One hundred rings of solitude

Life as a jewellery student, part 2:

This work belongs to a first year project at RMIT for which I made myself a set of rules: No drawing or sketching (my usual escapes), just model making from materials that might be unfamiliar to me, seeing if I could create one hundred different rings. How many I ended up with? 80? I still haven't counted.

I remember that all this began from turning wire in a state of confusion about what a "contemporary look" might be, a concept so prevalent in the first year "art jewellery" discussions. I thought at the time that if I blast out something highly asymmetric, warped and quite monochromatic, preferably black and plasticky, avoiding precious metals, surely I'll succeed – in an ironic way. But as I kept working, the pissed-offness at the notion of "contemporary = cliched" wore off, and the project became a fun experiment which I still like to look at.

Confusion remains, but in such a different way now : )

– Click each row if you'd like a closer look –

A Mysterious Disappearance: New work, part 1

"All we know about your great grandmotheris that, apparently one day,she wandered off into the snowand never came back.

They say she was wearing
nothing but
her favourite pieces of jewellery.

And a hat."

















Into the snow (Inari Kiuru 2010)
Pendant, Earrings, RingFound objects (rusted can lids, a driven-over jeans' button, two squashed safety pins that I altered into mini-ornaments, resin, cotton thread with araldite, 18c gold, brass, enamel paint

So, our first semester of the year is over! As promised, I'll post pictures of my work over the weekend, and will start with the smallest of the pieces made.

This project for our Jewellery subject at RMIT was to re-create a "lost" piece of jewellery. My inspiration was the above photo and the images I got when inspecting the white resin pieces I had made earlier as a part of a material investigation. The rusted parts were in the collection of my found objects, as was the ring stand and the parts to make the ring; they seemed to go beautifully together.

PS. Sunday 27 June: Sorry for random addings of images – I'm archiving the work for myself as well as recording it here, and updating the posts as I have a chance to clean up images etc.
: )

Click on the images for a larger view and better detail.
photo © Harvey Brothers (?)

melbourne morning – a pin for perth

I feel very happy and very lucky to be going to the 14th biannual JMGA Conference from 9-11 April (this coming weekend) in Perth. So many great guest speakers and exhibitions to look forward to!

This is a pin I've made for the traditional pin swap–hoping it's not supposed to be a secret–with a Melbourne morning in mind … wood, brass, steel, enamel paint and 925 silver, very light and quite tiny in size. Maybe it also works as an antenna to tune into some things?

Can't wait to visit my old stomping grounds and catch up with the jewellers who originally pointed me to the right path, especially the amazing teachers with hearts of pure gold, Brenda Ridgewell, Claire Townsend and Sarah Elson.

four odd brooches

Here are the rest of the brooches which were born as a result of combining treated plastics with metal and organic, found materials (RMIT jewellery work for this semester). Together with the "blue and yellow brooch", shown in an earlier post and again below, these pieces form a little series which I think of as an "odd garden" – each of them a strange plant of mixed origins. A bit like myself, really.

As always, click on the images for better detail.







Odd 1, 2010, stone, 925, steel wire, melted medicine cup, acrylic paper, 110 mm






Odd 2, 2010, wood, 925, melted laboratory plastic, silk, enamel paint, 120 mm






Odd 3, 2010, 925, 18ct gold, brass, steel wire, melted medicine cup, crayon, silk, rubber,
60 mm






Odd 4, 2010, 925, 9ct gold, laboratory plastic, silk, brass, acrylic paint, varnish, 110 mm






Odd 5 (blue and yellow brooch), 2010, 925, steel wire, laboratory plastic, silk, oil paint

burned brooch

Blue and amber brooch (2010) 100 mm x 20 mm x 35 mm
found object, plastic, oil paint, silk, 925

For our first jewellery project at RMIT this semester, I've been playing with plastics, melting and combining them with bits and pieces of other materials, mainly found objects. I used to really resent plastic as a substance, for several reasons, mainly prejudice I guess, but have come to think that the recyclability, affordability, range of colours, and the "organic" accidents which can occur while moulding the pieces are quite interesting. The toxicity however still worries me, and it might be for a while yet before I run tests in the home oven again : /

I found the amber coloured translucent component in a burned house, late last year, and made the clear piece by subjecting laboratory grade acrylic to high heat (yes, our oven on 210+C!!), with silk and blue paint encapsulated. The pin is sterling silver, and as the images reveal, got lots to learn in this department still. But what I really love, and can never get tired of, is the surprise, beauty and inspiration that randomly picked up, seemingly worthless (abandoned, discarded, even partly destroyed) objects can provide, both as themselves, and together with unexpected others.

