Art Jewelry magazine Editors' Blog : web site

New online content — free videos, projects, and PDFs

Hazel Wheaton — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 21:56:00 GMT

::eyes calendar::

It's been a long time since we last checked in with the blog, but to make it up to you, I come bearing gifts. Our July 2009 issue made its debut just in time for the Bead & Button Show, which has occupied all our lives recently. We're awfully proud of the issue, and a quick look at the July table of contents will make it clear why.

To add extra value to the print edition, we've put a whole bunch of new content online, from videos that demonstrate particular techniques, to articles that give the basics about a particular medium, to charts that provide quick references when you're trying to pick out the right drill bit to use.

Plus, subscribers to the print magazine get an extra how-to project that directly ties in with one of the projects in the magazine.

Here's a rundown of some of the new stuff:

New subscriber-only project:

Learn how to use wireworking and wire-wrapping techniques to embellish a hook clasp in this beginner tutorial by Erin Paton. You can make a plain clasp or dress it up with a pearl — your choice!

Three new reference charts, available as free PDFs:

Ring size chart: Find standard U.S. and U.K. ring sizes plus inside diameter measurements and inside circumference measurements in this quick-reference chart. Also, learn how to calculate the length of metal sheet you'll need to make ring bands.

Metal piercing chart: Use this handy chart to determine which drill bit and saw blade to use for piercing your metal sheet.

Convert drill bit sizes to inches or millimeters: Drill bit sizes are based on a gauge system that's different from the standard wire-gauge system. Use this chart to convert between drill bit number, inches, and millimeters.

To get you all prepped for Angela Gerhard's lovely Sgraffitto enamel bracelet project, Associate Editor Jill Erickson has written an Introduction to Enamels: A glossary of terms plus safety basics.

And finally, the Art Jewelry editors unveil four brand-new instructional videos:

New video: Using a rolling mill Watch this video to learn about how to use a rolling mill to make a sheet of metal thinner.

New video: Roll-printing Metal Watch this video to learn how to impress a texture onto a sheet of metal using a rolling mill.

New video: Using a Disk Cutter Watch this video to learn how to use a disk cutter to cut circular disks from a sheet of metal.

New video: Using a Dapping Block Watch this video to learn how to use a dapping block to dome a piece of metal.

Enjoy all the new goodies!

Find out what tools you need for working with metals, metal clay, bronze clay, enamel, wire, chain mail, stone setting, engraving, finishing, polymer clay, and more

Kristin Sutter — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 20:16:00 GMT

Tools, tools, tools! Do you wonder what tools you should get if you're going to take up metalsmithing? How about metal clay, or polymer clay? Or, maybe you want to know what tools you should have on hand no matter what medium you're working in. Well, here's your answer: In the November 2008 issue of Art Jewelry, we published an eight-page bonus poster that tells you what tools you'll need to have in order to work in a given medium or for a given task.

We were so excited about the poster that we put the info up online too! (If, for some inexplicable reason you haven't picked up your issue yet, you can find a PDF of "The Right Tool" here.) Of course, the print version has its advantages: it's a pullout, so you can proudly display its glossy pages on your studio wall. And, it's one continuous sheet of paper, so you won't need as many thumb tacks to get it up there, and you won't have to spend time with your level making sure all eight pages are aligned. Of course, the biggest advantage to having the print version means that you have the rest of the issue surrounding it.

We hope the poster helps you as a shopping list, a quick reference (what do parallel pliers look like again?), and as a vision of beauty that only a tool junkie could love.

Enjoy!

—Kristin

P.S. Subscribers, if eight pages of info isn't enough for you, you might want to check out our archive of Product Reviews.

New weekly poll on the Art Jewelry home page. Check it out!

Katie Streeter — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 15:43:00 GMT

Most people enjoy sharing their opinions, and now we have a weekly poll on the Art Jewelry home page so that you can do just that. Each week you'll find a new question on various subjects. We might ask what your favorite jewelry-making tool is, where you find inspiration for making artwork, or even what your favorite season is. The editors will be coming up with different questions to ask, but if you have a great idea for a poll question (it doesn't have to be jewelry related), let us know! Add some comments to this blog post or send your suggestions to editor@artjewelrymag.com.

And don't forget to answer this week's question!

––Katie

Fun at the One-of-a-Kind Show in Chicago!

Kristin Sutter — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 21:09:00 GMT

Lunchtime on Dec. 7, 2007, found Jill, Addie, and I (plus Addie's mom and a friend of Jill's) at bluprint, a restaurant at the Merchandise Mart in Chicago. We met there to fuel up in preparation for the journey we were about to take through the floor of the One-of-a-Kind Show, which was going on above our heads about seven floors up. I ended up taking a picture of my gourmet mac & cheese.

I wanted to show the picture to Naomi Fujimoto, senior editor at BeadStyle magazine, one of our sister publications. Naomi has a thing for gourmet comfort foods. The food was so beautiful that everyone wanted a picture of their as-yet-undevoured dish.

