here are the two brooches i made for masaaki shinko using his ceramic pieces for the latest "artist-to-artist" project. he asked for a brooch which i was delighted to hear - the brooch is my favorite type of jewelry to make these days. i ended up making him two different ones that feature one object each. i tried mixing the pieces together but in the end i felt they needed to stand alone. you can see more images on flickr. 
thanks for reading.
i am really pleased to present this month's jewelry of the month because it is a very special collaboration with a ceramic artist from japan. his name is masaaki shinko and he lives in tokyo. masaaki and i were introduced to each other through a flickr group we are both members of called “artist-to-artist.” for the past two months we have all been making jewelry for each other using objects sent from a different members. masaaki sent things to me, including three different types of ceramic objects. since he sent so many i got to thinking about collaborating with him for june. i asked him if he would be interested and he said yes right away. i think masaaki’s work is a wonderful mix of the quiet, modern, and handmade and i wanted my metalwork to echo and complement his style. i experimented with the different objects until i came up with june’s necklace, “east meets west.”
east meets west measures about 20” long and the beads are approximately 1.25” and 1.5” wide. the chain is oxidized sterling silver. using the pieces masaaki sent, i was able to make an edition of 4.
i'm in a flickr group called "artist-to-artist", a "small peer group to share feedback and encouragement about the making, selling, marketing, and sharing of our work." i joined awhile ago but didn't get involved until now. the members are participating in a collaboration called the "creative element swap". participants get an object from one person and send an object to another. then we make things for each other using the objects. i got a box of elements from masaaki shinko who lives in tokyo, japan. masaaki is a ceramic artist. the box included 3 different styles of elements - 3 dimensional stars and two different styles of beads. masaaki said i can use whatever i like and keep the rest for myself. the packaging alone was incredible and it was so fun to open.
i'm not sure which pieces i will use yet or how, they are all very beautiful and interesting to me. i need to spend some time with them and away from them. i am looking forward to making whatever it is i will make, though! i think this will be really fun and a great way for me to separate myself from my other work, explore, and experiment.
i will be sending my element off to shand stamper in greenville, nc today. i chose this small rusty blade. i have a small collection of these and i think i will make a piece as shand work's. i am curious to see the similarities and differences in our pieces in the end. 
thanks for reading.
