The Pearl Piece

As I mentioned on Tuesday, I'm developing work for my Sienna solo show here in Iceland. One of the pieces I'm working on will be made with pearls, which I am completely taken with right now. I love their luminous quality and the many shapes they come in, but I also love them for the way they are formed. A pearl begins with some kind of irritant and, over time, layer upon layer of iridescent calcium carbonate builds up around this irritant as a defense mechanism. I see pearls as glorified callouses or scars, forms of protection. They also represent years of hard work and tenacity, and when complete, they are a rare, beautiful thing. I see pearls as a symbol of the experience of life.

My pearl piece will be made using a variety of white and off-white pearls, both real and fake, round and natural, that I've been collecting for years. And this brings me to the most exciting part: I would also like to collect pearls from you.

packages of dirt from 23 of my closest friends

We Walk on the Same Ground

Last year I made the piece "We Walk on the Same Ground" for my exhibition "I Live Here Now" in which I asked my closest friends to send me dirt from where they live. I love the participatory aspect of this piece and I believe it makes it more compelling and personal. It's a combination of the experiences of dear friends and me. I would like to try this concept once again now by combining my own pearls with pearls from friends, family, colleagues, strangers, and people who like my work. I like the idea of the materials coming from a myriad of sources from places far and wide. They will bring beautiful, complex layers to the work, and mimic the process of how a pearl itself forms.

So, please join me now... please send me one pearl. It can be white or off-white, real or fake, round or natural, something you own already, or something you purchase for this piece. It can be a bead or it can be whole. You can mail it to me in the U.S. to the following post office box:

Amy Tavern

P.O. Box 1895

Richfield Springs, NY 13439

USA

If you would like to participate please mail your pearl to me by March 4, 2015. I will return to my studio to make this piece shortly after that and will collect all the pearls then. If you have any questions, please feel free to email me at atavern@gmail.com. I do hope you will consider participating!

Thanks for reading.

February at SÍM

I'm very happy to be back at SÍM in Reykjavík. I'm in my "old" space with that spectacular view of the sea, and given the winter weather, it's even more variable than over the early summer when I was here last. I love working in this spot. I love watching the clouds roll in and listening to the waves crash against the break wall.

I'm working on two new pieces for my upcoming solo exhibition at Sienna Gallery as well as developing the overall concept for the show, writing my artist statement, planning logistics, and so on. However, I won't make either piece until I return to the U.S.; this is just the research/thinking/writing part of my process. In addition to this work, I'm also taking my long walks, working with new found objects, making small drawings with horse hair, creating more videos, and, of course, shooting many, many photographs.

image of my view when I started writing this post

desk detail

image still from a video made in Blönduós

 horse hair drawing in my sketchbook

my latest finds from a low tide walk along the sea

image of my view when I was done writing this post, 

after about 20 minutes

Thanks for reading.

Solo at Sienna

I am thrilled to announce my upcoming solo exhibition at Sienna Patti. The show will run from April 4-30, 2015. I will be showing sculptural works and a catalog will be published. I find myself with few words right now. I'm just so excited and nervous, and still a little stunned. I do look forward to sharing the exhibition with you as the time approaches...

Thanks for reading.

RISD Visit

I took a little drive to Providence, RI on Wednesday to spend the day with a senior jewelry BFA professional practices class. I gave a lecture about my career and my work and then answered questions about my process, business practices, residencies and more. We had several hours to talk and it was fantastic to connect with them. The class is lead by Jennaca Davies and she was a wonderful host as she toured me around RISD's impressive facilitates. She also made a point to take me to the Edna W. Lawrence Nature Lab, an all-in-one cabinet of curiosities and library. I could have spent hours there just pouring over every single specimen from moss to jaw bones. Finally, I made a stop in Lenox, MA to visit Sienna Gallery. This was my first time there and it did not disappoint. I loved seeing the work of Daniel Kruger, whose solo exhibition "Angle of Incidence" is currently on view.

the work of Daniel Kruger at Sienna Gallery

forming room at RISD

skeletons at the Nature Lab

moss and lichen at the Nature Lab

seed pods at the Nature Lab

Thanks for reading.

