Zoa Art

Etsy Update!

2011-12-13T16:51:00.000-05:00

Its about time right?
Well here are a few things that I just posted to my etsy shop. All of them will be made to order.

Happy Holiday!

Loving the fall weather!

2011-10-25T14:36:00.000-04:00

Saying Good-by.......

2011-09-27T13:46:00.000-04:00

For good this time!
Here are a few of the components that I will be letting go of forever.

I just add the last of my stash of these pieces to my etsy shop. As I clean out the studio and if I find other pieces I'll add them as well. I'll keep these components in my shop and marked at a 20% discount till Monday
Oct.3.
I cant even express how difficult this is for me. I'm sure your probably saying " than why are you doing it".........
I read a quote on another blog that said........
"the moment you think of giving up, think of the reason you held on so long".
Well I have thought about the reason I held on so long and that reason is why I'm letting go.
So please be sure to checkout our shop.
I hope you have enjoyed these pieces as much as we enjoyed creating them.

Etsy up date!

2011-09-25T23:04:00.000-04:00

I decided I would list the new necklaces in my etsy shop. I really haven't had much luck selling jewelry there, I guess everyone is use to just seeing and buying our components.
I know I've been saying this for the last year or so but I'm trying to ween myself away from the components and just make and sell jewelry.I must say this has been really hard for me since the components have been our bread and butter for the last 11 years. So its difficult to let that part of our business go but ........... It really is time to let the components go.
Its so hard to produce in a production style manner when your company consists of two people, and there's so much to do and just not enough time in the day. I would one day like to have health insurance and a retirement fund. To have some sort of financial security.I want to enjoy life and not let it pass me by. With the constant worry of all this something gets lost.
I feel as though somewhere along the road I have lost my creative spirit and I want to find that again.
So please don't forget us as we close the door on one part of our business but open other doors.
Things are going to change for Zoa Art........ But Tony and I are going to be much happier people because of it.

Artist Rees Hogue / A Happy Life

2011-09-22T10:58:00.000-04:00

For the last several months Tony and I have been working with Rees and his family to help him with his dream of creating his own jewelry line. I would like you all to meet Rees.

This is his story...............

Ress's mother Dana and I began emailing back and forth sometime in July.They initially where interested in our number 12 charm that we made and wanted to buy them at wholesale. Dana began to tell me Ress's story and his vision and had also mentioned this drawing he had created and we began to talk about getting a stamp made to use with the PMC. She found a great company who made the stamps. Dana sent the stamps to me and i began designing Rees's vision.

Now we have been going back and forth with emails for just about a month when Dana tells me that Rees would really like to meet me before he had to start back to school and would it be okay if they made a road trip to South Carolina for a meeting. I'm so excited and naturally agree but in the back of my mind I'm thinking this probably wont happen........... I mean they are in Arkansas!

Well they did make it. On a Saturday morning Dana text me to say they made it to Atlanta Friday evening and would be in Greenville,SC to see me at about 3pm.

They pulled up in front of my house right at 3pm, Rees his mom,dad and older sister.

I had several designs for Rees that I had made with PMC. We talk about business and the look that he wanted and I got the go ahead from the boss ( Rees) to have Tony start casting the pieces.

Rees and his family spent about 2 hours with me. They spent the night in a hotel in downtown Greenville,had a great dinner then got up and drove home the next day! Now that's dedication to your child and to his dream.

Here are the designs we came up with.......

Dog tag in Shibuichi.

Pendent in Shibuichi polished to silver.

Pendent in Shibuichi.

And small round earring components cast in Shibuichi and polished to silver.

Each piece has Rees's signature on the back.

Here is what Rees has created..........

This is Rees's vision........... His Company.........

A Happy Life.

If you'd like to participate in Rees's vision and order one or more of these beautiful pieces you can do so at ahappylife.rees@gmail.com or call 870-931-7092. You can also check out Rees's blog to follow him on his journey.

I cant express how excited I am to be a part of this journy with you Rees. Thank You!

I've been busy!

2011-09-21T12:04:00.000-04:00

Back to jewelry creating.
Several years ago I was creating leather and silver jewelry for a local gallery and they always sold so well.So I want to get back to my roots so to speak and I've started with these........

This is my newest piece, The pendent is recycled wood that I painted to resemble some of my paintings.

This is more like my older pieces.I hand make all the chain and the toggle, the leather is a soft rich brown.
I've also been working on rings.This is one of my favorite designs.

I think I'll be adding these to my Bonanza shop.........hummmmm not sure just yet but I'll let you know where to find them for purchase. In the meantime if your interested in purchasing any of them just shoot me an email.
So tomorrow I'll be sharing a very special story with you. Make sure to check back for that.

Okay so I put one of the necklaces here.

20% Off Sale!

2011-09-10T21:49:00.000-04:00

Happening right now in my etsy shop!
Its the end of summer and time to clean out the studio.So please check out our sale.

Remember these?

2011-07-21T11:55:00.000-04:00

Maybe not since its been soooooo long since Tony has made them. Yes I said Tony! My man's quite handy with a sewing machine. He use to make these for a boutique in downtown Seattle, but its been a long while. I squeezed this one out of him........

