Exhibition - This is How I Remember It - Amy Tavern Jewelry

I have to admit that

when I took a look, it caught my eye.

Then I read the description and it

captured my imagination.

There is an exhibition on view
this month at

Velvet da Vinci Gallery

of jewelry created by Amy Tavern called,

"This is How I Remember It."

 

 

This exhibit is comprised of two separate

yet related bodies of work.

 

 

The first series is called,

"Fabricated Memory: Jewelry Box, 1980."

It's inspired by the jewelry box that the

artist played with as a child.

It belonged to her grandmother.

This imagery conjures up a strong sense of

familial memory and connection.

These are the pieces that

grab hold of my imagination.

 

 

The second series is called,

"Collected Memories: 1974-Present"

and is based on her own collection of jewelry.

 

 

Separate yet interrelated, these series both

relate to the artist’s journey to

connect with the jewelry of her past

and to recreate it as she relates to it today.

As the artist explains,

The jewelry that has come in and out of my life over the years has had a profound effect on me, fueling and sustaining my desire to be a jeweler. These special pieces changed my perspective on jewelry and form part of my personal history.

 

 

Here are a few pieces from the

"Fabricated Memory: Jewelry Box, 1980"

portion of the installation.

One can see she is looking at
repetitve patterns and
dismantling components
into simple elements.

 

 

As with so many personal memories

it's the simple pieces with simple shapes

that we remember most.

 

 

Her process includes a seemingly random yet deliberate

layering, arranging and shaping of design.

It’s interesting to study the modular components

of her pieces and realize that

she is tapping into a personal space

through her work.

 

 

Now, let's take a look at a couple of

pieces from the

"Collected Memories: 1974-Present"

portion of the exhibit.

 

 

The artist explains these pieces as

"materials I have collected and are assembled

in such a way as to emphasize the

impermanence and incompleteness of memory."

Each piece is sculptural and textural.

I admire artists who are willing to

think beyond traditional jewelry design

to create work that is both

personally significant and artistically edgy.

 

 

This artist's work seems ideally balanced for

an exhibition that is one part artistic process

and one part biographical experience.

 

 

I see this work as a celebration of family.

Of connection. Of authenticity.

 

 

This artist is willing to explore

a personal connection to her

work and embraces the depth

of its significance in her life.

Through artist's like her, we all

learn a bit more about ourselves.

It's inspiring.

To see more photos of her work
you can visit her website.

The exhibition runs until
November 30.

Exhibition - Downsizing

There are exhibitions everywhere that showcase

unusual, beautiful and noteworthy objects.

Occasionally, along with the interesting items

on display, it's the purpose of the exhibit that

strikes us as extraordinary.

Pieces of Eight Gallery in Melbourne, Australia

 is currently showing a group exhibition

of jewelry artists who used

 to be interior designers.

The exhibition called "Downsizing" runs

 from July 26 – September 3. 

This gathering of recently-trained jewelry artists

 found their true calling in the field of metalsmithing

 when they each realized that their creativity

 would be better expressed by actually

 creating small -scale objects by hand 

rather than drawing their designs to be executed

on a large scale by other professionals. 

Changing their focus from the large spaces

of buildings, they now pour their creative energy into, 

and derive fulfillment by,

working on a more intimate level to adorn individuals.

The possibilities they explore in creating jewelry

are further enriched by the shortened amount of

time it takes to see results. Designing interiors 

can take enormous time, effort, stress, and funding,

but a metalsmith cam create a piece of work

 in a much shorter period of time.

The range of materials, ideas and processes

are thought provoking. 

 Here are examples of their work.

This ring by Kim Victoria Wearne is a real show stopper. 

 It's called "Ocimum basilicum: Hatred 2011" and

is made with sterling silver, basil,

floral foam, copper wire. 

(Yes, fresh basil!)  

The title refers to basil symbolizing hatred

 in ancient Grecian times. It's part of her ongoing

series that includes botanical elements in her

work - exploring what she refers to as

the 'Victorian Language of Flowers'

which is a system of encoding bouquets

with emotion and sentiment.

This cuff by Belinda Esperson is called "Paper Cuff 1"

and is made with sterling silver.

It's intriguing to see how she can make

sterling silver appear almost as fragile as paper.

This cuff made by Katrina Tyler is called

 "Cluster Fragment 2011" and is made

with oxidized copper.

And there are many other equally

interesting pieces on view.

The individual artists who are participating

in this exhibit include:

Tessa Blazey, Djurdjica Kesic, Suzi Zutic,

Katrina Tyler, Karen Hamilton, Kim Victoria Wearne

and Belinda Esperson.

The exhibit runs until September 3rd.

Vivienne Martin Jewelry

Jewelry made with non-precious materials
can be as beautiful and durable as any.
Vivienne Martin has developed a unique

approach to using embroidery to create bold

jewelry that is light, feathery and delicate.

 Made from an eclectic collection of

materials such as fine wire, nylon, ribbon mesh,

monofilament fibers, mohair and rayon

these pieces capture

the imagination.

There are so many pieces in her

current collection to admire.

This feathery piece is a great example

of her lovely draping style.

 

So many of her pieces have feathery textures.

Lacy and romantic

and full of three-dimensional texture.

Intricate and delicate

and buoyant.

These soft layers add a dreaminess to

one's wardrobe.

 

She uses a very light hand to design these rather

 theatrical adornments. 
They'll add a note of romance and mystery
to a special occasion.

Eliana Arenas Jewelry

Over the years we've developed an appreciation
for jewelry that features alternative and
nontraditional materials.
Personal adornment can be more
art than jewelry and we like the idea of using the
human body as a pedestal.

Eliana Arenas has a series of brooches created
with aluminum and clear plastic spoons.
The spoons have been cut and melted
to transform their original shape.
We find the scale and proportion of each piece
establishes a sense of presence - so while
the collection itself is called Absence, these pieces seem
filled with a presence we find intriguing.
Meant to be decorative they actually seem to present
themselves as personal amulets designed to protect
 the wearer against negative energy.

The collection has a breezy cloud-formation vibe.
It magnificently showcases volume, structure
and texture. And we like how she punctuates
the designs with negative space.

Take a look and see for yourself.

 

Each variation draws the eye inward.

 

Similar yet so different.

 

Repetitive elements create movement.

 

 

The variations are never ending.

Jewelry can be many things to many people.
We're glad to have you join us as we continue to explore
what jewelry is and what jewelry can be.

Enjoy!