Something for David

My friend David Chatt completed his Penland residency recently and we exchanged gifts just before he left. I made him this brooch and he made me the beaded necklace pictured below. He also surprised me with a beaded wishbone which I found on my bench after he drove off.

I started making beaded jewelry when I was in highschool. Later, after graduating from SUNY Fredonia, I moved to Woodstock, NY and worked at a bead store (the incredible Beyond Beadery now in Colorado). I discovered David's work then and have been inspired ever since.

Please also visit David's Community Crow to learn about his incredible cast glass window project.

Thanks for reading.

Arrowmont Class Reminder

Bracelet set by Sarah James

As you may already know, I will be teaching "It's the Little Things" at Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts  at the end of the summer. The class will begin with a slide presentation of images of all different kinds of jewelry with great details, both subtle and extravagant. Then during the week we will cover roller printing, texturing with files, hammers, and chasing tools, riveting, tab setting, findings, patination, and keum boo. These longer demos will be complemented by quick ones as time allows and lots of talk about why details are so important. I will encourage students to make lots of samples as they try every technique. I also have project ideas that can be tailored for different skill levels once students are ready to make finished jewelry. We will begin each day by sharing the things we've made. This is a great class for beginning students and for more advanced ones as well. For those beginning students I will demonstrate sawing, filing, and piercing.

The class runs from August 28-September 3, 2011. You can learn how to register here or see the full catalog online. Please feel free to email me (amy@amytavern.com) if you have questions.

 rolling mill samples by Anneta Brady

 

You can look at images from the class I taught last summer at Penland including lots of student work here.

Thanks for reading.

Guest Star #81...Nikolay Sardamov

Bulgarian jeweler, Nikolay Sardamov uses the seemingly simple circle in repetition to create his current jewelry forms. I like how complicated the work can get by varying scale and layering. I am also very interested in those little spaces in between and the pattern on pattern that results.

Thanks for reading.

More Reinventions...

"new" Necklace (see the original here)

Another "new" necklace...It was originally white and yellow, but I decided to repaint it when it came back from one of my galleries. I added navy, hot pink, light blue, and yellow and then absolutely hated it. I tried to learn to like it, but it just didn't look good to me. It reminded me of bad 80's fashion and it did not feel at all like my work. (When one of my friends saw it, he said something like "I think I had a pair of 'Jams' like that when I was 10." Dreadful.) To remedy this, I added another color, light blue, and used only my wax file to scratch away little bits here and there. I like the finished piece very much now. (Available at The Signature Shop in Atlanta, GA.)

More on Flickr.

Thanks for reading.

Auction 2011

For this year's Penland Benefit Auction I made a bow cluster brooch. I was thinking about several things when I made it--my grandmother and the enameled locket she gave me, playing with the tassels that held back the curtains in the living room when I was a kid, and a Cartier shoulder brooch I saw during a trip to San Francisco. I layered more colors on this piece - light blue, yellow, white, hot pink and red - and included two tassels. In addition, the chain can be taken off and worn separately as a necklace.

More images on Flickr.

Thanks for reading.

Beyond Fashion

"new" asymmetrical necklace (see the original here)

My work is now available at Beyond Fashion in Antwerp, Belgium! I've been working with the gallery for several months and finally shipped off a box of jewelry a few weeks ago. I am thrilled to be in this lovely gallery with some of my favorites, including Jantje Fleischhut, Christiane Köhne and Gesine Hackenberg.

"new" Light Blue Pin (see the original here)

Like I wrote about yesterday, I also sent "new" work to Beyond Fashion. The images you see here are all reinvented pieces - the top image shows a necklace I took apart and redesigned, while the others now include spray paint.

"new" White Brooch (sorry, no original image!)

"new" Yellow Brooch (see the original here)

More images on Flickr.

You can also find Beyond Fashion on Facebook and Twitter.

Thanks for reading.

