Now THAT was good! ECU Symposium, Pt 1.5

Here's a much better image of Tina Lazarrine's beautiful Pink Cluster Brooch I mentioned in yesterday's post.

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Now THAT was good! ECU Symposium, Pt 1

There is so much to say about the ECU metals symposium "Material Topics: Shifting Traditions" which I attended over the weekend. In one word: fantastic. The event began Friday evening with two different openings including 20_3_20, an exhibition in which 20 different rings can be handled and tried on. My favorite rings were by Laura Wood and Joe Churchman. "Tin: The Element of Surprise" was also on view--alongside some great jewelry by Kat Cole, Marlene True, and Jane Wells Harrison, were several wall pieces by Margaret Couch Cogswell. Margaret just finished her Penland residency and since I have been missing her, I loved seeing her pieces. I also enjoyed the exhibition of student work. One of my favorite pieces was an enameled brooch by ECU grad student Tina Lazzarine. (Sorry I don't have a better image!) Finally, the display of Bob Ebendorf's spoon collection was fascinating to study.

Rings by Laura Wood and Joe Churchman from 20_3_20

student work exhibition

Brooch by Tina Lazzarine

Bob Ebendorf's spoon collection

I am still collecting my thoughts on the demonstrations and lectures and will write about them tomorrow.

More images on flickr.

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Guest Star #67...Michael Dale Bernard

Today's Guest Star is Michael Dale Bernard from Long Beach, CA and one of the presenter's at the ECU Metals Symposium this weekend. I visited Michael's site to see what he's been up to lately and was immediately drawn to his new work the "Wood Be Diamond Brooch Series": clusters of powder-coated hardwood '"diamonds" with enameled copper and steel components. There is something about his color palette that I find very appealing, the mix of bright, muted, and luster. The work is made from 75% recycled materials, too, which adds to the complexity of each piece--Michael is making representations of precious materials out of the discarded and found.


To see more of Michael's work visit his Flickr site.

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Shifting Traditions

Tomorrow I am off to Greenville, NC with friend, fellow jeweler, and traveling companion Angela Bubash, to attend the ECU Metals Symposium, "Material Topics: Shifting Traditions." The symposium, now in its second year, is packed with lectures and workshops. The lectures will be presented by Nicole Jacquard, Caroline Gore, Tom Muir, and Michael Dale Bernard, while workshops will be led by Dan Dicaprio, Lisa Johnson, Ken Bova, Tom Muir, Mi-Sook Hur, and Michael Dale Bernard. Rounding out the weekend are panel discussions, break-out sessions, and exhibitions. Angela and I will lead one of the break-outs to talk with attendees about our residencies.

In the fall I went to ECU to speak at the "Making a Living/Making a Life" conference and had an exceptionally good time. I am excited to have another opportunity to visit ECU metals and to see all the great people out there.

"Inheritance," brooch in silver and blackwood by
Dan DiCaprio

"Box Earrings, Green," in 18K gold, silk, and thread by
Caroline Gore

"R Sampler Brooch," in sterling silver, fine silver, and silk thread by
Nicole Jacquard

Check out the schedule here.

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It's the Little Things at Arrowmont

I will be teaching "It's the Little Things" this summer at Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts in Gatlinburg, TN. I am pleased to have another opportunity to teach this class. I loved teaching it at Penland last summer and I like that I can try it again at a new venue this year. The class will be basically the same, except I have replaced acid etching with a longer, more detailed discussion and demo on findings (clasps, earring wires, bales, chain, etc.). Findings are a great way to add the right finishing touches on any piece of jewelry so I want to delve into the topic even more this time around. In addition, I haven't been to Arrowmont before and I am excited to visit. My class runs from August 28-September 3, 2011. You can learn how to register here or see the full catalog online.

my class description

metals & enamel page from the catalog

love this nighttime image of the school

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Core Seminar/The Process Project

paper folding exercise from last winter

During the Spring and Fall Concentrations I taught Core seminar for Penland's Core Fellows; in the spring I led a discussion on process and this past fall we continued that conversation while also diving into some basic professional practices. The spring seminar topic stemmed from my interest in artist process, something I started to investigate during the winter through sample making, writing, and reading. When I began preparing for seminar I thought it would be helpful for Core Fellows to learn how other artists work as well as being equally helpful to me. So I turned to my artist friends working in different media for help and asked them to answer five questions:

What is your process?
How do you generate ideas?
How do you work through a block?
How do you begin a new piece or a new body of work?
Describe an average day in your studio.

I passed along their responses every Monday to my students, usually six or seven at a time. The following week they could comment or ask questions. We also spent each session talking about a different question accompanied by some written exercises.

For me both the seminar and the project were fascinating. I loved reading each response and could hear the artists' voices in my head as I read. I was most interested in the similarities and differences between us as makers and found myself often nodding my head or commenting out loud. They made me feel connected to other artists around the country no matter the age, medium, or level of success. In my correspondence with the participating artists, many said it was challenging for them to put their process into words, but they enjoyed it very much. They said it was great to think deeply about the questions and then get it all written down. The Core students also seemed to get a lot from reading and i think it helped them to describe what they do as well.

In the fall we revisited the questions. I wanted to know how things had changed after a summer of classes. The intense art making environment of the Penland summer helped them to clarify and solidify their own processes.

If you are interested in answering these questions for yourself, please do, and if you like, email me your responses. (amy@amytavern.com) I would love to read more answers!

To see more examples of my process, please visit my process set on flickr.

Thanks for reading.

Studio Visit: Jen Townsend

Over my Holiday break I spent a few days with my friend and fellow jeweler, Jen Townsend. Jen just moved into a new home and is still in the process of getting her studio space settled in. On top of that she had also just completed her big holiday push. It was great to see her space in transition alongside all the evidence of being one busy jeweler. The image above is a brand new piece titled "Pandora."

As a Christmas gift, Jen made me a copy of her favorite chasing tool. It makes great marks and will be perfect for adding detail and texture to my work. Thank you, Jen!

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