SOFA chicago!

sienna gallery is exhibiting a group of my spray painted pieces at SOFA chicago this weekend including the necklace posted above. i am incredibly excited to say the very least.

sienna will be at booth 1304 and the show runs november 5-7.

thanks for reading.

new work for sienna gallery

in early august i made three new regal graffiti pieces for sienna gallery. i began by repeating two different designs - the four-teardrop pendant and the large medal-style pendant. i wanted to revisit these designs to see what else i could do as working in series can be a helpful tool. this time i discovered a few things by making "mistakes" - i did more masking of large areas with paper and when i lifted the paper it stuck to a few spots, peeling some paint away. at first i was frustrated but then i quickly realized these spots could create some interesting effects if i layered more paint on top of them. i was delightfully surprised when i started scratching and sanding a few days later. the final surface reminds me of the cracked and repainted ceilings in a former apartment of mine. i also tried creating stripes on another piece by repeating the same sanded mark around the edge of each element.

more detail shots on flickr.

thanks for reading.

exhibitions and openings

tonight is the opening reception for delicate beauty at the penland gallery from 7-8:30. i am really excite to attend - it's a beautiful show.

the stimulus project at sienna gallery is now online. you can see all 80 artists' work including mine at the sienna gallery website.

thanks to arthur hash for the great picture of my work in one of the tool chest displays. you can see more images of the show here.

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.

sienna gallery

i am very, very excited to announce that sienna gallery is going to represent my work this summer! sienna is one of my favorite contemporary studio jewelry galleries and represents many of my jewelry heros. sienna will be showing my current studio jewelry series, line drawings. i will be able to make new work in this series which will be my top priority when i return from greece. what a fantastic task to come home to!

raissa bump

jimena rios

lina peterson

susie ganch

melanie bilenker

esther knobel

biba schutz

thanks for reading.

drawing on metal

since i have been trying to draw with metal and due to my personal interest in line drawings of late, i have been noticing all kinds of jewelry with drawings. i find this stuff so interesting so i started collecting images a few weeks ago...

this first image is a brooch by kristin beeler. this drawing is ink on mother of pearl. you can find lots of other pieces at velvet da vinci. along with work like the piece shown here, you will also see some etched drawings and what looks like scrimshaw. all the drawings are very simple and very delicate.

here is a brooch by esther knobel - sterling silver with perforated (drilled) drawing sewn with iron wire. this is from the fantastic series "the mind in the hand." see more at sienna gallery.












joanna gollberg - these sterling silver earrings with little perforated drawings of familiar shapes are sewn with plastic thread and are one of many of jo's experiments.

ps...joanna just blogged about a a similar concept. check it out here.







iris eichenberg... more examples of perforated drawings - "heimat brooch" in sterling and bone. please also click here to see a perforated and stitched necklace by iris eichenberg.





so, like all my posts on pop-out/pop-up jewelry, i will continue to post images of work that include drawing on metal as i find them.

thanks for reading.

guest star friday no. 5...lina peterson

as with last week's guest star, sybille richter, i just found the fantastic experimental work of swedish maker, lina peterson. lina uses mixed materials (metal, textiles) and techniques (metalsmithing, crocheting, sewing, dip-coating) to create her sculptural pieces. i love her use of color, texture, and abstract forms. it seems she's investigating how her chosen materials (and their varying characteristics) and the process of making relate to one another. her work also seems very personal and intimate and i absolutely adore it. you can see more images of her jewelry at her website and at sienna gallery's website.

the above pictures (both brooches) are from sienna gallery's site.
top - "crocheted brooch" in oxidized sterling and cotton.
bottom - "stitched brooch" in textile, thread, and plastic dip-coated metal.

just lovely.

thanks for reading.