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Wednesday, March 20, 2013

I Left My Jewelry in San Francisco, 2013 Edition


I just returned from a week-long trip to the Bay Area, spending the first two days at the California College of the Arts in Oakland as a visiting artist. Wednesday night I enjoyed the company of the metals faculty and students at a potluck at Deb Lozier's house--such great people! The next day I began my visit at the school by meeting with senior metals students. We spent several hours talking as they fired questions at me about my business, my production jewelry, and my one-of-a-kind work. Then I did a bunch of six-minute one-on-one crits complete with timer. This was intense but really fun. Immediately following, I gave a 45-minute lecture about my work and career to a small crowd of students, faculty, and members of the public. Next I met with the "Color on Metal" class. I started the class with a short presentation about how I use color in my work and why I use spray paint specifically. Then I demonstrated how I apply spray paint to metal and how I use files, a scribe, and sand paper to reveal the layers of paint and to add detail and texture. Students got copper samples to try painting and I spent time with students individually to answer more questions. It was such a good day and I left feeling really good. I also left with some sweet Ccac Metals schwag in the form of a hoodie AND a tshirt. (Thanks, Tony!)

Thanks to Deb LozierMarilyn de Silva, Curtis Arima, Tony Esola, and all the wonderful students!



After class I hopped on BART and headed to the San Francisco to stay with dear friends and kick it in one of my favorite cities ever. Here's a taste of what I did...

Rock crystal chandelier from 1730 at the Legion of Honor
I loved seeing this so much that if it had been the only thing I saw at the museum that day, the $20 ticket would have been totally worth it.

Lucretia by Joos van Cleve at the Legion of Honor
I was very happy to see this painting due to my current interest in the saints and my love of this style of painting...so many wonderful things about this piece: her gesture and expression, the lush fur, her jewelry, and the ghostly haze around her head. 

delicate, rich color, beautifully preserved

Necklace of opals and gold, Faberge, 1890's at the Legion of Honor
A lovely set, but what I found most interesting are the mismatched earring backs. They make the piece accessible and show us that the earrings were indeed worn and probably loved.

 Graffiti I stumbled upon as I wandered around the Mission. This one shows jewelry!

Such a treat to see in person. Absolutely exquisite.


some of my work at Velvet da Vinci
I went to Velvet to see the current exhibition "Ferrous" and to visit with my gallerist, Elizabeth Shypertt. Excellent show, excellent gallerist!

My latest tattoo, which I'm posting because it's awesome, but really because it's (partially) 
related to my work. It was done by Katie Sellergren at Blackheart Tattoo. Her work is incredible and she is super-awesome to spend time with!


Please visit my Flickr to see more pictures here.


Thanks for reading.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hello Amy, I am a fellow jeweller and an admirer of your work. I love color and use epoxy enamel in my work. The limitations of this product is frustrating and developped a new collection with paint instead. I was wondering what is the brand of paint you use, and if it really stays on the metal and finally do you seal it? Thank you so much, here is a peek of my epoxy enamel production https://www.etsy.com/shop/marianealexandre

Amy Tavern said...

Hello! I use Krylon Indoor/Outdoor and start with a primer of the same brand, followed by color...it really does stay on the metal, although, occasionally, I do get work back that has chipped. (but it rarely happens) I do not seal the work when it is done. Your work looks awesome! And, thanks for the kind words...

Anonymous said...

oh thank you!