Print Music is being Posted!

The calls have been coming in and I hear you! I am doing my best to list all of my print music scores on The Bountiful Ship so you can see what is available and purchase from there. It is a slow progression but it is now happening. I listed the Haydn, Rachmaninoff, and Beethoven music minus one piano solo concertos today. The recordings were made with the Stuttgart Symphony Orchestra under Emil Kahn. Pretty impressive. The sheet music is clean and the CDs have never been played. The art song collections for singers seem to be finding homes with West Coast, NY and Texas buyers and I am delighted. As I said before, the caliber of singer that I am accustomed to coaching does not live in Charleston - there just isn't adequate work for professionals here - so I am liquidating the library. Most of the higher end scores suitable for those auditioning in Europe have been sold. I am not holding any music back for anyone - you will have to buy it when I post it or you will miss it. I am a little too busy to do holds and I hope you understand. If you need a score you can email me and I will check through my library, but the best idea would be to check back once a week. Love you all, toi -toi - toi !

Making a Stamped, or Etched, Focal

Many of you have asked about the process to make a stamped focal. I still make them the old-fashioned way. I like the heavier weight. I think a heavier gauge of silver or copper, gives a nicer look to the finished product and, hangs better on the neckline and wrist. I forge two cuts together to get the heavier weight. For those who do not know how to smith metal, a machine stamped focal can be purchased from a jewelry supply house. They are a thinner finished gauge (because they are machine stamped) and they don't hang as well on the neckline, but they are available if you want to offer a low cost product. 

Most market and show organizers do not have a background in art and can't tell the difference between machine made and handmade jewelry: If a business starts with pre-made focal pieces and a market accepts that, it is not technically handmade, but the door has been opened and the time and effort saved on smithing from raw materials will be substantial to the business. I am not condoning being deceitful, in fact, it upsets me when I see new businesses who say they are handmade when they are, at best, hand assembled. But, that is the reality that has surfaced in craft shows and markets. It comes down to; how passionate the maker is about being authentic, the ethics of the maker, and the intelligence of the consumer.

This is my process:

  

Step 1. Cut two equal pieces of metal

  

Step 2. Forge the pieces together

  

Step 3. Stamp, or etch, your words or design        

 

  Step 4. File, drill, sand, and form the piece

  

Step 5. Patina, polish and finish

And that is how I make a stamped, or etched, focal. Thank you for visiting!

New Website Tag

A quick post to let everyone know that we have moved the website to a dot org account. It encompasses more of what Low Country Studios was founded on: education, arts, and wellness. Our new web address is http://www.LowCountryStudios.org  and  you can still link in through http://www.DollyPaul.com as well. Thank you for your continued support. YOU are awesome!