Catch-up Part Three: A Pin for a Favorite

"Keep it in the Can" was an exhibition of the work of Bob Ebendorf at Equinox Gallery in San Antonio, TX in May. Months before that I was invited, along with many other wonderful artists, to make a pin for a Commemorative Pin Exhibition in honor of Bob. It was a surprise for Bob, unveiled at the opening of his show, and participants were asked to keep it a secret until then.

my pin for Bob
photo by Tara Locklear

I admire Bob very, very much. He's an incredible artist, a generous teacher, a wonderful person, and has taught me much in our all too brief moments together. He gave me one of my first critiques as a new resident artist at Penland and he was my partner when we juried "Hot Under the Collar," my first foray into curating. I felt truly privileged to be included in the pin exhibition.

one of Bob's mixed-media brooches

Thanks for reading.

Catch-up Part Two: In Print!

Exceptional Jewellery by Pepin Van Roojen 
with two of my necklaces

A few books have been published in the recent past with images of my work inside...Two of my pieces even made the cover of one of them! Exceptional Jewellery features 30 international jewelers and includes images of our work, interview questions, and a portrait.

Off the Wall (curated by Tara Locklear and Bob Ebendorf) exhibition catalogue cover

 and an image of my piece, "Ache"

The catalogue includes images of each participating artist's work and an accompanying artist statement.
Images by Becky Parker.

New Earrings by Nicolas Estrada 

and one of several pairs of my earrings pictured inside

This book includes over 500 incredible earring designs by artists from all over the world. 

More images on Facebook.

Thanks for reading.

Catch-up Part One: More Teaching

This week I'm going to devote most of my posts to catching you up on a few things that happened here in the U.S. while I was traveling. But, today I want to briefly mention a few upcoming classes. In just over a month I head to The Ranch in Snohomish, WA to teach another two-day version of "Innovating the Chain." This will be my first time at The Ranch and after the wonderful two-day experience I had at Pullen Arts Center with the same class, I'm really looking forward to teaching again and checking out a new place. The class is September 7 and 8 from 10am-5pm. To register, call 360-568-7709.

Later at the end of the month I will teach "Innovating the Chain" again at Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts. This will be my second time at Arrowmont and I'm excited to go back. Arrowmont is a lovely place and everyone who works there is wonderful, so inviting and helpful. This class runs from September 22-28. You can register here.

detail of a student chain made at my Pullen Arts Center workshop

If you have any questions about these classes or would like more information, please feel free to email me at amy@amytavern.com

Thanks for reading.

Guest Star #121...Tobias Alm

I recently spent a bunch of time moving through page after page on Apparat and came upon the work of Tobias Alm. I was instantly attracted to the forms, the details, and the visual movement of his work. There is a lovely balance of the rough and refined in each piece, too,  and a clear sensitivity in the way the materials have been handled. I also read his statements and was so happy to learn of Tobias' interest in "objects showing signs of use, and marks of history,"  both things I am interested in and try to convey in my own work.

Thanks for reading.

A New Heirloom

I just finished a wedding ring set for some good friends in Seattle. Lee's ring is a classic style in 18K yellow gold and was a complete pleasure to make. I rarely get to work with 18K yellow gold and it is a dream of a material. It just works so beautifully. Lisa's ring was a rework of two family rings that she wanted to combine: a filigree band and a channel-set diamond band. I really love how this one turned out. The two pieces complement each other perfectly and Lisa's ecstatic reaction when she saw it for the first time echoed my thoughts.

Thanks for reading.

In the Works

Raissa Bump and I have been working separately and collaboratively for our upcoming exhibition, "Parallel Constellations" at Gallery Lulo. The process has been pretty wonderful so far and we are enjoying the challenges of developing and making new work. Next week I'll share more about our concepts and our process, but for now we want to share a little glimpse of what we've been up to...

The show opens on September 14.

Thanks for reading.

Innovating the Chain

working with Morgan Cassiano

I met Morgan in Certaldo, Italy a few months ago when I was teaching there and was so happy to have her in my class at Pullen!

I taught "Innovating the Chain" at Pullen Arts Center in Raleigh this past Saturday and Sunday. This was my first time teaching a two-day workshop and it went very, very well. I trimmed my week-long class syllabus to the most important aspects and still gave my students lots of time to work. I had a full class of ten and they were a really good group. Everyone was skilled already, they were hard workers, and they were a lot of fun. Most everyone knew each other already, too, so they got along great and knew how to move around the small, but well-equipped studio. 

I started the first day with a short PowerPoint on chains, showing unusual examples as I talked about different ways of constructing and using chain. I spoke about thinking differently and considering details that could make their pieces unique and stronger. Then we got to work with a few demos and some work time in the afternoon. I asked everyone to start designing a chain and stressed the importance of making samples before diving in. I met with students to talk about their individual designs and then just let them go.

chain-in-progress by Ndidi Kowalczyk

The next day I did a few quick demos in the morning and let students work all day. I really wanted them to finish their chain or get close. I met with students as needed and observed how they worked so I could suggest more efficient methods. By Sunday several students had a finished chain and the rest were well on their way.

On Saturday after class I gave a lecture on my work to a nice crowd of students, local jewelers, and community memners. The talk felt conversational and I answered some good questions at the end.

my bench

Then after class on Sunday I gave a lecture about Iceland and the work I made there to my class after several students asked to see pictures. It felt wonderful to tell my Iceland story and to share that experience with them.

Finally, Pullen is a community arts center with metals, ceramics, printing making, drawing and painting, and glass fusing. As I stated above the studio is small, but well-eqipped. It seemed to have practically everything and the tools are well-cared for. The space also has great natural light. Betty McKim who runs he metals program was ever-present and if I needed something she got it for me. I was so impressed! She also spent time in the class and made chains alongside the students and I really enjoyed having her there.

Thanks for reading.