guest star friday no. 2...iris bodemer

back in january 2004 i was feeling a little burnt out by the previous busy holiday season so i took a week off from work (my studio) and took a class with maria phillips at pratt fine arts center in seattle. it was one of the best things i have done for my jewelry/career so far. i had five 8-hour days to learn new things and experiment. this is when i learned how to solder steel which has lead to a successful line of jewelry that i love making. it was also when i first heard of german metalsmith, iris bodemer. maria had brought in all kinds of jewelry books and exhibition catalogs, among them a book of iris' work. i remember it had staples as part of the design of the book itself and they gave it a lovely handmade feel. inside, her work was unlike anything i had seen before. the pieces were like sculptural drawings: abstract, minimal, and quiet. she used metals and alternative materials and i especially liked her use of thread. in 2006 i went to see an exhibition of her work. it was a duel show with maria phillips titled "sculpture becomes jewelry." one of the gallery walls was covered in 12 x 18 canvas boards that served as the framework for 64 different jewelry compositions, each made up of an abstract brooch and a simple drawing; the two meant to be viewed as one piece. i loved the emphasis on form and how the jewelry related to the drawing and vice versa. they were captivating and it was thrilling to see one of my hero's work up close.

images from top: cover of the aforementioned book. a piece similar to those in the 64 canvas board installation, 2005-2006. mixed media.

thanks for reading.

upcoming exhibition

i will participate in a group exhibition at bainbridge arts and crafts in washington this april. the show, "twenty-first century jewelry," was curated by mary lee hu, the former professor of metal design at the university of washington in seattle. all the artists, including myself, were students of mary's. the participants include:

lori talcott
jana brevik
fred miller
phil carizzi
vina rust
maria phillips
jan mandel
gina pankowski
and mary lee hu

i am pretty stoked. these people are all amazing jewelers and metalsmiths. i am good friends with many of them, went to school with fred, vina, and phil, and have studied with lori and maria. i feel honored to be a part of this group.

what will i make...? so excited about that! i will keep working with the line drawing series i started last fall. (the above necklace, "line drawing no. 3," is one of the necklaces from this series.) only now i want make the work more 3d. such a challenge for me. my work tends to be pretty flat.

show details:

twenty-first century jewelry
april 4-29, 2008
bainbridge arts and crafts
151 winslow way east
bainbridge island, wa 98110

thanks for reading.

The Pearl Piece Update #5

from Philip Sajet, Amsterdam, Netherlands

For today's update (and my last update for a bit) I would like to share my list of wonderful, generous contributors. Thanks to everyone who has donated so far. It's been incredibly gratifying to open each of your packages and find all your beautiful pearls and kind words. Thank you! I will add to the list as more pearls arrive...

