David Giulietti Posted August 23, 2017 Report Share Posted August 23, 2017 Hello I joined this forum 3 years ago with every intention of being an active member. Work has a way of grabbing me and spinning me around and the next thing I know another year is gone. A good friend of mine and fellow artist Frank Zika calls it "muse abuse". When the fiddle plays I dance. I am a hand engraver, goldsmith, jewelry designer and lately working on becoming a gem cutter and carver. Making things and art have always been part of my life. When we were teenagers my brother and I use to steal street signs and make them into armor. I studied fine art, painting and sculpture in college and following graduation worked in an art bronze foundry in Paso Robles, CA as a metal chaser/ finisher. A stint running the metal department for National Resophonic Guitars in San Luis Obispo, CA got me interested in hand engraving. I sat in my garage with a book, a couple of gravers, and a $12 vice from the discount tool store and taught myself to engrave. For about ten years I had a business engraving musical instrument parts for different builders. I engraved the metal bodies for National Guitars, and Dobro. I worked on mountains of banjo parts, guitar tuners, snare drum shells, every kind of resonator guitar and ukulele, and electric guitar parts. In the late 90's I started playing with jewelry on the side. The large format of musical instrument engraving had begun to be problematic as I got interested in more highly refined styles of working. It became difficult to find clients that wanted to pay for the level of work I wanted to do. Working on small scale jewelry objects made more sense for me. I also liked the materials in jewelry. Musical instrument parts are made of brass, steel, and nickel silver parts that need to be plated. I liked that jewelry could be made from gold and silver and no plating was necessary. If you want gold color use gold not gold plating. Now jewelry has been at the center of my making for the last 10 or so years. My work is heavily influenced by decorative styles of working from around the world. I have started gem cutting this year and am setting up my studio to be able to do gem carving as well. Materials tend to grab me and pull me in and I am very excited about the possibilities in nephrite jade. Blah blah blah. Now a few pictures Thanks for letting me be a part of this I am very excited to get to know all of you a little better and hopefully sleep on some of your couches as i travel the world doing the fine craft show circuit. Cheers David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim K Jordan Posted August 23, 2017 Report Share Posted August 23, 2017 WOW! Love the work. Welcome to the forum. If you ever make it to western Oregon give me a shout. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Giulietti Posted August 23, 2017 Author Report Share Posted August 23, 2017 Thanks Jim. I will definitely look you up next time I am out that way! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janel Posted August 25, 2017 Report Share Posted August 25, 2017 Hi David, Thank you for the in depth introduction. It is good to meet you and to see the degree of care and excellence in your jewelry. I am pleased that you continue to seek to learn new things. I can only try to imagine the challenges you will face when meeting and carving jade, and look forward to seeing what happens with it. What fine craft shows are you doing these days? Janel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janel Posted August 28, 2017 Report Share Posted August 28, 2017 Hi again, Do you know about Steve Lindsay's Engraving Forum? http://www.engravingforum.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Giulietti Posted January 6, 2018 Author Report Share Posted January 6, 2018 Hi Janel Happy New Year! Sorry for the slowest of slow replies. I had a few out of state shows and then some family health issues and then it was the holiday. I do know about Steve Lindsay's forum and I am a member there. I do a bunch of different shows. All the ACC shows, Ann Arbor, and Columbus. Sausalito and Cherry Creek when I get in. I have been trying to get into the Smithsonian show and the Philly Museum but they have rejected me thus far. I rotate through a handful of smaller local California shows as time and sanity permit. This year my goal is to to do fewer shows and focus more on expanding and exploring new creative directions. I have my new jade carving station almost operational and I have been collecting a lot of great pieces of black jade. I have been doing what I can with my little trim saw, my cabbing machine and a flexshaft. New directions seem like a good test of patience. How is the weather in Minnesota? I keep meaning to get out there to brush up on my surfing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janel Posted January 6, 2018 Report Share Posted January 6, 2018 Hello David, It is good to read more about you. The autumn and early winter were busy for me too with almost everything work-related but not creative. You are a busy show person! I used to have a schedule like that, but as my work became more time involved and the client base more limited I focused on Philly, Smithsonian when accepted, one in the Chicago area. I also tried the wood at an ACC show, but not the right one. Now it seems that my client pool has aged out of collecting, the shows for me were hard and expensive to do with zero return the last year I did them. This, after several years of change-over with the audience aging and not so many younger buyers, I have now no way of predicting how the best shows might be doing anymore. They were so good for so many decades, but the audiences, the jurors tastes and the maturing to greatness of the senior artists are all different stories that result in frustration for the artists and their expectations from the "best" (historically) shows that you have been attending. I am glad to read that you continue to explore and grow and look forward to watching what you might share with us. The weather? In Minnesota? Sunny, and not balmy! Yesterday a.m. was -28°F and this morning -24°. The 112 year old house and aging heating system is churning away to keep it at 53° ... the kitchen is being warmed enough with a space heater to make computing comfortable just enough. The cats like to warm their feet on my lap. Soon I will move to the studio that has a more modern heating system, radiant heat in the floor and a new heater. Balmy out there, and I am soon to scrunch my way through the snow to the warm. Thank you for asking! There are cold-hardy surfers that do Lake Superior in the winter, with wet suits. Might you be one of those sorts of folks? If you do visit Minnesota let me know and come to visit. Janel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Twilbeck Posted January 12, 2018 Report Share Posted January 12, 2018 Another welcome back ,, your work is excellent and very pleasing to the eye, will be watching for more beautiful art . Thanks for sharing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Giulietti Posted January 20, 2018 Author Report Share Posted January 20, 2018 Thanks Ed. I am trying to make it a point to get back on here more regularly. I want to get more connected with my community of artists. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Giulietti Posted January 21, 2018 Author Report Share Posted January 21, 2018 Hi Janel, I am trying hard to do a few less shows and spend a little more time pushing forward at the bench. The Smithsonian and Philly still haven't let me in. I will keep applying and hope that somebody on the jury notices me in the sea of jewelers that apply to those shows. It is hard for me to understand how peoples taste can shift away from beautiful handmade art but I guess the aesthetic pendulum is constantly swinging. It is tricky to put enough time into getting good at something and then manage to stay "relevant". I feel pretty lucky that I have a handful of wonderful buyers/collectors who keep me fed and stocked with materials. I can't believe the weather you are having out there this year. I was cold outside this morning because it was 49 degrees i had to run back inside and grab a scarf to go with my sweatshirt because there was a little breeze. Radiant heating in the studio sounds like a wonderful thing. I have had my share of freezing cold studios and I now make a point of always working in a space with good heat. I am coming to St Paul in April for ACC. Should be fun. Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janel Posted January 23, 2018 Report Share Posted January 23, 2018 Hi David, Good to know about the St Paul ACC show. It is not easy or a sure thing with either Smithsonian or ACC. Somehow after off again on again acceptances with Smithsonian, I was accepted three years in a row 2013-15. That third year was a zero sale event for me, and it set a different tone to the year ahead. Success with the big shows were hit or miss when I was doing them in the later years, as the audience that grew the shows has been retiring from collecting, and it sounds like this persists. If there is a wave of younger generations of shoppers, they will be shaping the shows' futures, I think. I remain hopeful for so many artists who have chosen to enter the creative way of life and income production, and dependence on the shows. I also hope that there are viable alternatives, and a nurturing and educating of new audiences. Is there a way to remind me of your coming to the St Paul ACC? We are very busy at that time of year, but we do have to deliver a stack of posters there for an event in May that we produce and participate in where we live. I'd like to meet you there. And, best wishes for a successful event! Janel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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