It's Been 10 Years, Part 3

working on Bruised, Once Broken in my Penland studio

photo by Dana Moore

An important and unexpected part of the last ten years is my fascination with artist process. When I began my Penland residency in 2009 I planned to figure out the details of how and why I make my work. I remember writing in my sketchbook a list of all the ways I might try to figure some stuff out. It included daily drawing, reading about jewelry, writing about my work, and various hands-on, exploratory exercises. I'm not sure where this all came from but I feel like I composed the list by thinking about what I dreamed of doing in the studio and never had time for. Then I started to tackle my plan in a very deliberate way.

One winter in particular, I structured my day with a variety of tasks and followed a routine. I made one-hour pieces and did other time-based exercises. I read books on the history of jewelry and studied the work of contemporary jewelers. I thought about my work and I wrote it all down. I did the same round of activities nearly every day and by the end of the winter and I had tons of information at my finger tips. Then I realized I could use this information to my advantage. I was beginning to discover where my ideas were coming from and why, I understood the basic steps I took each time I made a new piece, and I knew what to do when I felt stuck.

Then process became my "thing." I wrote a memoir-style essay for a magazine about how I began to discover my process and lead Penland's Core Fellows through eight weeks of process during their core seminar. I went on to teach workshops at a number of places from Seattle, WA to Certaldo, Italy. In turn, I realized how much I love seeing how other artists work and truly enjoy helping people discover their own methods. Process has come to have its own identity in my work, too. It is often part of my concept as a ritual or some integral component that I choose to leave exposed.

Every artist has their own unique process, but I believe there are some universal basics. I share my personal experience as a way to guide others and I encourage my students to be open and to try everything. I also tell them some parts will be easy and some will be a struggle. I usually discover more about my own process every time I lead my 3D-sketching exercise or have my students make a list of 50 things that inspire them. I love digging deep and questioning and doing so only serves to make me better at what I do. Thinking back now, I am so excited about all of this and I know that what I found in the last ten years is just the beginning.

paper model for the piece

the completed piece

There are tons of pictures of process on my Flickr page and here are links to process images from I Live Here Now and In Between, my most recent work.

Thanks for reading.

Remembering Older Work

Breaking Apart, plastic, sterling silver, 2002

Last night I spent a few hours on the internet searching for sculptural jewelry for a PowerPoint I will show in my upcoming class at Penland. As I flitted around Pinterest looking for bracelets, I came across one I made in 2002. I haven't thought about this piece, or the series it was a part of, for a long time and it was interesting to be reminded. I started thinking about what it was and what it wasn't, where my ideas came from and how I'm still working with some of the same stuff that inspired me then. I also thought about what I would change now or keep the same. I thought about how I fabricated each piece and I remembered struggling with some of the techniques. At that time I was interested in minimalism, space, Japanese pop art and Scandinavian design. My pieces were formal and more about design than concept. I like some of these older pieces a lot, and others I cringe at. The beginning is an interesting place to reflect on.

See more older pieces here.

Thanks for reading.

The Barns 2011

Like Home No. 1 and No. 2

A new resident artist show, "The Barns 2011," opens at the Penland Gallery this Friday. I installed my Silhouettes on one of the walls last week and it's wonderful to see them in an offical gallery setting versus in my studio. They are accompanied by two new necklaces and a brooch. The silhouettes for the necklaces are among those in the installation so people can see the connection between my process and my finished pieces. I also turned a small silhouette into a wearable brooch by making a prong setting for it. This is an idea I have been considering for a long time and there will be more in the future.

 

a silhouette brooch

 uninstalling the wall in my studio

 a mock-up installation of a selection of silhouettes on the gallery floor

a process shot with title idea

Lots more pictures of the installation at the gallery, my process, and the finished works on Flickr.

The Barns: 2011

Work by Penland's current resident artists
September 27- November 27
Reception: Friday, September 30, 7:00 - 8:30 pm

Penland Gallery

Thanks for reading.

An Enameled Book

 front cover

I spent some time in the metals studio this week with Elizabeth Turrell and Eileen Wallace who have been teaching the class "Enameling for Books and More." I've been interested in book making for a long time and finally had a chance to learn how to build a simple book, made even more exciting for me because I got to make a metal book. I began by chopping up some steel into 2" x 2" pieces and brushed each with liquid enamels (just like I did a year ago in Helen Carnac's class). I used a scribe to draw on each, creating a sketch that linked from page to page. I had some problems with a few of the panels during firing and thought they were unusable until Elizabeth suggested I sandblast them. So I played around with sandblasting, removing material in specific places. Then I added more enamel, re-fired, and tried to reveal a little of the layers underneath as I smoothed the surfaces with an abrasive pad. What resulted is a wintry landscape that felt more like my work than my original plan for a simple linked drawing. Once each panel was complete I made an accordion style book with book cloth and Gudy V, a very sticky and strong sheet adhesive.

 pages

back cover

I loved enameling again after a year and it was fantastic to learn something new outside of my medium! It was also such a treat to be in the studio again with Elizabeth and to spend time with Eileen.

