VOLUNTEERS!

I had a shop in downtown Wakefield, RI for three years.  During that time, I "hired" volunteer students and taught them how to do basic metalsmithing and basic stained glass work.  Over the course of three years, I worked with about 7 student volunteers, ranging in age from 14-50.  I loved it.  I benefited in many ways by opening my doors to students. The deal was, I teach them for free while they hone their skills on necessary work that needs to get done in order to decrease my "production" time.  After almost seven years after closing the shop, I now have another opportunity to start working with volunteers again.  Just this week, I began with Noah, aged 16,  who is curious,  detail-oriented and asks good questions. Two excellent qualities in a student learning a craft.  I  really like working with others in my basement studio as long as the chemistry is right; the right amount of talk, the right amount of laughter and conversation (which is different than talk). So thank you to Noah and Emma who will be starting next week.  Below see a picture of a pair of cuff links made from Spanish coins that were heavily worked on by Wen, my first student.

ARGENTUM HAS NEW LIFE!

It has been a long time since my last post.

Since leaving my full time job in December of 2014, I decided to pursue my dream of making art.  

 I have been working non-stop since April, creating stained glass mosaics, stars, nightlights. Currently I am selling my items at siouxeagle.com, argentumglassdesigns.etsy.com and will be particpating in a craft show at Tula Tinkers in Richmond, RI  on Sat June 20th at https://www.facebook.com/TulaTinkersGifts 

 Hope to see you there!

I will be posting more on this blog, showing pics, videos, etc.  Feel free to give me some feedback!

Thanks!  

Luisa / argentum glass designs

AHHH...THE HOLIDAYS

THIS WEEKEND, I WILL START MAKING TREE TOPPERS, NIGHTLIGHTS, STARS AND ORNAMENTS IN PREPARATION FOR THE UPCOMING HOLIDAYS.  HERE ARE THE LOCAL PLACES YOU CAN PURCHASE MY WORK

ARTISANS BOUTIQUE ON ROBINSON ST IN WAKEFIELD, RI

MILLS CREEK IN CHARLESTOWN, RI

 

 

PLEASE CONTACT ME DIRECTLY FOR CUSTOM ORDERS. LDELUCA66@COX.NET

ENJOY!!!!!

NEW ARTISAN BOUTIQUE IN WAKEFIELD!

Come check out the new art venue in Wakefield, RI on Thurs., July 12,  5-9.  Ladies Night in Wakefield is the grand opening of "Artisan Boutique" a new shop owned by Marie Theriault.  I consulted with her to get the shop up and running.  You will see a lot of new artists as well as some of my favorite artists I featured in ARGENTUM, such as myself!!!  Please, please check it out.  Artisan Boutique, Robinson St., Wakefield, RI.

I love glass

Working with glass is so different than working with metals. I call it "immediate gratification", meaning I can make something cool in a much shorter time span than I can something in metal. Metal is more labor intensive, it just is. So, as much as I love metal work, and you know I do, I love the ease of stained glass.

ARGENTUM IS BACK!

WE ARE HAPPY TO ANNOUNCE THE RETURN OF ARGENTUM DESIGNS. PLEASE VISIT OUR BLOG TO SEE OUR LATEST CREATIONS FOR SALE.

driftwood.

Bren and I went for a walk at Misquamicut beach in Westerly yesterday. What a gorgeous beach....during the summer, this place is crawling with tourists.

Found these pieces of driftwood on the beach and had to make them into something. Hope you like.

NEW START

Its been more than two years since I closed the doors to Argentum, the shop, in Wakefield. Just now am I starting to create again. I have some old work posted on etsy at argentumdesignsri.etsy.com. In the coming months, please come back to see new things that I and my partner Brenda, who bares a striking resemblance to prince William, are making.

First paid vacation since closing the shop. Yes, it is worth going back to work so I can have this time away and not worry about money. Worrying about money made my hair gray. Alright, I know it was already gray, but it felt grayer. I'm getting inspired by the beach stones I am finding. They are beautiful. Already designing new stuff in my head. This is good.

MYOPIC BOOKS

I'VE SURE BEEN BUSY THESE DAYS. AFTER CLOSING THE SHOP, I TOOK A FULL TIME POSITION WORKING IN PROVIDENCE. THE COMMUTE IS KILLING ME! ANYWAY, I REALLY LOVE THE WORK I'M DOING AND EVEN BETTER, I LOVE NOT BEING POOR ANYMORE.

