Unconventional - Lola Brooks Jewelry

Lola Brooks takes an unconventional look

at the conventional subjects of Love and Romance.

 

 Her work is certainly not conventional in size -

in fact it’s much larger than one would expect.

 

It’s not conventional in choice of materials -

she takes humble steel then mixes it with gold,

 diamonds and various other gemstones.

 

It’s not conventional in attitude -

her work makes droll tongue-in-cheek references

to clichés about love and sentimentality.

 

In fact, everywhere one looks one can see

 roses attached to hearts, and bows attached to hearts,

and hearts attached to hearts.

 

Why this ardent interest in all things related to romance?

 

There is a good deal of thought behind this work and

 it’s interesting to get the 'why' of the work

while also enjoying the beauty of it.

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For instance, here’s an excerpt from an

Art Jewelry Forum interview,

 

. . . The past few bodies of work have all spawned

from my fascination with cliché

and my general weariness of irony

and the perpetual abstraction of everything.

I suppose I am a traditionalist in many ways,

seeing no reason to invent something brand new

when there is all of this incredible depth and richness

to be rediscovered in all of these tired old tropes

of love, loss, beauty, perfection, femininity, sentimentality

or in the‘jewel’ or a certain type of technical virtuosity

for that matter. And this is certainly not to say that I am

merely interested in re-presenting these things as they

have always been understood, either. I sincerely believe there

are profound things to be investigated and reconfigured in

these exact territories. And so bows, hearts, knots and roses

among other things are all fair game . . . .



 

 

There's a great opportunity to see
all this unconventional jewelry;

Lola Brook’s work is currently on view at

The Metal Museum until February 17, 2013.

 

 

Betty Heald Jewelry

We recently became aware of a jewelry exhibition

currently on view at Facèré Jewelry Art Gallery.

Entitled: "Transmutations: Material Reborn"

this show runs from

April 28, 2010 - May 17, 2010.

"Transmutations: Material Reborn" is a

contemporary jewelry art show

featuring twenty-seven international

jewelry artists who transform plastics

(materials that include resin, latex, rubber, vinyl,

and thermoplastics) into wearable art.

As described by the gallery,

"There are pieces meant for everyday adornment,

and pieces meant to make a statement."

Some of the Jewelry Artists in this exhibition include:

Mary Donald, Suzanne Golden, Rebecca Hannon,

Betty Heald, Karin Kato, Susanne Klemm,

Jocelyn Kolb, Monika Krol, Gail MacMillan Leavitt,

Vicki Mason, Emiko Oye, Natalya Pinchuk,

Leslie Shershow, Rebecca Strzelec, and Sandra Zilker.

Let's take a look at some examples of the one-of-a-kind

jewelry included in this exhibition.

                            

Here is an eye-popping brooch made

by Betty Heald, called "Light Chamber III."

Each of the pieces Betty provided for this exhibition
is made with epoxy resin, sterling silver,
gold leaf, and stainless steel.
                                              

This brooch is another example of Betty's work called "Green Beam." 

                              
 

Here is one more attention-grabbing example of Betty's work
in resin called "Light Chamber I."

There is a sense of lusciousness inherent in these

pieces that captures our imagination. 

We are curious about what seems to be a

soft, pliable texture 

combined with extraordinary detail and luminosity.

The effect is that of a transparent photographic image.

                                         

If you're in the area, pop in to see the exhibition.

We'd love to know your impressions.