ring-a-day, pop out jewelry revisited

i recently got myself a ring-a-day, a super cool design by alissia melka-teichroew - BY:AMT. the piece includes 7 different pop-out rings and comes complete with a file to soften the burr left behind after the rings are popped. each ring is a silhouette of a familiar ring style, like the classic engagement ring. the frames can also be worn on a chain or hung on the wall, so no waste. clever! alissia's other designs are pretty excellent, too. smart and good-looking.
it will be fun to pop these out one by one over the coming week. i think they will look fantastic worn all at once.

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 borderlines

some more new stuff, this time in the borderlines series. i sorted my scraps the other day and pulled out any usable pieces of sheet i could find. i thinned some of them with my rolling mill and then trimmed all of them with the table top shear. i now have quite a selection of shapes to choose from. to make these little pieces, i tried to work quickly and kept it fun. my favorite piece is the earring at the top. i would like to continue with that form - maybe a big necklace with lots of those corner elements.

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stitched pins

new work continues with more stitched pins with colonial knots. i like adding embroidery in this way, but want it to be more than just knots in a rather random pattern. i have a few ideas, so more to come...

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graffiti pins

more new work...graffiti pins. i love graffiti and layers of aged, peeling paint. i've been spray painting copper and then scratching away at the layers after the paint dries. it's been a fun experiment and i love the results.

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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.

jewelry "club"

i started a jewelry club for local jewelers a few months ago. the penland area and surrounding communities are loaded with artists and there are a bunch of great jewelers among them. with the help of stacey lane, once of those great local jewelers, i compiled a list and sent an email invitation. we meet monthly and july marks our 5th one. the first two meetings were at my studio and subsequent meetings have been hosted by other members, like marvin jensen and adam whitney. we started with a "show and tell" of our work and had our first critique in june. other meeting ideas include our upcoming "studio tips and tricks" (in which members will swap helpful ideas and solutions), teaching and workshop ideas, business practices, artists talks, studio tours, and guest artists. we are also planning quarterly critiques. i am pretty excited about the response to this venture. we've had consistent attendance and everyone seems really enthusiastic.

the picture above includes from left lisa bruns, john lara, david trophia, deb karash, matt willig, adam whitney, and stacey lane.

other members include:
angela bubash
lilith neilander
paige davis
john renick
day dotson
marvin jensen
jim charneski

thanks for reading.