Pictures of Process

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Some New Things

Just a few of the new(ish) things I've been making--designs I have made in the past such as my "Shallow Shell Necklace" and elements I'm still thinking about like my "Folded" pieces. These necklaces and earrings are off to the Metal Museum in Memphis, TN and to North Channel General in Gore Bay, Ontario. 

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Going Into Nature

I've spent a little bit of time in nature in the past couple of weeks going for hikes and walking in city parks. I'm looking at light and how it interacts with different kinds of things like leaves, trees, and water. I'm also taking a closer look at moss and see trees as simple lines...

See more images on Flickr and on Facebook.

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Guest Star #123...Helena Lehtinen

I haven't written a Guest Star post in awhile, a few months to be sort of exact. Recently, a few people have mentioned that they miss the series and this inspired me to start looking again for jewelry I am not familiar with. I spent hours last night searching online and it felt great to get reacquainted.

Today's GS is Helena Lehtinen from Finland. I am drawn to her simple, uncluttered compositions and I like how she uses glass beads. The texture and subtle dimension as well as her color palette are all very pleasing. The clean lines, soft shapes, and quiet color provide space to think and I find these lovely works very calming to look at.

You can see all of this work at the Galerie Marzee website.

I also found an informative interview about Helena on Baltic Jewellery News.

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In the Studio

I just posted more a photos in my latest album on my Facebook page, "In the Studio." There are images of my space and others of my assistant and I working. I think it's interesting to see workspaces and I hope you enjoy this little glimpse into my daily world.

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Bright Light

I have long admired the work of Ólafur Elíasson and became acutely interested when I lived in Iceland in the spring. I got to see his work in person for the first time--Ólafur Elíasson: Tiltrú at i8 Gallery--and liked the exhibition so much, I went twice. As I said in a recent interview on Art Jewelry Forum, "Seeing work about Iceland in Iceland by a favorite artist (who also happens to be Icelandic!) was fascinating and wonderful." I also spent several mornings wandering in Harpa, the concert hall in Reykjavík that he designed the facade of.

In both i8 Gallery and in Harpa, I was able to interact with his work. One piece at i8, a series of four mirrors each frosted in different areas and positioned at just the right height, made me feel as if I was walking in fog as I moved from mirror to mirror. The experience was reminiscent of some of my long walks in Iceland as it transformed the gallery into something else. While in Harpa, as I walked around inside and up and down stairs, the play of light, shadow, and prismatic color allowed me to interact with the building and heightened my awareness of the space and of myself in it.

inside Harpa on my first morning in Reykjavík and in Iceland

I have also been curious about light and shadow for awhile now, too, collecting images and videos as I walk. I think seeing Elíasson's work in person and upon further reading about it, I find myself diving deeper into this inspiration. Finally, something I keep going over in my mind is the fact that I believe my purpose or intention as an artist is to communicate and connect with others.

So...just the other day I read a Tweet from Studio Ólafur Elíasson that grabbed my attention. It began with "Celebrate the connectivity of art..." and then mentioned a new project with The Guardian called, "Share Your Sun." As soon as I read the Tweet, I dropped what I was doing and visited the website. The first few words drew me in and when I investigated the project I immediately wanted to join in. Anyone can participate by contributing photos or videos of the sun. The photo I submitted is the image at the top which I was excited to find among many others on both Share Your Sun and The Guardian over the weekend. This project gave me an opportunity to connect, communicate, and share with a broader audience and in the work of a favorite artist as it allowed me to go a little further with my own interest in light, shadow, and photography.

screen shot from Share Your Sun

my photo is on the left in the middle

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Progress Report

Claire has been instagramming as she works, too...

Claire and I have been working away at building inventory for my galleries for the holiday season. As of now we are on track and should be shipping everything in very early November. 

For a complete list of the galleries and shops where you can find my work, please visit my website.

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Things I Like: Observations as Influence

If you follow my work or are a fan on Facebook, you know about my Albums with the title, "Things I Like." I have a number of them posted, all from the different places I have traveled to or have lived in. Although I only post a small batch of images there, I take 1000s of photographs and they are all a direct document of what I am interested in...things like graffiti and urban decay, abandoned buildings, textures, light and shadow, micro and macro views of nature, and more.  If you are curious about what I find interesting and inspiring or if you want a little insight into how I see the world, please visit these photos. I believe my main goal as an artist is to communicate and these photos are an example of how I do that. You can see them on Facebook or Flickr. 

