exhibitions and openings

tonight is the opening reception for delicate beauty at the penland gallery from 7-8:30. i am really excite to attend - it's a beautiful show.

the stimulus project at sienna gallery is now online. you can see all 80 artists' work including mine at the sienna gallery website.

thanks to arthur hash for the great picture of my work in one of the tool chest displays. you can see more images of the show here.

thanks for reading.

show installation

yesterday i helped kathryn gremley install "delicate beauty," an upcoming group exhibition at the penland gallery. one of my jobs before i was a full time jeweler was as a jewelry merchandiser and years before that i worked as a gallery assistant. it was really fun for me to do something different and great to use my experience in these areas again. when i arrived kathryn was off to a good start with the case layout and a few dress forms which she had created tissue paper garments for. we decided to play off the paper and use more for the props inside the display cases. then we grouped the artists' work together in complementary pairings and put the work in the cases. it was a fun challenge to figure out what jewelry should go together and i really enjoyed working with kathryn. i plan to swing by later to see her progress. the show opens this friday, july 24 from 7-8:30.

participating artists:

yuyen chang, sarah loertscher, bob ebendorf, douglas harling, jana brevik, lola brooks, mary chuduk, jeong ju lee, paige davis, rob jackson, pat flynn, judith hoyt,
sayumi youkuchi, charity hall, angela bubash, sarah warner, c. james meyer, susin chin, april franklin, joanna gollberg, raissa bump, marcia macdonald, aran galligan, stacey lane, lisa colby,
deb karash, mary mcbride, matt willig, mary ann sherr, david butler, mary kanda, tom mccarthy, amy tavern

thanks for reading.

new work week

i made a lot of new things lately so i thought i would make this week "new work week." i will post photos of my new pieces each day. i wanted to start yesterday but got caught up in making something new and didn't take any time for anything else.

i just turned these two pieces (necklace and earrings) into the penland gallery for the upcoming "delicate beauty" exhibition. it opens next friday, july 24. for this show, i decided to make my pieces using some 18k yellow gold i had stored away in a plastic bag. it's been in there for 3 years and i thought i should just use it. i melted it down, poured ingots, and milled them out into nearly 9 feet of 18 gauge wire. then i challenged myself to use as much of it as i could. i ended up using all but 8 inches.
i struggled with these pieces, which is pretty much the norm these days. i left the studio late last night feeling disappointed. then this morning i took a chance and added the sterling pieces. the necklace just needed something more and i think these add the right extra element. the earrings followed...
in the end i am happy with the work. i think they fit the theme of the show and i loved working with the gold. they do feel a little foreign to me, though, and i'm not quite sure why. i guess because of the material and the overall look. the gold makes them feel "fancy" to me and i don't usually associate that word with my jewelry.

thanks for reading.