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Past Member News







MBMAG 2021 Virtual Winter Party
with Featured Speaker Jeannie Pratt
and
2021 Winter Challenge Results
Party details
Members join us free on Zoom, January 24, 2021 from 1-4 pm for our annual winter party. We’ll have a talk from our own Jeannie Pratt, introduce our 2021 Board members and enjoy catching up with each other. We’ll also be announcing the winners of our 2021 Winter Challenge. Our Zoom account is limited to 100 attendees, so you must register to assure your space. Free registration for the party is now open.
Jeanie Pratt talk “My Journey as a Metal Weaver, Enamelist and Insect Enthusiast or Nothing is Ever Simple”
Metal artist Jeanie Pratt uses a variety of textile techniques including weaving, knitting, twining, looping, and bobbin lace – all with metal! Her fiber art and metalsmith backgrounds inform how she approaches the construction of each piece, but it is her entomology background that inspires her designs through form, color, and texture. “I love making interesting woven patterns for my beetle brooch wings and twined bodies in gold and silver for my insect brooch bodies.” The synergy of her two life-long pursuits in one body of work is unique, dynamic, and full of life. “Although I hadn’t used my entomology degree in many years, I am now relearning about insects and am drawn to critters that are real, but surreal.” She lives by a philosophy that “bugs are beautiful” and the organic nature of both her subject and her artistic process give her pieces beautiful harmony with a whimsical touch.
As a response to the strange and stressful year of 2020, you are being challenged to create a pair of eyeglasses that will see into the future. Three prizes will be awarded!
The challenge is open to members only. Become a member or renew your membership by going to WWW.MBMAG.org. Membership will be good for the entirety of 2021.
THE METALS CHALLENGE: Create a pair of eyeglasses using anything you have on hand: wire, found objects, gems, beads, etc.
Let your imagination run wild!
Thanks to Emmy McKenzie for inspiring this challenge
Your Challenge Chairs: Annette Nemes and Toni Danzig
Last January we challenged the membership to create a wearable piece of work which would include at least eight pieces from a kit.
The results were fantastic and creative as we would expect. The pieces were voted on earlier this month and winners elected by the members, as shown here.
The winners were announced by email and are listed below:
If you are interested in a work, please contact the artist directly and make an offer. Put MBMAG Summer Challenge Bid in the subject line of your email.
(To see a larger image, right click on the image and open the image in a new tab or window)
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Annette Nemes |
annettenemes@comcast.net |
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Dick Walvis |
Not for sale. |
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Emmy MacKenzie |
emmymackenzie@gmail.com |
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Lynn Guenther |
Not for sale. |
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Marylou Forrest |
alohacglass@gmail.com |
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Nancy Yee |
Not for sale. |
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Rebecca Thielbar |
bex-1@comcast.net |
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Ron Baldwin |
Not for sale. |
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Susan Shallenberger |
susanshallen@comcast.net |
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Tim Robinson |
americanshorthair@juno.com |
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Tim Yee |
Not for sale. |
Members of MBMAG will be invited to exhibit metal work in the beautiful and historic Pajaro Valley Art Center in Watsonville. All are encouraged to participate.
The Guild had a successful exhibit at the PVAC in 2017, and PVAC has invited us back. We will accept up to three pieces per artist, and sculpture is encouraged. The theme of the exhibit, “Reflections”, can be used as a stepping off place for your work and can be interpreted as you see fit.
Exhibit entry fee to MBMAG is $35. You must be a current member of MBMAG to enter. Membership in PVAC is optional, but encouraged. See: pvarts.org/
For items that sell, PVAC will take 30% if you are a member of PVAC and 45% if you are a non-member.
Plus: There will be a gift area (very successful last time). Show participants may put up to 10 pieces. Work should have a value of $100.00 or less. As items are sold you can replace them.
We are looking for volunteers to work on this exhibit. These are the project leaders:
Educational displays – Pat Evans
Installation – Toni Danzig
Recruitment of sponsors – project leader needed.
Gift area organization – Marylou Forrest
Marketing – Margie Moran and Ron Baldwin
Moving of cases and vitrines – Courtney Scruggs
Please let Toni Danzig, tonidan@comcast.net, know if you are interested in helping in any of these areas. Your participation is appreciated.
Here are some important dates:
April 20th – Call for artists and registration
June 24th – Records and Labels due, Images for promotion due
Aug. 8th – Artwork collection in Aptos
Aug. 9th – Artwork collection in Monterey
Aug. 10th – Installation begins
Aug. 26th – Exhibit opens to public
Aug. 30th – Reception
Oct. 4th – Take down and retrieval of artwork
Hello MBMAG members,
Due to the current health concerns we are all making adjustments and the PVAC exhibit “Reflections” is no exception.