Chris Keener, Huron, OH

Terry Taylor, Candler, NC

Lisa Norton, Shoreline, WA

Renee Zettle-Sterling, Coopersville, MI

Amy Hockett, Charlotte, NC 

Bonnie Lambert, Helena, MT 

Lucia Tremont, Syracuse, NY 

Rebbecca Tomas, Seattle, WA 

Charlene Schneider, Maineville, OH 

Ellen Vontillius, Swannanoa, NC 

Denise McCarthy, Houston, TX 

Gill Miller, Lancaster Park, England

Shannon Cobb-Tappan, Dunedin, FL

Mark Fenn, Capel Iwan, Wales

Jowita Allen, Chevy Chase, MD 

Baba Barnett, Raleigh, NC 

Shava Lawson, Seattle, WA 

Janna and Leah Marinelli, Traveler’s Rest, SC

Kelly Johnston, Bainbridge Island, WA

Kathy Clark, Reykjavík, Iceland 

Laura Siegel, Brooklyn, NY

Jannie Rozema, Wageningen, Netherlands

Rachel Ehlers, Lake Ridge, VA

Tom McCarthy, St. Louis, MO

Anastasia Young, London, England 

Jane Wells Harrison, Lenoir, NC

Janet Link, Raleigh, NC

Jenny Baughman, Roswell, GA

Lisa Juen, Utica, NY

Hilary Pfeifer, Portland, OR

Susie Luyet, Paia, HI

Sarah Powell, Oberhaching, Germany

Liz Willis, Pirton, England
Philip Sajet, Amsterdam, Netherlands

Jen Townsend, Pittsford, NY

Heather Allen, Raleigh, NY

Raissa Bump, San Francisco, CA 

Michael Magno, Brooklyn, NY 

Casey Shepard, Los Angeles, CA

Eileen Wallace, Athens, GA 

Kathy Brughelli, Middletown, RI 

Marianne Dages, Philadelphia, PA 

Fritz Maierhofer, Vienna, Austria 

Dan Price, Chicago, IL

Mary Quin, Decatur, GA

Claire Sommers Buck, Austin, TX 

Linda Callahan, Gloversille, NY

Katie Rosenthal, San Diego, CA 

David Chatt, Penland, NC

Chris Boland, Sheffield, England 

Rachel Davis, Milwaukee, WI 

Kris Baker, Seattle, WA 

Maria Phillips, Seattle, WA 

Lori Hawke-Ramin, LaFayette, NY 

Michele Tuegel, St. Petersburg, FL

Kelsey Simmen, San Francisco, CA

Erin Wheeler, Johnstown, NY

Crystalyn Brennan, Brooklyn, NY

Elisa Bongfeldt, Berkeley, CA

Stephanie Voegele, Milwaukee, WI 

Adrienne Smart, Lincoln, NE

Susan Owen, Vilas, NC

Elizabeth Brim, Penland, NC

Meadow Thurston (in memory of)

Carolina Apolonia, Middelburg, Netherlands

Rebecca Illet, Cambridge, England

Kathy Edwards Hayslett, Coralville, IA

Madeleine Veillet, Gaspe, Quebec, Canada

Virginia Hungate-Hawk, Seattle, WA
Tracy Scott, Atlanta, GA
Michelle Smith-Lewis, Seattle, WA
Sarah Rachel Brown, Philadelphia, PA
Jenna Warburton, Seattle, WA
Paul Casey, Seattle, WA
Lisa Macutchan Gray, Seattle, WA
Lori Talcott, Seattle, WA
Catherine Chandler, Portland, OR
Stacey Mosteller and Noreen Coveny,
Endicott and Richfield Springs, NY
Holinka Escudero, Mexico City, Mexico
Jane Ponsford, Esher, England
Jan Smith, Salt Spring Island, BC, Canada
Mary Wolaniuk, Boulder, CO
Christina Carlbaum, Gnarp, Sweden
Louise Perrone, Vancouver, BC Canada
Devon Matlock, San Francisco, CA
Siri Kvalfoss, Tyssedal, Norway
Claire MacDonald, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Emily Kidson, London, England
Michele Wyckoff Smith, London, England
Tara Locklear, Raleigh, NC
Robin Kranitzky and Kim Overstreet, Richmond, VA
Natascha Bybee, Seattle, WA
Natalia Araya, Valencia, Spain
Katja Prins, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Diego Richardson Nishikuni, London, England
Andrea Wagner, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Lylli Meredith, Seattle, WA
Elle Sharifpour, San Francisco, CA
Miri Admoni, Sde Tzvi, Israel
Bonnie Levinthal, Philadelphia, PA
Lien de Clercq, Antwerp, Belgium
Melody Woodnutt, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Katharina Schneider, Blönduós, Iceland
Karen Vanmol, Antwerp Belgium
Yvette Dibos, San Diego, CA
Devon Clark, Palm Harbor, FL

Amy Sledge, Sheung Wan, Hong Kong

Amy Bishop, Aptos, CA 

Anonymous, Long Beach, CA

Anastasia Egorova Shelyakina, Illes Balears, Spain

Cathy Woodall, Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire, England

Caitlin Skelcey, Urbana, IL

Sam Woehrmann, San Francisco, CA

Rachel Weidinger, Oakland, CA

Hilde De Decker, Antwerp, Belgium
Kit de Sousa, Randolph, New Jersey
Bette Schuler, Tuscon, AZ

Melissa Lyon, Sherman, NY

Susan Bolding, Hayward, CA

Catherine Chambers, Ísafjörður, Iceland

Jonis Black-Parr, Seattle, WA

Christina Shmigel, Shanghai, China/Bakersville, NC

Nikki Couppee, Oakland, CA

Sara Erkers, Gothenburg, Sweden

Dawn Nakanhishi, Soquel, CA

Kerianne Quick, San Diego, CA

Shane Prada, Baltimore, MD

Mike Holmes, San Francisco, CA

Julia Turner, San Francisco, CA

Tescia Seufferlein, Oakland, CA

Lisa Fidler, Petaluma, CA

Sharon Tavern, Richfield Springs, NY

Elísa Mjöll Guðsteinsdóttir, Los Angeles, CA

Brooke Marks-Swanson, South Bend, IN

Lisa Heller, Philadelphia, PA

Kathleen Browne - Ravenna, OH

Megan McGaffigan, Vancouver, WA

Maya Kini, San Francisco, CA

Maria Porges, Oakland, CA

Chelsea Poe, Oakland, CA

Liz Oppenheim, Oakland, CA

Sara Valente, Herkimer, NY

Helga Ragnhildur Mogensen, Reykjavík, Iceland

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And, as a reminder, I am, indeed, still collecting pearls. Please send yours to me at the following address:

Amy Tavern

2015 Polk St.

San Francisco, CA 94109

Thanks for reading.

