Make Something Beautiful - Day 18; and a blog about SNAG

I'm finally back in business. I started to come down with a stress-related cold some time last Monday and, in a desperate attempt to will myself healthy for the SNAG conference in Houston, I spent two days in bed, drinking fluids and overloading on vitamins. I managed to make it to Houston with a little cough, but otherwise asymptomatic. (No chills and no fever = joy and rapture.)

There are no real words for how incredible the SNAG conference was. Even if I didn't have pieces in the shows, it would have been worth the trip. To be in a room with that many serious artists/artisans was divine. Being around other artists is one of the most incredible experiences, and gave me the sense of, "Hey, this is what's been missing from my life." And everyone was so nice. Really, where else can you find out that Andy Cooperman is not only insanely talented, but also a really awesome person? Where, I ask you?!

Of course, the biggest thrill was seeing my pieces go down the runway in the eXtreme Exhibition in Motion show. (Click for the short video of all the pieces.) In fact, I was initially only supposed to have two pieces in the show, the Dragon Lady beaded armor, and my chainmaille shrug, however, because one of the designers wasn't able to make the show, the Egyptian collar I was wearing was given to another model to wear. It was a Cinderella moment.

My beaded talons were also featured as a part of the eXtremities: Exploring the Margins of the Human Body exhibit. I really loved this show. Many of the pieces captured this longing to overcome the limits of the human body. While I always wanted claws, someone else wanted to be a unicorn, and a lobster. I guess we're all looking for something a little more magical.

I'll wrap up this post about SNAG by giving a big thanks to Andy Cooperman, David Gooding, Barbara Kile, Angela Gleason, and
Suzanne Ramljak, all of whom I was able to meet, and all of whom made my conference experience that much better.

Oh, before I forget, I made something today, too: a choker from my new "Bubble Series."

Vanessa Walilko
Kali Butterfly - Chainmaille armor, beaded armor, and art jewelry

Big, big update

I am miserable at updating this thing. However, I just received Alyson Stanfield's newsletter about devoting just 15 minutes a day to your art. Why not my blog?

If you're following Kali Butterfly on Facebook, you'll know that my upcoming chainmaille classes were featured on Cyndi Lavin's blog. (Thanks, Cyndi!) I'll be teaching Dragonscale at Bead&Button 2010, (sign up now!), and a Persian Maille class at Lill Street Gallery. If you're looking for a chainmaille challenge, these classes are for you.

Also, I'm happy to report that my piece, "I Always Wanted Claws" will be featured at eXtremities: Exploring the Margins of the Human Body, a featured exhibition during the 2010 Society of North American Goldsmiths Conference in Houston. SNAG is going to be a lot of fun for me this year.

In other jewelry-unrelated news, my paper, "Beyond 'Feminisms': Refocusing the Women's Movement Through the Lens of Liberation" was just published in the most recent issue of Current Perspectives in Social Theory. You can read it at Google Books. Discovering that was almost as cool as seeing my name in print.

Vanessa Walilko
Unique, handcrafted chainmaille jewelry, intricate beadwork, and beaded sculpture