3D Sketches I Forgot

When I taught my 3D sketching classes at the ECU metals symposium a few weeks ago I made two different pieces as my students made theirs. I recently took all my photos off my camera's memory card and found the images of these pieces. One is a collage of leather scraps taped together and the other is composed of torn pieces of the top sheet of a ream of paper (the piece that advertises the features of the paper and the paper company itself). I made something like this for my solo show using a USPS priority mail envelop. I like the idea so much I felt compelled to make a second version. The other brooch was a challenge to use just the scraps students had discarded on the desk where all the materials were. I like both pieces very much and can see pushing the ideas further sometime in the future in similar materials or in metal.

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Now THAT was Good! (The 2012 Edition.)

I attended "Material Topics: Shifting Traditions" at East Carolina University over the weekend and once again this year the ECU metals students put on one amazing symposium! I taught two classes on Sunday, beginning each with a talk about my work and process and then set my students to task making a piece of jewelry in one hour using things like paper, leather, staples, and tape. When the time was up, we talked about the process and what they learned. Both classes were packed--the largest groups I have taught so far, maybe 30 or so each! I was incredibly pleased with the work that was made and very happy with the comments and questions discussed during the talk--insightful, thoughtful, and inspiring. I was also psyched that many of my colleagues were in attendance. That means a lot to me! Thanks to everyone who participated in my classes and for working so hard! It really was a pleasure to lead you all in the workshop and share my experience with you.

top detail Galatea Kontos, bottom detail Melanie Smith

I attended a fantastic mechanisms workshop with Angela Bubash. Angela demonstrated a clever pin mechanism and a simple prong setting using jump rings. Her constant attention to detail and craftsmanship was wonderful to observe in person. Her knowledge is extensive.

I also listened to several lectures including the keynote by Renee Zettle-Sterling. Renee articulated many interesting points about objects, non-verbal communication, and memory.

And finally, I got to have some good talks with ECU grad students, Kat Cole, Rachel Qualliotine, and Leia Zumbro. Kat is currently on thesis and has asked me to advise her along the way. Rachel, a brand new grad, is trying all sorts of things out--enameling, felting, found objects--and wanted to revisit some of the ideas we discussed when we talked about her work over the summer here at Penland. Leia and I also had a lovely visit, talking about her work and process. It's moments like these that make what I do so worthwhile.

LOTS more on Flickr. 


(A note about the images to my students: I posted as many as I could. Unfortunately, some were overexposed or blurry and so I did not include them. If you do not see images of your work it is only because of my poor photography skills and I apologize.)


Thanks for reading.

Eastward!

 Brooch No. 16 from "Collected Memories: 1974-Present"

Tomorrow I am off to Greenville, NC to attend and teach at "Material Topics: Shifting Traditions," the third annual metals symposium at East Carolina University. This year's symposium includes lectures, workshops, panel discussions, break-out sessions, professional development seminars, and exhibitions. I will be teaching a workshop called "Exploring Process, Building Form" twice on Sunday, January 15. The first workshop takes place from 10-12:30 and the second happens from 1:30-4. I am looking forward to leading my process class again--it will be similar to those I taught at City College in San Francisco in November and also the Kenan Institute last year. Students in this weekend's class will make a piece of jewelry in one hour using common and found materials. Then we will have a discussion about the finished pieces. I have also prepared a 15-minute lecture on my process--what it is, how I came to discover it, and how I have applied my findings to my most recent body of work, "Collected Memories."

...leading a discussion at City College

In addition to all the scheduled activities I am so looking forward to spending time with my friends at ECU - such a good group out there! 

 ...big group photo from last year's symposium - thanks to

Sara Brown!

Thanks for reading.

Teaching Week, Part 2: ECU Metals Symposium

I will be teaching two back-to-back workshops at the 2012 ECU Metals Symposium Material Topics. This year's symposium, "Merging Methods," begins Friday evening, January 13 at 6pm with an exhibition opening and reception. Then it continues for the next two days with lectures, panel discussions, and workshops by the following artists: 

Renee Zettle-Sterling
Jean Campbell
Angela Bubash
Masako Onodera
David Huang
Marlene True
Andrea Kennington and Les Bryant
Lisa Clague


My workshop takes place on Sunday, January 15 from 10am-12:30pm and then again from 1:30-4pm. Here's the class description:




“Every artist has their own way of generating ideas and making work. In this workshop students will be introduced to a new method of idea generation/making: sketching 3-dimensionally with common materials. Through hands-on exploration students will be able to consider their own individual artistic process as they create a unique piece of jewelry or an object.”

Michael Dale Bernard giving a powder coating demonstration at 

last year's symposium

I went to the symposium last year and was impressed with the quality of the programming. The speakers and workshop presenters were wonderful and there was lots of time to visit with other attendees. I wrote a series of posts then titled, "Now THAT was good!", if you are interested in seeing what happened last year.

For more information:
http://ecusymposium.wordpress.com/

To see the schedule:
http://ecusymposium.wordpress.com/2011/11/10/172/ 

Thanks for reading.