Fieldwork: Arranging an Experience

The space is clean, tables are moved, objects are roughly arranged and lights are placed. We have a projector and a wonderful, vintage pull-down projector screen, a big map of Iceland and several borrowed laptops and iPads. There is an exhibition space and a sitting area. Tomorrow we will paint a few table tops and two walls, create an installation of ephemera and finalize the arrangement of the objects. It's coming together and feels promising. 

Presentation #1 takes place tomorrow, Wednesday, June 18 from 6-8pm.

Please visit us and "like" us on Facebook.

Thanks for reading.

Fieldwork: New Territory

It's been a busy couple of days for Fieldwork. We are nearly done with our map and spent a few hours today cleaning the exhibition space. This project, which marks some new territory for me, uses all sorts of media and materials to communicate and share an experience. There's an interactive Google map, found objects, a variety of data, writing, photography, video and sound. We will present these forms in an alternative exhibition format and allow our audience to participate in whatever way they wish from exploring the map to examining physical objects. The exhibition space is a well-worn artist studio with beautiful natural light, paint splashed tables and a stainless utility sink. John and I will try to create an inviting laboratory of information, narrative and objects via arrangements and projections.

I'm finding the entire process to be exciting, challenging and very, very interesting. It combines so many things that I love like maps and collecting and is also opening me up to new forms of expression through the use of data and the internet. It's also my first collaborative piece like this and the balanced give and take that is happening is wonderful.

Presentation #1 takes place this coming Wednesday from 6-8pm.

Please visit us and "like" us on Facebook.

Thanks for reading.

My Hands are in It, Part Three

For the last few weeks I've been working on a collaborative project with my friend, John Rogers. The project is called "Fieldwork."

Fieldwork is a collaboration between artists John Rogers and Amy Tavern.The project is a multidisciplinary “fieldwork”, presented online & IRL, that incorporates ideas of space, movement, memory and technology; place, image, experience and object.The “findings” of Fieldwork are presented in an array of formats, with internet and social media explored and reconfigured as art spaces, creating a flow of content and an expression of information generated by moving through the world.

This includes a map that uses GPS coordinates to accurately place photographs, found objects, videos and other media into an ongoing online presentation. As well as the “facts” of these travels, the map will collate the artists’ experience of the journey and the project’s development, via accompanying texts and process documentation. Fieldwork will also be shown IRL, drawing together these strands with projections, arrangements of objects, exhibition of images and videos, and the artists present and working in a constructed art-lab-gallery-studio environment.

Presentation #1 takes place in Reykjavík, Iceland, on June 18, 2014 at the SÍM basement, Seljavegur 32, Reykjavík 101. The presentation will also be open June 19 and 20 from 2-6pm each day.

Begin exploring Fieldwork via the map, which can be found here.You can add Fieldwork on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Google+, Tumblr and YouTube to watch the project evolve.

John and I will be in residence for the three days it's open, continuing work on the project and welcoming visitors. In this regard, Fieldwork is an eternally unfinished live work - a process and a scenario. Drop in and see us.

Thanks for reading.

artist-to-artist

here are the two brooches i made for masaaki shinko using his ceramic pieces for the latest "artist-to-artist" project. he asked for a brooch which i was delighted to hear - the brooch is my favorite type of jewelry to make these days. i ended up making him two different ones that feature one object each. i tried mixing the pieces together but in the end i felt they needed to stand alone. you can see more images on flickr.

thanks for reading.

june jewelry of the month

i am really pleased to present this month's jewelry of the month because it is a very special collaboration with a ceramic artist from japan. his name is masaaki shinko and he lives in tokyo. masaaki and i were introduced to each other through a flickr group we are both members of called “artist-to-artist.” for the past two months we have all been making jewelry for each other using objects sent from a different members. masaaki sent things to me, including three different types of ceramic objects. since he sent so many i got to thinking about collaborating with him for june. i asked him if he would be interested and he said yes right away. i think masaaki’s work is a wonderful mix of the quiet, modern, and handmade and i wanted my metalwork to echo and complement his style. i experimented with the different objects until i came up with june’s necklace, “east meets west.”

east meets west measures about 20” long and the beads are approximately 1.25” and 1.5” wide. the chain is oxidized sterling silver. using the pieces masaaki sent, i was able to make an edition of 4.

east meets west is priced at $120.


thanks for reading.

artist-to-artist

i'm in a flickr group called "artist-to-artist", a "small peer group to share feedback and encouragement about the making, selling, marketing, and sharing of our work." i joined awhile ago but didn't get involved until now. the members are participating in a collaboration called the "creative element swap". participants get an object from one person and send an object to another. then we make things for each other using the objects. i got a box of elements from masaaki shinko who lives in tokyo, japan. masaaki is a ceramic artist. the box included 3 different styles of elements - 3 dimensional stars and two different styles of beads. masaaki said i can use whatever i like and keep the rest for myself. the packaging alone was incredible and it was so fun to open.
i'm not sure which pieces i will use yet or how, they are all very beautiful and interesting to me. i need to spend some time with them and away from them. i am looking forward to making whatever it is i will make, though! i think this will be really fun and a great way for me to separate myself from my other work, explore, and experiment.

i will be sending my element off to shand stamper in greenville, nc today. i chose this small rusty blade. i have a small collection of these and i think i will make a piece as shand work's. i am curious to see the similarities and differences in our pieces in the end. thanks for reading.

jill bliss collaboration

i am super excited about december's jewelry of the month - a collaboration with one of my favorite artists, jill bliss. the piece will be available starting monday, december 1. if you want to see it sooner, please send me an email request to be added to my jewelry of the month mailing list or sign up at my website. i send out jewelry of the month advance notices a few days before the first of each month.

thanks for reading.

september jewelry of the month

september will always be back-to-school time for me, even if i'm not in school anymore. i associate this month with the fresh start of the school year and all kinds of new things, namely, notebooks. for this month's jewelry of the month, i collaborated with my friend and fellow artist marianne dages. marianne is a book artist, photographer and printmaker. she made tiny books for which i created brooches inspired by a locket of my grandmother’s.

each is approximately 1.5" wide by 3" long. the brooch and handmade twisted wire chain are oxidized sterling silver. the books are handmade flax fiber paper and linen thread.

there are 8 brooches available at $120 each. each comes with a numbered and signed card.

these brooches will remain available until sold or september 30, whichever is first.

jewelry of the month is a way for me to realize designs that don’t fit into my regular collections or studio jewelry. these pieces are an opportunity to take ideas from sketchbook to workbench and share them with you. each edition will be limited to less than 10 and will come with a numbered and signed card. each item will sell for under $120. i plan to use unusual materials like vintage wallpaper, new techniques like sewing, and i will collaborate with friends who work in other media like glass and clay.

find out more about marianne dages and her artwork here.

if you would like advance notice, please send me an email - amy@amytavern.com

thanks for reading.