London Again

19th century jewelry at the British Museum

The first stop on my Europe Part 2 trip was London. I spent just two days there but packed in tons of stuff. The first day I arrived very early in the morning and after putting my luggage in storage at my apartment I hopped on the tube and went to the British Museum. I specifically went to see the wonderful collection of 19th century jewelry and then weaved my way through several more rooms to see as much jewelry as I could from other time periods. My favorite piece was this gold cape from the Bronze Age.

Gold Cape at the British Museum

Spare Parts

Later that evening I met up with metalsmith Mark Fenn and went to the opening reception of "Spare Parts," a solo exhibition of the work of David Clarke at Gallery SO. I know both artists via Facebook so it was fantastic to meet them in person and spend some time. David's show was great to view up close, too. 

Raven Row Gallery

The next day I went to Raven Row Gallery to see an exhibition of the work of Běla Kolářová. I was not familiar with her work until I visited this show and I'm so glad I did not miss it! Her photographs of arranged objects, collages of broken razor blades, and prototypes for jewelry were incredibly appealing to me. 

Běla Kolářová "Enclosed World" in broken razor blades

Běla Kolářová "The Alphabet of Things"

Běla Kolářová - prototypes for earrings

Crafted

Next I visited Somerset House where I saw two different exhibitions: "Crafted: Makers of the Exceptional" and "Landmark" The Fields of Photography". Crafted featured the work of artists in a variety of media and included mock studios and Landmark was simply astonishing. 

Landmark: The Fields of Photography

Finally, I visited the Victoria and Albert both Friday and Saturday. On Friday I met up with Helen Carnac and we looked at the collection of contemporary ceramics. Then on Saturday I indulged myself with yet another visit just to see the jewelry which I will never, ever tire of. I got there right as the museum opened so I had about 20 minutes completely alone. It was heaven. 

To see more photos please visit Facebook or Flickr.

Thanks for reading.

London! Jewelry Galleries

Electrum (at its temporary location in Contemporary Applied Arts) 

I visited several jewelry galleries while in London including Electrum, Gallery S O, and Lesley Craze. Each gallery has a completely different feel but I was happy to see artists I'm familiar with and to learn about new ones...like Irene Wolf at Electrum:

Gallery S O 

Bernhard Schobinger at Gallery S O:

Lesley Craze

and Fern Jelleyman at Lesley Craze:

Thanks for reading.

London! Graffiti

Swoon

I spent a day walking around Shoreditch and Spitalfields where there is a lot of graffiti, especially along Brick Lane. It was so fun to weave my way through the streets and alleys discovering all kinds of incredible work, including pieces by Banksy, Roa, Stik, Swoon, Space Invader, and Broken Fingaz Crew. 

The Horror Crew

 Roa

 Banksy

So many more pictures on Flickr.

Thanks for reading.         

London! National Gallery and More

I visited London's National Gallery just to see The Arnolfini Portrait by Jan Van Eyck and, of course, saw lots of other wonderful paintings in addition. The Van Eyck is an incredible painting. I remember studying it in art history class and it seems like we spent an entire class discussing it, and with good reason: it is so rich in detail, symbolism, and story. I was lucky enough to listen in on a short talk about the painting, too, and then stood there and just looked for quite awhile. After I walked from room to room...The museum is really good. It has an excellent collection and the size of the gallery is manageable.

The Execution of Lady Jane Grey by Paul Delaroche

Portrait of a Boy Aged 11 by Jacob Van Oost

Later as I walked to the Underground a painting of birds in a gallery window caught my eye and I went in to see the work. It was part of a two-person show at ROA GAllery  with work by Daniel Shadbolt and Lucy Mellor. Both artists were present and I had a glass of wine with them as we chatted about the work. I really liked the pairing of the two styles and what a treat to talk with both artists.

ROA Gallery

 Parliament by Lucy Mellor

The Violinist by Daniel Shadbolt

Thanks for reading.

London! Enameled Books

My friend, Amanda, reminded me that an enameled books show we are in at Studio Fusion would open while I was in London. How cool! I made my books at Penland, one during a summer class I visited and the other in February in the textiles studio. (That was such a nice day. Amanda and I hung out together--I was making a book, she was threading looms.) The exhibition features the work of the Ele Annand, Beate Gegenwarte, Cath Fairgrieves, Jane Wells Harrison, Amanda Thatch, Barbara McFadyen, Elizabeth Turrell and Eileen Wallace. It's a great collection of styles from simple to complicated and I am pleased to be a part of such a great group, especially with some Penland friends. I have been interested in making books for years so this opportunity was a real treat, too.

one of my books

Amanda Thatch

Ele Annand

I created a set on Flickr that includes process shots along with more views of the show.

Thanks for reading.

London! Victoria and Albert Museum

Breast Ornament in gold and diamonds, probably France, 1620-30s

So I was in London for a week...I meant to blog during that time but was so tired at the end of each day I could barely make dinner for myself. Thus, now begins a series of London posts to catch you up! I'll begin with my trip to the Victoria and Albert Museum. Seeing the collection of historical jewelry at the V & A was my number one priority while in London and it far exceeded my expectations. The collection is arranged chronologically but begins with an overview that explains why we wear jewelry with examples to support each reason. Then the timeline starts with gold from ancient times and ends with contemporary examples from the 2000's. The collection is astonishing and I was thrilled to see pieces I have studied over the years. I was most excited to see the above brooch which I use in my lecture when I talk about my influences.

Then upstairs you can see a beautiful examples of folk jewelry from Northern Europe, men's accessories, chatelaines, and other unique pieces. My favorite was this pair of hummingbird head earrings.

Dior

While at the museum I also visited the fashion collection which includes jewelry and accessories. Then I just wandered from room to room...

burka with footed trousers from about 1850

this model explains embroidery

mille-fleur tapestry, 1500's, Flanders, Belgium

lace from the 1600's

plaster casts from the late 15th century

More pictures on Flickr.

Thanks for reading.