New Work, Sort Of

For Green Hill Center

With the price of silver increasing almost daily, metalsmiths are challenged to find new and creative ways to keep making work without spending a lot. My solution in addition to milling my own metal was to recall my work from many of my galleries. Once I had it back I cleaned it all up and reinvented many pieces--I took some apart and added spray paint to others. Then I created complementary groups by combing my different series of Regal Graffiti, Borderlines, and Line Drawings. Finally I filled in the gaps with newly made Small Earrings and Bow Earrings made from milled sheet metal. In the end I didn't spend any additional money and shipped fresh groups back to each gallery. In addition to Green Hill Center, Galerie Noel Guyomarc'h, and Heidi Lowe, Penland Gallery, Gallery Lulo, Crimson Laurel Gallery, and Quirk Gallery also received "new" work.

laying it all out for "analysis"

Newly painted brooch for Heidi Lowe Gallery 
(see the original here)

Newly painted necklace for Galerie Noel 
(see the original here)

More images on Flickr.

Thanks for reading. 

Tiny Gallery Again!

the front of the invitation

Margaret Cogswell and Mark Boyd are at it again with another soon-to-be-installed Tiny Gallery show. This time they asked a bunch of artists to make something small and mail it back to them. These pieces will be hung in the Tiny Gallery during the Asheville River Arts District Studio Stroll, June 11 - 12 from 10am - 6pm. My contribution is a stitched silhouette painting. 

Thanks for reading.

Guest Star #80...Stacey Lane

I have known Stacey Lane since 1999 when I met her here at Penland and I have admired her work ever since. Last weekend I attended an exhibition opening for Stacey and her husband, clay artist, Michael Kline, at the wonderful local gallery Crimson Laurel. I loved seeing so much Stacey Lane jewelry at one time! Stacey works with wax to sculpt and cast tiny pieces in the form of animals and various decorative motifs. The delicate and often humorous work reminds me of medieval/antique jewelry, yet also has a modern feel. Stacey also uses lots of gorgeous gemstones and the occasional shrinky-dink (see the Queen Anne's Lace Brooch below).

See the exhibition "Rubies and Vines" here.


Thanks for reading.

My USA Project

THANK YOU!

Final Day, Final Glimpse

Today marks the last day for my USA project and the final glimpse of the first piece for my show. These images show the nearly completed piece--I still have some surface work in the form of scratched details to add and I may paint a few more cubes for better visual balance. At this time I am taking a short break to work on other pieces.

I have also included a picture of the necklace it was inspired by, my favorite piece in the jewelry box I played with as a child. I carried it with me allover my grandparent's house and loved hanging it over my forehead like a tiara Cleopatra would have worn. I also have a memory of holding it during dinner and accidentally dipping it in the gravy on my pile of mashed potatoes. I don't think any adults saw this happen and I did not draw attention to myself, maybe for fear that the necklace would be taken away from me. I wiped the rhinestones with my napkin but was not able to clean it completely. There is a yellowed area that marks this moment. 

 the original

 final silhouette

So thank you! What a amazing journey this project has been with all of you! Thanks for all your support, for every donation and kind word, and for reading these entries since I began on March 21. I do have all day today until 11:59pm to raise additional funds! Any new donation will be used for professional photography. If you would like to donate, please do! There are some great donor rewards still available AND if you donate at any level you will become a part of a special list that will receive email updates about the progress of my work. (This list is the ONLY way you will be able to see more until November!)

Thanks so much and thanks for reading!

Guest Star Friday #79...Eleanor Bolton

Blue Coiled Neckpiece and Red Coiled Neckpiece

Today's Guest Star is British designer, Eleanor Bolton. The work that caught my attention is her minimal and abstract Rope Collection, pieces made using cotton rope that is dyed, coiled, and knotted. I enjoy her precise, elegant use of this typically utilitarian material and the large scale that most of the finished pieces occupy. Eleanor also makes some intriguing objects like her Collection Boxes that house a variety of objects and 2-dimensional works.

Red and Knotted Coiled Neckpiece and 100 Meters Knotted Neckpiece

Aztec Coiled Cotton Necklace

Large Coil Bangle

Please also visit Eleanor's blog. 

Thanks for reading.

