Exhibition - Redefining the San Andreas Faultline: Women Jewelers

It's been a while since I've visited
Southern California, and I admit
missing all sorts of cultural events and festivals.
But I don't miss the earthquakes!

There is an exhibition currently on view called,

Redefining the San Andreas Faultline: Women Jewelers

that runs until October 27

at the Craft in America Study Center

in Los Angeles.
 

Curated by Carolyn Benesh,

Co-editor of Ornament Magazine,

an international magazine on wearable art,

this exhibition is described as, 

Showcasing a stellar line-up of nine of California's

boldest and brightest female jewelry artists.

Taking inspiration from California's natural landscape

and environment of creative experimentalism,

their work expands the definition of wearable art

in the twenty-first century.

. . . Redefining the San Andreas Faultline

will demonstrate how California's creative edge

in art and design, dating from the

mid-twentieth century,

includes the individualistic characteristics of

women studio jewelers

who challenge themselves through their work by

experimenting and redefining the possibilities

of jewelry, its role and meaning, into the

second decade of the twenty-first century.

 

Participating artists include:
 

Harriete Estel Berman, Petra Class,
Karen Gilbert, Carol Webb, Alexandra Hart,
Marianne Hunter, Valerie Mitchell,
 Marne Ryan, and Christina Smith.

 

 

This exhibit serves as a seismograph of the
influential contributions

 made by these jewelry artists,

and just as the San Andreas Fault occasionally

redefines the landscape by being the source

of most of the serious earthquakes

occurring in California, these artists have made

 an equally profound impact on the

 landscape of the art jewelry world.

 

These artists are among those of the highest magnitude.

Each has created a seismic shift by demonstrating

levels of creativity and inspiration that go

off the Richter scale.

(Ok, enough with the earthquake metaphors.)

 

Redefining the San Andreas Faultline: Women Jewelers

 runs until October 27

at Craft in America a nonprofit organization

dedicated to the exploration, preservation

and celebration of craft and its

impact on our nation's cultural heritage.

 

See more at their website and Facebook page.


 



Floral Abundance - Izabela Safin Jewelry

Sweet dainty little posies made
by Izabela Safin demonstrate her
delicate workmanship
and her eye for infinite details.

She works on an intimate scale
yet the results make an enormous impact.
 

Each piece in her collection is
made with silver precious metal clay.
Each bloom, leaf and tendril is handcrafted
and individually applied.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Delicate and fresh florals dominate her creative style;

happily there is a lot more to see at her website.

 

 

 

The Bird is The Word - Teresa Faris Jewelry

Team members and business partners

can come together from various sources. 

Teresa Faris has a delightful working partner.

She makes artful jewelry incorporating

wood that's been partially chewed by her parrot.

 

Her ongoing series of jewelry

 has led to an artistic

connection between the two species.

Aptly, this collection is called,
"Collaboration with a Bird."

This year, she added additional pieces to the collection

 and "Collaboration with a Bird II" has emerged.

Several of these pieces are currently on view at

Racine Art Museum in an exhibition

called, Animal Nature.

 

 

I'm always intrigued by an artist's willingness
 to experiment with unorthodox materials.

The emphasis on organic and textured forms
combined with a strong sense of
exploration makes this jewelry playful and spontaneous.

And there is a lot more work to be seen at her website.
 

Exhibition - Humor in Craft (yes, that includes jewelry!)

Humor in Craft is currently on exhibit at the

Society for Contemporary Craft
in Pittsburgh, PA.
 

This exhibition, based on the book
by the same name, presents artworks by 32 artists
from across the United States and abroad.
Spanning all types of craft
including furniture, pottery,
and of course, jewelry,
it's meant to tickle your funny bone.

Some pieces are whimsical, some are fantastical,
and all are amusing in one sense or another.
And that's the point. Humor is subjective.

Curated by founder and editor of the international

online resource Crafthaus,

Brigitte Martin—author of the recently released book

also titled Humor in Craft, had the following

to say about the exhibit:

When I embarked on assembling images of humorous craft artwork it became clear rather quickly that, even though everyone likes to share funny stories, humor definitely takes on different meanings depending on the various filters we employ. Based on a variety of factors (such as but not limited to social background, personal experiences and values, knowledge of popular culture events, education, and national origin), there are overlaps but also differences in humor perception. In other words, what I personally find extremely funny might at best only elicit mild amusement in others, and vice versa. So the question arises, what do we laugh at? Are there images or artwork that everyone finds hilarious? Are there topics that are off-limits and how far can you go before it’s just not funny anymore? And who gets to decide that this point has been reached . . . .