PVAC is, and has been, closed even though they have hung but not opened the current exhibit “Campesino”. With this important show yet to be seen, they have asked if we would consider rescheduling our exhibit until next year.
The MBMAG board has agreed. I will be letting everyone know of a new date as soon as it is set.
Thank you all and most importantly, be well.
Toni Danzig
Chair, Exhibits Committee
Reception Sunday, December 8, 2020 4-6 pm.
Exhibit from December 6, 2019 – January 5, 2020
ZFolio
750 Cannery Row, Suite 112
Monterey, CA 93940
More than 25 members are exhibiting their work this year! ZFolio is located on Cannery Row and is a short walk to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Check it out, amazing work! Maybe we will see your work next year?
WATER | METAL All Member Exhibit at the Santa Cruz Art League July 19 – Sept 15, 2019
The Guild is co-exhibiting with
the Santa Cruz Watercolor Society.
Small sculpture and artisan jewelry are featured in up to three pieces from each artist are on exhibit and for sale. Each piece of handmade art showcases metalsmith techniques which range from casting, enamel, fabrication, chasing and repousse, to handmade chains, and more….
Exhibit coordinators: Annette Nemes and Toni Danzig
It’s summer, and that means festivals, shows and events where you’ll need to display your jewelry. Lynette Cederquist will share her many years of experience at displaying her own work and organizing shows to help you create displays that show your work to best advantage and also encourage sales!
She’ll share some tips on displaying your jewelry to advantage for photography.
We’ll follow Lynette’s talk with an interactive discussion of your tips and tricks, plus time for feedback on a few of the audience members’ displays.
Send in photos of your displays and indicate whether you want to share a tip/trick, or if you want feedback on your display.
The talk will be held at Creator Haven, LLC, on June 22, 2018 from 7-9 pm
Light refreshments will be served
Creator Haven is located at 41B Hangar Way, Watsonville, CA 95076
Stencils are commonly used in enameling and they can be tricky to manipulate. Nothing is worse than carefully applying powder to your design and jostling the stencil whilst trying to remove it… Not only does it waste precious material, it can be very frustrating. In addition just laying a stencil down on top of the work doesn’t guarantee a snug fit and powder will creep under boundary zones. In order to solve the problem Paul went back to his roots in screen printing and devised a solution that solves both problems at once. It started as a low tech device with a easily available clamp fixture that can be modified with minimal effort by almost anybody.
Paul will share this device and how to make a low-tech version of it, as well as giving tips on stenciling on enamel at this month’s MBMAG Speaker Series.
Paul Kmetko is a silversmith, enamel artist and the owner of Seabright Metalworks in Santa Cruz.
Creator Haven LLC is located at 41B Hangar Way, Watsonville, CA 95076
Join your fellow MBMAG members next Friday, March 23, from 7-9pm for a fun, interesting evening with speaker Pablo Cubangbang. A popular teacher and artist with a background in drawing and painting, Pablo will be discussing how he came to metalsmithing, as well as discussing and showing examples of his current work.
Light refreshments will be served.
Pablo Cubangbang was born in a small town in the Philippines. He has acquired many skills in jewelry making from workshops and Cabrillo College where he was mentored by Dawn Nakanishi. In a workshop by Dr. Yehuda Tassa, he learned the basic filigree process and fell in love with it and has since continued to hone his filigree art in his small studio. Pablo received multiple Visual Arts Scholarships for his jewelry and watercolor pieces. Pablo is a member of the Monterey Bay Metal Arts Guild and is the president of the Cabrillo Seahawk Metal Arts Club.
Friday, February 15, 2018 7 – 9pm
Free and open to the public
Have you been curious about metal clay? Do you think it’s just for hobbyists? Or have you never even heard of it? This product, a combination of recycled silver and organic binders, can be worked like clay and, when fired, is (depending on the variety) pure fine silver, sterling silver, copper, bronze or even steel. Pat Evans, Senior Art Clay Instructor, will demonstrate the basics of working with several varieties of metal clay, and explain how it can be a useful addition to your jewelry-making toolkit.
Join us at the Soquel Glenn Mobile Home Park Clubhouse
Venue | Soquel Glen Mobil Home Park Clubhouse |
Address | 5470 Soquel Drive Soquel CA 95073, US |
Starts | Fri Feb 16 2018, 7:00pm PST |
Ends | Fri Feb 16 2018, 9:00pm PST |