+ Click on the images for better detail +

blue wood

Silver linings. Found on the way home today, after a random decision to hop off the tram one stop early, to walk a bit. Normally I never look into the flower beds of the Coles front car park (do you?), but today I did. I love the worn paint and the chipped shapes. It's like these pieces somehow mysteriously shipwrecked all this way inland … landing under the scrawny bushes between Paul's Chinese Kitchen and Liquorland.

found in translation – RMIT Gold & Silversmithing 1st and 2nd years' end of year exhibition!

Annual exhibition of jewellery and hollow ware
by RMIT University’s first and second year
gold & silversmithing students

4–13 November 2009
Opening Wednesday 4 November 5–7pm

RMIT School of Art Gallery
Building 2, Bowen Street, off LaTrobe Street
Gallery hours: Monday to Friday 10–5pm

*
So, our assessment is over (hello again, blog, friends, family! I'll post pictures of new work as I get the photos and pieces sorted out a bit), and life is flooding back to the weary body and mind again, slowly but surely.

It's always a really emotional time for me, the last day of uni, from the culmination of strong energies and the notion of something ending. But hey, only four months, seven days and thirteen hours since we can go back again!! Hehe! Thank you for everyone who lended tissues and warm hands during the tearful afternoon. I love you guys, and can't wait to be making things together throughout the summer : )

But the end is not at hand yet really, the end of year exhibition looming just around the corner. Still heaps to do, but it will be great! This year we have a greatest number of students involved for a long time, 31 all together, so should be an interesting and varied collection of pieces.

Here's our invite, I designed it and am very happy about how it turned out. Click on the image if you want a clearer / larger view. We wanted something graphic this year and thought that a little playful DIY would not go amiss (and wait for our fabulous plinths that have been designed and made by our exhibition design team, too!). The image also speaks of our theme – anything can be found in translation, the process, in discovering new ways of doing things, in looking at the world from a different angle. Jewellery can be anything, anywhere …

Welcome to our opening on next Wednesday, please find all the info below.
More soon, nice to be back.

*
School of Art Gallery details:
Phone: 03 9925 4971
Email: schoolofartgalleries@rmit.edu.au
Website: schoolofartgalleries.dsc.rmit.edu.au
Curator/Coordinator: Stephen Gallagher
Administration/web design Andrew Tetzlaff

Artists:
year 1:
aurelia yeomans
clementine edwards
danica moorcroft
eideann lear
joelle peters
kate peterson
katie jayne britchford
khyran randall-demllo
laura barlow
lin lin
loredana ducco
lucinda knight
rachel fares
rebecca bartha
ruby aitchison
sarah wallace
wendy korol
yasmin hackett

year 2:
allona goren
alysha batliwalla
bin dixon-ward
chloë powell
colly yichieh lu
courtney jackson
ev liong
inari kiuru
kim wearne
marcos guzman
romy mittelman
sarah fletcher
soojeong jo

Our press release:

Found in Translation showcases the jewellery and hollowware made by first and second year students who are currently studying Gold and Silversmithing in the School of Art at RMIT University. The title of the exhibition reflects the ever-constant battle these developing artists wage in their endeavour to translate material and concept into object, whilst finding their individual voices within a thriving local and international gold and silversmithing community. Please join the students in celebrating the outcome of (many) hours of labor involving flaming torches, red-hot kilns and filed fingertips during this highlight of the School of Art Gallery exhibition calendar.

For media enquiries, contact: Mark Edgoose Coordinator Undergraduate Gold and Silversmithing School of Art, RMIT University 9925 3540 / mark.edgoose@rmit.edu.au