SO ITS BEEN ALMOST SIX MONTHS SINCE I MOVED THE ARTOMAT TO ALL THAT MATTERS, THE YOGA STUDIO AND TODAY, I AND ONE OF MY BEST BUDS GREG CRAWFORD (OKAY, GREG DID IT ALL) WHEELED MY BABY DOWN THE STREET TO MYOPIC BOOKS. WHAT A GREAT BOOKSTORE. PLEASE CHECK IT OUT. REMEMBER, LOCAL BUSINESSES DEPEND ON YOU TO KEEP THEM ALIVE!!!!
FOR STORE HOURS AND OTHER INFO, PLEASE VISIT THEIR WEBSITE AT MYOPICBOOKS.COM

THE TRAVELING ART*O*MAT

THE DOORS TO ARGENTUM ARE CLOSED, BUT THE ART-O-MAT LIVES ON. THE ART-O-MAT WILL BE TRAVELING TO DIFFERENT SHOPS AND BOUTIQUES IN SOUTH COUNTY IN AN EFFORT TO EDUCATE THE PUBLIC ABOUT THIS UNIQUE MACHINE. IT WILL REMAIN IN EACH NEW LOCATION FOR 6 MONTHS AT AT TIME. IF YOU DON'T KNOW ABOUT THE ART-O-MAT, PLEASE VISIT ARTOMAT.ORG FOR MORE INFO.

THE ART-O-MAT'S FIRST STOP IS AT THE YOGA MECCA ON MAIN ST., ALL THAT MATTERS, OWNED BY MY FRIEND JOAN DWYER. JOAN HAS BEEN A GREAT SUPPORTER OF THE ART-O-MAT AND HER EXCITEMENT ABOUT SUBHOSTING THE ART-O-MAT IS INFECTIOUS! PLEASE VISIT THE ART-O-MAT AT ALL THAT MATTERS, 315 MAIN ST, WAKEFIELD, RI 02879. OR VISIT THEIR WEBSITE ALLTHATMATTERS.COM, FOR MORE INFO!

LAST SHOW AT ARGENTUM

FIRST, THE BAD NEWS:
AS MANY OF YOU ALREADY KNOW, ARGENTUM IS CLOSING IMMEDIATELY AFTER CHRISTMAS THIS YEAR. I STARTED THE BUSINESS 2.5 YEARS AGO, HAVE BUILT UP MY ARTIST NETWORK, HOSTED SHOWS, WON AN AWARD, MET MANY FASCINATING AND WONDERFUL ARTISTS AND CUSTOMERS. UNFORTUNATELY, WITH THE TROUBLED ECONOMY AND "LUXURY" ITEMS BEING LOW ON EVERY ONE'S PRIORITY LIST, ARGENTUM HAS NOT BEEN ABLE TO MAKE ENOUGH OF A PROFIT TO REMAIN IN BUSINESS.

NOW THE GOOD, WAIT, SKIP THAT, THE GREAT NEWS IS:
WE ARE HOSTING A FINAL SHOW AT ARGENTUM, FEATURING CORWIN BUTTERWORTH. CORWIN RECENTLY WON THE 2008 "BEST OF" AWARD FROM RI MONTHLY FOR "BEST HANDMADE FURNITURE"
CORWIN DOES INDEED MAKE GORGEOUS FURNITURE WHICH IS SHAKER-INSPIRED AND WITH HINTS OF SCANDINAVIAN DESIGN ELEMENTS. MANY OF YOU HAVE SEEN HIS WORK ALREADY AT ARGENTUM; ONE OF A KIND CUTTING BOARDS, TABLES, BOXES ALL HAVE BEEN AT ARGENTUM SINCE I MOVED 1.5 YEARS AGO. THE SHOW WILL FEATURE NEW WORK AND SOME OF HIS LARGER PIECES THE SHOW WILL RUN FROM SAT. DEC. 13-SAT., DEC. 27TH. OPENING NIGHT WILL BE FROM 7-9PM SAT., DEC. 13TH AT ARGENTUM. ALL ARE WELCOME.

SEAGLASS RING

NEW STUDENT GREG CRAWFORD EXECUTED MY DESIGN OF THIS RING AS HIS FIRST METAL SMITHING PROJECT. THIS GUY COMES WITH ALOT OF SKILLS ALREADY, SO HE DOESN'T TAP INTO MY KNOWLEDGE RESERVOIR TOO MUCH! GREG'S BIGGEST CHALLENGE: BEING "OK" WITH THE WORK NOT BEING PERFECT. HE APPEARS MORE COMFORTABLE WITH PRECISION, BUT IS WILLING TO EXPERIENCE IMPRECISION....AND I AM ALL ABOUT IMPRECISION!!!! THIS RING CAN BE PURCHASED ON ETSY OR THROUGH THE SHOP.

E T S Y !

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE.....CHECK OUT MY NEW WORK ON ETSY, THE WEBSITE OF ALL HANDCRAFTED ITEMS.....THIS WEBSITE IS AWESOME. REMEMBER TO BUY HANDMADE AND SHOP LOCALLY!!!!! I CAN'T SEEM TO PUT IN A LINK, SO PLEASE CUT AND PASTE THIS ADDRESS: ARGENTUMDESIGNSRI.ETSY.COM

LATE SUMMER UPDATE

BUSY SUMMER! AS WE HEAD INTO FALL, I JUST THOUGHT I'D KEEP YOU ALL INFORMED AS TO CHANGES AND HAPPENINGS AT ARGENTUM. FIRST, TAKE A LOOK AT THESE CUSTOM ORDER CUFF LINKS DESIGNED BY ME AND PRIMARILY EXECUTED BY SUMMER STUDENT WEN JENG. HE WORKED DILIGENTLY ON THIS PROJECT, WAS ABLE TO TAKE DIRECTION, AND HAD THE PATIENCE TO SEE IT TO THE END. GREAT JOB, WEN!

