Adorn Me! 2010 Days 2 & 3

"Cotton Tops"

After one day of teaching under my belt, the next few days were spent with one of my best friends, Riki Schumacher. We actually took three classes together, and the first was a 2-day class, Found Object Sandwich, with the master, Thomas Mann. Who by the way, had just celebrated his 40th Anniversary as a Metal Artist. I must say, indeed he is! Not only did I FINALLY learn to use my jeweler's saw with ease, but I learned the dynamics behind many of my bench tools.
I came home with a new flex shaft, and a head full of ideas. I believe a 2-day class is the way to go, and I know that for sure, especially after taking a 2-1/2 day class with Stephanie Lee last Spring, in California.
However, the best part of this class, REALLY was getting to hang out with Riki. She is such a great friend, and teacher, as I am sure many of her students came to know in her classes.
We had waited almost a year for this day.
We had much fun, and didn't waste one minute of it!
Here are a few pictures of my Found Object Sandwich while it was a work in progress. I had etched a piece of brass at home,
knowing I wanted to use it in class.
There are actually four layers shown here, which we worked on, one at a time.
Thomas assured us that our picture was still positioned correctly under the plexi glass!
Yes, he was right~it was!
The picture I used for this project, you probably have seen before. It is a re-sized version of a cabinet card I have of some distant cousins, and is part of my sister's series.
I never tire of these little blonde haired dolls.
I had also brought a piece of filigree I wanted to use, and had found a robin's egg blue stone in one of Thomas' bins. He even drilled the hole in the stone for me in class!
But, once home, I continued to work on it.
I added another piece of brass, but I still wasn't satisfied.
On Monday I received a shipment of brass from my favorite brass supplier, Brass Bouquet.
Jill hand-patinas all her pieces in her studio, and has the most gorgeous filigree.
You can also find some of her items in her Etsy shop.
That was it. I added this piece and another smaller one.
Now....I am done!Here is Riki's FOS piece. Isn't it gorgeous?
She really added a lot of extra pieces on hers. A brass lock plate from home, and plexi glass, which I believe Thomas guided her in etching. Isn't it gorgeous? Her story can be read here.

I found out I had more friends in the class, once it started!
One I have known only by phone, for several months, Lisa Monroe, (first photo, far left) is a gifted PMC artist from Waco, as is Lorena Angulo, (first photo, far right) who lives in San Antonio, and then a new blog buddy, Marcy Antle, (third photo, in the middle) from Georgia, was also a part of the class! Marcy was in my Rhinestone Dreams class, which I will talk about later.

The back of my FOS is just as beautiful as the front. Well almost.
Always look at the back of a piece. There you will see the true mark of a master.
I met one at Adorn Me! His name is Thomas Mann.