Sneak Peek #1 RAWards Runway Pieces

I've been a little slack with my blogging lately, but it's for a good reason! These last couple of weeks I've been insanely busy creating things for the holidays and working on some pieces for the RAWards show coming up in only three weeks. My fingers can only do so much painting, but they've seriously done so much painting recently. I love every second of it!

I'm creating some special statement pieces for the RAWards show. I will have five models prancing down the runway in my handmade accessories, and I wanted some pieces to be brand new and extra exciting for this event. It's really difficult to keep myself from posting all kinds of pictures of my new stuff, but I want there to be some surprise involved. So, I'm just going to post a couple of little peeks at my new work. To get the full effect you'll have to come to the show!

Tickets/more info is available here: https://rawartists.org/omaha/rawards2013 If you decide to go (and you definitely should) make sure to select my name from the drop down menu for "artist you are supporting" when purchasing tickets.

Part of a secret something that I worked on today...

RAWards Semi-Finalist!

Yesterday evening the RAW:Omaha semi-finalists were announced, and I am excited to be able to say that I am one of the three semi-finalists for Accessories Designer of the Year! The semi-finals will be held at Sokol Auditorium on Thursday November 21st. I'll be bringing all of my accessories including some brand new statement pieces that I'm currently working on.

To check out the rest of the artists that will be showing, and purchase tickets for this awesome event go here: http://www.rawartists.org/omaha/rawards2013.

In other slightly related news, there are six new wooden badges available at Watercolor Submarine. These badges are hand cut and painted, each is a unique little piece of wearable art, and they make great stocking stuffers (for those of you who are already doing your holiday shopping).

RAWards Voting and River Critters Badges

Don't forget to vote for my hand painted jewelry in the 2013 RAWards competition. Remember, you can vote once per day through October 9th. Thanks for your support!

The newest addition to Watercolor Submarine is the River Critters line. I wanted to pay homage to my home state, so these animals can all be found in and around Nebraska rivers. Each critter is hand cut and painted onto scrap wood (sustainable!) and has it's own story to tell. My particular favorite is Petey the Pallid Sturgeon. Pallid sturgeons are very dinosaur-esque fish. If you get the chance to see one in an aquarium (or in real like if you're extra super lucky) you'll have a hard time taking your eyes off of him!

Download and print Petey's story and coloring page by clicking this image!

RAWards Voting Day 3 - How I Make My Handpainted Seashell Jewelry

The accessories I design and create through Watercolor Submarine are a labor of love. Each necklace takes me anywhere from 1-4 hours to create. Today, I thought I'd share the process I go through to create my hand painted seashell necklaces.

I begin by selecting, thoroughly cleaning, and drilling a hole into each seashell. I don't always select 'perfect' shells, because I believe the imperfections that naturally occur in each shell add to their beauty and uniqueness.

I then layer on the color. Using bright watercolor pigments and ample amounts of water, I dab on colors. This is my favorite part of the process, because I get to let the water do its own work, and the results are often more beautiful and surprising than I ever could have imagined!

After the color dries, I use a tiny brush and black acrylic paint to outline a sea creature onto the shell. This is all done freehand, so no two paintings are ever exactly alike. Next, colorful bubbles are painted on the shell with acrylic paints to add accent.

At this point, the painting is finished, so I seal the shell to protect against water and UV light. I then use the hole I previously drilled into the shell and a length of wire to turn the painted shell into a pendant.

A chain is then added to complete the necklace. I use several different types of chain, but may favorite is stainless steel for its durability.

Finally, a small tag is attached to the necklace that describes the character featured on the complete one-of-a-kind jewelry piece.

Thanks for visiting and don't forget to vote for me for RAW:Omaha's Accessories Designer of the Year! Vote on my RAW Profile at RAWArtists.org/KristiSchmit

RAWards Voting Day 2

It's day two of seven for RAWards voting. Please help me win a chance to showcase my original jewelry in the semi-finals by voting HERE.Your support means a lot to me! I know the site was slow yesterday, but it seems to be running much more smoothly today. The deadline for voting has been extended one day due to the issues they were having with the website yesterday, so you can now vote once per day through October 9th!

All of my hand painted seashell jewelry features an original character that is part of my Aquatic Avenue Crew, a group of eccentric ocean dwellers and undersea neighbors. Each one-of-a-kind necklace or trinket tray comes with a description of the character it displays. You can read more about my characters by checking out the free downloadable coloring pages on this blog, click HERE. Below is an example of one of my favorite characters.

Thanks for your support!

RAW Voting Starts Today

In May I participated in a RAW: Natural Born Artists showcase in Omaha. I had a blast showing off all of my hand painted jewelry, and checking out the other artists' work. Each year RAW honors the top artist in their category (mine being accessories) in an event called RAWards. The first step in promoting my jewelry is to get as many votes from my supporters as possible. So, for the next 7 days I'll be posting all about the artful accessories I put my heart and soul into creating through Watercolor Submarine, and asking for your help to advance to the next round of RAWards!

Click HERE, take a small moment to register your email address and vote for me from my RAW profile. If you're feeling extra generous come back and do the same tomorrow. You can vote once per day through October 8th!

Here is an example of what you're voting for. All of my jewelry features some type of water-dwelling critter: