Small Business of December

December's featured small business goes to...

This girl might have scrawny arms and little hands but don't let that fool you! She's not only knowledgable about using the torch, fusing metals, and making casts but she can bring her skills and equipment to events, festivals and instructional programs. Tiffany Asraf, founder of her small business Salt and Steel, has had an eye for jewelry design since childhood. Jewelry making and collecting is in her family lineage and her heirlooms have inspired her aesthetic.  After lots of experimenting, completing courses from Montclair State University, and collecting jewelry over the years, Tiffany has created her own unique designs fusing gold and silver together. I fancy these rings so much, and they're only $25 on her etsy page.

This beetle cast ring can be made in silver or brass.

It's obvious that Tiffany's art and jewelry-making are closely related; you can see elements from her jewelry design in her artwork and visa versa.  Tiffany's art can be found on her blogspot.

Tiff is going away on a retreat in January and will return in the spring. Place an order for the holidays or revisit her etsy page after Memorial Day :)

http://www.etsy.com/shop/saltandsteel

Art, Friends, and Fall

Art and friends are like the nutella and bananas of my life, or the peanut butter and jelly for you traditional viewers. It's been a great September exhibiting artwork with friends, networking, rekindling old friendships and talking about art within the artist circle in Asbury Park. This Saturday the 29th, I'll be one of the exhibiting artists at the 100,000 Poets for Change event at Trinity and the Pope. My good friend, Gregg Bautista, is the featured artist of the event. Be sure to check out his table as well as enjoying the bands and listening to the poets. It's an event you won't want to miss; everybody's coming together for it  (event details here):

I drew a friend last week and wanted to share. I know a very reputable NJ model who I've been drawing since 2006. He's the best one around, and I always hire him for the life drawing events I host. Last week, I participated in the workshop with a drawing tool that is a little unusual for me- a ballpoint pen. I found it to be very adaptable to my style of drawing and thought I'd share:

 And lastly, I decided to cover my apartment with some works in progress, gifts, and purchased prints from friends. I'm really excited to have recently acquired a print from photographer Joseph Alechko and a rough draft from Richie Brown. One of these days I'll get frames so the works have some respect. Until then, I can appreciate them the way they are.

 

http://www.greggbautista.com/

www.BlackAcrylic.blogspot.com 

http://richie-brown.com/