. There are great books - Like “Cheap Thrills in The Tool Shop”, by Charles Lewton-Brain.

There are two points here I really want to stress - One is not “copying”; the second is that with all the Metalsmiths there are today; having an excellent skill set will set you apart from the crowd.

When you’re beginning really, truly focus on finding “Your Voice”. That which makes you unique. Your creative edge. The thing that makes the work Yours. It’s easy to look thru books and online pages to draw inspiration, and with it comes the strong desire to replicate what you see.... but please don’t. It’s very important to respect these designs as the Original Artist’s work. Instead, choose to filter what inspires you thru your very own creative lenses, let it flow thru your hand, and become uniquely yours.

Finding your unique Voice will set you apart. Trust that, when you create what really is within you, it creates a special Alchemy within your works, and shines out to your audience. You will set yourself apart in the sea of many; and trust that this is a very good thing. There will be people who will Love your work; specifically because it is unique, and different, and is a true piece of art within itself. It carries your essence in it. I feel; if you are uninspired in your creations, people will intristically feel this. So work to find your place of inspiration, and make your creations Your Own. Find your Voice. And do it with the best skills you can execute, always. Don’t cut corners, or skimp on supplies. Take your time, do it right. Always.

Where do you envision your work going in the next year?

I see new collaborations with my partner; Master Silversmith Rick Montano; more inclusion of colours (in new ways aside from stones); new designs and styles; even expanding materials and new techniques....Lots of new directions! We will see, but I think it is going to be very exciting.

Anything else you would like to share?

I like to go play outside and stay active, as I am sure you guessed. It’s no accident I live where I do..… And, I do it all!

I currently work full time doing Computer Aided Design and Drafting. I do Website design in a small scale way.  I’m learning to play banjo, and fiddle.  I like to do photography stuff.  I’m always learning new skills in the workshop. I enjoy blogging and Writing. Hangin’ with my Felines.  I like to garden too, but sadly, I live in an apartment right now.