The Church Brew....

 

 Hold on all...pull up a comfy seat, get a drink and snuggle in cause it's gonna be a long update...I've been on the road, things have been brewing and things are happening...

First off, update your little black books once again...my email address has changed...

casey@caseyshepparddesigns.com

There are a lot of changes happening at Casey Sheppard Designs, you will see that...if you have any feed back (good or bad) let me know...

So what is the answer to last weeks riddle?? Let me get you caught up first....

 In my last update I was bout to venture on a two week long road trip art show frenzy...I made stops along the way to Chicago, Pittsburgh, Boston, Syarcus, Madison, Decorah, Minneapolis/St.Paul then back home again...I drove over 3500 miles, met with amazing people and saw some really amazing places...

 

Chicago was just a quick pit stop for a quick bite at Procesco with my friend Mirvat then bed before hitting the road early in the am...

 

Pittsburgh...okay, when I pulled into this town/city I had a hard time keeping my eyes on the road...it is one of the most unique places I've ever seen...it's so hard to put into words...it's so beautiful...very steep hills, no more like drop offs miles deep with metal staircases wildly gridded and woven from apartments to overpasses...such a strength in this organic terrain...then to add, everyone there is super nice...very down to earth...

 

I had a great time hanging out with my friend Kevin who took me around to his favorite parks, one even had a great bike trail (was regretting that I didn't bring my bike til I saw how muddy the trails were...)

 

If you are ever in Pittsburgh you really need to check out the Society for Contemporary Craft...the SCC has changing exhibitions, a grand gift shop and artist studio spaces...it's truly a gem...

http://www.contemporarycraft.org/SCC/Contemporary_Craft_|_Home.html

(The confessional which is now the bar...RAD)

Another gem, Brigitte Martin ...she agreed to show we around the SCC and then took me out to lunch, we went to the Church Brew Works...a catholic church converted to a brew house/resturant...while indulging in my very first Pittsburgh Salad (yes, it's AWESome...french fries on top of a salad) Brigitte and I exchanged in mentor/mentoree conversations...I am thankful for our meeting, she has introduced me to a side of community in this industry that I have been longing for yet had not found...Thank you...while I left Brigitte to hit the road I was over come with a sense of purpose, drive and focus, it's a good thing I had a nine hour drive ahead to Boston and a voice recorder on my phone...as I sat in my car loading my GPS with directions to my next destination, I seriously considered blowing off my obligations to just take in more Pittsburgh, let's face it, I'd become smitten with this place...but at last my midwesterness kicked in and I was off to my next venture...

Brigitte's site Crafthaus

http://crafthaus.ning.com/

Boston....

As I spent the next 9 hours driving up to Boston, I came across some familiar signs, Poconos, Allentown, New York City, New Paulz...I tried to come up with a way to head into NYC for a night, just pop in, say hi to friends and leave...but no, onward to Boston...

Thursday AM, I set up at CraftBoston and meet my super fun neighbors...after having lunch on the pier and going for a small walk, I grabbed a coffee and got ready for the preview show...the night was fun filled, people taking great interest in all the creative works of art...after the show closed for the night, I headed back to the hotel for food and a good nights sleep...

As I awoke Friday, I learned that we were on lock down, you all know the turn of events, so I spend the day, watching some news, re introducing myself to the early 90's stair stepper and taking advantage of the time to write down all my thoughts, ideas and radness from my conversation with Brigitte...I spent the evening eating dinner at the bar, drinking some very delicious yet cheap wine and talking punk music with an english bloke (thank you btw, I enjoy talking music, especially punk rock)...was a good end to a very interesting day...

Beehive

Saturday and Sunday were filled with having great conversations with new people, making  new friends and making some sales...I really enjoying myself...thank you all who came out for such a great event and thank you CraftBoston for all the hard work....

http://www.societyofcrafts.org/

I had dinner at a great restaurant called the Beehive with my friend and fellow exhibitor Kristin...great food, atmosphere and music...was great to see a bit of the local Boston...