Very Tony, right?

I'll have this incredible jacket listed in our etsy shop .

Congratulations!

2011-07-08T11:41:00.001-04:00

To Pam Southworth of Half Moon Bay,CA! Your our giveaway winner so be looking for your treasure its on the way..........
Thanks to all who shop with us!

Date Night!

2011-06-18T16:15:00.000-04:00

Yippy! Tony and I are headed up the mountain to Asheville tonight for a date.
We are going to see Rising Appalachia......our new favorite musicians.

Sweetening The Pot!

2011-06-16T23:20:00.000-04:00

Sooooo I decided to sweeten the giveaway pot with a summer sale! everything in our etsy shop has been marked down an extra 10%! And remember every time you place an order your name gets tossed into the hat for this fantastic giveaway!

This sale and giveaway offer will last until June 30th. I'll announce the winner here on our blog July 1st.

FYI........

2011-06-13T14:07:00.000-04:00

Amy at Copper Diem is having a giveaway with a few of Zoa Art's pieces! Find her place here.

Twice in one day! What a great start........Right?

And The Winner Is...........

2011-06-13T08:14:00.000-04:00

Cristi Baxter Clothier of 2 if by sea! check out Cristi's blog here, she is so talented with not only her jewelry designs but also here mixed media art work! Hey Cristi, send me your info and I'll get your goodies in the mail.
Thanks to all of you who made a comment and let me know what was happin in your worlds.I love to get feed back and to also be able to connect with everyone. Now that Tony and I are not doing the shows I feel like we have lost a great connection with our customers,friends and followers.We miss you all.......
Okay so I promise to be more attentive on my blog and to come visit those of you with blogs. This is a big promise for me to make and I'll need you to hold me to it. So when I'm getting slack please someone send me a reminder of this conversation..........
On another note......Check out Tony's blog he just posted a great video.
Thanks everyone and I will be back soon!

Giveaway!

2011-06-07T10:53:00.001-04:00

Here it is the long awaited giveaway part one!

Fun little components for earrings or dangley little charms........When you place an order in our etsy shop your name will be added in to a drawing to win this sweet little set of components.You'll have through the month of June to shop and every order you place enters your name. I'll draw the winning name on July 1st.
And here is the second drawing........

Everyone that leaves a comment on this post will get their name entered to win this set of shibuichi charms!
Let me know whats going on with you,just say hello,give me feed back on the picture frames or whatever.
Just leave a comment and you could win this beautiful set.
Thanks and I look forward to reading your comments!
oops i almost forgot.......you'll have till this Sunday to leave a comment.I'll announce the winner on Monday.

we are on a roll!

2011-05-23T20:09:00.001-04:00

tony just finished a big casting order and we had several extra pieces!
here are just a few of what i just listed.

a few more to come........

another etsy update!

2011-05-20T21:47:00.001-04:00

just listed these pieces here in our etsy shop!

new picture frames!

2011-05-18T14:55:00.000-04:00

i know its been awhile..........but i have been productive.
i'm calling this zoa art industrial edge home collection.

picture frame 324 is acrylic on wood. tony makes the frames for me and this one measures 36x24 and holds
a 5x7 picture.

no 978 is acrylic on canvas and measures 24x18.

5 & 9 are also acrylic on canvas and they each measure 10x8.

these next two picture frames 24 & 78 are acrylic on wood and measure 12x12 holding a 5x7 picture.

no.924 is a wood frame with plaster and painted with acrylic. it measures 24x21 and holds a 5x7 picture.

no.73 is acrylic on wood and measures 19x18 and holds a 5x7 picture.

i'll be adding all of them to our etsy shop in the next couple of days.

just another sunday......

2011-04-24T21:10:00.000-04:00

me and tony just hanging out.........

oh theres the easter bunny!........hehe......

yaya and girls!

2011-04-22T22:18:00.000-04:00

new logo!

2011-04-20T09:18:00.000-04:00

check out our new logo.........created by erica lorenz hayes.......my little sister! if you need any work done let me know and i'll hook you up.

my man!

2011-04-14T22:56:00.002-04:00

finally is starting his own blog..........

please visit tony and leave a comment so he will actually blog!

dog days......

2011-04-13T22:19:00.000-04:00

and loving it!

trying to get back on track here.
our open house went off great and we could not be more pleased.we are just a little overwhelmed and worn out.........but we will be posting our new work soon.tony has been on a creative roll and i cant wait to share his fabulous pieces with you all.

more from tony.......

2011-03-26T21:28:00.001-04:00

so tony's on a roll.check these designs out.

and he's not done yet! ya,,,,,,he keeps coming up with more ideas.this new studio is fabulous!
here are a few pictures of our setup.

we still have so much to do with display and decoration. i know it will take time to get it looking the way i envision it.......but i'm so impatient.............

silly girl.......

2011-03-25T08:10:00.000-04:00

and then she said.......some days i never really look.................silly girl.

etsy update.....

