FOXY Fusions Blog

As part of the FOXY Facelift on the Rectangle series, I’ve designed several new pendants! Hope you like ‘em!

FOXY Rectangle - Ocean Set 3

FOXY Rectangle - Ocean Set 4

FOXY Rectangle - Sunset Set 5

FOXY Rectangle - Opposites Set 6

Ocean Set 3 – The base is an opaque teal glass, the middle layer is a purple transparent glass with an iridescent surface that has lots of blue and purple shimmer, and the strap is a purple ripple dichroic glass.

Ocean Set 4 – The base is an iridescent royal blue glass that shimmers purple and gold, the middle layer is a dark purple iridescent glass which darkens considerably once on top of the blue, and the strap is a fun rainbow dichroic glass.

Sunset Set 5 – The base is a light pink opaque glass, the middle layer is a dichroic glass that has an awesome scratchy texture once it’s fired, and the strap has a fun pink dichroic glass with the FOXY Swirls pattern etched onto it.

Opposites Set 6 – The base is a light purple opaque glass, the middle layer is a shimmery purple/blue iridescent glass, and the strap is a teal dichroic glass with a bubbles pattern on it.

All of these new FOXY Rectangles can be purchased at http://www.kerrilawnsby.com/fxy_rectangles.html

Enjoy!

The FOXY makeover continues with a revamping of four more FOXY Rectangle designs…

FOXY Facelift - Part 2!

Forest Set 6 always had a lovely transparent dark forest green backdrop for a rainbow dichroic pattern with angular crossing lines. Now it has a dramatic strap with dark purple glass that has a shimmery purple/blue iridescent coating. I think it’s new structure and symmetry are highly attractive!

Sunset Set 6 retains its glowing red iridescent glass, but now it has a more whimsical appeal with a rainbow dichroic pattern that has squiggly lines in teals, purples, blues, and pinks. Fun!

Opposites Set 4 has an all new dichroic strap that catches the eye with its bold color and aztec pattern, a perfect compliment for the transparent teal base and icy salmon ripple dichroic centerpiece.

Opposites Set 5 was always an appealing combination to me, but it has lost its swagger along the way. So I turned it upside down and put a strong bold iridescent purple sheen in the middle to offset the sizzling lime green, and topped it off with a multicolored dichroic strap!

Hope you enjoyed this FOXY Facelift as much as I have!

Change is a necessary part of life…and in the spirit of change I’ve been giving FOXY Rectangles a makeover. The FOXY Rectangle designs have been a solid line since the business began, but there were a few cobwebs that needed cleaning. After getting halfway through the FOXY facelift for the Rectangles, I have revamped three of the existing designs which were pretty to begin with, but could now use a little extra umph!

FOXY Facelift...Part 1

FOXY Rectangle – Forest 1 is essentially the same as it was: it is using the warm brown opaque glass on the bottom and the lovely bronze glass in the middle. But now…it’s incorporating the new FOXY swirls pattern, designed by Kerri Lawnsby Studio, for the strap! I think the new FOXY swirls are much more compelling visually than the old swirl pattern this design used. Hope you like it too!

FOXY Rectangle – Opposites 2 is also very similar, except that now the design uses a wine-colored transparent glass on the bottom which provides a rich canvas for the fun rainbow colored balloons pattern that livens up the middle layer. The dichroic strap will be a range of colors from green to teal to blue…whatever strikes my fancy that day and goes with the balloons pattern in the specific piece!

FOXY Rectangle – Opposites 1 has always been a favorite design of mine, but somehow along the way it’s fallen out of tune…so I’m making it sing all new melodies now with the FOXY swirls pattern in the middle layer and the new light blue ripple strap! Hopefully in the photography you can now see that the surface of the orange transparent base glass is iridescent, reflecting all sorts of happy teals, purples, golds, and so on…depending on the slice of glass in your piece!

Apologies for my photography, but come see these changes in person and I think you’ll agree it’s the beginning to a very FOXY facelift for the Rectangle series!

Watching Paige Miles get voted off American Idol last night, I thought how similar her experience is to mine. She has a talent people enjoy in her beautiful voice, and she has many fans who adore what she does and who she is. While on a much smaller scale, I have a talent for fused glass that many people enjoy and support by becoming a fan of FOXY Fusions on Facebook, or by spending their hard-earned dollars to purchase something that I created.