Decorah Bike Trial

Sunday I loaded up, got lost with my GPS AGAIN...but paid off this time cause I got to drive by Fenway Park...I ended up driving to Syracuse, NY...next stop was to Decorah, Iowa to hang out with my Dad and Step Mom for a few days...I drove to Madison, WI, stayed the night and arrived in Decorah on Tuesday...I spent the day relaxing and hanging with Dad...I'd spend the next few days like this, enjoying dads cooking, conversions with them both and some cat snuggle time (thanks Socks)....I did get a ride in with my friend Shockey...if you get a chance check out the Decorah trails, was such a blast...thank you Shockey for showing me around...and to Decorah Bike Shop, Travis the owner had heard that I ride a Karate Monkey (actually the same one as his but his is rigid 1 x 9) and let me ride his bike, so I road like the locals and can't wait to go back...thanks to all, love the bike community, coming together...

Decorah Bicycles

http://decorahbicycles.com/

Friday AM, I hit the road for my next show in St. Paul...for the St. Paul Art Crawl...I headed over to Susan studio to set up and we had a great time showing our jewelry together...the show had a really good turn out and I had another great show...I also made a few more connections/friends in the industry...I can't wait for my next time hanging out with Susan and Betty...also go my Johnson family time and finally got to met River...thanks guys for letting me stay with you and to all who came to the Art Crawl and Susan for the radness....

Susan Elnora's Website

http://www.susanelnora.com/

Betty Jager's Website

http://3jagdesign.com/ 

Sunday I packed up and headed home, was so nice to finally be back in my house with my dog and MY bed...

Thank you all who took me in, helped me along the road, fed me and hung out with me...you all keep me sane, mostly...

Other happenings...

A big thank you to Dundee Gallery for a great Annual Jewelry Trunk Show that was last weekend and for all who came out...

Other upcoming shows...

June 28-30th Des Moines Arts Festival 

Des Moines Iowa

Booth #GN41

http://desmoinesartsfestival.org/

 July 2nd Cherry Creek Arts Festival Opening Gala

click on below link for tickets

https://www.cherryarts.org/gala

July 5-7th Cherry Creek Arts Festival

Denver CO

Booth #246

https://www.cherryarts.org/home

So the answer you all have been waiting for...

What do a Cobb Salad, Clint Eastwood, Archor Steam and Casey Sheppard have in common, besides being delicious???

 

CALIFORNIA

 

In late July India and I are selling all our furniture, packing up the studios and loading up the car cause we are moving to LA...the new impossible that I'm gonna try (do or do not, there is no try) to make possible is to get my jewelry into the music and film scene....expose some kickass PVC pipe jewelry to rock gods/goddess....Can you see it, Steven Tyler wearing a rad leather, PVC pipe cuff??!! Right Betty....

 

added bonuses, ride bikes without frost bite in the winter....indulge in some In and Out Burger...yummmmm....and hang with my bro...

 

Going away party

  June 22nd 

 8pm Marz Bar Lincoln

 Pee Wee's Big Adventure theme, with influence of Pee Wees Playhouse...

 what will be the secret word??? 

(Keep an eye out for the facebook event it's coming soon)

 

Here are some photos from my Texas trip (which was a fantastic time) and a few other odd photos thrown in for good measure..thank you to Lis for being a great assistant, Bayou Arts Festival for a great event and to everyone that came out to show your support....thank you...

 

Ft. Hood Texas

Bayou, Liz working it

Checking out some local music by Halz and Oat

 

 

Working on a hinge...

Morel hunting

Pittsburgh

Rocky Hill Ranch Texas

Tacos in Houston

Next on my plate...I have a bike race at Platte Saturday, CycloFemme Omaha bike ride sunday for mothers day...https://www.facebook.com/events/178466258972116/

then I head to Arkansas Wednesday for Syllamo's Revenge...