My latest Album is Asheville, NC where I currently live and work.

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Stitch

Island of 14, 264 Days is currently on view at Light Art + Design in Chapel Hill, NC. It is part of the gallery's current exhibition, "Stitch," alongside works by Beverly Dawson, Peg Gignoux, Robin Johnston, Harriet Hoover, Rachel Meginnes, Carolyn Nelson, Susan Harbage Page, Lynda Sanders and Leigh Suggs. I am excited to be a part of this show and love that this piece is out in the world.

Thanks to Light for sending me these photos of the framed piece in the gallery.

The exhibition runs through October 26.

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Five Days

I just got back from a wonderful 5-day visit to the Penland School of Crafts. The reason for the trip was to be a visiting artist for current Fall concentration instructor, Adam Whitney. I spent two days with his class teaching chains and connections. I did a few demos and gave a presentation about chains and another one about my work. It was great to spend time in the studio. I enjoyed Adam's students and loved spending time with Adam, himself. He's a good friend and we hadn't seen each other in two and half years (!) because he was teaching in Malaysia. We had a lot of catching-up to do.

Adam demonstrating how to use the metal crimper

I also went to two different openings, one for the resident artists on Friday and the other for the Core Fellows on Saturday. Both shows were wonderful! The current residents are such a strong group and it's exciting for me to see as a former resident. They make me so proud! The Core Fellows are also making incredible work as they seem to get more sophisticated every year. The resident opening was in Asheville at the Asheville Area Arts Council Gallery and the Core Show happened in Northlight on the Penland campus. It was also my pleasure to serve the Core Fellows supper on Saturday before the opening. Core Show day is my favorite day of the Penland year and serving dinner to these lovely people feels very special. 

The rest of my time was filled with visits with friends, thoughtful discussions about art, and walks around the campus. I love every moment of my time at Penland and it always feels like coming home.

sculpture by resident artist, Tom Shields

Penland's Core Fellows

the view from the porch of the metals studio early one evening

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New Help

I have a new intern! Her name is Claire Buck. She is a former student and now a good friend. We met at Penland in 2008 (she was in my concentration class) and we have kept up with each other ever since. A few months ago we started talking about options and plans for her future and realized we should work together. Her first day was last Friday and she has already helped me to complete a big order. I am super happy to have her here. She is such a hard-worker and a lovely person. She also makes beautiful jewelry. Please give her website a look...

Claire Sommers Buck Jewelry

Claire's new work

Claire's first day progress at my bench

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I am SNAG.

The Society of North American Goldsmiths is an organization for jewelers, metalsmiths, instructors, vendors, and more who live and work here in the U.S. and abroad. It serves to create community, promote our beloved field, and educate the public and artists alike. We are trying to reinvigorate things now...check out this sweet video created by my friend and colleague, Jen Townsend. It shows all kinds of SNAG members at work and at play, all proudly saying, "I am SNAG."

Find the Society of North American Goldsmiths on Facebook.

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I Forgot...

 fog on the beach in San Francsico on my first day

...to talk about my time in California outside of my show with Raissa! Here's a brief run-down of my jewelry and art-related adventures and things I found inspiring in pictures...

La Frontera at Velvet da Vinci

an incredible exhibition inspired by the border between the US & Mexico

(I also got to hang out with my gallerist Mike for a few hours which was such a treat!)

I popped into the new location of Rare Device, a lovely design shop that carries my Very Thin Gold Rings. It was great to see the new space and say hello to the sweet people who work there. I also saw some lovely jewelry by Is Was &Will Be and Laminar Jewelry.

on a long walk with my cousin...we made a stop at the De Young to visit the observatory and then walked around the sculpture garden where I saw this giant safety pin by Claes Oldenburg

on the drive back from installing the show with Raissa...this landscape near the coast is gorgeous

I visited Faultline Studios in Oakland to see work by a new favorite street artist, Cannon Dill, before heading to CCA to spend time with Marilyn De Silva

light in a cathedral in San Jose

More photos on Flickr and on Facebook.

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