Paige has experienced recognition of talent, and acceptance from many adoring fans. But unfortunately, like me, the strength of her performance is not yet compelling enough to get her where she wants to be. She must be discouraged to get so close to a “for sure” music career as part of the Top 10, only to fall short of the necessary votes to stay in the game.

I think I know how Paige must feel. I feel it every time I receive that fated email… the email goes something like this:

Thank you for applying to the Top Juried Fine Art Festival. Unfortunately, we had so many talented artists apply this year that we could not extend an invitation to every wonderful artist that applied.

In other words, you’re pretty good, but not good enough.

So…Paige…what should we do?

Here’s my answer:
Stop worrying about what those judges want to see because even they don’t know what they want to see. They saw a glimmer of it in you that attracted them in the first place, and they want more of that….whatever “that” is.
So dig deep to discover the essence of magic in yourself that has attracted people thus far—your uniqueness. Drag your pure essence out into the sunlight, free it from the bonds of self-censure, and polish it up for everyone to see its brilliance. Be strong. Be determined. And let your light shine.

And now, I’m going to try taking my own advice.

Turquoise, Tomato, Coral, Violet, Beige, Canary Yellow, “Amparo” Blue, Pink Champagne, Dried Herb, and Eucalyptus… Pantone has a diverse palette of colors for Spring 2o10 from which to work! I finally settled on three new Circle designs, and am planning a few new Rectangle designs. Drumroll please….

FOXY Circle #5 -- Swirls in pink and turquoise!

FOXY Circle #16-- Eucalyptus, Amparo Blue, and a Subtle Aurora!

FOXY Circle #21-- Dried Herb and a Rich Amparo Blue!

Two of these new designs feature the new “Crazy Swirl” pattern that I drew by hand and am now having etched onto a range of dichroic colors! In fact, the pink/turquoise swirl design is simply an updated version of FOXY Circle #1. You can order this design in any of the colors shown below. To do so, order FOXY Circle #5 and send me a note as to which colors you want top and bottom! Available colors are below…

If you’ve purchased a FOXY Fusions bracelet for a gift, you won’t know if it’s the right size until your giftee tries it on. If the bracelet is not long enough, you can always contact us to exchange the bracelet for one that is longer.

If the bracelet is too long, however, you have a much simpler solution: you can remove a link to make the bracelet shorter. To do this, all you need is a round nose jewelry supply tool that you can get from any craft store (like Hobby Lobby or Michaels).

What you are going to do is remove the link on the side OPPOSITE the clasp. To do so, turn the bracelet over, insert the tool into the looped metal attaching the square link to the bracelet, squeeze and lift. Once the looped metal is lifted, you can remove the link from the bracelet.

You can close the looped metal back down on the individual square link and use it as a necklace.

The pictures below illustrate this process.

Use the tool to squeeze the looped metal

Lift the looped metal with the tool

Remove the link from the bracelet

Remove the link

Close the metal loop on the extra link

Now you have a bracelet and pendant!

Sometimes I wonder the impact my crafting lifestyle will have on my young sons, who are now 7 and 10. During the fall and spring, I am gone 3 out of 4 weekends at shows, off solo selling my wares while my kiddos are in school. My husband takes them to all their soccer games on the weekends, and I miss these special moments….although I usually get lots of photos of them playing sent to my Blackberry—Love modern technology!

During the week, I feel like I’m cramming time with my boys…trying to see them as much as possible. But there’s only so much time between after school, homework, soccer practice, and bedtime; and often I have lots of work to do to get ready for the next weekend show as well so I’ll be in the studio late at night.

My older son Garrett told his Nene (my mom) that when he grows up, he’s going to get a job that makes lots of money so he doesn’t have to work as hard as his father and me. Then my mother shot me that look that said: “Are you sure you know what you’re doing?” (and really, she totally disapproves of me being gone so much!)

But two weekends ago my son Garrett got to come with me to a show because it was close to home in Georgetown. He loved it! He wandered around, found some arts and crafts he liked and even made a “trade” with an artist (with a little help from mom). He was so proud of his purchase…and liked the idea that he got to own something made by another artist by trading something his mommy made. And he got to hear folks say how much they loved the glass that his mommy made…I think it made him feel special.

