CMAG Officers
President: open
Vice-president: open
Secretary: Wayne Acton
Treasurer: Mandy Allen
Members at Large
Lisa Ciolli (Membership)
Linda Apodaca (Programs)
Barbara Covey
CMAG Board Meetings
Board meeting are generally
held the last Tuesday of
each month at 7:00pm.
Members are encouraged to
attend and contribute.
Contact Mandy for location.
How to Reach Us
Website:
www.cmaguild.org
Write:
Creative Metal Arts Guild
P. O. Box 8946
Portland OR 97207
Newsletter
Contributions, comments,
classified ads, display ads
metal_fx@comcast.netLyn Simon email
Membership
Please visit CMAG's website:
www.cmaguild.org
Annual membership dues are
$60; students $30
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Newsletter
The Creative Metal Arts Guild, a non-profit organization, exists to create a community for metalsmiths, jewelers and metal artists, bt facilitating communication, providing information and benefits, promoting a positive image of the creative metal artist and increasing public awareness of the artist's contribution to the community.
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Editor's Comments
I want to thank our stalwart members, Linda Apodaca and Mandy Allen,
who make important contributions to the Newsletter. Linda composes the interesting CMAG Member Bio and also the upcoming program notes. Mandy writes the craft fair critique. Barbara Covey takes and posts pictures from the general meeting. This month Mel Stiles filled in on the meeting minutes and I suspect she also has a bit of the mischievous ‘light’ touch as an author. Margaret Frison and Madeline Janovec sent along items to fill out the announcement column. Every one of us has interesting and entertaining items to share, articles to reference, shows and meetings, pictures and much else; things made mutually interesting by our shared metal working avocation. Jotting down a few lines and attaching a picture is simple, painless and rewarding for everyone. Contact Lyn Simon or myself (look right for links) with your next article today. …………. Wayne
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MEMBER PROFILE : DEBRA CARUS
By Linda Apodaca
Norwegian blood and traditions run strong in Debra Carus’ life. She was born in a Scandinavian community in Spokane and her Sons of Norway father involved the whole family in Norse Hall activities…folk dancing, wearing traditional costumes, and making of folk art.
Her Norwegian grandparents played a large role in her childhood. Her grandfather taught her and her three siblings how to camp, hike and fish and to love and care for the out-of-doors. Her grandmother taught her the Norwegian crafts of tole painting, hand embroidery, costume sewing and painting. But most important, she instilled in her an ethic of hard work and independence. And finally her immigrant grandmother taught her a love of her Norwegian roots.
Debra’s childhood was unusual in that they were constantly moving to places between Spokane and Boise, never staying in one place even for a year. During her senior year in high school in Boise she met Bob, a long-haired aspiring actor/musician who was a student at Boise State. The attraction was strong but her stepfather forbade her from seeing him. So immediately after her graduation she left home and married Bob.
In 1975 after he graduated they moved to Portland. She went to work for a bank and he went back to school to study accounting. The bank put her through management training then she went into human resources and worked her way through different positions of management. She decided she liked working with people much better than with numbers. Her boss happened to be an artist and he initiated an employee art show for US Bank employees in all parts of the state. Debra was put in charge of it for the next 13 years, entering it herself with her paintings.
In addition to climbing the corporate ladder, she went to PSU to get her college degree. She received degrees in both Business and in Anthropology plus she minored in Norwegian language.
In 1986 the bank was bought out and she was laid off. Her next job was at Hilton Hotel where they trained her to teach their employees. She designed workshops around conflict management and group building. She particularly loved teaching and decided to always have teaching play some role in her life.
Her next move was to Legacy Health working in organizational development and team building. In her workshops she liked to “help people to tell their stories.” She would bring in art projects to facilitate this. It was art therapy of sorts.
While doing this job which was very stressful, she continued to do her own art work but realized that her watercolor painting was not what she wanted. She pursued a variety of classes including a basic metal workshop. She really liked working in metal. She bought her own books and tools and taught herself many of metal techniques.
After three years of working in metal she made the life-changing decision that making jewelry and teaching jewelry was what she wanted to do. She made a simple 5-year plan:
1. Make and sell jewelry part time. 2. Teach art workshops. 3. Give notice that she was retiring. So far she is three years along in her plan.
Elentari Handverk is her business name. She explained that Elentari means the Evenstar. “I was looking for a word to capture the things that cultures have used as ‘wayfinders’ such as the night sky for navigation. I use cairn stones in my work also, as the cairn stone trail wayfinders keep nomadic peoples on course through the seasons. It reflects my path in life, kind of wandering but hopefully on a good track!”
In her business she now typically does 20 shows per year. And on other weekends she is often teaching a workshop. On week days she makes her jewelry preferring to work in sterling or 22kt. gold. She loves to tell a story with her pieces and the Scandinavian symmetry and simplicity are evident in her designs. She often incorporates traditional techniques of wire weaving, braiding, filigree and chain maille, enameling and fabrication. Precious Metal Clay presents her with the challenge of trying to make it a more refined and acceptable medium for metal workers to use.
To round out her jewelry and teaching life, Debra is an avid cyclist, hiker and cross country skier. She does grass roots environmental work, recycles, and helps to keep the planet healthy by living an environmentally-friendly life in her everyday actions. She works on trail maintenance and preserving the wilderness.
CMAG is very fortunate to have her as a member of our Spring Show Steering Committee this year. She is a dynamic force in the metals community.
Be sure to visit her website www.elentari-handverk.com to see the full extent of the classes she offers, the shows she does, the lines of jewelry she has, and just to see an example of a great website.