Passing some great advice that a new friend passed to me..

"If your not living on the edge, you're taking up too much space'...so go do what you do....make rad art, have an adventure, read a good book, community protest, whatever it is enjoy...and keep rad....

  

One The Road Again...

   

Casey is hitting the road...again...This is just a quick update on the shows she is in route to and what to expect in our next nice LONG blog....I know she will want to share all her adventures from Texas and her upcoming events...

First off on this two week venture.....

Seaport World Trade Center

200 Seaport Blvd, Boston, MA

Friday April 19th 10am-6pm

Saturday April 20th 10am-6pm

Sunday April 21st 11am-5pm

Preview Party Thursday April 18th 

(contact #617-266-1810 or www.craftboston.org for tickets to party)

Casey Sheppard Designs Booth #535 

 

 Check out link for further details

http://www.societyofcrafts.org/cbspring/artists.asp?whatpg=artview&navig=media&id=2877

On Casey's way back from Boston she will be taking part in...

This event is all over St.Paul so check out the website for all the details but Casey will be at

Northern Warehouse

308 Prince Street

Studio #421

(Susan Elnora's Studio)

St. Paul, MN

Friday April 26th 6pm-10pm

Saturday April 27th 12pm-8pm

Sunday 12pm-5pm

Then back home just in time for....

Dundee Gallery Annual Jewelry Trunk Show 

Casey will be at the show Saturday May 4th 5:30pm-9pm ONLY....

Friday May 3rd 11am-9pm

Saturday May 4th 11am-9pm

Sunday May 5th 12pm-5pm

http://dundeegallery.com/

A little sneak peek into the next blog post:

A little riddle for today's closing...

What do a Cobb Salad, Clint Eastwood, Archor Steam and Casey Sheppard have in common, besides being delicious???

Find out the answer and some big news from Casey Sheppard Designs in our next blog post...til then...safe travels to all in your adventures...

Deep in the Heart....

 After all the hard work and prep, time has finally come for us to help Casey pack up and head down to The Lone Star State where there are fields of yellow roses, belt buckles the size of a small child and the setting for the answer to one of life's most frustrating and nail biting questions "who shot JR?" 

What's the reason to head down south besides warmer weather, no snow and the possiblitiy of morel hunting...(as if that wasn't enough)...it's the....

Bayou City Art Festival 

CSD Booth #161

http://bayoucityartfestival.com/

(click on link for festival details)

 


Stop by, say howdy and see what Casey's been up to...

Here is a little sneak peek...

 Once Casey is back it's home for bout three weeks then loading up again for 

CRAFTBOSTON

http://www.societyofcrafts.org/cbspring/artists.asp?whatpg=artview&navig=media&id=2877#a

Click link for Show details
  
On the way back Casey will be going through St. Paul and will take part in the Saint Paul Art Crawl...details to come or click onto link...

http://www.stpaulartcrawl.org/
 
 

Here's a little peek, Casey will give you details bout inspiration during Casey time...speaking of which...it's...

Casey Time
"Life...now go live it"   

  

Today's Casey time is bout life...on Friday my grandmother passed, she lost her battle with cancer, she is missed and loved by all that she knew...upside, she is now at peace and not in pain...

I wanted an uplifting song bout life not about the sorrows of death...this song by M83 puts a smile on my face and hope it does the same to you...Love you Lois...RIP 

and another...since my gma always called me Sassy...

 

but with death comes reflection and sometimes doubt...am I living my life, is this what I want to leave behind, did I do what I wanted to do...love it when Gandolf says "..what to do with the time that is given.."

Over the last couple of months my life has lead me to a place of reflection where I have decided to focus on "Imagining the impossible and making it possible" and passing the word and education about handcrafted...most of you already know this but it's nice to see with having the influence of seeing a life lived and then passed that my ideals are reinforced...