2011-03-23T20:03:00.000-04:00

so i'm still finding more stuff........we are all moved into our new studio and as i packed and unpacked i have found more of our old stash of components.i still have a few more things but i really hope this is the last of it.
.

oh and i have listed more of the resin headpins in our etsy shop so..........please shop!

i'm still trying to figure out how to display our jewelry and how to set up the studio but its coming along. if you have any thoughts on display ideas please guide me........this is so new to us. its quite different from setting up a table at a show.
we are having our grand opening party april 1st. so if your in the greenville,sc area please stop by and see our little studio.
and here is another picture of our floor........

hummmmmmm............

tony........

2011-03-22T22:38:00.001-04:00

i just want to brag on my husband a bit..........look at this incredible necklace he made!

i just love it.i think i may be wearing it at our grand opening............
if your interested in this piece let me know.........and we'll talk........

first friday!

2011-03-05T20:43:00.000-05:00

we got our occupancy,business and retail licence's all on thursday and we got the studio some what in order.......

all though we are still moving stuff in we opened our doors for first friday!

thanks lynn for writing zoa art studio on our door.......

check out these little lights that tony made for our window!........we will be make more and selling them in our gallery.

we will be having our grand opening on april 1st along with several other new artist in the district. its going to be a big night so i hope you can come out to join us. i'll send out more info on the that in the coming weeks.

until then..........hope to see you in the district!

floor stain!

2011-02-23T08:43:00.000-05:00

oh my.........i have spent the weekend staining the concrete floor in our new studio!i love it!i can't be prouder of this floor.......here are a few pics.

this is before.......the floor had this carpeting that was glued to the concrete so we had to get all of that removed.

it was not that easy to remove all the glue and old paint so we got a few pros to do that job and this is what the floor looked like once all the glue and paint where gone.

and this is what they look like now.........after tony and i stained them.

i love them so........
i'll start painting thursday morning with my new paint colors..........i'm sure i've changed my mind on colors at least 20 times.
we will have to move our grand opening to april 1 and that is "first friday" in april. we had way more to do than we thought and are also working around electricians and plumbers and floor scraping........oh my!
we will still have our doors open for "first friday" in march so come by and see our progress!
have i mentioned how excited we are?...........

shop update

2011-02-19T21:46:00.000-05:00

resin head pins now available here !

resin head pins........

2011-02-17T08:02:00.000-05:00

i'm making resin head pins this weekend and if you'd like to pre-order them just email me with your order
zoaart@yahoo.com.

i've had lots of interest in these little guys lately........you can find more pics of them in my shop.

update

2011-02-14T07:13:00.000-05:00

we are working hard at the new studio.there is so much to do but things are moving along. i've had a few snags with paint colors and have quite a few samples on the walls..........that is really hard.......there are so many colors that i love! arrrrrrrrr......we are getting close........

here are a few pics from my photoshop playground.

tony............

me...........

and one more of kassi & ashleigh

toggles......

2011-02-07T10:32:00.000-05:00

getting ready to add these into our etsy shop.........

these are really great toggles! i hand make them from sterling silver.please be sure to check them out at zoaart.etsy.com.
and here is a picture of my baby and her youngest baby..........kassidi & ashleigh...........

oh how i love my girls..........aren't they just beautiful?

a few new things........

2011-02-04T20:06:00.001-05:00

here are a few new pieces i'll be putting in our bigcartel and etsy shop.........

find the necklaces here at zoaart.bigcartel.com.

the hearts are solid shibuichi (top) and silver (just above).these are tony's designs.he hand formed each of them in wax then cast them.are they not just beautiful? you can see an example of how i designed one of these in a necklace here at zoaart.bigcartel.com.

birds and paint samples.......

2011-02-01T11:35:00.001-05:00

first.......i just marked all of my bird pieces at 30% off so be sure to check them out at zoaart.etsy.com .

i have been going a little crazy trying to pick paint colors for the new studio.......but with a little help from friends i think i've got it.
i just love these colors by martha stewart.

the sharkey grey is so beautiful! i'm on the way to get my samples now.........

zoa art.....is getting a new home!

2011-01-31T10:58:00.000-05:00

oh my gosh! i can't even express to you all at how excited we are! zoa art is opening a working studio show room in the pendleton street arts district! this is our studio's new home.....

zoa art will be on the left side of the building.....we are in the process of taking up carpet and fixing walls and several other face lift things and are shooting for an open date of march 1st.tony and i are planning a grand opening for march the 4th and that is the first friday in march.on the first friday of every month all the art studios are open to the public for an art gallery tour and they call it....."first friday".......we can not wait to be a part of this wonderful community.
here are a few more pictures......

this is the view out our door......

the village studios and gallery is across the street.

we have lots of work a head in the next few weeks and will fill you in along the way.
can you feel our excitement?!!!!!!

and the winner is.........

2011-01-24T12:23:00.000-05:00

congratulations to Brigitta Lejonklou! you are our drawing winner! Brigitta, please send your mailing info to zoaart@yahoo.com so i can get your cute little owl in the mail.i could not find your email so i hope your checking this blog.......

i also added these new pieces to our etsy shop.......

these are all limited edition pieces so get them while you can.........

new pieces.......and give-away!

