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Secrets of the Gem Trade
Ted Muehling: A Portrait by Don Freeman – Susan Yelavich 2008
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30 Minute Earrings call for artists by Lark Books
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30-Minute Earrings
Project Proposals
Lark Books seeks artists to submit proposals for earring projects that can be
made…start to finish…in 30 minutes flat.30-Minute Earrings will showcase more than 50 incredibly stylish step-by-step projects that can
be created without investing too much of a valuable commodity—time! The selected earring
designs will be modern and sophisticated and encompass many different styles and techniques.
The common denominator will be fast projects that look terrific!30-Minute Earrings won’t teach fundamental jewelry making techniques. Designers can assume
that their readers are already proficient (and quick!) at skills such as sawing, soldering, and
finishing.Accepted Designs
Scheduled to publish in Spring 2010, this 128-page book will offer need-to-know information
unique to earrings. It will address topics like gauge, ear wire shapes, weight, and much more.
Winning jewelers will be paid between $150 and $250 to create their designs. We’ll require
written step-by-step instructions; a brief bio sent to Lark via email; a signed contract; a W-9 form for tax purposes; the project itself; and other supporting materials as may be requested.
We don’t reimburse for materials, but will return all projects after photographing them for the book, and designers may do whatever they like with them after that. Designers receive full credit in the book, a complimentary copy of it, and discounts on future purchases of it.How to Submit
By January 26, 2009, submit to Lark one proposal form per proposed project. There is NO LIMIT to how many proposals you can submit. Each proposal must include:
• full-color sketch, photo, scan, or printout of your proposed design (you may submit already finished earrings)
• sample images of the materials you intend to use
• description of the techniques you plan to useI look forward to seeing your proposal(s)! And if you know anyone who would also be especially
suited for working as a designer on this project, please feel free to pass on this information.
Gavin Young, Assistant Editor Lark Books -
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Form & Function: American Modernist Jewelry, 1940-1970 – Marbeth Schon 2008This book is the catalog for two of the first major exhibits to show only modernist jewelry from such a broad group of artists. Both take place in 2008 in Fort Wayne, Indiana: one at The Fort Wayne Museum of Art (May 2 to Aug. 24, 2008) and the other at The University of St. Francis School of Creative Arts (May 2-30, 2008). Over fifty collectors and living art jewelers have lent some of the best examples of this innovative style. Sculptors Alexander Calder, Harry Bertoia, Jose de Rivera, Peter and Daniel Macchiarini, Earl and Tod Pardon, and Merry Renk are among the 96 artists featured, along with their extensive jewelry creations. Their work was experimental and stimulated originality in successive generations. Plastics, pearls, brass, copper, silver, gold, and enamels are among the materials found here in mini-sculptures and jewelry ornaments for men and women alike. The author’s extensive research uncovers connections among the artists and documents this important art period and medium. Artists, collectors, cultural historians, and students all will want to see the exhibits and own the catalog.
Previously written by the same author is:
Modernist Jewelry 1930-1960: The Wearable Art Movement – Marbeth Schon 2004This beautifully written book explores the work of 175 of the most important American modernist artist jewelers through a comprehensive text and over 540 color and 35 black and white photos. Beginning with the streamlining of Art Moderne, modernist jewelers mirrored the consciousness of their age. They were free thinkers artists who broke away from the mainstream of jewelry design and looked to the fine arts for inspiration; they were Surrealists, Cubists, and Abstract Expressionists functioning as sculptors in small scale, painters in enamels, and architects in miniature. The modernist metalsmiths of the 1930s through 1960s laid the groundwork for the enormous expansion of metalsmithing in the 1970s and ’80s. These creative jewelers produced personal designs as they absorbed the changes happening in the world around them. The artists’ stories and jewelry are arranged chronologically and linked to four pivotal exhibitions held at the Museum of Modern Art, New York City, in 1946; the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, in 1948 and 1955; and an exhibition on paper in 1959. Together, the artists at these important events comprise the modernist movement of wearable art directly and through their influence on the subsequent generations. This important book will stand as the primary reference to art jewelry of the mid-20th century and be consulted by all who want to understand the innovations it embraces.
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Foldforming by Charles Lewton-Brain
The ultimate reference on foldforming from the artist who invented this groundbreaking approach to working with metal. By taking advantage of the inherent qualities of the material, foldforming develops organic forms in metal with minimum effort. Hundreds of sequential photographs demonstrate techniques to make a wide range of forms. Foldforming lends itself to all branches and levels of metalsmithing, from jewelry to blacksmithing, beginners to advanced artists.
Charles Lewton-Brain received his initial training in Germany and later earned a Master of Fine Arts from SUNY New Paltz. In the 1980s he invented a way of working with metal that exploits its inherent behaviors. Through hundreds of workshops and in his position at the Alberta College of Art + Design, Charles has developed the science and art of foldforming to its current high standard.