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Classified Ad
FOR SALE
Piece of 14K yellow gold sheet, approx. 2x 2.25 [inches?] x 18 gauge, 23 dwt. Will sell well below market
Carey Smith ........ 503-232-0057
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MEMORIAL CELEBRATION OF CAROL WESTLAKE’S LIFE
SUNDAY AUGUST 10, 9:00AM AT LINTON LAKE
Our member Carol passed away last February 20. She asked that friends and family celebrate her life at Linton Lake, a place she loved so much. Linton Lake is located about 65 miles east of Eugene with a 2 mile hike after parking.
For complete directions and details call or email Linda Apodaca. 503-638-4030
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Symposium 08
Thirteenth Annual Northwest Jewelry & Metals SYMPOSIUM 08
Saturday October 18 at Seattle’s Museum of History & Industry.
Presentations, Workshops by Symposium speakers, displays, auctions.
INFORMATION & REGISTRATION: www.seattlemetalsguild.org. Click “Symposium” link [do 'events' first.]
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SAFETY & TIPS
Finger raw and bleeding? Or just numb? Margaret Frison sends this link for our consideration.
"Here's an article I found via Orchid that might be good to put in the
newsletter..."
http://www.jewelryspectrum.com/learning-center/safety.htm
Madeline Janovec sends this tip from her newsletter recieved from the Jewelers' Resource Bureau.
"Watch What You Publicize -- New technological developments at Google Maps now allow you to get a ground-level 360 degree view of hundreds of thousands of addresses across the United States and many cities in Europe. Quite likely, this includes your address, and if you publicize that address in your businss communications, alarm bells should be going off in your mind.
"The practical effect of this mapping advance is that now anyone with a computer and internet connection can see what your place looks like from the street. If that person has even an inkling of an idea to rob you, a quick lookup on Google Maps may convince him to go ahead or it might change his mind. And if you aren't in the map database yet, you will be soon as Google is adding hundreds of miles of addresses each day. It's the best argument yet for a post office box."
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CALL FOR ENTRIES
This came to our email:
Tacoma, Wash.-The YWCA RAGS Guild announces a call for entries for its 15th annual juried wearable art show and sale. The show will take place March 12-15, 2008, at Mercedes-Benz of Tacoma. Open to all artists working in all media of wearable art-garments, fashion accessories, and jewelry.
All initial entries are juried by digital images. Accepted gallery entries are judged for award from actual works in late February 2009. Cash prizes to gallery winners in garments, accessories/jewelry, and best of show. As a benefit for domestic violence programs of the YWCA Pierce County, RAGS retains 33% of sales in Marketplace; 40% of sales in Gallery.
Deadline for submitting digital images is December 09, 2008. For prospectus and entry information, visit www.YWCApiercecounty.org. (click on RAGS['Events' first, jeez]), or send an SASE to Artist Coordinator, YWCA RAGS Guild, 405 Broadway, Tacoma, WA 98402. For more information, call the RAGS hotline at 253-272-4181, ext. 352.
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'Your Dues (might still be?) DUE'
Dear CMAGers
Another membership year has gone by and it’s time to renew, well a little past time, truth be told. The published date for inclusion in the member directory is August 15. This will definitely be extended and it’s not like renewal won’t be accepted later. But for reasons of financial planning as well as directory publication, it’s better to have some semblance of punctuality.
Full membership for families or partners is still only $60. Full membership is necessary to participate in the Spring Show. It also gives automatically a listing on our website and space there for pictures of your work and/or a link to your site. (There is no longer any surcharge for website participation.) You will receive the annual member directory, updates for the resource guide as they are published and the monthly newsletter. Another year of interesting programs is being planned by our reinvigorated program committee.
Please be sure to fill out the renewal form completely so your info is up to date and also because we are revising our records into a database for more efficient printing from these new forms.
You will find a renewal form here which you may be able to print.
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Spring Show Dates
The contracts are signed and deposit paid for the 2009 CMAG Spring Show and Sale. The annual extravaganza is scheduled for April 24, 25 & 26.
Just a little update here. I'm thinking the first mailing has gone out 'cause that sure looks like it on the kitchen table and I happen to know the steering committee is meeting regularly 'cause Judy's gone to them a lot. I'm very confident that when they have something important to communicate, they'll drop Lyn and myself a note to publish. I for one am excited to do the next show. ......... Wayne
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MONTHLY MEETINGS &
PROGRAMS
WHEN: General CMAG member meetings are held the
second Tuesday of each month. Door opens at 6:45pm, meetings begin at 7:15pm,
and adjourn by 9:15pm.
WHERE: Room 34 at the Multnomah Arts
Center, 7688 SW Capitol Highway Portland 97219.
WHAT: Meetings consist of a general business and a short break with refreshments, followed by a
program which may be a demonstration of a technique or tool, a slide
presentation, a panel discussion, or other presentation of interest to CMAG
members. The CMAG Library is open before the meeting and during the break for
checking out books and magazines.
WHO: Meetings are open to CMAG
members and their guests.
CMAG Webpage |
In former years this program has proved to be a real treasure chest of useful tips and resources to make your metal working easier and better. Be ready to take notes. 
Lee Haga announced that she will be participating in the Japanese Garden Show again this year. 
Go 
Load-out went smoothly for me but the parking for vendors is very limited so if you want a close spot on Sunday arrive extra early. 
Load-in happens on Saturday morning, you drive up to your booth and parallel park across the street to allow for other cars to go through. Setup had always gone smoothly for me. Load-out is a little more hairy as you have to pay your commission then wait in line to drive in. The booths are placed right next to each other so there wasn’t much room to maneuver or for storage space behind the booth.