2011-01-19T16:52:00.002-05:00

tony will be casting these sweet little pieces this weekend........

since numbers seem so popular right now i thought i'd make a few. 1,2,4,6,7,8,9, & 0 are also on the way.a new pendent and matching earring design and (also popular) owl pendent.
these are the originals that i made with the bronze clay.they will be cast in our recycled metals that i like to call our bohemian metal.i can't wait to see how they turn out.i should have them listed by this sunday.
here are a few pics of these pieces in wax.

and here's that sweet little owl in bronze.......

also........... something so very exciting is getting ready to happen over here at zoa art!

i can hardly contain my self!

etsy update.....

2011-01-12T15:30:00.000-05:00

more new stuff added to our etsy shop........

check them out..........

winter wonder land.......

2011-01-10T10:21:00.000-05:00

here in the south!
these are a few pictures of what we woke up to this morning.......

first steps......

looking out our front door and you cant even see the road.........

foot prints......

oh the joy of snow........

new favorit blogs

2011-01-06T23:22:00.000-05:00

shadowhouse creations

style by becca

knack studios

kim klassen inspiration studio

be present be here
these are a few of my new favorite blogs to read.
shadowhouse creations has great overlays and textures for your photos.
style by becca is a fabulous salon & boutique. the actual name is salon 864 & boutique and its right here in greenville,sc! the clothes are so anthropology.i stop in there quite often.
knack is a wonderful furniture re-do studio,also here in greenville,sc.
kim klassen inspiration studio is where i've been taking my photoshop class .
and be present be here is just a wonderful uplifting blog that i totally love to visit.
be sure to stop by these blogs for a visit........

etsy update.....

2011-01-03T11:17:00.000-05:00

cleaning out the studio.......

2010-12-31T16:37:00.000-05:00

and i found a few extra pieces that are going to be discontinued......
these are all still on sale at 30% off!

get them while you can.........

photoshop class

2010-12-21T22:28:00.001-05:00

i've been taking an online photoshop class and i have been having so much fun!
here is some of what i've done......
before

after

before

after

before

after

and a few more...............

this class is with kim klassen . if you have photoshop and need some help......she is a wonderful teacher.

new urban edge collection

2010-12-13T20:10:00.000-05:00

i just added these two new necklaces to our web shop.........the new urban edge collection......

please be sure to check them out.maybe you still need something for the holiday?.........

i begin.......

2010-12-13T08:23:00.000-05:00

thanks to the newest issue of Artful Blogging i found Liz Lamoreux and this wonder filled book she wrote.i've just started to dive into it and i'm so very excited to have this kind of lift right now.i highly recommend it.

so i've just read the first chapter "i begin" an invitation to begin the journey of looking inward to find where i am on my path and where i want to go.

one of the first exercises was to document one day in your life with photographs and here is what i have.....

waking......

as i woke i rolled over and grabbed the camera and this was the first photo of the day and i did not photoshop it! this is just how it took.......isnt that crazy?

tony and i made a trip to Asheville and stoped to walk the dogs in this beautiful park on the river..........

i got home and did a little work..........
we went to our granddaughter kasssi's 5th birthday party!

kassi is the second one from the left.

and finally trying to claim a spot on the bed.........

i hope some of you will also get this book and join me on the journey........lets see what happens......

frozen pond

2010-12-09T08:14:00.000-05:00

our little pond was frozen this morning...........

new necklaces.......

2010-12-08T21:11:00.001-05:00

and more photo editing.oh when i say necklaces i mean collars.......

more photos.....

2010-12-07T21:43:00.001-05:00

still playing

2010-12-07T00:54:00.000-05:00

with photoshop..............

new toy.....

2010-11-21T21:42:00.003-05:00

we just got our new dell xps laptop and i now have photo shop elements! oh my gosh i love this!
here is my first project.......

here's the new baby......

i'll be back with more........

trader joe's is in the house...........

2010-11-12T19:21:00.002-05:00

you cant even imagine our joy! here in our own backyard! i keep pinching my self to make sure its real,not to mention that i have been there nearly every day since it opened a few weeks ago.

finally.......greenville,sc gets the pleasure of a trader joe's!

here are a few of our favorite things........

don't you just love this little herb garden?

zen & lucy luv trader joe's dog treats,i luvvvvvv the mango and tony luv's the bananas.

oh joyful days..........

i'm excited to say that tony and i are taking a day off tomorrow and are going to asheville,nc to spend the day.

the river arts district studio stroll is this weekend. i so love the river arts district with all the cool warehouse's with over 120 artist studios.

and we discovered that greenville,sc also has an art district,its called the pendleton street art district. the artist all have working studios and on the first friday of every month they are open to the public.in december, on first friday i will be a featured artist in one of those studios. more to come on that later.......

so here we go into the weekend...........have a great one!

30% off sale!

2010-11-11T20:01:00.001-05:00

hello everyone!

i mentioned in an earlier post that zoa art was about to make more change........well here it is........

we are discontinuing all of our components to make room for new limited edition pieces!

yes i said limited.......so we will only be casting a limited said # of the new pieces and then they will be gone to make way for more new components.

everything that we have left right now in our etsy shop http://www.zoaart.etsy.com/ will be 30% off.this will be the last time you see these components so get them while you can.

i hope to have a few of our new components post in december so be watching for them.
please check out our web shop http://www.zoaart.bigcartel.com/ for our finished jewelry.

a day with kassadi......

