Thursday, June 9, 2011

No Photos Today

So I got a new camera, Canon Rebel T3i, the latest edition of that series -- cool -- one might think... but after 2 days of trying to figure out why I couldn't open raw format pictures, I found out that my operating system on my mac is too old to use the software that came with the camera that would open the raw files.

Aughhh. Why is everything so difficult!!?!

So my option is to spend another hundred for the upgrade and another 150 to have it installed -- unless, of course I feel comfortable doing the upgrade myself... which of course they made me not feel comfortable doing myself...

...or after talking with Canon support, I found out that the Canon T2i will work on my operating system!! So, I opted for taking my camera back and exchanging it for the T2i, which is almost identical to the T3i, except that it's not the latest edition and will work with my operating system. The view finder doesn't rotate out... I can live with that... and I think the recording features are better... that's ok too! It's also $100 cheaper. So I made the switch today... although the T2i wasn't in stock so they had to order it. It will be in on the 15th.

Sunday, June 5, 2011

"Etsy Metal Studio Tour"

"Etsy Metal Studio Tour" Blog Carnival June 6, 2011
This month's blog carnival is a tour through Etsy Metal members' studio. Find a link at the bottom to see studios of other members.


My studio is a mess right now, and I just didn't have it in me to clean it up for these photos! It's on the list, but, right now, now very high up.


This first shot is a picture of a bucket of mini forming hammers and a chasing hammer. To the left is a small anvil on a block of wood where I do a lot of pounding. To the right, is a big vise with a sinusoidal stake sticking out of it. On top of the vise is the remote control to my little portable TV, where often I am accompanied by sit coms like 'My Name is Earl,' 'Friends,' South Park',... or if it's a Saturday afternoon, some very low budget horror movie.

This next shot is my laboratory of enameling. I got 3 sets of spice racks from Costco and put my enamels in them. It makes me feel like a scientist. I have 2 annealing pans. The one on the left is for annealing and soldering and the one on the right has a tripod set in it that I use for enameling. I line my pliers up on the drawer. The bottom right is my Smith mini torch.
 This is where I do most of my forming, chasing, stamping, dapping. There is a small pitch bowl with red pitch to the left, letter stamps and dapping tools behind it. On the shelf are files and chasing tools. To the right a small vise and lots of miscellaneous pieces that I'm working on.


 To the left of this shot is some little Bonny Doon press I found at the used tool store. I haven't used it yet, but is was kinda cool, so I had to buy it. Behind is a Cavallin rolling mill that I use for fold forming and texturing. And behind that from right to left is my polisher, drill press, combo grinder/belt sander (hidden behind the mill) and a drum sander that my husband got me for Christmas a couple of years ago. I haven't figured out what I can use it for yet, so I just set things on it for now.
Another bucket of hammer and some small drawers filled with copper pieces.






After writing this and looking at these pictures, I am inspired to clean up. If I could change anything... it would be me trying to stay more organized. When it gets like this it's hard to stay focused.






 Click the links to see how other people work!!
1. Rebecca Bogan - http://www.AdobeSol.com/blog
2. Shirlee Grund - http://lichenandlychee.com/blog/
3. Beth Cyr http://bcyrjewelry.blogspot.com
4. Elizabeth Scott http://esdesignsjewelry.com/blog
5. Cynthia Del Giudice http://cynthiadelgiudice.blogspot.com
6. Michele Grady http://www.michelegradydesigns.blogspot.com
7. Erin Austin - http://metalmusing.blogspot.com/
8. Nodeform - http://nodeform.blogspot.com/
9. Evelyn Markasky -- http://markasky.blogspot.com/
10. Kathryn Cole - http://www.kathryncolejewelry.blogspot.com
11. 2Roses - http://www.jewelrytutorial.blogspot.com
12. Lauren Anabela Beaudoin/Creative Dexterity - http://creativedexterity.com/Blog/main.html