Abstract Jewelry by Brooke Marks-Swanson

Jewelry created by Brooke Marks-Swanson
is multi-dimensional and abstract.

Her work is an ongoing study of variegated
color combinations and subtle surface textures
especially as they relate to how
environmental conditions can make impressions
and patinas on objects.

She describes herself as

 . . . drawn to the beauty of things that are imperfect, impermanent, and incomplete. I use fabricating, painting, scratching, removing and adorning to get pieces that provide information . . . .

 

There is a lot to see in her current collection.
You can view more of Brooke Marks-Swanson's
mixed media work at her website.

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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.

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Not Your Every Day Knots - Jewelry by Barbara Natoli Witt

Jewelry created by

Barbara Natoli Witt features

color, texture, micromacramé

and lace-making techniques. 

Working methodically she

creatively combines textural elements into

elaborate designs.  An extraordinarily

time-consuming process produces work

that is imaginative and evokes

a sense of lush richness.

Working in her signature style, this artist

mixes gemstones with found objects and beads.

With an eye for intricate designs and soothing

color combinations she creates pieces that

mix traditional knotting concepts with

modern flair.

The final result is colorful and unique.

Her inspiration is derived from a life-long study

of symbolism, history, and diverse cultures.

 These exquisite pieces of jewelry

 begin with simple concepts yet

evolve into highly patterned tapestries.

As the subject of a new book,

"Adornment, the Art of Barbara Natoli Witt"

by Lois Sherr Dubin, this artist will be

participating in a lecture and signing of the book

featuring her tapestry necklaces.  It will be held

Sunday, October 30, 2011 at 4:00 PM

at Museo ItaloAmericano, in San Francisco.

She will elaborate on some of the stories included in

the book and plans to show some of her latest

pieces as well as some vintage necklaces.

 You can see more of her work on her website. 

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Upcycled Color - Tamra Gentry Jewelry

It looks like a gemstone called agate.

But it's not agate.

It looks like a metal-working technique

called mokume gane.

But it's not.

So, what exactly is it?

Old paint.

But not just any old paint. This is a hidden treasure that

has been salvaged from trash and re-purposed into

truly innovative jewelry by metalsmith Tamra Gentry.

Known as Fordite or Motor City Agate it is

made of layers and layers (and more layers) of

automotive enamel paint that used to be

manually spray-painted onto cars

at the auto factories during the 1960s and 1970s.

While the cars eventually left the painting

stations the excess overspray was left behind.

Layers of enamel paint built up over time on the

 walls of all those painting stations and were

 baked on repeatedly.  When this manual painting

process was automated the creation

 of Fordite ceased.

Salvaged Fordite is in limited supply.

And what was once destined for the landfill

 upcycles beautifully into exquisite jewelry.

This artist uses a variety of fabrication

techniques to infuse stylish new life into

 a manufacturing byproduct.

These pieces are definitely top drawer.

In a striking array of colors

these pieces are both stunningly stylish

and eco-friendly.

Pairing many of her pieces

with gemstones she cleverly provides

a stunning counterpoint to the

vintage auto enamel.

It's obvious that Tamra's technical skills

are superb and her designs are

innovative and very feminine.

One can consider them to be

artistic expressions set in silver.

We love to be enchanted and inspired by artists

 who are using objects that had a previous life

and creating something with a different purpose.

In this particular case, we're impressed that

 a substance that was truly

considered as wasted product for one industry

has become a valuable material for another.

For more information about these

colorful nuggets of beauty visit

Tamra's website.

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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.

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Darcy Miro Jewelry

It was several years ago when
 we first saw jewelry cuffs created
 by Darcy Miro and we were immediately
attracted to their granular, organic, rough
surfaces and we've been enthralled
 by them ever since.

It's a difficult to resist collection.
One's natural inclination is to
reach out to each piece
and run one's fingers over each intricate
textural element. And there's something
very satisfying about her work - maybe it's
the extraordinary shapes and surfaces,
or maybe it's the primordial and
 wild nature of each piece. 
It's definitely provocative
and not for the timid.

These are textures found both in nature
and in dilapidated industrial settings.
There's a raw sense of erosion that feels
 like it's been captured
 in a moment of time.

We love how each of the pieces are
layered with jagged surfaces.

Some pieces are dangerous looking enough

to make one hesitate a moment.

Each one is evocative
and compelling.

Many designs. Many textures.
Many reactions.
We really find them difficult to resist.

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Porcelain and Sterling Jewelry: Pauline Edie

Contemporary jewelry artists find

inspiration everywhere.

Taking her inspiration from childhood stories

and fairy tales, Pauline Edie creates
one-of-a-kind jewelry using

sterling silver and white porcelain.

Beginning each piece by illustrating an

idea or a story from folklore, she

creates a metal framework then incorporates

white porcelain clay into each work.

Some of her pieces also include her

drawings being transferred directly

onto the porcelain.

This necklace is aptly named

Raphunzel's Hair.

here is the 

 Raphunzel brooch



this one is called a petal necklace

This Raphunzel drawing necklace

 features the artist's hand drawing. 

These are called Sleeping Beauty Rings

Every piece tells a story.

What begins as a source of inspiration

leads to a wonderful result

filled with imagination

and creativity.

Enjoy!

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Felt Jewelry by Danielle Gori-Montanelli

Let's consider three definitions of

the word felt:

as a type of cloth formed when wool

fibers are mixed with moisture,

heat and pressure;

as the past tense of the verb 'to feel'

 describing one's emotional reactions;

and as a term to

explain the tactile, physical

sensations of an object.

Few people would

attribute this trio of terminology

to one artist's work, but

 all three can be appropriately used

when discovering the jewelry and

accessories created by

Danielle Gori-Montanelli.

She designs with felt cloth making

wonderful pieces of wearable art.

While she doesn't actually make her

 own felt cloth, she does sew every

piece of her creations by hand with

 needle and thread.

  Her creative process is improvisational.

Her creations are multi-dimensional.

Vibrant colors and thick structural

elements combine in myriad ways

emerging as lush, dense sculptures.

Colorful is just the beginning.

Highly textured is an understatement.

Whether she uses spectral colors or

monochromatic themes each

piece is a work of art.

This composition is breathtaking.

This artist transforms simple felt cloth

into multi-dimensional, vibrantly-colored

colossal works that inspire and delight.

This large-scale work provides

 large-scale inspiration.

Enjoy!

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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.

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