Final Days

There are only a few days left before my USA project deadline (May 9) is here! As many of you know I already met my goal and now I'm trying to raise additional funding to offset the cost of professional photography. I have made $292 above my goal of $6000! Really exciting! As I've said before, if you were thinking of donating earlier and didn't, you still can and I would LOVE it! There are still some great donor perks left, too...

For $100 you will receive a Sterling Silver Bow Pin 

(approximately 1.75" x .75" x .75")

For $500 you will receive a One-of-a-kind jewelry piece based on your favorite piece of jewelry. I will ask you to email an image of your favorite piece of jewelry for me to use as inspiration.

My $50 perk (Graffiti Badge in the color of your choice) has met its limit (there were 20 available), but I'm opening it back up for addional donataions. If you donate $50 you will still receive a Graffiti Badge in the color of your choice--I will email you when I get your donation and confirm your gift.

Also, anyone who donates at any level will be added to a very special email list. This list will get updates about the project over the coming months. I'm not planning to talk about the work publicly after my project deadline arrives. This list is the only way to see what I'm up to with the project as I move forward until my solo show happens. Maybe that's a good incentive to make a donation?!

I am ever-grateful for the tremendous success of the project already! Any additonal funds will truely be icing on the cake! Thanks for considering it!

Here's the link to USA. 

Thanks for reading.

Some Thoughts

The seven weeks of fundraising for my USA project have been incredible for a number of reasons. Months ago when I was first approached to submit a project I wasn't interested--the idea of asking people for help made me feel uncomfortable and seemed like something I definitely did not want to do. Then I took some time to think about it and I realized I had to follow-through. It was a challenge I couldn't ignore. At this point I also had the concept for the solo show which gave me confidence and enthusiasm.

The days leading up to the launch were nerve-wracking for me, the fear of (public) failure hanging over my head. Those were some anxiety-ridden days. But, once it was live I felt a huge sense of relief. Then the incredible initial response from all of you was just what I needed to move forward and remain positive. I felt like I was part of a team, something bigger than me, and being supported by so many different people was thrilling! I also had a plan for the coming weeks and felt prepared, despite also feeling blind.

Over the next two weeks I followed my daily schedule which helped me to stay focused and helped me to manage the stresses of unknown territory. Each day I would review the plan and modify as needed. I ended up turning this plan into a daily journal with detailed entries.

It was also difficult and pretty much impossible for me to do anything else. It was a struggle to be at the bench and I discovered all I was capable of doing when I wasn't working on the project was to putter around organizing things.

I look back now at all of this with complete fascination and excitement! I have learned tons about fundraising, marketing, and building community, while experiencing an array of emotions. I had expectations, of course, and yet I had no idea what to expect.

Thanks for reading and thank you over and over for your support!

Week 7 and a Sixth Glimpse

Week 7 and a sixth glimpse AND my final week of fundraising! How time flies! (My deadline is NEXT Monday, May 9!) These new images show the masked necklace with spray paint layered in white and light blue. I chose light blue because the original necklace was made of light blue rhinestones. I know it's hard to tell from the images but only certain cubes are painted. Next week I will post images of the completed piece and I will also reveal the original necklace. Stay tuned...!

In addition to this new glimpse I also want to comment on how fascinating this experience has been for me. I have never done anything like this before and I have learned so much! I plan to write more about this this week. I hope those of you who haven't contributed might feel compelled to donate, too. Additional funding above my $6,000 goal will be used toward professional photography, a necessary and costly component of making new work. I've been working with my wonderful photographer, Hank Drew, since 2004. This October I will work with him once again as he shoots the completed body of work and I hope to fly to Seattle to be in the studio when he takes the pictures. Needless to say, this will be an expensive endeavor so any funds beyond the $6,000 will be incredibly helpful. (So far we have raised $217!) Every little bit helps so if you've been following my project please consider making a contribution this week and help us to end with a bang! Thank you!

Here's are some helpful links to my project: "This is How I Remember It"
Flickr
USA Works-in-Progress showcase and blog

Thanks for reading.