Meeting Gloria Steinem

It began like this-

I old freind called a couple of weeks ago and asked if I would be willing to donate a piece to be presented to Gloria Steinem- I said YES!!! What a great chance to give a small token of gratitude to a woman who has given so much to humanity for almost half a century. Shaking in my boots with excitement I began to plan what I might create for her.

The next phone call went something like this:

There is a chance that you will get to meet her in person if you are able to be here. The East Carolina Women's Studies Department is planning a breakfast and would like for you to present the piece to Gloria yourself. WHAT? OH MY? that would be amazing!!!!!!!!!!

Next call:

The breakfast was cancelled, her schedule is too full. (Bummer)

Next call:

Great news you will get to meet her after all, be here next Friday at 4:45 with the piece.

_____________

So last Friday I drove to Greenville to meet Gloria Steinem. The whole week builidng up to the trip I was so excited and worked feverishly on several brooches not sure which would make the final cut. I included an excerpt from a poem by Alice Walker about Gloria Steinem written in the mid 90's and updated on Gloria's 75th birthday, this year. The lines are simple but seemed to say so much:

SHE IS THE ONE

WHO IS THERE
This brooch was inspired by icons, that people who are icons have an effect that radiates out across many groups and generations.

Late Friday afternoon I met Gloria Steinem. She was amazing, gracious and kind. I was struck by how interested she was in the small group of women that were there to meet her. She seemed genuinely interested in each of us. She is thoughtful and funny, intelligent and everything that I imagined she would be.

I am grateful that I had the chance to meet her, to say thank you and be inspired!

Artist Residency at the Grand Canyon

YIPPEE!!!!!! I am going to have the most amazing experience in early 2010. I have been given the opportunity to do a 3 week artist residency at the Grand Canyon. The National Park Service offers the residencies to help promote the various national parks. I will live in a building that is over 100 years old and looks out over the Grand Canyon - the views will be spectacular.

During my residency I will offer three programs to the public visiting the park. I will lead a scenic sketching walk, a drawing with wire workshop and a residency conclusion discussion/presentation. I will be free to spend the remainder of my time in Arizona exploring and creating works inspired by my discoveries.

When I return home I will give a presentation to my local community, sharing with them my experience with the wonders of the Grand Canyon. I see this experience as having so many possibilities!!!

I plan to blog about the experience while I am there, if I have access to the Internet that is!

New Jewelry

Photographs taken by Taylor Dabney of Richmond, VA.

Images from Buyers Market of American Craft

The Booth







Some new work


The Happy Artist

Things are going well in Philadelphia! My new work is being well received which is so exciting!

THE JEWELRY DESIGN BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT GRANT

PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Local Jewelry Designer Receives Top Honor in National Competition

Fayetteville, North Carolina – July 27, 2009 - Local jewelry designer Erica Stankwytch Bailey was recently honored as a Top 5 Silver Circle Finalist in a national annual competition for emerging designers. The Jewelry Design Business Development Grant program sponsored by industry supplier Halstead Bead Inc. awards cash grants and valuable business plan assistance to jewelry entrepreneurs. Stankwytch Bailey will be paired with an established jewelry design mentor through the award’s business development program. You can visit her website at www.EricaStankwytchBailey.com.

Erica creates contemporary sterling silver jewelry with a focus on texture and form. Her work is inspired by the textures of the earth. “I inspect the world in great detail and have always collected shells, seed pods, stones and interesting organic elements”.

Stankwytch Bailey began making jewelry while in school at East Carolina University, where she received her BFA in Metal Design. She maintains a full-time metalsmithing career while teaching jewelry fabrication and metalsmithing courses in Fayetteville, North Carolina.

Stankwytch Bailey was chosen as a finalist out of a highly competitive field of submissions from all over the United States. “Erica is an extremely talented metalsmith who crafts distinctive art jewelry pieces. She has an ambitious business plan and I am certain she will become a very well-known designer in the industry within the next few years,” said competition judge Hilary Scott.