2010-10-13T13:06:00.000-04:00

our youngest grandaughter.

etsy update......

2010-10-11T17:03:00.000-04:00

i just added several pieces to our etsy shop.soon these pieces will no longer be available,in fact......we are selling what we have left and will not be casting them again.
zoa art is going through some changes and one of them is discontinuing mass production.
we will no longer offer wholesale.
we will still be casting but all new pieces will be sold as a limited number,so once they are gone...well they are gone.

here are a few of the pieces i just added to esy.

more info on the changes to come........

new work...

2010-10-01T15:22:00.000-04:00

more new stuff coming up and changes to zoa art........

i'm back.......

2010-09-25T17:35:00.001-04:00

but not feeling chatty...........so here are a few pics of flowers in our yard.

see ya'all next week......

2010-09-06T11:20:00.000-04:00

the dragonfly's and butterfly's are all over our yard!

oh did i mention that we moved again? more on that when i get back........

shops will be closed all next week!

2010-09-02T09:53:00.001-04:00

i will be gone from sept.6 to sept.13 to teach a week long class at wildacres in little switzerland,nc.
so i will be closing down both of our shops for the week. if theres anything you think you might want ,you have till sunday evening to shop.i'll be taking everything with me to wildacres and selling it there.
this is going to be a great retreat! there will be 7 teachers teaching classes in cabachons,faceting,rock & mineral geology,glass engraving and etching,cold connection,hot connection,photography,pmc bronze,chain making w/pmc and silver smith basics.we will also have a tailgate party where anyone teaching or taking the classes can set up in the parking lot and sell out of the back of there car!how fun is that?
its going to be a very exciting week.c-ya there..........

new work!

2010-08-26T14:53:00.001-04:00

this is soooo my favorit knecklace!

tony and i have been painting on metal and i really love it.this is a PMC bronze piece that i made and then painted with acrylic paints.

what i'm working on.......

2010-08-21T16:27:00.000-04:00

jewelry...........handmade chain,pearl knotting,copper and silver and so much more.......to come.......

birds.......

2010-08-05T13:00:00.001-04:00

these will be in our etsy shop soon..........they are bronze and steel precious metal clays. yes.....i said steel!

some of my favorite photos

2010-08-01T13:03:00.000-04:00

final days of our summer sale!

2010-07-24T10:05:00.000-04:00

this incredible sale will be over on july 31,2010............

what day is this ???

2010-07-20T09:07:00.000-04:00

hi guys...i've been on this casting frenzy...for the last 5 days and i have one waiting for me in the kiln...soooooo...i had to look at the date on the phone this morning to figure out what day it was...i thought it was sunday lisa said monday...yes we were both wrong...i NEED a cup of coffee...

as i said i've been a casting fool for several days now...and today i've got to start finishing all the stuff i've cast...heres a hand-full of some of the casting's...

ok enough of that...i recent-lee got michael demeng's latest book "dusty diablos"...and i love it...i've also loved his work for quite some time now...when we lived in port townsend we helped hang and display some of his work in our friends gallery there and thats when i realy started to dig his work...so when i saw his new book i had to have...

this book is all about his many trips to mexico...and what seems to be his fascination with

dia de los muertos...and i must admit i've shared this fascination my-self...i started to love the art work that comes from dia de los muertos when we lived in tucson...man i miss tucson and our trips down to mexico...i was going to put a picture of a catus here but i could'nt find one...anyway...so this book's kind-of where i got the idea for the heart and staying with the de los muertos theme i'm working on this skull in made with the left over clay i used on the heart...heres the skull...

soooooo i'm not sure just what i'm going to do with this but i kind-of like it...if anyone has any ideas let me know...well enough of this...it's time to go cast and grind metal...we'll talk soon...

tony blogs again

2010-07-11T14:59:00.003-04:00

hi ...i'm tony...lisa's husband...a few years back i did all the blogging...kind-of got tired of it so lisa took over...but as of late shes been wanting me to blog again...soooooo here goes...
a few things you may need to know about me...i do that a lot... ... ... ... ... ... i stop and think and when i do this just kind-of happens...see there it went again...something else is... i don't use spell-check...sorry...just don't do it...plus i've always hoped that one day i'd come up with a totaly new...very kind-of cool...hip word from a spelling mistake...soooooo who knows...oh by the way i also do this a lot...soooooo...it's a way of streaching time...i guess...but it's mostly when my mind gets side tracked and i'm trying to remember just what it was i was doing...soooooo...yes my mind wonders a lot...anyway lisa is soooooo great at letting everyone know whats going on with us and our work...the new things we are doing...and whats going on in the lives of lucy and zen...but me on the other hand...well i'm much more random...soooooo...
ok so i was driving back from the market a few weeks ago and all at once i real-a-lized...i'd driven past our street... about 2 miles ago...like i said my mind wonders...and i'd taken a turn on a street i'd never been on...soooooo... as i was about to turn around when i saw these old windows on the side of a street near a house that was being re-modeled...soooooo...the sun was shining off the glass and it caught my eye..kind-of like a crow seeing something shine-ee i had to have one...i pulled over and this is what happened...