P.S. If you are one of my contributors and I have spelled your name incorrectly or gotten the name of your town wrong, please let me know. I have checked and doubled checked, but there is always room for error. Or, if you sent a pearl and do not see your name, please also let me know. Again, I have checked and double checked... and it's possible I have not received it!

item of the week

this week's item of the week is the stacking rings from my steel and gold collection. i know i have mentioned this before and it may be old news to some, but that class i took with maria phillips a few years ago and the things i learned there play a significant role in my work today. this is vastly evident in my steel and gold collection. i learned how to solder steel with gold in this class. i experimented with some old binding wire that was lying around in the studio and the 18K gold solder i had on hand. i made a bunch of simple rings and forged them into different shapes, hammering each along its surface and sides with more or less force every stroke. i loved the results - simple shapes in near-black metal hints of bright gold. later these little pieces turned into an entire collection. my stacking rings are closest to the originals, except they are always round:

please enjoy 20% off the stacking rings for the week sept 16-22.
originally $70 for a set of 3, on sale for $56.

thanks for reading.

21st century jewelry opens!

21st century jewelry, an exhibition of contemporary jewelry by former students of mary lee hu, opens today at bainbridge arts and crafts on bainbridge island, wa. i have 9 pieces in the show, including the ring pictured above. all of my work in this show is part of my new series of line drawings. other artists include flora book, jana brevick, phil carrizzi, jan mandel, frederick miller, gina pankowski, maria phillips, vina rust, and lori talcott. the work of the show's curator, mary lee hu, will also be on display. the opening is tonight, friday, april 4 from 6-8 pm, followed by a curator’s gallery talk with mary lee hu on saturday, april 12 at 2 pm. the show runs from april 4-29.

thanks for reading.

the stimulus project at sienna gallery

i am one of 80 artists exhibiting in the stimulus project at sienna gallery. the show features all one-of-a-kind work under $500. (find me third row from bottom, second image from right)

the stimulus project
june 26 - august 25
opening reception june 27, 6-9pm
online exhibition starting july 1

here's the list of participating artists:

Efharis Alepedis Jon Anzalone Suzanne Beautyman Jamie Bennett Harriete Estel Berman Thyra Bessette Danika Bevirt Melanie Bilenker Kristin Bolhuis Allyson Bone Melissa Borrell Jana Brevick Lola Brooks Doug Bucci Raissa Bump Sarah Kate Burgess Tzu-Ju Chen Sharon Church Petra Class Alexia Cohen Erin Daily Leslie Dickerson Noam Elyashiv Ashley Ernest Pat Flynn Steven Ford David Forlano Susie Ganch Erin Gardner Grace Gerfen Caroline Gore Rebecca Hannon Arthur Hash Amy Haskins Anna Hinkes Reiko Ishiyama Dan Jocz Yevgeniya Kaganovich Lauren Kalman Anya Kivarkis Shoko Kozu Seung-Hea Lee Anna Lorich Sharon Massey Paul McClure Bruce Metcalf Myra Mimlitsch-Gray Seth Papac Joan Parcher Mary Pearse Hilary Pfeifer Maria Phillips Natalya Pinchuk Robin Quigley Tina Rath Alexandra Rivera Shella Robinson Vina Rust Biba Schutz Barbara Seidenath Sondra Sherman Leslie Shershow Sakurako Shimizu Marjorie Simon Kiff Slemmons Barbara Smith Tracy Steepy Rebecca Strzelec Kristin Sword Hisano Takei Anthony Tammaro Amy Tavern Islay Taylor Amelia Toelke Jenn Trask Sarah Troper Julia Turner Johan Van Aswegen Veleta Vancza Jonathan Wahl Stacey Webber Brian Weissman Heather White Joe Wood Sayumi Yokouchi

the work i sent is part of a new series called "awkward" which is how i've been feeling lately as i make new work. here are a few images:


thanks for reading.

new images from the past

i had a few older things photographed recently including these sterling, felt, and resin rings. the felt-dipped-in-resin "chips" were one of my experiments from the class i took with maria phillips a few winters ago...i would like to keep going with this idea, someday. i made the rings at the penland school of crafts when i assisted joanna gollberg, my good friend & studiomate.i also made this sterling and carpet ring during that penland class. this will be part of an interesting and fun series, someday, too. you should see my collection of flooring samples!and finally, an oxidized sterling bracelet with gold rivets. i consider it to be the start of my line drawing series. it is based on some danish-made vases.
all images by hank drew.

thanks for reading.