What Inspires You?

When applying to most artfairs, iKandies has been asked "What inspires you to create your jewelry?"  As noted on our website www.ikandies.com and our Esty site iKandies Esty shop, we are inspired by many things including places we visit while on vacation. Recently, iKandies took a trip to Scottsdale, Arizona.  Although we weren't able to attend the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show, we didn't miss out on inspiring experiences!  We spent a day touring the Petrified Forest and the Painted Desert in northern Arizona. You might wonder how rocks could inspire anyone but these aren't just any rocks!  The "rocks" or petrified wood found in this area were formed when layers of volcanic ash, silt, and mud buried downed trees.  Silica-laden groundwater seeped through the wood and replaced the wood tissue with silica deposits. Eventually, the silica crystallized into quartz and the logs were preserved as petrified wood.  The rocks vary in color due to the type and amount of minerals present in the soil in which the wood is embedded. Here is a picture of a few small pieces of petrified wood iKandies was able to purchase

Petrified Wood

What causes the variety of colors?  Hematite, a form of oxidized iron, results in shades of red and pink. Yellow, brown and orange are produced by the presence of goethite, or hydrated iron oxide. The color green is produced by pure reduced iron or native iron.  This form of iron is rare in terrestrial rocks but common in meteorites. White is produced by pure silica. A black color is the result of organic carbon or pyrite present in the soil. And purple and blue are produced by manganese dioxide. 

iKandies plans to use these pieces of petrified wood in jewelry designs, so we purchased gemstones from a local bead store that we thought would go with them.  We found strands of Impression Jasper, Rainbow Jasper and Chalcedony. When the jewelry designs are completed, we'll post the photos on this blog.

Gemstones and Petrified Wood

It’s that time again!  Time to apply for this year’s artfairs! IKandies wanted to share what we have learned in the past few years about applying for and participating in artfairs.

How do we find artfairs to which we can apply?  By scouring the internet!  We recently came across a comprehensive list for Ohio that we found very helpful:  Ohio Arts Council’s Arts Festivals & Competitions Directory.  The purpose of Ohio Arts Council is, according to this document, “to fund and support quality arts experiences to strengthen Ohio communities culturally, educationally and economically”.

 Events listed in the document include juried and non-juried events.  Each event has its own set of qualifications and an application an artist must complete.  For juried events, a jury fee or application fee is required in addition to a booth fee.  Several photographs or digital images of the artists’ representative work must be included with the application along with a shot of the artists’ booth.  Some applications are sent in by mail while others must be processed through an online agency such as Zapplication.

IKandies Unique Custom Jewelry has participated in two artfairs in the past and this year we hope to expand on this experience.  

 Some of these artfairs are very competitive and it’s difficult to be accepted, especially in a category such as IKandies – jewelry!  So we keep working hard at new techniques and new designs that we like and we think will appeal to others.  Here are a few of our works in progress…