2015 Summary

IWell life has not been dull that´s for sure.

As always I have been busy attending to matters in the real world and i apologies for my lack of posts... 

Working, working, working... 

To many things and ideas going on to mention them all but here are a few different activities I am currently working on as well as a few highlights from the recent past. 

I finally got around to posting the pictures from the 2015 Monetary Bondage Exhibition at the Helen E. Copeland Gallery at Montana State University. 

Here are a few of my favorite pictures from the exhibition and a link to the Facebook album if you would like to see more pictures from the exhibition.  MORE PICTURES HERE

I have a lot of other projects stewing on the back burners but im still not quite ready to bring them out into the light.... However I will go ahead and share a few previews of what I have been working on...

A little behind the scenes from the 2015 exhibition instalation.

I produced a bunch of Mokume-Gane while I was attending my residency at MSU.

Here are the fused billets of material... Copper/Sterling, Copper/Nickel and Sterling/Nickel Mokume-Gane.

Now that I have so much lovely Mokume-Gane on hand I have been planing and thinking of all sorts of different things I want to make with it so there will probably be many more mokume objects coming in the near future. Here is the first Piece from all the material. A Sterling and nickel belt buckle with a secret compartment in the back.

Here is a little video showing off the mechanism of the buckle. 

Also have a few other projects going on. Here I was playing around with a little polymer clay and trying my hand at some cane work... its always fun o play around and see what inspires you. plus I always love the way certain techniques can be adapted to be used with other materials ;) ...

Here is a little preview of some of the mechanisms I have been tinkering with. This combination lock / puzzle box is based on an ancieant lock design from Iran. Looking forward to incorporating these interesting yet simple mechanisms into future projects as well.

Back to work in the real world and as soon as I have more interesting news to share I will be back with more. Hopefully soon. . . . 

Until next time,

peace and love. 

Mokume-Gane Workshop

During my trip to jury the 3rd Annual World Championship Belt Buckle Competition I had the opportunity to teach a mokume-gane workshop for some of the advanced metals students at Montana State University (MSU).

A few pictures from the mokume-gane workshop at MSU.

I  also had the opportunity to visit my good friend Ben Isaiah and the Colorado State University metal arts department. 

A few pictures from my time visiting the metal arts department at CSU. 

Thank you to everyone who made my trip so enjoyable. 

I am looking forward to giving a few more workshops soon, so I will be talking more about that as things develop. 

I will be back with more to share soon.

Until next time,

Peace and Love 

2013 Belt Buckle Designs

It has been far too long since I write a new post. After the Monetary Bondage exhibition life got a little crazy and busy so I had to abandon the blog world for a while...

Among the craziness is the production of my 2013 Belt Buckle Collection! 

The production has run into a few snags along the way but things are moving along. 

Here are a few pictures of some of the progress so far... 

All of the designs are based off of the award wining belt and buckle I made at the beginning of the year. 

Hope to be sharing more often again... And with all that's going on I am sure I will. 

Until next time. 

Peace and Love

Instagram Prints

I recently set up an account with instaprints.com and instacanv.as so if you have to have one of my Instagram pictures be sure to check out those links. 

Click here for more Information

Click here for more Information

There are only a few differences between the two companies but, they do offer slightly different products so, if you want to shop around I would check out each site to see what each has to offer.

Click here for more Information

Here is a link to my Instagram account and I have put a few samples of some of the pictures available for printing through out this blog post.

Click here for more Information

I will be back with more to share soon. 

Until next time.

Peace and Love 

Now on Instagram!

I recently joined Instagam! If you would like to follow my account here is the link http://instagram.com/danielicaza/

 And here are my first few images. . . Enjoy! 

Be back with more to share soon. 

Until next time.

Peace and Love

December SALE!!!

Do to popular request I have decided to implement a coupon code in my Etsy shop for the month of December. 

Spina de Corde, Daniel Icaza, 2012, Sterling Silver, 20ct Red Rutilated Quartz

To take advantage of the opportunity just use the following coupon code during your check out from my shop and you will get a 10% discount on your purchase.

Rosea Luna Ring, Daniel Icaza, 2012, Sterling Silver, Moonstone, Pink Tourmaline Gem Stone

The coupon code is "HAPPY2012HOLIDAYS"

Follow this link to visit the shop: CLICK HERE!

It's as simple as that!

I will be back soon with more to share.

Until next time.

Peace and Love

Monetary Bondage Progress

Making lots of progress on Monetary Bondage!

I recently received more information about my upcoming solo exhibition for the new pieces I am working on.
The date for the opening is set for the 21st of May 2013 at the Centro Cultural Costarricense Norteamericano in the Galería Sophia Wanamaker. More details will come as the date approaches.

I also wanted to share just a few pictures of the new pieces in progress.  

Preparing to Cut Out Copper Plates

Cutting Out Copper Plates

More Cutting...

Copper Plates Cut and Ready for Filing

Preparing to File 

Filing

More Filing...

Sneak Peek a few steps later...  

That is all I have to share for today, but I will be back with more soon.

Until next time.

Peace and Love 

FID : Interview

Very excited and happy to be featured in an interview as part of the launch for the new "Feria Internacional de Diseño" blog. CLICK HERE to read the interview.

CLICK HERE to read the interview. 

Special thank you to Jimena Bolanos for all of her hard work designing this new blog and offering me the opportunity of an interview.
If you would like to read some of my other recent interviews feel free to check out the following links. . .