Another benefit of my kids witnessing my crafts lifestyle is that it is teaching them that there are all kinds of ways to make a living in this world besides the standard corporate style job. It’s teaching them that you can conceive of something in your own mind, create it, and actually convince other people to buy it from you! How cool is that? Last year I knew Garrett had figured this out when he filled balloons with flour and sold them at school as “stress balls” for $5 each. He made a BUNDLE! I am teaching him to be an entrepreneur.

I’m also teaching my kids that doing what you love is important. I am not happy with corporate work. Sure…it pays the bills. But if I don’t have a way to be creative as a living, I am miserable. Even though I’m gone so much from home, when I *am* home, I’m happy. I think that makes a difference. An energetic happy mommy who’s around half the time is much better than a depressed sad mommy who’s around all the time.

And, lastly, I’m teaching my kids the power of determination. You win some, you lose some, but you never stop trying to live your dreams. Ever. I am trying to set an example for them that I hope will help them create a full, happy life.

It will be fascinating to see how my kids turn out…what lessons they learn…and what they say about me as a mom when they grow up!

Pursuing art as a career can seem luxurious to lots of people, like it’s not really a job at all…it’s fun. And in some ways this is true. I’m blessed that I can earn a living being creative and I enjoy calling myself an “artist” or my new favorite—”artisan”. Before he worked some shows with me, my husband would remark that all I did all weekend was have fun drinking wine and hanging out with my artist friends.

But spend any amount of time behind the scenes with artists and you’ll discover an absolute truth: pursuing art as a career is extremely challenging emotionally, financially, and physically. Sometimes people ask me questions about booth fees or displays, and it’s clear they’re contemplating pursuing a creative career involving arts and crafts. So on the wake of a somewhat frustrating show experience, I’ll offer my most accurate portrayal of what you can experience doing arts and crafts fairs.

First, you can expect absolute unpredictability. All of us artists share news of various show experiences in the hopes of discovering the very best chance of doing well in sales. I say “chance” because finding good sales opportunities hinges on so many factors including:

• Weather–If it’s too hot or too cold, or raining or snowing, you won’t get the turnout you need to be successful. No amount of show promotion can fix that. A previously good show turns sour instantly in bad weather.
• Promotion–Picking a show that has a history of being a decent show is the best you can hope for, and then it’s very competitive to get juried in so you can have the opportunity to try out your merchandise on the market.
• Event competition–Even if the show is excellent, if there are conflicts with other art shows, community events, or even football games that the public wants to attend, your show attendance will suffer.
• Market appeal–Until you try a show, you have no idea whether the market for that show will like what you have to offer. Each show is like a microcosm that your product may, or may not, thrive within. You’ve got to pay to play.
• Economy–Over the last year, the economy has definitely dampened sales and made everyone cautious with spending money. This has hit the artist community hard. Look around your neighborhood–you’ve likely seen many boutiques and art shops close down because they can’t make ends meet.

Second, in response to the unpredictability, you can expect to need coping mechanisms. If you’re having great sales at a show, you don’t need to do anything except soak up the glory. But you definitely will experience shows where you do not make sales–these shows shake your foundation and make even the most confident artists wonder whether they should be pursuing this line of work.

Third, you can expect to get sweaty, dirty, and wet setting up and breaking down your booth. It takes time to develop the perfect booth display for your merchandise, and to get everything you need to keep it looking nice, dry in wet weather, and stable in windy conditions.  That learning curve can be frustrating, but once you’ve got it worked out, you’ll get great exercise lifting, bending, stretching, and hustling to arrange your booth before a show.

Lastly, you can expect to make life-long friends. Doing arts and crafts shows can be traumatic, and like any traumatic experience, the art show circuit produces strong bonds and friendships between artists. Artists are living on the edge, not knowing one minute to the next whether things are going to be great or awful. It’s the true test to whether you see the glass half empty or half full. Whether you can turn lemons into lemonade.

I’ve learned so much from participating in arts and crafts shows over the years. I’ve learned about myself mostly. I’m a lemonade-maker. I can make lemonade from even the most tart lemons.