Yum!

Thus sustained, we took the elevator upstairs and spent the next five hours inundating ourselves with beautiful works of art. Most notably — you guessed it — jewelry. Many times, we stopped by a booth and asked that all-important question, "How did they do that?" (When we ask that, we know we're seeing something magazine-worthy.)

When we're scouting for jewelry artists, we try not to take too much time away from the jewelers; we understand that they're at the show to sell their work. But many people were gracious enough to take the time to hear us out about why they should submit a project or an image for gallery. (If you're thinking of submitting something, we'd love to hear from you! Check out our guidelines.)

Some artists encouraged us to try on their work for fun — and how could we resist!! Of course, some of us went home with a couple you'll-regret-it-forever-if-you-don't-buy-it pieces.

So, thanks to the art jewelry community for delighting us! We hope to return the favor! (If we did our scouting job right, you'll be seeing some fabulous work in our pages in the coming year.)

–Kristin

Hands-on magazine making

Hazel Wheaton — Fri, 20 Jul 2007 16:41:00 GMT

The first day with the new site has been ... a lot of fun, actually. I've found myself fixated on the site, reading through all the forum topics, hitting "refresh" again and again, to see how many people have registered and showed up, what they're saying in the forum, what kind of work they've posted to the Subscriber Gallery... I'm sure this complete preoccupation will eventually settle down into a once- or twice-daily check in, but at the moment, it's hard for me to get any other work done!

That will have to change, because this afternoon we have our issue planning meeting for the January issue. This is when the editorial staff sits down and sifts through the stories and projects that we have available and ready to be worked on, and decides what actually we're going to publish come December. We'll strike a balance of media (sometimes it's like dealing cards. One for metal clay, one for polymer, one for metalsmithing...) and look for the weak spots. Are there any stories that might be made stronger by the addition of a sidebar or a related story fleshing out a particular technique? If so, where's that additional information going to come from? Is it something we can do in-house, or should I contact an outside writer or artist? And of course, we'll be thinking about cover options... I always like to have two or three different stories in an issue that I feel have strong cover potential, so we can do test shoots later on and see what works. Once the stories are decided on, they'll be assigned to a particular editor to shepherd them through the whole process and get them ready to be presented to the Art Department.

Then, it's back to thinking about the November issue. And yes, working so far in advance can be a bit unsettling. We're working on layouts for the November issue, so, in my head, it's already November, even though it's 84 degrees outside. (Is this the warmest Thanksgiving on record? Just might be!) Our graphic designer has the photo studio booked for a session this afternoon, we'll be hovering and consulting as they shoot the lead shots for two of the November features. This is really one of my favorite parts of the job; it's really hands-on magazine making.

After I've planned the January issue, and hit "refresh" a few dozen more times, it's off on vacation! Next week, the other members of the AJ staff will have a chance to log in and speak out... they'll have a full week without me breathing down their necks!

I hope you all are enjoying the new site; as I said, please do let us know about any problems you encounter. All identified bugs are being forwarded to the Web department so that they can quickly resolve any difficulties.

Welcome to our new Web site!

Hazel Wheaton — Wed, 18 Jul 2007 16:42:00 GMT

By now, you'll have noticed some changes around the place. Our new site is the (near) end result of a year's worth of work... we started by brainstorming up a wish list of everything that we'd like to see, and then a talented design team and a dedicated and tireless Web department set about making it work.

What did I want to see? I wanted to see a real connection between our Web site and our print edition. I wanted to have the same cool, elegant look that we strive for in print reflected on my computer screen. I wanted the site to be a resource for our readers and Web visitors alike. And most of all, I wanted it to be a communications hub, a place where anyone interested in jewelry and jewelry making could share their work, their inspiration, their questions, and their knowledge.

A few of the big changes...

Instructional videos by our staff members, shot in our in-house studio. There are a few online now; the rest will be going live within the next week. An online gallery where Art Jewelry subscribers can upload images of their work. Archived product reviews. The most comprehensive database anywhere of schools and art centers in the United States (our International listings should be completed soon). Downloadable PDFs of projects from the first year of back issues of Art Jewelry — projects will be added to this store on a regular basis.

On the communication front, the Art Jewelry discussion Forum is now separate from that of our sister publications, BeadStyle and Bead & Button. We love our sister mags dearly, but the time had come to provide a separate area dedicated to the topics that specifically interest Art Jewelry readers.

And, this blog. This is our way of offering our readers a window into our world and an easy way to interact with us. Each member of the Art Jewelry editorial team will be posting here, and I hope that you'll read and respond. Give us feedback. Let us know what you want to see — a particular technique that you'd like to see added to the instructional video archive, for example, or a project you'd like to see us tackle. As Editor, I claimed first-posting rights — so, hello.

Take some time, look around, check out the place. Much of the site is live, some features will be going live over the next week or so. And if you find any glitches, or links that don't work — this is a brand-new site, after all, and there may be some kinks in the system — let us know, and we'll get them fixed.