a window in the back of my truck...i don't think i stoled it...it was in the trash pile...but it's hard for me to believe someone would consider this trash...it's just wrong...see i think wrong should be spelled rong...anyway if you put such treasures on the side of the street onto which i make a rong turn...it'll be in the back of my truck...ok so i've got all these wonder-filled ideas about what i'm going to do wuth the window parts...but they are far to wonder-full to happen in this short amount of time...soooooo...they must ride around many more miles before i do something with them....wow i'm like just going on and on here...lets get to the chase...ok so i was looking at the boards on the side of the windows...they were very old...had lots of holes from rusty nail's...soooooo cool...i took the boards off...cut one of them into small peices and sanded them...yes they look better without sanding but i hate spilinters so i sanded them...

cut out and arch-way in one and started painting...layer after layer of paint...till i got something i liked... next i needed to come up with something for the arch...and the first thing that came to me was a tortured heart...kind-of like the ones i used to make in glass...wow it's been over a year now since i've done any glass work...soooooo...i took some air dry molding clay...some rusty nails...whats life without some rusty nails...and lots and lots of paint...and this is what i came up with...

i'm going to mount the arch on another block of wood.......

then attach the heart in the arch...add many more rusty nails...and who knows what else and we'll see what happens...i love doing stuff like this but seem to find so little to do anything but casting and finishing metal...anyway i took a little time for myself and had some fun...when i finish this i'll let you know as well as post a few photos...see what can happen when you make a rong turn...

our babies

2010-06-27T09:22:00.002-04:00

we just love them so............

we had an extra one for a week! just babysitting. her name is marley and she's a 7 month old little zen.........

is she not sooooo cut! well she just loved zen and lucy and they loved her.

they all had such fun playing and snuggling together..........

but poor zen was so tierd by the time marley left he just wanted to sleep..........

look at him all snuggled down under the blankets.to sweet!

unearthed

2010-06-22T17:50:00.001-04:00

thats what i'm calling my new line.........i just posted these little tidbits on etsy http://www.zoaart.etsy.com/.

new etsy update!

2010-06-14T11:26:00.002-04:00

i've been making lots of tiny little connector links with the new quick fire bronze and just loving them.

i just got them posted to my etsy shop http://www.zoaart.etsy.com/ and they will be sold in groups of 5 to 6.

i've also got my copper # charms listed in groups of 5.

make sure to check them out at http://www.zoaart.etsy.com/ ..............

sale!

2010-05-29T23:14:00.000-04:00

we are having our 30% off summer sale! make sure to checkout our shops at http://www.zoaart.bigcartel.com/ and http://www.zoaart.etsy.com/ while supplies last.

and for all of you who will be looking for us at bead & button.......we will not be there this year.so take advantage of the sale and shop with us online.

yes lynne......drawing stuff

2010-05-23T07:01:00.000-04:00

we still do this when the need hits.we love to take our art supplies with us on hikes and get creative,

inspired and take a note from our friend lynne and make flags.

shadows........

2010-05-22T12:13:00.000-04:00

mornings........and birthday

2010-05-19T08:52:00.000-04:00

well another birthday is here and this is how the day started...........

a puppy pile.........

little feet

2010-05-10T08:26:00.000-04:00

i love this picture of my grandaughters feet.

kassadi & nathea

lucy and zen

2010-05-07T12:57:00.000-04:00

our girl lucy...........

our boy zen...........

love this

2010-05-06T15:09:00.000-04:00

i'm in the prosses of making more of these.i love it so................

new quick fire bronze

2010-05-05T11:11:00.000-04:00

And the winner is.........

2010-05-04T14:06:00.000-04:00

I know .........I'm very late at announcing this but I had a trip out of town and just got back. So......The winner is Karen DuBois!Be checking your mail Karen,your goodies are on there way.
Thanks to everyone who ordered from us this past month.

I've been working on something very exciting this past week........Imagine my surprise when I got a package from Bill Struve with this........

The new quick fire bronze clay.

More to come on this amazing product.So far I love it!

New Pieces.......

2010-04-12T19:28:00.010-04:00

Here are a few new things I've been working on this past week.Tony just cast them in shibuichi and I should have them in the shop sometime tomorrow.

Giveaway Drawing !

2010-04-07T10:49:00.005-04:00

Here we go...........A new drawing for over $100.00 dollars worth of our components!
For every order you place with us from now 4-7-2010 till 4-30-2010 your name will be enterd in a drawning to win all of these great components in the picture.

http://www.zoaart.bigcartel.com/ or http://www.zoaart.etsy.com/ .

I'll anounce the winner on May 1st 2010.

Good luck and happy shopping.......

And The Winner Is.......

2010-04-06T10:52:00.002-04:00

The winner of this past weeks drawing for 2 copper wings and a copper key is Karen DuBois!
Congrats Karen and be watching the mail for your goodies.
Keep checking back for the next drawing to be annouced and thanks to all of you who shop with us.
Peace.........

Blog Drawing Winner!

2010-03-31T08:19:00.004-04:00

Your going to be really upset that you didnt leave a comment...........

Only four did and they all get a new copper key!