Entrants in the competition were required to submit a design portfolio, a full business plan, and written answers to several specific questions. The program is designed to support the dreams of talented jewelry artisans and encourage sound business practices as they build their small businesses. Detailed results and more information on the award are available at www.HalsteadBead.com/Grant.


Contact:
Erica Stankwytch Bailey
910.489.3869
Erica@ericastankwtchbailey.cm
www.ericastankwytchbailey.com

Business of Art Workshops

Business of Art Series
Summer 2009
Hosted by Cape Fear Studios, Please contact Cape Fear Studios for registration, 910.433.2986

Pricing- the Right Equation
Thursday, July 30, 7:00-9:00pm,$25

Pricing your artwork can be very difficult. Erica will teach several pricing strategies and equations to help individual artists make sound and consistent pricing choices. From limited production items to one-of-a-kind works we will discuss which pricing strategies work best! Feel free to bring a piece of your original artwork to be discussed.

Creating a Low Cost Online Presence
Thursday, August 13, 7:00-9:00pm, $25

There are so many amazing options available for online marketing. As an artist you must make yourself available to the consumer. I have some low cost and free strategies for creating an online artist presence that will make you truly accessible to potential customers, collectors, museums and galleries. Come join us as we talk about many exciting online marketing options.
Building and Writing an Artist’s Resume, Artist Statement and Bio
Thursday, August 27, 7:00-9:00pm, $25

Your artist’s resume, artist statement and bio are often the first bits of information that galleries, collectors and potential customers get about you as an artist. These documents should be jam packed with relevant and exciting information about you as an artist and individual. In this 2 hour workshop we will discuss ways to build that artist’s resume as well as right it. We will also work on creating appropriate and relevant artist statements and bios. Your artwork along with these tools can help get you noticed in the competitive world of the visual arts.

Digital Tips for Artists

Thursday, September 10th, 7:00-9:00, $25

As an artist it has become almost impossible to avoid computers and the digital age. More and more organizations are requiring digital images for their submissions and some have turned to online application programs. In this workshop we will discuss the basics of image resizing (several options will be covered), image organization (re-naming files, burning CDs, etc.), file types, image resolution (dpi), and online applications (zapplication and juried art services).

Buyers Market of American Craft Merit Award Winner

I am delighted to announce that I was selected as a Merit Award winner for the Buyers Market of American Craft, August 2009.

Below is the press release from BMAC:

PRIZE GIVES 8 ARTISTS a BIG BREAK in the WHOLESALE TRADE
Merit Award Helps Young and Emerging Artists Learn the Business
BALTIMORE, Md., June 5, 2009 -- Eight promising artists, including jewelry designer Erica Stankwytch Bailey of Fayetteville, N.C., have won a prize that enables them to introduce their work to the nation’s gift and art retailers this summer.
Ms. Bailey is a contemporary metalsmith whose textured sterling silver jewelry has been shown in museums and at retail shows. She is dedicated to her craftsmanship: “My hands touch every piece that I sell,” she explained in her application for the annual Merit Award given by the Buyers Market of American Craft.
Ms. Bailey’s chance at national exposure will come August 1-3, 2009, when the Buyers Market opens in Philadelphia at the Pennsylvania Convention Center . As one of eight Merit Award winners announced this week, she will show her earrings and necklaces to hundreds of professional buyers from museum gift stores, art and craft galleries, home décor boutiques and jewelry stores. Ms. Bailey can be found in booth #409. The Buyers Market is the nation’s largest wholesale tradeshow of fine craft by U.S. and Canadian artists.
“Our goal is to help emerging artists bring their creations to market successfully,” said Christine Kloostra , director of the Buyers Market, which is produced by The Rosen Group, based in Baltimore. “Many artists have fresh ideas and unique products, but lack the capital to attend shows where they can sell their creations to the nation’s galleries and gift shops. Our Merit Award program helps beginners make their tradeshow debut.”
Winners receive tradeshow exhibit space at a fraction of cost, plus assistance with marketing their designs to handcraft retailers.
The 2009 Merit Award winners of the Buyers Market of American Craft are:
· Curviture, the handcrafted furniture studio of Jason Green, Boone , N.C.
· Delias Thompson, jewelry designer, Atlanta , Ga.
· Dovetail, the printed ceramics studio of Josh and Margaret Smith, Lexington , Ky.
· Erica Stankwytch Bailey, contemporary metalsmith and jewelry designer, Fayetteville , N.C.
· Jon Goldberg, East Falls Glassworks, Philadelphia , Pa.
· Gallery Blue/Michelle Mardis, original paintings, Tarpon Springs , Fla.
· Nora Dougherty, jewelry designer, Santa Cruz , Calif.
· Pamela Lauz Jewellery, jewelry designer, Ontario , Canada

