Mixed Media Collection: July 2021

I can never get enough texture, and ever since I learned rug hooking and punch needle, and how it could compliment my decade of needle felting experience, I’ve been falling in love with the layers, colors, and depth made possible by working with yarn, wool fiber, and fabric, all at once.

These mixed media pieces have been such a joy to make, but dang, they’re slow. I thought needle felting was slow, but it feels like a breeze compared to this! I have only ever had 2 or 3 pieces available at a time in the past, so this summer my goal was to have a substantial collection to offer. 7 pieces may not sound like a lot but it’s weeks and weeks worth of work, plus one of those pieces is 24x36 which is by far my largest mixed media piece to date. I’m so happy to work large!

One other idea I have had floating around in my head was adding embroidery or stitching to these mixed media pieces. That’s the beauty of mixed media - no rules and anything goes! I’m thrilled with how the wild flowers turned out, my very first attempts at hand stitching tiny details with yarn.

Enjoy the new series (now available on the website) and be sure to check out the process video so you can see one of these made from start to finish.

Modern Matte Materials

Leather was the very first material I ever used to make jewelry. It was what started Once Again Sam back in 2009. I loved the material because I could cut by hand, it was lightweight, and you can get in any & all colors. Wood entered my handmade jewelry scene in about 2012, when invested in my first laser cutter. I’ve certainly combined leather and wood many many times over the years, but it’s been awhile since I added anything new to the collection. Time to freshen up my earring offerings!

You may recognize a few of these bold modern shapes from the hand painted acrylic series - the dewdrop and ozone styles both came from that collection, but then there’s some brand new shapes and designs as well, such as my personal favorite, “moondrop”. I had a really hard time narrowing the style and color options down - I truly loved all of my prototypes this time around!

For summer, I’m loving the lighter leather and wood color combos, but as soon as we get into Autumn I’m definitely switching over to the darker cocobolo & black. All 3 color pallets are neutral enough to go with everything, and there’s something beautiful about the natural wood as a color.

Enjoy the new collection and be sure to use coupon code EARRINGADDICT (all caps) to get 20% off your entire jewelry order at www.onceagainsam.com (only valid on retail orders on website, not wholesale or Etsy).

Artist-in-Residence: The Reserve at Lake Keowee

I’m just getting back from a fantastic stay at the Reserve at Lake Keowee as Artist-in-Residence. The community was so welcoming, the scenery beautiful, and it was so easy to find inspiration. Not only did I create art on-site, but I also did a workshop, artist's talk, and live plein air demo. I always get so much out of exploring new places, and Lake Keowee had so much to offer!

Lake Keowee in the Round (15” diameter)

Each morning I got up to watch the sunrise and enjoy a walk before the day got too toasty. The Reserve has many walking trails and hiking paths, some in the hilly pine forests, some along the emerald lake. I saw creatures almost every I ventured out, including my first-ever bear sighting in the wild. While distracted by a very busy armadillo who didn’t seem to mind our presence, we followed him down the trail, and suddenly realized there was an adult black bear about 40 yards away. I got one blurry photo and turned around. My husband and I didn’t finish our hike that day!

Black Swallowtail Butterfly in White Frame (6x8)

FAVORITE THINGS:

SIGHTS: Pink sunrises and that glorious color fade from the red clay earth to the emerald green water along the shoreline.

SMELLS: Pine needles in the sun.

SOUNDS: Crows laughing at me and gossiping high up in the trees.

TASTE: The grouper special at the clubhouse the first night of the residency. So so good!

MOMENT: Armadillo/bear sighting on a hike and doing the plein air demo at the pagodas while chatting with a wonderful group of ladies.

Trees at Settlement Village (9x12)

Every day had something to look forward to, whether it was a meal with members of the community, teaching a sold-out workshop full of extremely talented ladies, exhibiting my work and speaking about why I work in so many mediums, or paddling around in a kayak for a few hours. I always made time to work, but I didn’t put too much pressure on myself to stay inside all day and create, as I’ve done on past residencies (and regretted). This was a wonderful balance of scheduled events, adventuring, and creative time.

