I Live Here Now, Part 4

gold wreath from Greece

I'm in the final week of making work for my show…my deadline is Friday, the day I have to ship everything to my photographer. My personal deadline is Wednesday by the end of the day, whenever that is. I'm doing this because I like have time to just be with the work once it's done, to just sit with it in my studio and think about it. I think this is a very important part of the process. Then I'll spend Friday measuring everything and then packing it all up to send off to Seattle. This week I plan to post every day about the work in one way or another. For today, here are some of the images of historical jewelry I'm using as inspiration:

men's jewelry set, 1920s

Italian reliquaries

portrait miniature with braided hair

chatelaine

jet mourning jewelry

Thanks for reading.

Three Days in Florence: Jewelry and Clothing

diamond necklace at The Silver Museum, 1850, Palazzo Pitti

The rest of my time in Florence was filled with museums and wandering, my two favorite things to do while traveling. Here are my jewelry and clothing favorites:

display of seed pearl jewelry at The Silver Musem, Palazzo Pitti

The Silver Museum has a small but excellent collection of historical jewelry, including pieces once belonging to Marie d'Medici. It also includes a contemporary collection of Italian jewelers like Giovanni Corvaja and Stefano Marchetti. I was especially interested in the 17th century seed pearl pieces--intricate, complex, and delicate designs with individually sewn pearls. I was also fascinated by the collection of carved ivory and the amber reliquaries. 

The Palazzo Pitti also hosts a wonderful Costume Gallery. It includes both antique and contemporary examples and pairs many of them together so you can see the similarities that have been repeated and reinvented over time. These sleeves on a dress by Roberto Cappucci really caught my attention.

16th century burial dress of Eleanor of Toledo at Palazzo Pitti Costume Gallery 

One of the most interesting exhibitions I have ever seen included the burial clothing of Grand Duke Cosimo d'Medici, Eleanor of Toledo, and her son Don Garza. Their garments were removed some years ago and painstakingly reconstructed. The fabrics are stained and in tatters, but reveal a great deal in the hidden details. They even appear like maps, spread out in each display with drawings to fill-in the "gaps" where fabric no longer exists.

Instant Saint by Manfred Bischoff

I visited Antonella Villanova, a contemporary jewelry and art gallery. I got to see work by Flora Vagi, Kiki Smith, and Manfred Bischoff. There were drawer after drawer of pieces to see:

The "Flora World" display at Museo Gucci--the square designs hanging in the back are original illustrations by Vittorio Accornero 

Doris Maninger from Alchimia suggested I go to the Gucci Museum which I didn't even know about and was grateful for the recommendation. The museum tells the story of Gucci with gorgeous examples of clothing and accessories and objects for the home. 

More pictures on Facebook and Flickr.

Thanks for reading.

Day Trip, Brussels

 chatelaines

I went to Brussels for the day on June 29. My first destination was the Royal Museums of Art and History to see a exhibition of ethnic jewelry, "Quand le corps se fait parure." I asked for help finding the show at the info desk and was personally escorted to the room by a very nice woman. She spoke enough English to tell me I also had to go to this other room where I could see more jewelry...The ethnic show included different kinds of body adornment from jewelry to tattoos. Next, as I made my way to the room the docent had pointed out to me, I stumbled upon a room of hearts, Musée du coeur. The collection, donated by a cardiologist, is extensive and includes antique heart jewelry to devotional works to Valentine's. Then I walked upstairs to "Precosia," an exhibition of precious personal objects from the 18th century: jewelry, fans, eye glasses, miniature portraits, writing kits, whistles, and trinket boxes. This collection was incredible and brought tears to my eyes. As a metalsmith and devoted follower of the history of my craft, I was moved by how beautiful everything was, perfectly preserved. I even got to see several chatelaines, the accessory I studied for my BFA thesis in 2002. I had never seen one before! After this I made my way to the Costume and Lace Museum to see an exhibition of 18th century clothing and lace. This, too, was absolutely exquisite! I completed my trip with some contemporary jewelry at Joya Brussels and Les Précieuses, both with very different, but very appealing work. 

feathered armbands from South America

hearts

 wire bracelet with carved bone or ivory

 detail of a writing kit

 18th century costume

  18th century shoes

 window display at Les Précieuses

 interior of Joya Brussels

Lots more on Flickr. I hope you will visit the set. There are more images of the jewelry and clothing I saw as well as lots of pictures of the incredible architecture of the city and other things I found interesting.

Thanks for reading.