Lynne, Belinda, Jen and Carolyne thanks so much for the comments your all getting copper keys!

Carolyne, your the only one I cant find an email for so email me your address.

Casting in Copper

2010-03-28T17:32:00.005-04:00

I am so excited! Tony has been casting in copper!
This is just the first batch but there will plenty more to come.I'm working on a few pieces to be cast in copper only.
This is the wing in copper with a green patina.

So I've just updated my new website shopping cart and I'm thinking its time for another drawing.
If you place an order from the new site www.zoaart.bigcartel.com from now untill next sunday I'll enter your name in a drawing to win 2 new copper wings and a copper key! Next monday I will draw the name of the winner and anounce it here on the blog.
Also if you leave a comment on this post from now till this tuesday I'll draw a name to win a new copper key.
Please let me know what you think about the copper and my new website www.zoaart.com .

Peace.............

I'm coming to Ohio!

2010-03-22T11:01:00.003-04:00

Thats right.......I'm coming to Uniontown,OH in May!
I spoke to Joan at Gallery143 this past week and she invited me to come and teach a couple of classes in May. I have'nt been to Ohio in years to teach and have had so many of you asking when I would be back.
I taught at Gallery143 several years ago and had a great time. Its a beautiful gallery and Joan said they recently moved to a larger space and I cant wait to see it. So this is my heads up to anyone thats interested. I can only take 10 students per class, I'm not sure if Tony will be able to make it and you all know how much he helps me. Anyway.........Reserve your spot now if you can. http://www.gallery143.net/.
I'll be teaching a beginners PMC class and a 1 day how to make chain with PMC class.
September 6-12 I'll be teaching at Wildacres in Little Switzerland,NC. I've never been but they say this place is just beautiful.
There I'll teach a 2 day workshop in bronze clay and for a surprise I'm going to add in some copper clay also.
And I'm teaching a 2 day workshop on chain making with PMC.
To register go here www.amfed.org/efmls/wildacres.htm .
Make sure you check this place out, its a week long retreat with several classes like,cabachons,faceting,glass engraving and etching,making metal beads,photographing gems & jewelry,silversmithing-basic and wirewrapped jewelry.
Lots of stuff.........
Okay so I just wanted to fill you in on those few things and let you know we are still here.
I'll be back later this week, I promise........

New Stuff......

2010-02-17T12:01:00.005-05:00

Several People have been asking if I was ever going to cast this bracelet component and sell it.
Well I have made a new one and Tony has cast it in shibuichi.
This is it.........

And also new is the 2 Hearts dog tag pendent.

Both are avaliable in our shop on our website www.zoaart.bigcartel.com .

More to come.........

Winter has found us......

2010-02-13T18:41:00.003-05:00

Well that was lastnight.........It was just about gone today.........

Hearts!

2010-02-12T11:39:00.003-05:00

I just listed these heart ( I only have 2) in our new shopping cart http://www.zoaart.bigcartel.com/.

You can shop there from here or our new website http://www.zoaart.com/.

I'm still working on the website,there are a few things I'll need to change but I think it looks great. I had 2 options for a shopping cart and one was really easy to set up but didnt offer enough and the other was just way to dificult.So for now I'm going with bigcartel.I really love the look of it and the fact that I can have more than one picture of a piece,kinda like etsy and its way easy...........

It here!

2010-02-09T18:47:00.003-05:00

The new website is here! Yippy! I did it!
The shopping cart is not quite ready yet but I'm working on it and should have some show of progress in the next few days. Meanwhile you can still shop in our etsy shop http://www.zoaart.etsy.com/ .I'm hopping to have a few new things in there tomorrow.
I'm so excited about the website so please do have a look around and give me your feed back.
www.zoaart.com

Its almost here!

2010-02-06T19:43:00.002-05:00

I have been working on my new website for months and finally I found something I can work with. I'll be launching the new site this monday,shopping cart and all........YIPPY !!!!!!!
You can see my new banner here,all I can say is I never ever imagined I could do this on my own and this banner is only the begining.......Wait till you see the new website!

and the winner is.........

2010-02-01T11:17:00.003-05:00

Grey Feather Creations in Kiowa,KS ! http://www.greyfeathercreations.etsy.com/ Congratulations ! Your $100.00 dollars worth of our components are on the way to Kiowa,KS........

Just want to share.........

2010-01-31T16:00:00.009-05:00

i know its been awhile.......again........

we have been supper busy filling orders and just need more time in the day.ahhhhhhh.......

but i have had time for shopping online.......one of my friends in Detroit has her etsy shop up and running and i just love her stuff so i had to get some earings.

this is Gerrie's shop.

http://www.revelationsinmetal.etsy.com/

and here are the earings that i got........

Gerrie does wonderful work in metal clay so make sure you check her etsy shop out.

like i said......we have been filling orders and Tony has been a casting fool.........here are a few pics of him building wax trees.

today is the last day to shop for your chance to win $100.00 dollars worth of our stuff.theres not much left and thats good because i want to get new things in the shop.......like these hearts......

okay so tune in tomorrow to find out who wins...............

Happy New Year !

2010-01-06T11:03:00.008-05:00

To celebrate the new year we are once again going to offer a drawing for over $100.00 dollars worth of Zoa Art components !

