Via Penland

shane darwent

the 8th annual "via penland" exhibition at rebus works in raleigh, nc opens this friday, december 3. the show features work by artists affiliated with penland such as resident artists, core fellows, instructors, and students. this year's show features the work of shane darwent, a former core fellow. shane is joined by book artists who made books inspired by his work. the book makers are marianne dages, andrew hayes, kathy steinsberger, robynn raines, and beth schaible. shane will give an artist lecture on saturday, december 4 at 4:30 p.m.

there are a number of jeweler's in this year's exhibition including sarah tector, una barrett, sarah warner, lisa colby, sallie ricks, cynthia rohrer, erin considine, and myself.

erin considine hand-dyed necklace

sarah tector ring

cynthia rohrer formica earrings

the show opens this friday from 6-10 and closes january 29.

thanks for reading.

how about one more...

another view of the bow cluster brooch with chain and tassel

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and a few more

bow cluster brooch in light blue with tassel at
the society of arts and crafts

bow cluster brooch with chain and tassel at
the society for contemporary craft

white and hot pink necklace at
the society of arts and crafts

navy brooch at
the society for contemporary craft

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new regal graffiti pro-shots

bow cluster brooch with teardrop available at
the signature shop

just got these back from hank...i'll post a few more tomorrow.

white and light blue necklace available at
the society for contemporary craft

small earrings in assorted colors available at
the society of arts and crafts,
the society for contemporary craft, and the signature shop

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do not disturb

a letterpress sign given to me by lori talcott-perfect for times in the studio that require privacy, like critiques

before getting the residency at penland, i thought a lot about what my plans would be if i was accepted. one of my ideas was to initiate critiques or conversations with jewelers and artists who come to penland as instructors or even simply as visitors. i began working on this my first summer and have continued consistently ever since. it has become a huge part of my residency and yet one i don't ever write about here. i've been extremely fortunate to talk with a vast array of people and each conversation has impacted me and my work in a specific way--some were formal critiques, others have been casual, yet serious conversations over a cup of coffee, and, further, some have been a give and take between me and the other artist. it is difficult to put this all into words because i am still processing it, but i hope those following my work have picked up on some of the influences. i do want to take a moment to share with you who i have had the honor to talk with and i want to thank all of them for giving me some of their precious time. my most recent conversations have been with lori talcott via skype, susan cummins, and dan estabrook. these conversations are moving me into a very different place in my work and i feel i am about to embark on brand new territory.

very special thanks to:

Lori Talcott, Natalya Pinchuk, Dana Sperry, Lola Brooks, Arthur Hash,
Susie Ganch, Barbara Seidenath, Bob Ebendorf, C. James Meyer, Leslie Noell, Mary Lee Hu, Christina Shmigel, Hiroko Yamada, Helen Carnac, Anika Smulovitz, Myra Mimlitsch-Gray, Dan Estabrook, Susan Cummins, Gabriel Craig, Amy Weiks,
Lisa Crowder, Jen Townsend

thanks for reading.

new trick

the other day i tried soldering bales on already spray painted pieces by submerging the painted part in a dish of cold water. if i was to apply any heat to work like this, the paint would melt. i know jewelers use this trick when soldering needs to happen to a piece with stones already set. the water keeps the stones cool and protects them from cracking. it worked wonderfully for my regal graffiti! the water barely warmed up, the paint was protected, and now i have one more option for my spray painted work. i do love figuring this kind of stuff out - it was a fun challenge.


thanks for reading.

new images, older work

line drawing no. 5, 2008

i am finally getting around to documenting professionally a few pieces from the past. today a necklace from my awkward series and line drawing no. 5.

awkward series necklace, 2009

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3D sketching at ASU

i taught a 3-dimensional sketching workshop yesterday at appalachian state university in the metals department. i do 3D sketching as part of my own studio practice and thought it might be interesting to introduce the concept to students. we began with all kinds of common inexpensive materials. each student choose things they wanted to work with and then spent two hours creating two or three pieces of wearable jewelry. i also asked them to incorporate a personal object into each piece. i was impressed with how quickly they got to work and how intent they became. it was pretty quiet the entire time and i loved watching their hands move. at the end of the two hours they presented their pieces to me and their classmates and we spent almost an hour talking about them. it was interesting to hear how they felt about working this way (quickly, gesturally, no metalworking) and what they thought of their finished pieces. i think everyone enjoyed it, although i know it was challenging for those who like to plan things out (i can relate!). i was impressed with the work they made. they accomplished the assignment and made some great things - the work was imaginative, clever, and thoughtful. next we ate pizza and i created a wall installation in the lobby. sadly, my camera battery died by then, but i did borrow a student's camera so once i get those pictures back from her, i will post them. i ended the day with a lecture about my work and how i built my business.

thanks, again, to margaret yaukey and angela bubash for inviting me.

more on flickr.

thanks for reading.

p.s. more on my 3D sketching soon.

the happy couple

towards the end of the summer i made wedding rings for chelsea and kerri, a sweet couple from austin, tx. they were married in october and sent me this photo from their photographer, kat bevel. i love it and thought i would share it with you now. wedding rings are always a (rewarding) challenge to design and make, often further complicated by distance. i make most of my wedding rings for people who do not live anywhere near me. we have to email and talk on the phone to work out the details of the rings. chelsea and kerri were easy to work with and i enjoyed the process with them.

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more bows, please

more new work...these pieces are at my photographer's right now so pro-shots coming soon. once i get the work back from hank, i will ship it out to my new galleries.



more images on flickr.

thanks for reading.

sparkle plenty 6 tomorrow

i received a packet of sparkle plenty 6 postcards the other day--love the color palette and i see a few friends on the front including joanna gollberg and laura wood. (from left laura wood, jaimie jo fisher, joanna gollberg, marlene true, robin kranisky & kim overstreet) the postcard prompted me to get a list of all the jewelers in the show from the fabulous maggie at quirk so i could post it for you now:

Allyson Bone, Andy Cooperman, Nitza Cuevas, Marie Chamblin Dirom, Jane D'Arensbourg, Louise Ellis, Jaime Jo Fisher, Heather Guidero, Joanna Gollberg, Christy Klug, Robin Kranitzky & Kim Overstreet, Hannah Louise Lamb, Lucia Perluck,Shand Stamper, Anthony Tammaro, Amy Tavern, Marlene True, Myung Urso, Laura Wood, Francesca Vitali, Marion Sak, Eric Silva

the show opens tomorrow, november 4 from 5-8pm
first friday on november 5
runs through december 24

quirk
311 west broad street
richmond, va 23220


thanks for reading.

SOFA chicago!

sienna gallery is exhibiting a group of my spray painted pieces at SOFA chicago this weekend including the necklace posted above. i am incredibly excited to say the very least.

sienna will be at booth 1304 and the show runs november 5-7.

thanks for reading.

METALinclinations now online

passage by cappy cournard

METALinclinations 2 is now online. the exhibition features 50 different works, including my red and white necklace. i have looked at every piece and especially like those by cappy cournard and david choi.

brooch by david choi

detail of my necklace

thanks for reading.