 Thought-provoking questions set aside,

it's just fun to see the humorous side of a jewelry
artist's imagination and the pieces presented in
this exhibit certainly are not cookie cutter.
But then again, neither are these artists.

 

For instance, Emiko Oye's colorful necklace is

constructed from repurposed LEGO pieces

and sterling silver.  Titled, Cygne Noir,

 (translated as Black Swan)

it's from her First Royal Jewels Collection and

reinterprets Lalique's famous enamel necklace titled,

Insect Women and Black Swans.

 

 

 

This bracelet called, Turn the Other Check, is

 Margaux Lange's entry. It's made with salvaged

Barbie doll parts set into sterling silver

and pigmented resins.

 

 

 

 

 

 Mary Hallam Pearse's entry is called, Three Words.

It's made with silver, aluminum and diamonds.

It's reminiscent of children's

dexterity games where the players

must complete the image by getting

the jewels into the impressions.

One can assume there's plenty of

 manual dexterity needed

and enough challenge provided

to keep young fingers busy.

 

 

 

Humor in Craft is currently on exhibit at the

Society for Contemporary Craft

and continues through October 27, 2012.

 

 

 Humor in Craft, the book that inspired the exhibit

can be found here.

 

Let it tickle your funny bone.

 

Exhibition - LOOT: MAD About Jewelry 2012

NYC is the place to be
this week!

From September 11 to September 15, 2012

the Museum of Art and Design

presents  LOOT: MAD About Jewelry,

MAD's annual exhibition and sale of

one-of-a-kind contemporary jewelry.

 

MAD describes the event as,

Each year LOOT celebrates the work of fifty international jewelry artists whose collections we deem inspiring, creative and wearable. You will see inventively modern pieces in gold, sterling silver and semiprecious stones alongside jewelry made of unexpected materials such as titanium, stainless steel, glass, wood, rubber, fabric, and found objects. We’re confident that every single jeweler we discover and invite to LOOT meets our three-fold criteria of excellence in design originality, artistic expressiveness, and outstanding craftsmanship. Most of these artists have never before shown their jewelry in New York and will be at the Museum to meet you and discuss their work.

Over 50 international jewelry artists were chosen

to participate this year, including

 

Nastassia Aleinikava, Marianne Anderson, Akiko Ban, Maria Cristina Bellucci,
Cécile Bertrand, Luisa Bruni, Amanda Caines, Rachel Carren, Mirta Carroli,
 Eimear Conyard, Jacqueline Cullen, Kate Cusack, Elena Estaun, Eva Eisler,
Sheva Fruitman, Danielle Gori-Montanelli, Jed Green, Emmeline Hastings,
Alena Hesounova, Lucie Houdkova, Ulli Kaiser, Ute Kolar, Momoko Kumai,
Dominique Labordery, Cinnamon Lee, Stefania Lucchetta, Asagi Maeda, Naomi McIntosh,
 Alissia Melka-Teichroew, Kazumi Nagano, Chequita Nahar, Kelly Nedderman,
 Kathleen Nowak Tucci, Ritsuko Ogura, Angela O’Keefe, Karla Oslakova, Emiko Oye,
Janja Prokic, Katerina Rezacova, Melanie Rhodes, Katherine Richmond, Lynne Sausele,
Katja Schlegel, Ines Schwotzer, Haruko Sugawara, Yoko Takirai, Ruth Tomlinson,
Karola Torkos, Silvia Uhlenbruch, Linda Van Niekerk, and Georgia Wiseman

 

 

 

Here are some images from

the MAD: LOOT 2012 website.

 

 

 

Linda Van Niekerk

 

Katerina Rezacova

 

 

Angela O'Keefe

 

 

 

 

Stefania Lucchetta

 

 

 

 

Rachel Carren

 

 



Ruth Tomlinson


 

Ute Kolar




Described as "the ultimate pop up" for
contemporary art and studio jewelry
this event includes both emerging and acclaimed artists
and will also showcase the work of jewelry students
from New York’s own Fashion Institute of Technology.

It's an extravaganza for lovers of
 contemporary art jewelry.

Visit MAD's webpage for more images,
 artist bios, and further information.