Lots more images on Flickr of the book and a few other samples.

Thanks for reading.

Summer Studio, New Residents

The residents had our first summer open house last Friday. I took some time to rearrange a little, edit furniture, and redisplay my work. More on Flickr.

We have four new residents - Robin Johnson (texiles/weaving), Tom Shields (furniture/wood), David Eichleberger (clay), and Gwendolyn Yoppolo (clay).  Please do visit these links to see and learn more - they all make incredible work and I am excited to be here with them!

 Tom

 Gwendolyn

Robin

 David

Thanks for reading.

All You Can Eat

 

On Monday I started to sample Lola Brook's spring concentration class, All You Can Eat. In the morning everyone shared images of their work and inspirations. In the afternoon we shared our most prized possessions and talked about why we chose them. Lola asked us to write an essay before class about our object and gave us a list of questions to consider. (How did we acquire it? What does it mean to us? What does it mean to posses something? Etc.) I chose a locket that once belonged to my grandmother. I enjoyed this exercise and was especially excited about it because I've been so curious about the meaning of objects. (see Evocative Objects.) It was fascinating to listen to the other students talk about their objects as everyone brought something different to table. Then we drew numbers from a hat and took turns selecting from a pile of wrapped packages. Once we had unwrapped and then swapped back and forth a bit, we were instructed to make something wearable with our object. I got a package of plastic strawberry paper clips which I altered and clustered on a safety pin.

More pictures on Flickr.

Thanks for reading.

Thoughts on Twigs and Trees

March is here and so is the beginning of the third and final year of my residency. Needless to say, time flies and I can’t believe I only have a year left. I would like to share my thoughts on this subject with all of you, but honestly, there is just too much to say and I'm not able to quantify or define it succinctly in words yet. Instead, I want to talk about the twig necklace pictured above.

I took my first Penland class in the summer of 1999. The class, “Intimate/Monumental,” was taught by Heather White van Stolk and focused on casting. I cast many natural objects over those two weeks and made a series of rings, necklaces, and brooches. On the first day Heather asked us to collect materials around the Penland campus and to make a wearable piece of jewelry using them. This twig necklace is the piece I made that day and is very special to me. It marks the beginning of my relationship with Penland and is the ultimate souvenir from a pivotal moment in my life. Looking at it now, it also symbolizes some of the fundamental interests that are still important to me now: line, asymmetry, and simplicity.

As I embark on these next 12 months I will be looking at this necklace as an important reminder of so many things. I will also be thinking about something a friend said once about looking at one tree at a time instead of the whole forest. One tree keeps things in perspective, while the whole forest can be overwhelming. I believe this will be my mantra for 2011.

Thanks for reading.

what a day!

transistor brooch by caitie sellers, sterling and steel

yesterday was one of those special penland days for me. it began with a demonstration in the metals studio lead by david anderson, a goldsmith from taos, nm. david is the visiting artist in julia woodman's concentration metals class and julia was kind enough to invite me to watch. the metals studio at school just got a new 25-ton electric hydraulic press and david showed us how to use it. the demo began with hydraulic press basics, an excellent refresher for me. then later in the afternoon he showed us how to do some anticlastic raising with it. it's a pretty incredible machine. techniques that normally take countless hours can be done in minutes. the bracelet by david posted here was formed using the press after the stones were set. awesome!

bracelet by david anderson, sterling, 18K gold, garnets

woven majesty tea service by julia woodman, sterling silver

next i went upstairs where lisa colby is teaching a one-week beginning jewelry class and listened to rhonda and elijah wyman talk about their business, figs and ginger. rhonda and elijah were visiting because their friend and employee, caitie sellers, is lisa's assistant. (caitie was also my assistant at penland.) it was great to hear them talk about how they make it work. caitie and i toured them around school after ward.

whale charm necklace by figs and ginger, sterling silver

finally, i went to lisa's instructor slide talk. i really like her work and have for awhile. she has a great design sense and i like her textures and use of repetition. i got to spend some time with her that evening along with some of her students, caitie, and adam whitney.

bracelet by lisa colby, sterling silver

what a great day!

thanks for reading.

pins for the core fellows

the opening for the penland core fellows' annual exhibition was this past friday. the day of the show has become quite a celebration around here. core students have a special dinner prepared for them, they are given handmade gifts, staff members and others volunteer to do their jobs, they are chauffeured around in a hilarious theme-decorated van, there's an opening reception, a roast, and a party. it is definitely one of my favorite times here and this years exhibition is truly remarkable. i was astounded when i saw it for the first time friday afternoon. during spring concentration i taught core seminar, an hour-long weekly class, and the fellows liked it so much, they asked me to come back. i am now teaching during this fall's concentration. needless to say, i have become quite fond of all of them. they are a wonderful group of incredibly talented artists. i was one of the people who made them mementos this year for the show. i made a brooch for each fellow, personalized with materials or imagery that they like and that reminds me of them. it was great fun to figure out the perfect material for each person and even more fun to see their reactions when they opened them up.

