Guest Star #72...Christiane Kohne

Today's Guest Star,  Christiane Kohne, hails from Germany. When I first found her work I wasn't sure what the materials were (her website is in German), but was curious to find out. Luckily I found English captions on Klimt02 and confirmed what she has so cleverly used: artificial flowers! For some pieces, she cuts up the stems and binds them together with wire, while for others she pieces and layers lots of petals of one color together. I really love this use of the unexpected and the abstract compositions that result.

 

Be sure to check out her wonderful drawings, too.

Thanks for reading.

P.S. I just discovered Google translate. 

Courtney Starrett Solo Show

This is not Betty's Bundt Cake Recipe (Detail of Installation), sillicone rubber, vinyl and 

powder coated washers, upholstery tacks

On February 4 I went to Rock Hill,  SC with Angela Bubash to attend the opening reception of RubberMADE, the solo exhibition of Courtney Starrett. RubberMADE is a collection of colorful, cast plastic jewelry and objects inspired by Courtney's interest in the history of silicone rubber and its relationship with the culture of the 1950's. The pieces with titles like "This is not Betty's Bundt Cake Recipe" and "Almost Everyone Appreciates the Best" remark on life mid-century and post war. Some pieces have an organic, almost other-worldly feel, while others take a more rigid, recognizable shape. The display of the show was also fantastic--clear acrylic cut outs of an iconic image of a typical 1950's housewife.

Almost Everyone Appreciates the Best, silicone rubber

Strawberry-Kiwi Jello, silicone rubber, sintered nylon, stainless steel

All images by Zan Maddox at Social Design House.

The show is currently on view at Winthrop University's Patrick Gallery through March 25, 2011.

Thanks for reading.

I've Been Practicing My Knitting

Nearly every year I take up knitting in the winter and every year I get involved with others things and knitting gets left behind, unfortunately. Over the last couple of weeks however, I've been trying it once again. Every Wednesday during the winter here at Penland is "Textiles Wednesday" and the textiles studio coordinator, Megan Fluegel, leads a class in one of any number of textiles techniques. Knitting was the focus of the last two classes and I have been practicing away. Since I have knitting on my mind, I thought I would share one of my favorite knitters, Yokoo, who in addition to making incredible scarves and cowels, makes over-sized knitted chain necklaces.


 Thanks for reading.

Flip Book!

My friend Adam Whitney has metalwork in a show called "Tacit" currently on view at the Visual Arts Center in Richmond, VA. In addition to his brass and silver vessels, he also created an incredible flip book that demonstrates raising and chasing. Here's a video of the flip book in action:

 Please be sure to visit Adam's new website.

My friend Caitie Sellers is also a part of the show. You can check out her lovely book on Blurb and see her amazing work here.

Thanks for reading.

Metalsmith's Exhibition in Print

Cover of the 2010 EIP - "Neo-Palatial: Objects of Virtue and Vice" curated by Garth Clark

My work has been chosen for Metalsmith magazine's 2011 Exhibition in Print! EIP is the magazine's annual issue that features the work of both national and international metalsmiths in a special format, different from the publication's regular columns and articles. This year's exhibition was juried by Lola Brooks and Cindi Strauss and is titled "Fresh." This is a true honor for me and it's hard for me to express in words how excited I am. I also can't wait to find out about the other chosen artists. The issue comes out in the fall.


Thanks for reading.

Guest Star #71...Denise Julia Reytan

PAWPAW, rosequarz, cairngorm, silver, cabel, brass, plastic, rope, glass, etc.

I was very excited to find the work of Denise Julia Reytan (Berlin, Germany) while flitting around Twitter last week. I still haven't made it through the entirety of her dense website of jewelery, installations, and objects. Her jewelry is composed of layer upon layer of mixed-media and found objects like plastic toys, fragments of costume jewelry, and swatches of ribbon. Her dramatic use of color either in monochrome or polychrome shows an acute understanding and love of color and every piece is loaded with texture. One of my favorite non-jewelry sections found under Object is "Collagery," images of her personal collections and arrangements that are interesting to her. As a collector and arranger myself, I always find this sort of thing fascinating when I discover it in others.

STILTON, amazonit, amethyst, silver, stain steel, glass, plastic, rope, etc.

VERREAUXII, carneol, coral, cairngorm, rose quarz, garnet, silver, stainless steel, silicon, plastic, rope, etc.

FRU1TS, silicone, plastic, iron wire, ribbon, lace, etc.

from Collagery - "fascinating objects"

Thanks for reading.

Steel Wire Jewelry

I got my advance copy of Steel Wire Jewelry by Brenda Schweder today, another fine example of good mail. The book consists of jewelry projects using steel wire alongside plenty of useful information. I flipped through it moments ago and it looks really good with lots of great designs, like the "Sticks and Stones" necklace and "Meet 'n' Greet earrings--just a few I would like to try myself. The Scallop Link Necklace from my Steel + Gold Collection was published as a gallery image inside. You can pre-order your copy now.

Nice work, Brenda!

Sticks and Stones Necklace, page 44

Scallop Link Necklace

Thanks for reading.