Beading horse hair

It feels like I have been working on beading this horse hair for ages! I started by stringing a single strand of onyx beads onto two strands of horse hair. Once strung, I then had to individually glue every bead into place, so that they don't slide into a disarray. The whole process was repetitive enough that it became meditation like, allowing me to let my mind roam elsewhere while working on the production of the piece. Check out the video below to see an example of the intricacy of the process.

Gabriel Craig's Mobile Studio

I just came across last months issue of American Craft Magazine. There was an exciting article by Virginia based metalsmith and craft activist, Gabriel Craig, titled Studio on the Street. Studio on the Street articulates Craig's investigations in taking his practice outside of his studio and into the public sphere. He started his explorations in a series of performance based pieces where he moved his jewelers bench onto the street for his Collegiate Jeweler performances. Over time, the Collegiate Jeweler evolved into the Pro Bono Jeweler project, which directly engaged public participation.

In today's techno-centric culture, there is a disconnect between how craft objects are actually made and what peoples perceptions of where they come from are. It seems that people have a limited concept of how a hand made object comes into creation, they cannot fathom the processes that come together to create a piece of jewelry. The making of jewelry there for seems more magical and inaccessible than tangible.

I often consider the dilemma that arises from working sequestered away in my studio poses to the education of jewelry buyers and the public. When faced with explaining what I do, I am often at a loss. When trying to explain the basic concepts of metalsmithing, people have no reference for my processes, and consider me more plumber than metalsmith or jeweler.

By changing the location of his studio and engaging the public, Craig investigates the concept of creating jewelery as an educational and performative experience. Usually, the act of creating jewelry is a solitary venture, occurring strictly as an intimate action between the artist and the object. But, when this process is shifted into the spotlight, the creation of jewelry becomes a spectacle. Craig engages the public, encouraging them to invest an equal amount of time and energy into the rings as he does.

The dialogue between jeweler and observer become set in metal, archived in the rings that were made during this experience. And the most interesting part: Craig would give the rings away! The act of giving the rings away to the people who interacted with him allows for the ring to become an index of the experience, a memento that will travel far away from Craig's bench and will still educate people on the field of jewelry and metalsmithing.

This performance pushes against the glass ceiling of understanding where fine craft objects come from. Check out a video of one of Gabriel Craig's Pro Bono Jeweler performances here:

Resurgance of Ornament

In the most recent issue of Metalsmith Magazine, there is an interesting article titled Mining History: Ornamentalism Revisited. Contemporary jewelers and designers usher in a revival of ornament, but with a twist.

Authors Lena Vigna and Namita Gupta Wiggers focus on the evolution of ornament, and its resurgence within the field of contemporary jewelry. There are many artists who are inspired and energized by the past, and who also exploit the familiar and resituate traditional historical elements into new, contemporary pieces.

The article states that a contemporary vocabulary is emerging in which the baroque, the rococo, the curvilinear and the unabashedly ornate features of historic jewelry are taking a new, redefined center stage. Artists are ... democratizing forms and patterns previously preserved for royalty through a range of new materials and unexpected vehicles.

This relationship with the past is articulated in five senses: fragmenting and abstracting historical forms, employing new technologies, creating updated versions of familiar jewels, neutralizing markers of luxury, and examining the relationship between jewelry, the body, and space.

Contemporary makers are intervening in traditional concepts of jewelry, subverting and responding to notions of worth and value. Through the democratization of materials and identity, jewelers are making adornment more accessible physically and conceptually to the public. It seems appropriate that in an era of hyper awareness and scrutiny, that artists are able to use their work to question class, taste, and materiality.

I appreciate that this article does not consider the current use of ornament or explorations of the past to be a passing trend, but acknowledge it as an inevitable awareness of the identity of the jewelry field. The work discussed in this article explores the mediums own identity, it is jewelry about jewelry. Not only does it acknowledge and pay homage to makers that came before, but this vein of contemporary work challenges current notions of value, material, and wearablility.

progression

Reclaim, Reuse, Renew

Yay! I just got a letter from the jurors of the exhibition Reclaim, Reuse, Renew at Ball State University, and I got two pieces into the show! This show focuses on artwork made from repurposed materials. I'll be sending Bouquet Necklace, which is made out of rubber gloves, and Honeycomb Necklace (pictured above), which is made out of bicycle inner tube tires.

Mourning Jewelry

I've always been interested in mourning jewelry, and Victorian etiquette surrounding death. During the nineteenth century, strict periods of mourning were observed following bereavement. Widows were expected to dress in black for a year and a day after her husband's death, wearing minimal matt black ornaments.

Gradually, widows were allowed to wear more elaborate mourning jewelry, then diamonds and pearls, and finally a return to colored stones. Mourning and sentimental jewelry typically incorporates hair, usually either in a medallion or braided into a watch-chain or bracelet strap.

I recently purchased black (and white) horsehair, with the intention of creating some pieces of commemorative and mourning jewelry. Here is an image of the first piece that I have finished. I'm excited about the monochromatic color scheme as well as the hints of red from the pearl silk.

Haiku to Metal

This piece, WB1106, is on its way to a show at the Desotorow Gallery in Savannah, Georgia. The show, Haiku to Metal, focuses on simplicity in adornment. Selected to exhibit, this brooch is from my thesis show, it's made of found steel and aluminum wire and gold. I'm excited that it's going to Desotorow, which is a pretty phenomenal non-profit gallery that is run and operated entirely by students from SCAD.

Rusted, decrepit
metal will be worn again.
Luxe embellishment.

Jewels

Video From Fibers Expanded

Here is a video from the recent Fibers Expanded show at the Luke & Eloy Gallery that I participated in. It's footage of a walk through of the exhibition. My piece, Lace Collar, is a necklace made form vinyl table cloth, pearl, sterling silver, and monofilament. You can view it at 0:49 of the video.

STIMULUS

I'm excited to be participating in the upcoming show, The Stimulus Project, at Sienna Gallery. This show is a exhibition of 80 artists producing budget-friendly one of a kind pieces of art jewelry.

This show begins on June 26th, with an opening part on June 27th from 6:00 - 9:00pm. The show will also be available online beginning on July 1st.80

Click on the image to the right to enlarge it.

Established in 1998, Sienna Gallery began representing innovative artists using traditional and non-traditional materials to create handmade jewelry. Now with the addition of a larger space, the gallery is dedicated to exhibiting and promoting exceptional work by artists both emerging and established working in the realm of the object and image both functional and not.

The gallery is located in Lenox, Massachusetts, in the countryside of the Berkshire Hills. The Berkshires, known for their natural beauty and cultural institutions, have been an inspirational home to artists for generations.