Flowers by the Green (5x7 oval)

Once Again Sam’s Nature Report:

• Woodpeckers

• Turkeys

• Bunnies

• Deer

• Herons

• Squirrels & chipmunks

• American crows

• Groundhogs

• Black swallowtail & eastern tiger swallowtail butterflies

• Geese

• Lizards

• Snake

• Armadillo

• BLACK BEAR!!!!!

Laurel Pond Pines (13x13): SOLD

Part of the deal with most residency programs is that the artist donates a pieces from the collection inspired by or made during the residency. This piece below is the largest one I made of the Reserve and it was the one I chose to donate to the Community Foundation because it features one of the best views there, in my opinion. This is the view of Pinnacle Mountain from the top of the hill in front of the clubhouse and it looks breathtaking any time of day, even in the rain.

The View from the Clubhouse (14x20): DONATED

I can’t say enough good things about The Reserve. It was an honor to be chosen to be the Aritst-in-Residence for 2021 and it was such a great experience on every level! Enjoy this short video recap of my week and be sure to check www.oneagainsam.com for all available fiber art pieces made during the residency. Many of the pieces found forever-homes with residents which I was still at The Reserve, which is exactly what I had hoped would happen, but several other pieces are up for grabs!

Sparkle is the New Neutral

Introducing the all new sparkle colorway in the laser cut acrylic earring collection! This rainbow of shimmer is cast in clear acrylic and laser cut into modern geometric shapes. All earrings are bold but light weight, my favorite combo!

One of the best things about glitter and rainbows is they put a little smile on your face, even as an adult. The other nice thing is they go with everything in your wardrobe! Who knew sparkle was the new neutral? I couldn’t resist adding this blast of shine & color to my offerings and I hope you enjoy the fun new pieces. Try out a pair of statement earrings or keep things dainty with a pair of tiny studs.

Check out the full series on the website and be sure you’re signed up for my newsletter - a 20% off coupon is coming your way June 1st and it can be used on any jewelry, not just the new sparkle collection!

New Year, New Studio

Greetings from my new studio! After nearly a month offline, I’m finally set up in my new workspace and it’s a dream come true. This dream has been many years in the making. For the last 9 years I’ve had my workspace spread out over 4.5 rooms and a storage unit, and while it certainly worked fine for a long time and allowed my business to grow from a hobby to a near-full time gig, it wasn’t ideal for my workflow.

My husband and I closed on a house this fall, started renovating it immediately, but I left my studio untouched because it was my busy season - the holiday rush is not the time to shut down! Once my Christmas cutoff date passed, I started packing up my supplies and implementing my plans for the new space.

One of the big reasons we chose this house was the studio space, which is a one bedroom apartment over the garage. It’s attached to the house, so I can still come up in my slippers and start working while I finish my morning Earl Gray, but it’s separate enough that I can “leave” work at the end of the day and I don’t have to see shipping supplies or inventory bins while going about the rest of my life.

The 800 square foot apartment needed some work, and there’s many things I’ll update / change out in the future once my bank account recovers from the initial renovations, but as of this week, I’m officially moved in and open for business once again. It feels so good! The natural light is amazing, the view of the cows and chickens across the road is still very exciting and novel to me, I’m thrilled to have heating and air (and running water!) in my laser room for the first time, and I love love love having ALL of my workspaces in one space. It’s so efficient! I’m now able to laser cut, paint, assemble jewelry, do computer stuff, store inventory, photograph things, pack and ship all in my studio apartment. I feel so grown up.

Before moving in, we had the popcorn ceiling scraped, textured walls sanded and painted, new carpet installed, got new sub panel and outlets for my equipment, and put up new light fixtures. I was able to reuse almost all of my existing studio furniture and only had to replace one desk since it wasn’t the right size.

In the future I plan to replace the green tile floors in the shipping area and bathroom, replace the doors to the deck, get new countertops, and add a few can lights, plus little odds and ends like dividers for my wall of wool and yarn.

Here’s a peek at what the space looked like before we started renovations: