Flotsam & Jetsam, again

I'm currently working on a project proposal, that would allow me to focus on making a series of neckpieces that would highlight the flotsam and jetsam washed up on Rhode Islands beaches. I'll be focusing on Rhode Islands top five beaches that gross the most amount of trash, rearranging the detritus and making laser-cut neckpieces of the silhouettes.

Here's a work in progress:

Flotsam & Jetsam

I'm beginning to work on a new project, which I'm calling Flotsam & Jetsam. This project will focus on trash collected from the five most polluted beaches in Rhode Island. This cache is from the South Kingstown town beach, and has some particularly colorful bits of detritus. I found a shoe, sunglasses, lobster pot bits, ropes, bottle caps, shell cartridges, wire, and a glove.

I'll be using these materials to create adornment from. Although the finished product won't incorporate this source material, I really love the saturated colors and patterns created by teh trash. Consider this an appetizer, as I'll be posting more images of the project as it develops.

Studio, in progress...

The new studio space is in progress! I can't wait to have it workable! So many boxes to unpack, shelves to hang, and tools to set up. Also, check out that huge clivia plant that I got from a friend... beautiful! And, I'm sure you'll agree that the color is a drastic improvement!

The future is looking bright (yellow)

So, I'm ecstatic to be moving into a new studio with some wonderful artists! The new space is located in the industrial neighborhood of Providence, so I'll be getting my studio closer to my home and work! The building is full of other working artists as well, and I'm really excited to have a place in a community of like minded people.

I've included some 'before' pictures below, which show off the space when we first signed the lease. Although it's really raw, it's pretty obvious how amazing it's going to be. Once the bright yellow is painted over, and the mulberry purple is gone... It'll be our future jewelry utopia...

My Future Self Is Winning!

The mill space in this image may not look like a lot, but it's my future home. Creative home, that is... Sometime in the next couple of months (after some cleaning and clearing) this will be my new studio space! I'm excited to be sharing 3,000sq feet with some really talented friends, in a huge space that will be drastically closer to where I live. The building used to be the site of the Eastern Butcher Block Company, is environmentally clean and abuts a river. Sounds like paradise to me! I can't wait to see how it looks after its prepped for us to move in!

Solder Central

I've got my work cut out for me today...

New works up on Website

I just wanted to point out that the images that I took a while back with Maureen Keaveny are now up on my website, islaytaylor.com... So, check it out and make sure to check back, because we're taking more photos this week!

It's the final count down...

In the eternal words of Europe, It's The Final Count Down... I've only got a few days left until my upcoming deadline of a photo shoot, and my studio is a mess as I try to get organized for the documentation. The picture is of the mourning necklaces that I've been working on spread out all over my work bench. Also, I'd like to point out that my grandmother made that work bench... pretty amazing!!! I've got three necklaces, two brooches, and four rings to finish by the end of the week, how will I ever stay sane!

UPDATE: After my Mother read this post she called me up to give me more information about my work bench. As it turns out, although the work bench was my Grandmas, she didn't actually make it... AND it's much older than I thought! Apparently this work bench was gifted to my Great-Grandfather (my Grandmas father) from the Poppenhusen Institute

of College Point, NY. The Poppenhusen Institute is an independent

education center that was founded in the 1860's and has been in operation ever since. What's really neat about the Poppenhusen is that their charter mandates that they were open to all students; so they even taught women and african americans during a time that nobody else would. I guess my Great-Grandfather was given three of these benches, which were made at the school. My Father has one, I have one, and I don't know where the third went. Maybe my Mom will comment on this post and clear up any of the misinformation that I've posted here...

Out of Oxygen...

I've never liked the look of a lone propane tank... Being out of oxygen is a total bummer!

Early Morning Studio Update

It's finally getting there! I've been working on some knuckle dusters that will have fancy painted acrylic nails set into them... very Kid Sister-esque. It's taken alot of time, with loads of castings, solderings, and patience... but, I'm hoping to solder the bezels down today and then complete the final round of castings. This picture shows the two rings, with the bezels just taped into place and some practice nails sitting in the bezels. Ok, off to the soldering board, wish me luck!

This image makes my brain hurt from all the beauty!

So, a couple of weeks ago I had some of my recent work documented by Maureen Keaveny... and I've just been dying to see what the photos look like. I just got an email from Maureen with a tantalizing image that has gotten me so amped up for the rest of the set. The image below is of one of my Mourning Necklaces being worn by Olivia. The necklace is made of horse hair, sterling silver, silk, and antique jet beads. After feasting my eyeballs on this, it's going to be even more difficult to wait for the rest of the images!

Pro-Nails

This is what my dinning room table looks like these days. Apparently I'm running an underground nail salon... at least that's what it smells like! The truth is that I'm working on getting some good nail art designs under my belt for a project I'm working on. The plan is to make a series of rings that will feature some extravagant acrylic nail designs as the 'gem stone.' I've come close to perfecting the zebra motif, and have logged tons of hours on the internet watching 'how to' tutorials on youtube.