"Artist Studio Visit 1 : Daniel Icaza", By: Jimena Bolanos

"Artists Life : Daniel Icaza", By: Kaylee Hinrichs

I will be back with more to share soon. 

Until next time.

Peace and Love

Triangulum Volantis

I created this ring several weeks ago, but was not able to share it until now.

Triangulum Volantis, Daniel Icaza, 2012, Sterling Silver, 5ct Red Carnelians, 5ct Dendritic Quartz 

I had been told many times to make a double finger ring and finally had a good excuse to make one.

Triangulum Volantis, Daniel Icaza, 2012, Sterling Silver, 5ct Red Carnelians, 5ct Dendritic Quartz  

I am really happy with the result and hope to play around with the double ring format more in the future. 

Triangulum Volantis, Daniel Icaza, 2012, Sterling Silver, 5ct Red Carnelians, 5ct Dendritic Quartz  

Always more ideas and work than I have time for. . . Hopefully I manage to get very busy and make a lot of things soon. Speaking of which I have a lot of things to go take care of in the studio today, so its time I got to work.
I will be back with more to share as soon as possible.
Until next time.

Peace and Love 

Artists Life : Interview

I was just featured in a new series of artist interviews on Kaylee Hinrchs' blog Birch & Bees.

CLICK HERE to read the interview. 

CLICK HERE to read the interview. 

I always enjoy participating in interviews as they often make me think about questions I might not ponder on my own.

CLICK HERE to read the interview.

If you would like to read this lovely interview with lots of  information and images, please feel free to CLICK HERE.

CLICK HERE to read the interview.

I will be back again soon with more to share.

Until next time.

Peace and Love

Treasure Chests : Part 3

It has taken a few days to remember what I was doing before my trip to China. But, now that I have had some time to recollect and readjust my internal clock.
I am happy to share some of the progress on the "treasure chests" that I have been working on.  

TITLE: "Half Dollar? (V1)"

MEDIUM: Copper, Brass, Silver, Gold, 1942 Liberty Half Dollar

DIMENSIONS: 3”, 3”, ¼” 

DATE: 2009

This box was the first prototype and I am rather pleased with how it turned out. Although the box can overpower the presence of the piece within, under the right lighting they do compliment each other very well.

TITLE: "Half Dollar? (V1)"

MEDIUM: Copper, Brass, Silver, Gold, 1942 Liberty Half Dollar

DIMENSIONS: 3”, 3”, ¼”

DATE: 2009

TITLE: "One Cent? (Red Indian)" 

MEDIUM: Copper, Silver, Vitreous Enamel, 1904 Indian Head penny

DIMENSIONS: 2”, 2”, ¼”

DATE: 2011 

This black hinged box is not necessarily finished yet, and I am not sure what else will be added to it, but, it is interesting to see how these cases develop and progress as inspiration guides their creation.

TITLE: "One Cent? (Red Indian)"

MEDIUM: Copper, Silver, Vitreous Enamel, 1904 Indian Head penny

DIMENSIONS: 2”, 2”, ¼”

DATE: 2011 

TITLE: "100 Dollars?"

MEDIUM: Copper, Vitreous Enamel, Silver, Brass, Copper/Nickel Mokume-Gane, Paper Money

DIMENSIONS: 6”, 3”, ¼”

DATE: 2009

A more daring design approach, I am really excited to see where this idea is going.

TITLE: "100 Dollars?"

MEDIUM: Copper, Vitreous Enamel, Silver, Brass, Copper/Nickel Mokume-Gane, Paper Money

DIMENSIONS: 6”, 3”, ¼”

DATE: 2009

This design presents a few interesting challenges to work around, although having a challenge is always a great exercise. Hopefully through making all of these different cases, I eventually stumble upon the ideal solution for packaging and displaying these "treasures".

TITLE: "100 Dollars?"

MEDIUM: Copper, Vitreous Enamel, Silver, Brass, Copper/Nickel Mokume-Gane, Paper Money

DIMENSIONS: 6”, 3”, ¼”

DATE: 2009

None of these cases are 100% finished yet, but some of them are getting very close to being completed. 

TITLE: "100 Dollars?"

MEDIUM: Copper, Vitreous Enamel, Silver, Brass, Copper/Nickel Mokume-Gane, Paper Money

DIMENSIONS: 6”, 3”, ¼”

DATE: 2009

There are still a few other designs that I am playing around with as well. I hope to share the evolution of these cases and the other designs I am working on as well (when I find the time). 

I have so many projects to work on at the moment it can be difficult to decide where to focus my attention. 

Regardless I will be back with more progress soon.
If you would like to see part 1 of this "Treasure Chest" series, Just CLICK HERE. 

Until next time.

Peace and Love

Treasure Chests : Part 2

Part of the challenge of creating these "treasure chests" is deciding how to finish them. 

I wanted to go ahead and try something bold to see how it looks. Hopefully is does not distract or compete with the art work within the box. We will just have to wait and see. . .

Working

This gold leafing process is quite lengthy just because of the drying time required. This stuff stays tacky to the touch for days. . .

Applying adhesive medium

Hopefully it is worth all the waiting. 

Black leaf on box

Even if it does not work out for its intended purpose. It is most definitely going to be an awesome box.
Back soon with more.
Part 1 --- Part 3
Until next time.

Peace and Love