Artsplosure

Come visit me this weekend at Artsplosure 2009. I will be selling my jewelry on Saturday and Sunday in downtown Raleigh, NC. To get more detailed information visit www.artsplosure.org .

American Craft Council- St. Paul, MN

Off again- this time to St. Paul ,MN. The American Craft Council is holding their annual event there this weekend. Some of the most amazing fine craft in the country will be displayed.

I have really been working hard in the studio creating new work. I am actually incorporating some color ( mostly yellows)- I had this nagging image in my mind of yellow components combined with my metalsmithing, I fought it for quite some time and just recently I gave in. I am enjoying the new stuff- it goes to show that following those gut inspirations can often pay off. I previewed this new work a couple of weeks ago in Boston and had a positive response. It is so comforting to know that customers and fans are appreciative of new directions.

BMAC

Whew- that was an interesting experience. I just returned from the Buyer's Market of American Craft in Philadelphia. I saw lots of amazing jewelry, met even more amazing people, but sadly didn't see a decent number of buyers. But, you know, I went expecting low buyer turn-out so I was able to come home with my head up, having learned a TON about the wholesale environment and that my creative peers are some of the most uplifting, supportive, positive people on the planet.

I was on the 1400 row at the show and found myself surrounded by some really talented metalsmiths, over the next several weeks I plan to introduce you to some of them.

I leave early in the morning for my next big journey!

ISGB- Convergence

I had the wonderful opportunity to work with glass bead artist Lisa St. Martin on a collaborative project. Bead and Button magazine along with ISGB (International Society of Glass Bead Makers) are having an Exhibition later the year called Convergence. In our case ISGB put Lisa and I together, she made 15 fantastic beads and I did my best to do them justice within the contests theme of Earth, Wind, Fire and/or Water.

This has been a really interesting challenge for me. Creating this piece with glass beads has been a huge departure from what I typically do.

So I received the beads from Lisa on a Friday, they were inspired by ice. I played with them all weekend trying to figure out what I wanted to do. On Tuesday morning a awoke to a wonderful snow covered landscape (I live in eastern NC, so this is a truly rare sight) and it was beautiful. I instantly found my inspiration. In my typical geeky way I grabbed my macro lense and started taking photographs of snow mounded on leaves, icicles and snowballs. I went into the studio and our Collaborative piece "Snow Day" was born.

New Year

WHEW! The holidays can sure make life crazy. I have been busy!!! Custom orders, christmas gifts, readying myself for new adventures in 2009- I have big plans: wholesale and retail shows all over the U.S., increased web presence, better marketing, better business practices, more professional blogging (I have been eagerly spreading the word about blogging while not actively doing so myself- as is my teaching mantra at times- Do as I say, not as I do.),getting better and more frequent images of my work. OKay, so yes, I could write a book with my list of professional new year resolutions- I won't even touch on the personal goals. I have this philosophy that you can't succeed if you don't try, SO, I try a lot- not always with success but I keep trying.

I have been spending a ton of time in the studio- creating new work and trying new things- can't wait to debut new stuff at the Philadelphia Buyers Market of American Craft in Feb.

Happy New Year- 2009 will be great!!