pin for rosie with layers of waxed paper cut with scallop scissors

here's a list of the current core students with links, if available:

ele annand
daniel beck
jason bige burnett
leah frost
jessica heikes
ian henderson
rosina saqib
amanda thatch
mark warren

the show runs through november 14 at the penland gallery. it's a beautiful show and a must-see of you live nearby or find yourself in the area.

more images of the pins on flickr.

thanks for reading.

UGA studio visit

on saturday mary hallam pearse and a group of metals students from the university of georgia at athens came to visit me in my studio. i gave an hour long talk and did some question and answer. it was great to meet them and share my experience with them. it's always good for me to talk to groups - it gets a little bit easier with every experience and i find i'm learning to organize my thoughts better and hone my comments. my studio was one of several during the visit - they also went to see angela bubash, joanna gollberg, hoss haley, and adam whitney, who also showed them around the penland campus.

neckpiece in sterling silver by mary hallam pearse

thanks for reading.

studio portrait

august was a busy month and i was not able to keep up with everything here on the blog...so begins a series of catch-up posts. if i remember correctly, early in the month a tour visited the barns accompanied by rob bousa of rob and roberston imaging from charlotte, nc. rob has been working on a portrait project of artists in their studios and he took a bunch of pictures of me in action that day. the above image is the one he chose to publish and i like it a lot. i like that you can see my work space, i like the lighting, and i like that it's not fussy in any way, just a good likeness in my favorite place.

check out more of the portrait series, including a picture of my friends, devin burgess (also a penland resident artist) and his assistant, mike krupiarz at work and another of mike rossi in the penland iron studio.

thanks for reading.

teaching part 5

textured bangles (hammered, chased) with riveted clasp
by sarah james

my class ended on saturday. we cleaned the studio and had a class show and tell together, followed by a school show and tell with all the students. i am very excited about the pieces my class made and how hard they worked. like i said a few days go, i gave them a lot of information over those 5 days and they responded with energy, enthusiasm, and hard work. i had a great time teaching them and spending time with them. i have posted an image of a piece by each student and added lots more on flickr. teaching a one week class was challenging - it's not a lot of time and i think it's very important to strike a balance between demonstrations and work time, structure and freedom. having such a fantastic group made things a lot easier, though!

mushroom rings (dapped, hammer texture) by alexis dunfee

"C" ring (etched/roll printed) by chris keener

etched minimalist pendant with tab setting by stacey lanning

box necklace with etched/roll printed text & gold details
by lisa shepard (work-in-progress)

roll printed, dapped, and riveted copper pendant by kathleen franza

contemporary sandblasted earrings with burnished edge detail
by pam adan

leaf cuff (roll printed, hammered, oxidized) with keum bo detail
by joann graham

deconstructed plaid brooch by joyce dunfee
(roll printed, work-in-progress)

unfortunately, i was not able to get any pictures of annetta brady's final work because she had to leave early on saturday. annetta made some great pieces with modern, minimal geometric patterns and details.

thanks for reading.

teaching part 4

yesterday i showed my students keum bo and gold leafing. keum bo is a korean technique of fusing pieces of thin gold to sterling silver. i also demo-ed leafing, an inexpensive low-tech alternative. this was a fun demo to teach. not only because keum bo is such a cool technique with beautiful results, but also because we got silly and leafed a few random things in the studio, like the cap of the peroxide bottle from the first aid cabinet.

kuem bo sample

gold leaf on peroxide bottle cap

more on flickr.

thanks for reading.

teaching part 3b

yesterday i showed my students acid etching, a long demonstration with many steps. it makes for an intense demo because of it's many parts but also because of the fact that acid is involved which for some students can be a little scary. once the demo was over i asked everyone to prepare a few pieces for etching and to have at least 3 etched by 10am the next day for our daily show and tell. they got to work immediately and did not waste any time. the studio felt like a bee hive. then this morning they shared their pieces and yet again i was very pleased with what they had made. this is a hard working group.


more on flickr.

thanks for reading.

teaching part 3

this morning when i arrived at school

we started today by "unearthing" our samples from the tobacco and sawdust mixtures we made on tuesday. the sawdust yielded some great blues but the tobacco was rather un-inspiring. the salt and ammonia was also pretty dramatic.

samples from tobacco (see top, bottom left) and sawdust (all others), both mixed with ammonia and vinegar

salt and ammonia

more on flickr.

thanks for reading.