Every year at the Austin City Limits festival I find new music to groove to in the studio! Music is an essential part of my creativity and design inspiration. I need music like I need air.

2009 ACL favorites included:

• Mute Math–New Orleans’ electro-rock quartet draws upon new wave and electronic to ambient pop and alt-rock to deliver FRIGGIN’ AWESOME JAMS!!! I loved them. I even got signed by the lead singer…a doppelganger for my husband! I bought the newest album–Armistice–and the original album–Mute Math.
• Ghostland Observatory–They rocked it hard on Saturday night…arguably the best performance of the weekend! They even brought the entire UT Marching Band out on stage! Ghostland Observatory serves up guitars, sequencers and programmed beats into a white-hot mix of punk rock, digitized funk and techno. Taking cues from disparate influences ranging from Daft Punk to Jerry Lee Lewis to Queen, Ghostland Observatory delivers with sweat and screams.
• Thievery Corporation–Exhilarating and eclectic blend of electronica, dub, rock and all manner of ethnic music, I’ve loved Thievery Corporation since I first heard a song of theirs on the movie soundtrack for The Truth About Charlie. They rock it!
• Phoenix–Loved this French band for their upbeat and danceable tunes! And the lead singer fathered Sofia Coppola’s child…an interesting celebrity tidbit.
• The Knux–For a hip-hop twist, check out The Knux. I love their creative use of instrumentation and electronics, and savvy use of slinky ’70s-sounding guitar lines. Fun!
• Citizen Cope–Born in Memphis, Cope delivers a folk-pop/blues/hip-hop/reggae/soul sound that is distinctive and hypnotic. He sang my favorite song on Saturday–Sideways. Awesome.
• STS9–Once again, Waterloo Records was sold out of STS9 records yesterday when I went for my yearly music feast. This band is awesome and has very groovable tunes for studio time!
• Cotton Jones–I had never heard this band before, but really enjoyed their trippy dreamy sounds that weave elements of folk, jazz, and country into a woozily melodic quilt of Americana with psychedelic sensibilities.
• Ben Harper and Relentless7–Gotta love Ben Harper anyway, but his new band is truly jamming awesome tunes!
• Passion Pit–Very playful eclectic electronica tunes that are fun to groove around to as I’m working in the studio.
• Arctic Monkeys–A favorite of mine since I saw them two years ago at ACL, I added their new album to my collection happily!
• B52s–I took a walk down memory lane and remembered dancing in college to these awesome tunes! This band is STILL rocking it! Unbelievable! (Although, they did give themselves a bit of a glamour shot for their band pic…)

AND….we also got to catch The Gourds at an after show at Threadgills. These guys JAM it HARD…and rewarded us with a rare rendition of ‘Gin and Juice’ which they adapted from…you guessed it…Snoop Dogg.

I can’t believe I have to wait another whole year for the next ACL Festival! Drats!

Sitting in GrapeVine Texas at the annual GrapeFest festival, I thought I would write a little something about them FOXY Charms….since this festival is all about the wine! But don’t stop reading if you don’t like wine…you can use FOXY Charms on any stemware: margaritas, martinis, champagne, you name it. (Can you tell I’m well versed in the drink menu?)

My daughter Shana cringes when I tell her “We’re making FOXY Charms in the studio today!”  These little gems are tough and tedious to make. First I cut each base piece which is roughly 0.5″ x 0.75″, making sure the edges are rectangular, and cold-working any weird edge that occurs when snapping along cut lines. Then I cut the second layer which needs to be placed like a little picture frame along the bottom edge of the base piece.  Then we use some fiber paper cut into very thin strips to make the “channel” for the wine glass hoop. And the piece de resistance: an ultra thin piece of glass (the “strap”) along the top of all layers. Shana hates this last piece because it always wants to lean one way or another, and not lie flat like a good little piece of glass.

Then we load the kiln with all these little gems in the making.

This picture shows a half-loaded kiln that, working alone, took me about 4 hours to fill. If I were to package these FOXY Charms into sets, I would get 28 sets.

After these little charms come out of the kiln, they need to have the fiber paper removed, be cleaned up, and be added to boxed sets of FOXY Charms for selling.

FOXY Charms are truly a labor of love. And wine.

And now…for a glass of wine.