This brings me to what I've been creating and the inspiration behind my current work..at first I really wanted to create something based on Alice and Wonderland because not everything is what it seems, it's evolved with this idea into who we are...we are shells, some beautiful on the outside, some not, some filled with life and others empty, there are even those who don't even know themselves...we morph or evolute with our experiences, some leave scars and others leave wounds that will never heal...

This series takes me to a place of vulnerability, a place in life that I am very comfortable on an every day basis (most of you know that I'm a pretty open book and not afraid to share, probably share too much:)) but when it comes to my art, it terrifies me...that's why we are going there...the ring to the left is the beginning...I'm focusing on the skills part of my craft...I want people to think Skilled Metalsmith when they think of Casey Sheppard...

This series will show people in my life, the ones that have left a print, whether it's good or bad it's made a mark and influenced who I've become and will be...to the right is a necklace I'm working on...made of copper and sterling silver...

 This brings us to another moment in handcrafted time...I'll show you a little look into how I've been making this series (it's untitled for now, suggestions on a name for the series?)



We start off with sheet metal...I either cut out a circle with my saw, disc cutter or snips...Next is forming the circles with a dap block and hammer...I then add texture to the formed sphere, here I've drilled holes...

Each drilled hole is then dapped with a hammer and spiked tool to give the sphere a raised 3D form...it also adds an organic feel to the metal...

After more drilling, dapping and texturing the rest of the sphere we need to make the ring band, we use large gauge wire then soldered to the base sphere...

The top sphere is then soldered to the base sphere, this can be tricky since the bottom sphere has already been soldered to the ring band, if I heat the ring too much the other solders can become loose or unsoldered all together...I also don't want to overheat the metal, this can cause it to become brittle and even possible crack or break the piece...

 
 The finished ring, I've added a wire that weaves in and out of the spheres after I've sanded and brushed clean the pod...last steps are to add a patina to the metal or oxidization by using silver of sulfur, then lightly brushing clean with steal wool...

 What else have I been up to, you ask...well....since the snow won't go away the tenacious ladies I ride with and I decided F it...let's ride...a little snow singletrack at Swanson...creating our own trails and a bit of downhilling Nebraska style (the hill top is close to a baby baby baby mountain, right?)...

Along with winter riding...I am now riding for Cycleworks...that's right...Team Rasta...passing the message of cycling and it's radness...

http://cycleworksusa.com/

 

Had fun digging out the car this am...and yes, I just put the bike rack back on cause it was 60 degrees the day before...I should know better...

Upside to the snow, CX skiing...but even more of an upside...the next photos you see will not be of snow!!! Yeah!!!
 
(BTW this is not today, I just used a picture from a few weeks ago to make it seem as if I went skiing today, instead I've been on the computer, hate to have any Lincolnite head out to wilderness in high hopes)

I'll leave you with a final thought...I have a new goal to add...I want to see CSD on the red carpet, not me of course...I've got a little less than a year but for the 2014 Oscars I want a celeb to wear one of my creations...Can you imagine it...sounds impossible...how marvelous...til next time....

Casey

 

You still here??? Once you get her going there is not stopping her sometimes...to finish out...here is a look at the Chain Project Exhibition that CSD was juried into...it is currently on exhibit at A CASA museu do objecto brasileiro in San Paulo Brazil...

Now time to get back to work, life and to making things happen...Go Get Rad!!!

Live From Lincoln...

....it's Wednesday night!!! 

Okay not quite the same, close??? Let's face it Lincoln's no NYC but for some reason there are plenty of guys willing to dress up as chicks here (Malcolm) and Linda Richman's style of interviewing is...well...let's just say she has a little more meshugenerness to her than Lance (meshugenerness is to a word, we just added some flare, don't believe us...well you can go a maidel mit a vayndel)...hopefully this interview is as entertaining...Okay maybe not as entertaining but regardless we hope that you tune in...hopefully all of Casey's verklempting was edited out (right Lance?!?)