Although I'm sure that this seems like a crazy venture at this point, I'm really excited about how this will develop... I can't wait to get the ring shanks a little further along so that I can see what the nails will look like in their settings.

Work Documentation

What's a great way to spend a Friday night, and I'm not being sarcastic here? I spent last night documenting some of my recent work with Maureen Keaveny, which was so much fun! I really like shooting work on models as well as off the body; and my models were great. I attached a couple pictures below, one of Josie wearing her wedding dress to highlight the design of the neoprene necklaces. And another of Olivia, she looks amazing in the retroglo chains (hopefully the images will make the necklace actually glow!).

I can't wait to see how the pictures come out!

Travel Bracelet

While my mother was away in England, I found myself wrist-deep in her jewelry box. On my quest for something to borrow, I came upon an old bracelet made out of coins from various countries. It must have been someone's souvenir travel bracelet.

This is'nt it... This is a picture of my own travel bracelet, which I recently put together from my old leftover coins. The coins are actually quite beautiful, my favorite is the British farthing with the little wren pictured on it. Also, the Mexican cincuenta centavos piece is from 1955 (I had picked it up at a mercado), and shows the legendary eagle with the snake in it's mouth atop a cactus.

I like the idea that this piece of jewelry has the ability to take me back to different places and times so easily. And, if I ever run out of cash I can just take the bracelet apart and spend the coins!

New Commission!

I was recently asked to create a set of 5 necklaces for a woman to give as gifts to the bridesmaids in her wedding.

I decided to abstract the couple's names and use that as the direct source for the designs of each necklace. Once the individual necklaces are put back together, the text becomes legible again... reading 'Jon and Alicia.'

I'm obscenely pleased with how the pieces came out, and might do this again someday. Here's hoping that the couple getting married actually like the idea as well!

Opening at Alloy Gallery

So, as it turns out, I'll be showing some new work that I've made at Alloy Gallery. The opening will be on Thursday, June 10th at Alloy Gallery on Spring Street in Newport, Rhode Island.

Alloy is a phenomenal contemporary art gallery, which primarily displays the work of local artists. Despite a location which you may think lends itself to more conventional works, Alloy is truly an oasis of smartly designed and extremely well articulated pieces of jewelry and art objects. The owner, Tamar Kern, has done a great job filling the contemporary jewelry niche in Rhode Island.

From my experience, I have found her to be a very encouraging gallerist. She goes out of her way to work with emerging artists and designers, helping to create a more confident group of makers by providing a proactive gallery experience.

Clearly, I adore her and Alloy! So, I'm very excited to have the opportunity to show with her, and to get a response on the new pieces I've been working on.

The image at the right is of a template that I sent to the laser cutter earlier this week. I can't wait to get the real pieces back and to see how the computer files that I've been slaving over transform into objects!

From The Studio

This is a neck-piece that I've been working on in the studio. Similar to the pieces that I made for my recent show at Craftland, this piece is made of monochromatic glass beads encased in a tube of knit thread, floss, and retroglo. Again, similar to the body of work that I just completed, this will have some reflective aspects, but will be much more selective than before. I'm not sure how I will resolve the many connections of this piece, but feel that it's time to just bite the bullet and start working on it again... hopefully the piece will help solve itself!

Drumroll Please...

bruum... bruumm... bruuuuummmpttt!

I just got finished installing my new necklaces for the Material Desire show that's opening at Craftland on Thursday night! I'm surprisingly pleased with how the work looks. For this exhibition, I am showing 11 new neckpieces made from glass beads encased in knitted thread and retroglo. The wall mounts that my friend Shaun made to display the work are absolutely beautiful; I adore their simplicity and the way that they make the necklaces drape.

I am excited to have finished this body of work, and am already thinking about what the next step could be and how to push the materials in a different direction. I appreciate both the subtle and the bold colors of these neckpieces, and the scale of them on the body. I' also interested in exploring the depth that's created by the overlapped necklaces more. But, for now, it's sketch time!

Come check out the work at the Material Desires opening at the Craftland Gallery, Thursday, February 11th, from 5:00 - 8:00pm. If you can't make it then, the show is open until March 13th.

Getting there...

This is a grouping of some necklaces that I am working on for the upcoming Material Desires show at Craftland. The show opens on February 12th, so I'm going a little mad right now trying to put finishing touches on everything... All I have to do is figure out the hardware!

I've been having fun with this project, exploring reflectivity and color... I can't wait to see these babies under the bright gallery lights! I've gone through three spools of retro-glo for these necklaces... which I never thought would happen!

More from the studio...

Here are two more images from the knit pieces that I've been working on lately. The one that has white beads has been encased in the retroglo... I love it!