Free shipping.

Happy Mother's Day:

FREE U.S. SHIPPING!!!
Domestic: Items will be sent out USPS First-Class Mail with insurance.

DISCOUNT on international shipping-- $3 flat rate!!!
International: All international orders will be shipped USPS First Class International Mail (usually takes 6-10 business days) with NO insurance provided.

Shipping discounts will only last until Mother's Day, MAY 10th!
Come and take a look: www.adarosman.etsy.com

spring. primavera. wiosna. printemps.

I made a treasury today inspired by spring. I am really happy that spring is in the air!



Here is a link to the treasury so you can click and leave a comment on it before it expires on April 29th: spring. primavera. wiosna. printemps.

Point Wilson Lighthouse on Schmap.

A month ago or so, I had received a message on Flickr from an editor at Schmap guides asking for my permission to be included in a short-list of potential photos for a new Schmap Seattle Guide.

Well today, I just found out that one of my photos from the Port Townsend VW Cruise has been included in the seventh edition of the Schmap Seattle Guide under Port Townsend (fun weekend getaway) section. The image is of the one pictured above of Point Wilson Lighthouse. Schmap is a publisher of free digital travel guides from USA to Europe, as well as Canada, Australia and New Zealand. The also have an iPhone version of the guide.

You can see the link here, afterwards click on the Port Townsend guide.

contest: STAND OUT

Just trying to spread the word about this wonderful opportunity for a young lady to get a prom experience of a lifetime! This unique prom contest "is all about inspiring young women, realizing unique beauty and fostering creativity".

The WINNER of the stand out prom contest will receive a photo shoot by c.pelland photography, and hair & makeup by Chemel Salon on the day of her prom---HOW FUN!

I recently had the pleasure of meeting and talking with Christy Pelland about some creative ideas. She does a really wonderful job of capturing special moments and has such an amazing passion for what she does. I am truly glad that our paths crossed.

Link to C. Pelland photography: www.christypelland.com
Link to Chémel Salon: www.chemelsalon.com
Contest Form: www.christypelland.com/contest

Pachamama.

The goddess Pachamama is revered by indigenous people of the Andes. In Incan mythology, it is believe that Pachamama (translated as "Mother Earth") is a fertility goddess that presides over harvesting and planting. To give thanks to the Pachamama, people usually toast to her honor before every meeting or festivity and in some regions they spill a small amount of chicha on the floor, before drinking the rest.

So in honor of Pachamama or "Mother Earth"......Happy Earth Day! Earth day is celebrated each year on April 22nd in order to bring awareness and appreciation for the Earth's environment. However, every day is truly earth day....so do something green and make it part of your daily life.

*(image taken in Coroico, Bolivia)

Travels: Whidbey Island (part II)...

So after our stop at Deception Pass we decided it would be fun to drive around the rest of the island and take in the scenery of the scenic isle way. Little fact: Whidbey Island's Scenic Isle Way is known as the first designated Washington State Scenic Byway on an island. Along the way, we stopped by some towns as well as lovely beaches.


One of our stops was Coupeville.This town definitely has an old world feel. It is as though you have literally stepped back in time or at least into what life was like once in a small frontier American seaport community. Unfortunately, by the time we got there all the shops were basically closed so we could only walk around and peek in.




Before leaving Whidbey Island by ferry, our last stop was Langley. This "village by the sea" is full of restaurants, galleries, antique dealers, small boutiques and gourmet chocolate shops--all located on the waterfront with views of distant peaks of the Cascade Mountains! But before I end this post, I am going to share with you my found objects from Whidbey Island.



An array of beach stones and sea glass! It was my first time ever finding sea glass. I was so thrilled when I found my first piece, this aqua blue chunk:

......I was hooked. I really enjoying finding items on my travels, since it is a way of bringing a piece of that place and one's memories back. So now my eyes were immediately glued to the ground once again, this time trying to find these tumbled, smooth pieces of frosted glass. Picking up these glass fragments it was hard not to wonder: how old are some of these pieces, where did they come from, what were they once, who used them last....and so on. I am planning on making a few limited pieces of jewelry with my found objects from Whidbey Island. So stay tuned!

Travels: Whidbey Island (part I).

This weekend I went on a day trip to Whidbey Island. I have for quite some time now wanted to see this commonly-photographed landmark of the Puget Sound region known as Deception Pass. Luckily the weather held out and we had no rain. On our drive in we came upon what seemed to be a shrimp shack. Hence the big shrimp graphic and large words that spelled out SHRIMP across this white shack. To be truthful, we first had driven past it.....only to make a u-turn further down the road.


This adorable shack had definitely pulled us in. We got some food to go and continued on our way to Deception Pass. We of course had to pull over in the pull outs and take some pictures before we crossed the bridge.


We later stopped at the Deception Pass Park where we found a picnic table and had our food from Sweet D's Shrimp Shack. The clam chowder was quite different from typical chowders.....flavored with thyme and came along with a delicious little shrimp fritter. We also decided to try out an elk burger and an oyster burger. I was a bit dismayed when I saw the oyster burger on the menu....seemed like a strange idea. They both were quite good! So if you are ever in the area, I highly recommend Sweet D's Shrimp Shack.



However, enough talk about food. We decided to wander around the park and take in the views of the bridge. It is pretty amazing to think of all the work that was put into connecting these two islands with the construction of this bridge. The pass underneath the bridge is known to have big waves, swift currents and even huge whirlpools during large tide changes.




This is where I am going to leave things off for today. Tomorrow, I will write more about the rest of the day and some found objects that I am going to use in my jewelry.

New Item: Travelled No. 1- Necklace.

This necklace is from a series of work that is titled Travelled. Each piece is meant to look worn and travelled as though it is something that you have perhaps picked up on your own travels or have worn it while traveling. I am drawn to the idea of how items change or age during travel. How they seem to take on this vintage feel, but at the same time are items that you have carried with you throughout your journeys in life.

I will be posting more images of the Travelled series later this week.

spring reflection.

Studio Visit: Micki Lippe

This past Friday, Micki Lippe had invited me to come by her studio for tea. It was a really nice visit and it was great seeing her studio space which she happens to share with other fellow metalsmiths. Here are a few images of her work that I took while on my visit:





Link to Micki Lippe's website: www.looselyhinged.com

Happy Śmigus-Dyngus or Lany Poniedziałek!

Śmigus-dyngus or Lany Poniedziałek is the Polish name for what is considered to be Easter Monday (Dyngus Day or Wet Monday). Traditionally, a boy would sneak into the bedroom of girl he fancied and would awaken the girl early in the morning by pouring buckets of water on her head. Also throughout the day, boys would further strike girls they thought were cute by drenching them with more buckets of water as well as striking them on the legs with found thin twigs.

However, this has become a holiday that is now solely focused on the idea of water----and the notion of drenching people literally with buckets full of water! Now it is a holiday that BOTH women and men take part in!


Happy Śmigus-Dyngus everyone! Watch out for buckets full of water! ;)

Wesołego Alleluja! Happy Easter! ¡Felíz Pascua!

Etsy Front Page.....

Etsy Front Page 4/10/09 papermichelle, originally uploaded by Etsy Front Pagers.

YAY! Yesterday, my Malinka (Raspberry)- Earrings made it to the front page on Etsy!!!! Thanks again papermichelle for including me in your lovely treasury.

SMG Lecture: Samia Shalabi

This Thursday, I went to the Seattle Metals Guild Lecture on "Journeys to India: Goldsmithing; A tradition, culture, and art" by Samia Shalabi at Seattle Pacific University. It was really interesting to see how Samia Shalabi works with master goldsmiths in India. I enjoyed hearing about her travels while at the same time learning about the culture and role that goldsmithing places in India. Here are some photos that I took after the lecture:





Here is a link to Samia Shalabi's website: www.karazidesign.com

Spring Sorbet Treasury.

So perhaps you have noticed, there is no new artist post of the week (I am planning on reworking Wednesday's World Artist of the Week....so stay tuned).

However, papermichelle has included my Malinka (Raspberry)- Earrings in a lovely spring influenced treasury---it is bright and fresh! The treasury is titled: Spring Sorbet. Thanks papermichelle for including my earrings in your treasury! Here is the treasury (please stop by and take a look before it expires):


*(my earrings are the third image in the third row)
Thanks again papermichelle for including me in your treasury!
Link to: Spring Sorbet Treasury.

Papermichelle designs, cuts, screen prints and glues all of her cards by hand on her living room floor. She also has a really cute and fun website: www.papermichelle.com. Her Etsy shop is full of wonderful cards, here are some of my favorites (I had a hard time narrowing them down to just a few):

My Moo| MiniCards have arrived!

My MOO| MiniCards came! I was hoping they would show up a day or two before the Polish Bazaar so I could take them with me. But unfortunately that wasn't so. I actually had to take some temporary business cards that I made with me. Here were the ones I made for the bazaar:



The funny thing is that the MOO| MiniCards ended up coming sometime Saturday afternoon while I was at the Polish Bazaar. I am really happy with how they look and I can't wait to make another order. They came in this wonderful white little plastic box made from recycled materials.



I really like the size of the MiniCards, but I am also going to look into some of their other products. And playing around on the MOO.com page I noticed that they have MOO business card sampler where you get a sample pack of 10 business cards free!


Link to: Business Card Sampler

Meeting: Tacoma Art Museum.

Today, I had a meeting at the Tacoma Art Museum about perhaps having some of my work included at the Tacoma Art Museum shop. The museum is looking at including work from Pacific Northwest artists for their summer exhibition cycle. This upcoming summer exhibitions will about some amazing jewelry.

Upcoming jewelry exhibitions at the Tacoma Art Museum:

Ornament as Art: Avant-Garde Jewelry from the Helen Williams Drutt Collection
June 6 - September 13, 2009

Loud Bones: The Jewelry of Nancy Worden
June 27 - September 20, 2009

The meeting went really well and I am happy to say that my work will be available at the Tacoma Art Museum shop this summer.




Link to: Upcoming Exhibitions @ the Tacoma Art Museum

Polish Bazaar.

So I have been a little behind with posting a new blog post. Last week was pretty busy since I was preparing for my first ever craft show/bazaar at the Polish Hall in Seattle. I really didn't know what to expect or even how to prepare. I still had so many questions and uncertainties. Do I have enough things? What do I need to bring? Have I forgotten anything and so on.

Bench pin with necklaces:




Bench chaos:



However, I am really grateful that I got to take part in the Polish Bazaar. It was definitely a wonderful learning experience. I think even though I had read up on preparing for craft shows---I learned so much more from actually doing it. I took lots of notes on things that I could improve on for next time. I came to realize that this sort of venue for sharing your work with others is really interesting because you get to engage with customers, see people's reaction to your work and it is a bit more personal. I also really enjoyed meeting all the wonderful people that I did! So I think in the future...I do see myself wanting to take part in such venues.

Polish Bazaar (my table):