 

Tonight on 10 11 News 

6pm CST Lances Journal

 

For those without TV (like Casey) or that are not in Lincoln the interview will be added to 10 11's website tonight, Lance thought after 8pm CST....

 

http://www.1011now.com/lancesjournal 

 

A big thank you to Lance and 10 11 for this interview.... 

Shot Through The Heart....

 Okay kiddies it's that time of year again...that's right..it's VDay....

so grab your satin sheets, put on some Barry White, wine and dine your sweet with oysters, chocolate covered cherries and lobster...

Yeah, makes us a little sick too but if cupid hits ya with his love poisoned...err...I mean love soaked arrow than you're in for some luving...

Here at CSD we love us some luving...so for this years holiday lovefest we made some special custom jewels for a love filled event which takes place at PS Gallery in Columbia MO...it's a girls night out with heart health awareness month...

"Ego for Two" necklace and "No Reason" earrings, made of oxidized sterling silver, red and black leather, will be featured and available through PS Gallery only...so if you dig them contact them at the link below...

http://www.perlow-stevensgallery.com/index.php 

 

"Let Your Hair Down"

  Well it's a good thing there is some 
love around the studio cause it's a madhouse..
Busy getting ready for the 2013 show season...

    

"Hands That Cuff"

  

Casey has been coming up with some super awesome, fun and new designs for this year...

"Domino"

 









Now the part that is everyone's favorite...It's Casey Time....

It's been super crazy around here but getting lots done...first things first...

 

I've been selected for Lances Journal which is a feature of 10 11 news in Lincoln...I'm waiting to hear the date it will air...I will keep you posted...here Lance aka L Train is interviewing the momma...rad... http://www.1011now.com/lancesjournal

 Well talent runs in the family...my cuz just published his first book "Red Eyes and Black Blood" by Niclas Carlson...I'm in the midst of reading it and gotta say he's done a great job...check it out on amazon...still getting use to this ebook thing...technology...pretty rad...

http://www.amazon.com/Red-Eyes-Black-Blood-ebook/dp/B00B0W4LMU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1360604843&sr=8-1&keywords=niclas+carlson 

 

I'm training for the Dirty Kanza http://www.dirtykanza200.com/ gravel bike race which is 200 miles of flint hills gravel...so I've been riding out in the evil evil winter of nebraska...has not been fun, I'm ready for spring!!!!

 Being February there is another very important event...KC Sprints...

Thanks to the KC boys for coming up to Lincoln for another night filled of beer (rum for this one) bikes and shenanigans...

This is my buddy Josh (his first KC Sprints) and Rhino going head to head...http://kcsprints.blogspot.com/

Congrats to Mark Savory http://www.mod-spot.blogspot.com/ for his win at the Cycle-Cross World Champions...making the impossible possible...kickass..

Speaking of making the impossible possible...I stumbled upon this great video...it empowers the message that I've incorporated into not only my business but life...Ingrid Vendervelt is helping to empower women and the world...

Now a moment in Handcrafted time...today we are talking recycling metal...I save all my scrap metal to melt down and pour into new...

This is a long process and takes patients...

the first step is to melt the scrap in a crucible...

 

Pour into the ingut (mold) either for wire or sheet, we are making bars for cufflinks so will pour into wire section...

 

 Now the fun begins...rolling the metal to a smaller gauge...

 Since you have to anneal the metal (the metal work hardens as you roll it so you have to heat up the metal to soften it again so it won't break) after every few rolls this can take a while...

Finished cufflinks... 

I would love to say that I create all my work with metal that I produce but I do what I can, all the cufflinks centers are always recycled metal...I buy stock sheet metal and wire from Rio Grande...these products are made in the USA...

My impossible that I'm gonna make possible...getting my jewelry and wearable art in the music scene...

Imagine it Lady Gaga wearing a Casey Sheppard Designs original..

I totally dig that impossible...Possible...

 

Tell next time...Imagine the impossible and make it possible...

Casey

From all of us at CSD have a great Valentines and spread the love...