reve(name)lations ...

A couple of weeks ago I had the privilege to attend a workshop by the renowned enamel specialist Elizabeth Turrell (UK) in Perth, as a part of the JMGA conference. It was an amazing experience. Hello fellow enamelists around Australia and back in Bristol : ) A fellow jeweller, Melissa Cameron, talks about the workshop in her blog, too, and check out the beautiful images of work also!

In short, liquid enamel on steel is my new passion. It is like painting and drawing, but on metal and glass. I love it.

Here are a few small samples (90 x 90 mm) from the three intensive and unforgettable days, and a very recent attempt (this afternoon at rmit) which began my experiments with enamel on 3D steel objects, for a silversmithing research project.










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not that kind

25/04/10

Brunswick West 25 April 2010, sky changing within half an hour

Life as a jewellery student 1: Imagination / Survival

imagination / survival (2008) steel wire, polymer clay

While processing new photos, I've been able to have a look again through the picture archival from the two and a bit years past. A little time in between then and now adds a certain tenderness and mercy to the way we look at things … there was a lot of emotion and learning, plenty of sweat and tears, which went into this first semester piece.

I thought about this work as a "portable garden", something that could be a physical manifestation of imagination, and also a place to seek comfort in, to hide in sometimes.

– Click on the images for more detail –

April sky in Perth

Going to Perth felt like going home, this time. It was exhausting and beautiful.
Images from the post-conference workshop by master enamellist Elizabeth Turrell soon …

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

who knows where the time goes

Across the evening sky, all the birds are leaving
But how can they know it's time for them to go?
Before the winter fire, I will still be dreaming
I have no thought of time

For who knows where the time goes?
Who knows where the time goes?

Sad, deserted shore, your fickle friends are leaving
Ah, but then you know it's time for them to go
But I will still be here, I have no thought of leaving
I do not count the time

For who knows where the time goes?
Who knows where the time goes?

And I am not alone while my love is near me
I know it will be so until it's time to go
So come the storms of winter and then the birds in spring again
I have no fear of time

For who knows how my love grows?
And who knows where the time goes

Sandy Denny

when that foghorn blows, you know I will be coming home

In Memoriam, Sid Fleischman 1920-2010

Sid in Santa Monica Mall, Feb 2009

Sid Fleischman,

A gentleman at first; a well loved children's writer and a fast defender of humour; a professional magician with amazing tricks, a legend of a host who invited us to the one and only Magic Castle, and who still has cards glued to his ceiling … A Hollywood screen writer who worked with the brightest of stars; a boy at heart who fought in the Navy during WWII; the kindest person there ever was…

And a friend to me and my husband, I'm honoured to say. Rest in peace and keep up the mischief Sid! You are dearly missed.

I'll post more pictures & memories as soon as I get them up and into the computer.

xxx

Sid's official website

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 +