So every order you place with us this month,your name will be enterd in the drawing.Yes you will have the whole month to shop and get your name entered as many times as you would like.

This is what your entering to win........

Okay so you have untill January 31 to shop and on the first of February I'll announce the big winner.Good luck!

Here are a few of our holiday photos.

My beautiful daughter Ashleigh,my Mom getting her photo colage of our holiday baking day,my grandbaby Nathea and her daddy (my son-inlaw Micheal),Yaya (me) and her girls Nathea and Kassie,momma and daughter,my sister Cathy and her husband Dexter.

We had a great holiday..........

A Day of Baking

2009-12-23T00:14:00.003-05:00

with my sister, my daughter and my mom.

Just look at my mom.......This makes her so happy.

Happy Holiday to everyone..............

finally !

2009-12-22T10:03:00.011-05:00

I did it! And its about time I figure this thing out!

With the help of Melanie at http://www.earthenwood-beads.blogspot.com/ and a few other friends I finally got this TTV thing and its really cool.Check these pics out.

Before.......After........

Before.......

After........

And a few more........

So cool!........

Okay I'm on my way to bake christmas cookies with my Mom and sister.Wish me luck and I'll post those pics later.............

Wing,Wing who got the wing ?

2009-12-15T09:56:00.003-05:00

Sharon with Live wire jewelry thats who ! www.livewirejewelry.blogspot.com .
Congrats Sharon ! Email me your address at zoaart@yahoo.com and I'll get your little wing in the mail.

Hmmmmm what to giveaway next ?............

And the winner is.......

2009-12-12T14:44:00.005-05:00

Bernadette Zimmerman !

Congratulations Bernadette you have won over $100.00 dollars worth of Zoa Art components.

I will get your goodies out to you on monday 2-3 day mail.

And to everyone who orderd from us during this sale a HUGE THANK YOU ! We appreciate every single one of our customers and friends who support us and continue to come back to shop with Tony and I and to visit us here on our blog. Thank you all sooooo much.

Okay on to this weeks giveaway...........The lucky winner will recieve one of our new shibuichi tattered wings.

All you have to do is leave a comment and on tuesday I will draw one of your names from the hat. Dont you just love giveaways ?

Last Day

2009-12-11T10:21:00.002-05:00

of the BIG sale...........
Check back tomorrow for the lucky winner and another giveaway.

Holiday Sale and Giveaway

2009-11-20T12:23:00.004-05:00

begining today we are haveing a sale in http://www.zoaart.etsy.com/ and http://www.zoaart.1000markets.com/ ,everything is 20% off and the sale will run through december 11th. and heres the kicker............every time you order in the next 3 weeks your name will be entered in a drawing for over $100.00 dollars worth of zoa art components.

on december 12th i will announce the lucky winner and get your goodies in the mail pronto.this should give you enough time to still make special christmas gifts.

the picture above is what you'll be getting.

i will also have several other giveaways from now till christmas,but you have to respond to the blogs.so be watching.........

happy holidays and good luck!

beautiful morning......

2009-11-19T06:43:00.009-05:00

i found this on my car yesterday morning. so beautiful and so much work in one night.

maybe we work to hard.......or maybe we dont work hard enough.......

i wish i new how to do those great overlays and frames on my pictures. i have photo shop but i'm very limited with how to actually use it. take a look at these.......

if only........

i new how to apply them. i love them so much and all i can do is look at them.

new stuff

2009-11-17T13:41:00.014-05:00

i've been hard at work on a few new pieces and updating our etsy shop.

this is a new wing i've been working on. i made it out of the bronze clay. its slightly smaller than our original wing and more tatterd.

tony is making a mold of it today and he will cast it this weekend.

these are a few hollow hearts made from pmc.

front........
back.........

and another.

front.....

back.......

and a few fun pendents.

i call this one fragments.

the long piece is shibuichi and the half circle is silver.

this pendent is a mixture of bronze,copper and silver.

i'm working on getting all of these pieces in our etsy shop and a few more new ones.but i have updated the shop with some good old favorites so please do check that out at http://www.zoaart.etsy.com/ .

i am also working on a holiday news letter and i must say its rather enticing.if your not signed up for our news letter you can do it here on this page. just look on the right side under find us here and sign up.

well tony just made me afternoon coffee and we are headed out to the back deck to enjoy it.

peace........

1000Markets

2009-11-08T09:18:00.011-05:00

The story of my life...........Its been awhile ...........Again.......

I really want to blog but I just cant seem to sit myself down to do it.I think its the whole typing thing.I hate it! I just have to work past this hate of typing and move on.I know, I really do.

Okay so I'm trying out 1000Markets with my finished work,http://www.zoaart.1000markets.com/ . I'm still working on a new website but its slow going, sooooo for now I'll give this a shot and see what happens.

I really like the look of this site I found called BigCartel. My friend Lynne Hope is useing it and it looks so great! http://www.lynnehoppe.bigcartel.com/ .That just might be in my future.hmmmmmm.

Here are a few of the pieces I listed at 1000Markets.

And a few that I still need to add.......

More thoughtful typing later.........