DonnaBarnako.com

I'll be teaching this fall

I will be teaching an eight-week course this Fall on jewelry-making.  Entitled "Five Easy Pieces" it will begin on Monday, September 22, 10-1pm and run until November 17.  Held under the auspices of the Great Falls Foundation for the Arts (GFFFTA), the course will take place at 1144A Walker Road in Great Falls. 

I will be teaching:

• basic bead stringing and earring skills
• fringing techniques,
• wire working
• and my new-found love:  metalworking 

In wire working, we will be doing coiling and make clasps and a bangle bracelet.  Fringing is a decorative technique that makes any bracelet or necklace very special.  In the metalworks section, we will be texturing, torching, piercing and antiquing metals to produce unique earrings and a pendant. 

The cost of the course is $300 (half of the proceeds go to GFFFTA) and there is a $50 materials fee.  I will provide the tools and supplies.  If you have any questions, or would like to register, email me:  donna@jewelworx.com 

I will be teaching two more courses this fall at Star's Beads in Vienna.

Friday, October 31, 10-4pm.
Metalworks (at left), a microcosm of the course I will be teaching just mentioned above where we will be texturing, stamping, piercing and antiquing brass and copper to make decorative earrings and pendant.

Friday, November 6, 10am-4pm.
The second course is my fiber fantasy entitled "Froth and Glitz Necklace." (At right.) It's a concoction of fun fibers and vintage beads are woven into a funky necklace using beads from your stash or even old jewelry.  This necklace appeared in the Washington Post last October and was also in the program for our Great Falls Studio Tour.

For more information about Star's classes, go to www.starsbeads.com  Registration begins September 8.  Call (703) 938-7018.

Boy!, I'm glad that's done!

How I spent my summer: I produced a new Web site from which to sell my jewelry.  It is on "ETSY", a huge E-Bay type site for handmade items only.  There are over 60,000 vendors and it can be a little overwhelming (actually A LOT overwhelming).  My site is:  www.jewelworx.etsy.com 

It is a great opportunity for just displaying, describing and selling my pieces and payment is via Paypal. 

My greatest frustration, however, has been photographing my work, as Etsy uses both thumbnail pictures and close ups when you click on them.  My thumbnails, however, need help and are definitely on my to-do list.  Anyway, most of the items I have posted were created this summer and I have more to put up!

Ben and Bayly Go for a Swim

Frank and I and our two Bouviers, Ben and Bayly have had an active and fun-filled summer in Wiscasset, Maine.

• Ben has perfected his monkey-in-the-middle soccer ball game.
• Bayly continues to amaze us with her energy at 9 1/2 years of age.
• Frank completed a one-week digital photography course at the Maine Media Workshop in June and has gotten heavily into it over the past weeks. 

Certainly there is no end of interesting subjects to photograph in this wonderful state, from our fog-enshrouded Sheepscot River at dawn to exotic chickens at the county fair.