BY THE FIRST OF THE YEAR, ARGENTUM WILL NO LONGER BE IN ITS CURRENT LOCATION. WE ARE LOOKING FOR A NEW SPACE IN THE WAKEFIELD, PEACE DALE AREA AND MAY NEED TO BE CLOSED FOR A BIT BEFORE WE CAN RE-OPEN. NOT TO FEAR, I WILL KEEP YOU INFORMED AS TO ANY CHANGES! AHHH....CHANGE......

ANOTHER SUCCESSFUL SHOW!

LAST NIGHT WAS RONNIE BORDEN'S FIRST SHOWING IN RI, SINCE MOVING HERE APPROXIMATELY ONE MONTH AGO.....THIS GUY MOVES FAST. BE SURE TO CHECK OUT HIS WORK BEFORE THE SHOW CLOSES AUG. 30TH!

ARGENTUM WINS RI MONTHLY "BEST OF" AWARD

ARGENTUM WON THE RI MONTHLY'S 2008 EDITOR'S CHOICE AWARD FOR "BEST CRAFTY CRAFT"......CHECK IT OUT!

ALSO, DON'T FORGET THIS SATURDAY 7-9PM AT ARGENTUM IS THE OPENING FOR RONNIE BORDEN'S COLORFUL ABSTRACT ART....

"SWEET MERMALADE"

ABOUT SIX MONTHS AGO, AS I WAS WALKING PAST A FAMILIAR CORNER GROCERY STORE ON THE WEST SIDE OF PROVIDENCE, A HAPPNIN' SPOT CALLED "THE MARKET", I WAS CAUGHT BY THE SURREAL IMAGE OF A GLORIOUSLY DECORATED "CAKE" BY PROVIDENCE ARTIST JESS PERRY. THIS CAKE WAS TRIPLE-TIERED, WITH NUMEROUS MINI TABLEAUS INVOLVING SORROWFUL LITTLE WORRY DOLLS, OCCURRING ON EACH TIER. JESS' MEDIUM OF CHOICE IS, I GUESS WHAT ONE WOULD CALL, MULTI-MEDIA??? I CALL IT HILARIOUS. NEEDLESS TO SAY, I GOT HER NAME FROM kHYM, THE ULTRA COOL OWNER OF THE MARKET AND COMMISSIONED A SUMMER PIECE FOR THE FRONT DISPLAY WINDOW AT ARGENTUM. WE MET DURING THE WINTER AND JESS SHOWED ME A SKETCH OF HER IDEAS. THIS IS WHAT SHE CREATED. ACCORDING TO JESS, SHE IS NOT YET DONE....."I FEEL LIKE SHE NEEDS SOMETHING MORE, I'M NOT QUITE SURE WHAT IT IS.....I GUESS SHE'S A WORK IN PROGRESS" JESS CREATED THIS PIECE WHILE WORKING AND STUDYING FOR HER MASTER'S DEGREE IN ART EDUCATION. LUCKILY FOR THE CITIZENS OF SOUTH COUNTY, SHE FOUND THE TIME TO CREATE THIS "MERMALADE". SHE WILL BE ON DISPLAY FOR ONLY A FEW WEEKS DUE TO THE HEAT THAT PENETRATES THE FRONT WINDOW DISPLAY, AS WE WOULDN'T WANT ANYTHING TO HAPPEN TO THIS SWEET MERMALADE!

THE FAST TALKIN' TEXAN

TRUST ME, YOU WILL MISS SOMETHING GREAT IF YOU DON'T COME TO THIS OPENING!!!! RONNIE BORDEN IS A RECENT TRANSPLANT FROM ONE OF THE BIGGEST STATES IN THE UNION TO ONE OF THE SMALLEST....ALL IN THE NAME OF LOVE. WHAT COULD BE A BETTER REASON? HIS WORK IS ABOUT COLOR AND IS TEEMING WITH LIFE, AS IS RONNIE HIMSELF. ARGENTUM'S HALLWAY IS CURRENTLY ADORNED WITH SOME OF HIS WORK, AND ON SATURDAY, AUGUST 2ND FROM 7-9PM, WE WILL HOST A SHOW OF HIS LATEST WORK. SO, PLEASE, COME AND TALK WITH RONNIE, THE CONVERSATION IS LIKELY TO BE BOUNDLESS....

JESS ZAKOWSKI OPENING

AWESOME NIGHT FOR JESS ZAKOWSKI. LOTS OF DELICIOUS FOOD PROVIDED BY FRIENDS AND FAMILY, GREAT TURNOUT, ONE SOLD PHOTO IMAGE ALREADY! HERE ARE SOME PICS OF JESS AND PAUL AND OTHER GUESTS.