Dori Daus - 99.9% pure silver jewelry design - Monroe Township, NJ, United States

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I started working with needlecrafts as a small child. My grandmother taught me to crochet, sew, and knit when I was six. I immediately started to design clothes for my Barbie dolls, and my grandmother encouraged me to go to the Fashion Institute of Technology. I demurred, and chose instead to pursue a teaching degree for children with special needs.

I taught an art class as part of my first professional teaching job. I often used art as a way to reach the emotionally disturbed and neurologically impaired students at that school. I created posters with faces that were labeled with their corresponding emotions and had the children color-code them as a way of having them express the emotions that were so difficult for them to identify.

After marrying and having children, I applied all of my artistic talents to creating food that was both Kosher and healthy, palatable, and visually appealing.

I took my children to More Than Painting, a mommy-n-me art class. In my yearning to make art, I taught my own children how to paint with watercolors using videos that we borrowed from the library. We had a weekly art class in my home to practice the skills we had learned and learn new skills.

Three years ago, I took some art classes to study the Donna Dewberry method, but found it limiting. The initial learning curve was steep, but it reached a plateau very early, so I lost interest.

I was introduced to metal clay in May of 2007, and took my first official class with Terry Kovalcik at the Morris Museum that August. I was inspired and hooked. I signed up to take the PMC Level I course with Vera Lightstone in November, and for the first time, felt like I was truly an artist. I followed that course two weeks later with the Art Clay Crossover Level I course with Tamara Farion. While taking that class, I decided I would take Art Clay Level II as soon as possible, and signed up for the last week of December. After taking PMC Level I, I applied for and got a Taxpayer ID Number for my new business, Face of Contentment Design. I contracted to put pieces on consignment with That’s Art in Jamesburg, NJ.

I later realized that I loved working with dichroic glass cabochons and wanted to learn how to make them. Failing to find a class that was convenient for fusing glass, I found a class in lampwork and embarked on a new obsession. I now make glass beads to help adorn the metal clay pieces that were my first foray into being an artist. I have also started working in Bronz clay and find that medium fascinating as the pieces are patinaed by chance in the kiln, so you never know what you are going to get when you open the box. If you like it, you brush off the piece and proceed to finish, if not, you can tumble it and it becomes shiny.

Soon after taking the lampwork classes, I took my samples to New Hope and started selling door to door in the boutiques. I still make deliveries to Buying Style in the Four Seasons Mall. In the spring of 2009, I started selling my products at craft fairs and online. The income from sales and classes has allowed my business in the black this year.

I have recently taken classes in throwing pottery on the wheel and glass clay. I find that the glass clay accents to my fused glass bring a wonderful dimension to my pieces. The pottery was a lifelong desire, and when the pieces started looking like I intended them to look, it was truly fulfilling. I love to carve the pots I throw and used different glazing techniques to achieve color and definition.

I have displayed my work in the public library in the month of October 2008. I was featured Artist of the Month on the Metal Clay Yahoo Group IN December 2008. I have taught classes through Adult Education in Monroe Township that were subsidized by the Monroe Township Arts Commission. I displayed my work in the Spotswood Library in March 2009 and was written up in the Sentinel for being the Featured Artist on Artfire.

Resume’

1977 – learned to crochet, knit, and sew
1978 – started taking guitar lessons
1979 – took first clay-working class
1993 – stared making crocheted blankets as gifts for friends and family members
1998 – began cooking as a hobby
2003 - painted murals on the ceilings of my children’s bedrooms
2005 – made several Donna Dewberry projects in classes through the Recreation Center
2006 – took 10-week Donna Dewberry course through Adult Education
July 2007 – took Intro to PMC with Terry Kovalcik at Morris Museum
October 2007- Opened Face of Contentment Design business
November 2007 – completed PMC Level I with Vera Lightstone in her Manhattan studio
November 2007 – completed Art Clay Crossover Level I with Tamara Farion in her home
studio
December 2007 – completed Art Clay Level II with Tamara Farion in her home studio
January 2008 – applied for Senior Instructor Certification with Art Clay World
July 2008- Taught Senior Certification Class in Connecticut to three students
August 2008- sold pieces wholesale to Buying Style, New Hope- got 2 more orders for
Commissioned work
October 2008- Display in Monroe Township Library
September 2008 -Taught Introduction to Metal Clay at Monroe Township Adult
Education
October 2008- Taught Introduction to Metal Clay at Monroe Township Adult Education
November 2008- Featured Artist of the Month on Yahoo Metal Clay Group
November 2008- Opened store “Face of Contentment “on Etsy.com
December 2008- Opened store “Face of Contentment Design” on Artfire.com
January 2009- Took two day workshop on Blowing Glass at Hot Sands
February 2009- Featured Artist on Artfire.com
February 2009 -half page article in Sentinal with photo
March 2009 - taught Introduction to Metal Clay at Monroe Township Adult Education
March 2009 –taught Metal Clay Ring Class at Monroe Township Adult Education
March 2009- Taught Introduction to Lampwork at Monroe Township Adult Education
March 2009 – Display in Spotswood Library
April 2009- Joined SICA- Shore Institute for Contemporary Arts
May 2009 – Everything Jersey City Craft Fair- Jersey City
May 2009- Put up site on UsTrendy.com
May 2009 -West Orange Craft Fair through StreetFairs
June 28-29 Took PMC Level 3 Certification with Alice Alper-Reins
June 2009 – Westfield Craft Fair
June 2009 -Fairfield Craft Fair
July 2009 – Midsummer Night’s Dream and Festival (Verona)
August 2009- Taught Lampwork in home studio
August 2009- taught lampwork and fused glass with Microkiln in home studio
September 12, 2009 Powerhouse Arts Festival (Jersey City)
September 26, 2009 Spirit of Chesterfield (Chesterfield, NJ )
October 1, 2009 Taught Introduction to Lampwork at MTHS
October 17, 2009 Crafts in Chelsea, Chelsea NYC
October 29, 2009 Taught Glass bead with Inclusion Class at MTHS
November 1, 2009 Octoberfest- Monroe Township NJ
November 8, 2009 Jewels of NJ show at Monroe Township Library
November 21, 2009 Knights of Columbus Vendor Fair
June –December 2009 Took Pottery Class at Monmouth County Park System- Thompson Park
December 5-6, 2009 Glass Clay class with Barry Kaiser at the Wasser Studio in Kensington Maryland
December 7, 2009 taught boy scouts wirework
December 19, 2009 East Brunswick Craft Fair at EBHS