If you haven't been to Shelbyville, it's located outside Louisville on the way to Lexington. It's home to the American Saddlebred Horse Farm and birthplace of Colonel Sanders ( KFC) . Along with those sites, the downtown provides great antique shopping; The Ruby Rooster, Shelbyville Antique Market, Gardner house
Antiques and Wakefield-Scearce Galleries.
The classes were offered through the fabric store, Making Ends Meet, which also has a mixed media studio across the street. Our instructor was a mixed media, metalsmith, jewelry artist from North Carolina, Deb Guess. Her studio is Soul Whispers Art and displays her fantastic creations.
Playing with Fire was the first class I attended and it was WONDERFUL!!! All of my work had been created using cold connections, so learning to use a butane torch to solder gives me more options . Along with the info she imparted, we also got to create our own jewelry using the new techniques .
I will admit, I'm a newbie in mixed media jewelry...I now feel like worlds have opened up to
hopefully take my jewelry on to another level.
The second class was learning different wire designs . This is something you could pick up on your own from magazines / books...BUT having a hands-on class & instructor takes all the guesswork & trial and error attempts out of the picture.
The one setback to the classes is the realization that there are a whole new set of tools necessary . Luckily, we were offered most of the tools we would possibly need, with a discount for enrolling in the classes. Now all I need is time to work on the new ideas I've developed ( before I forget them...LOL )
Deb is returning in October with more classes and I can't wait to see what she's going to offer.
Not only did I get to enjoy the classes, I got to enjoy several days of visiting with my wonderful friends in Lexington. While they slaved away at work, I took to the road to visit some of my favorite junking haunts. At least now that I'm searching for items to use in assemblage art and jewelry, everything usually fits in small bags!!!
Feather Your Nest is a small antique & collectible mall on Leestown Road. I found some great items for jewelry , assemblage shrines, and a great felting project. A couple of the booths had great sales, so that was a definite plus!!
My next stop was Sage , where I found more treasures . Below are what I thought were framed prints.....imagine my surprise when I found them to be reverse painted glass. I also thought they were new until I took them apart and found 1920's newspaper ads from NYC. The French look is so "in" right now...they are free for use in whatever project you might envision.
Scout is another favorite to hit in Lexington. There are individual dealers in the shop besides the owners and you will find the most eclectic selection of antiques and collectibles. The small skull Thomas's been eyeing for his shrine came from there. I always manage to find way too much there...so I even returned before leaving town.
As soon as I can get the goodies unloaded, I'll show you some of the finds!!