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Dieter Roth’s Rings
through 5 Oct. 2008 at MUDACThe Swiss creator Dieter Roth (1930–1998) worked on innumerable fronts, trying out multiple materials and techniques. He was a remarkable dabbler in many things: at one and the same time painter, graphic artist, designer, sculptor, creator of installations, poet, musician, filmmaker and organiser of his own exhibitions. The scope of his interests and his artistic research was such that Dieter Roth is unique and, indeed, unclassifiable. His work often leaped from one discipline to another, while some of his works decomposed naturally because they were made from chocolate, cheese or meat. The proliferation and originality of his interventions and his works have left a lasting mark on the most recent generations of artists.
In 1957, Dieter Roth decided to settle with his wife in Iceland, which very quickly became his adopted homeland. Following the birth of their three children, in order to meet his family’s needs, the artist went on to experiment in very diverse fields: he built furniture, designed a shelving system for a pharmacist, developed new pieces for chess (a very highly regarded game in Iceland), designed posters and produced work in ceramics and glass. In parallel he became interested in making jewellery, which he thought he could sell easily. These creations were totally innovative and burst the norms of traditional jewellery. Thus his bracelets were based on salvaged aluminium plates on to which he poured chemical products; he would wait two or three weeks until a form of oxidisation was produced and then cut out strips of metal. His early days as a jeweller were very laborious. Icelanders did not recognise the originality of his experimental work, which broke down the barriers between different areas of skills. The meeting in 1958 with his fellow countryman, the goldsmith Hans Langenbacher, marked a turning point in his production. A long, fruitful collaboration grew out of this friendship, which would last until the artist’s death, as the abundant correspondence presented at the mudac this summer will testify.
Hans Langenbacher was instantly fascinated by the freedom of expression of the jewellery designed by Dieter Roth, the audacity of the materials employed and their ingenious system of assemblage. The artist used to try out various combinations of bolts, nuts and screws, propose new components to add, cover or remove. This incredible series of sculptures for fingers, or ring-sculptures, was based on rather ordinary materials such as gilt brass, iron and coloured plexiglass. Dieter Roth even went further, including the eventual wearers of his jewellery in the creation of their own ring. They could modify the ring as they pleased by combining or replacing certain components, thereby creating a unique object. The dialogue of the artist with the person who would wear the object is a central theme in Dieter Roth’s work. The series of rings produced by Dieter Roth includes some very special models such as the “Ring with rotating components” (1971), permitting the wearer to play with 15 different settings, the four “Lion rings” (1971) inspired by the Lion Monument in Lucerne, and the “Zoo ring” (1971) made up of toys in the form of interchangeable animal heads.
The exhibition presents six ring-sculpture models with multiple combinations permitting 40 different rings to be made, as well as 70 original documents prefiguring these projects. Drawings, sketches, letters and postcards sent by Dieter Roth to Hans Langenbacher allow one to follow, step by step, the collaboration between artist and goldsmith. All the objects come from the private collection of Hans Langenbacher (Lucerne).
Parallel to this project, Edizioni Periferia (Lucerne) is publishing in German and English the book Dieter Roth, Ringe 1959–1973, which includes photographs by Harry Burst of the various ring projects, with previously unpublished texts by Jean-Christophe Ammann, Hans Langenbacher and Flurina Paravicini, Adalsteinn Ingolfsson and Peter Noever. As the goldsmith Hans Langenbacher placed his archives at the publisher’s disposal, all the original documents relating to this collaboration have been reproduced in facsimile and gathered together in a loose-leaf file in a limited edition of 750. There is also a leader edition (15 numbered copies) incorporating an example of the “Lucerne lion ring” in silver.
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From Hand to Hand: passing on skill and know-how in European contemporary jewellery
through Oct.5, 2008 at MUDACSpecial events:
Lecture by Karl Fritsch
Karl Fritsch, jewellery-maker, talks about his work. Sept.23, 2008 at HEAD / Boulevard James-Fazy 15, 1201 Geneva, free entrance.
Lecture by Karen Pontoppidan
A lecturer at Ädellab, Konstfack, Stockholm, Karen Pontoppidan talks about the transmission of knowledge. Oct.3, 2008 at MUDACVia a selection of jewellery by European creators, the exhibition “from hand to hand” seeks to define the bonds that are created between teachers and pupils and what is involved in passing on a skill or knowledge. European jewellers whose influence in the contemporary jewellery world is clearly established and recognised were therefore chosen, not just because they are eminent teachers but also because they are outstanding creators of their period. What influences have they had on their pupils? What do they hope to pass on? What have their pupils retained of this? And do the latter, some of whom have become teachers in their turn, have the feeling they are continuing a link in the chain?
Contemporary jewellery
In our Western societies, technical virtuosity acquired in a traditional manner in workshops or professional schools allows the making of jewellery that unites prestige with market value. Nevertheless, since the 1970s, the world of contemporary jewellery creation has questioned these values. So does this knowledge still have any meaning? Is it not the idea transmitted via the object that is of prime importance? In observing the selected pieces, made by the creators themselves, one realises that both these factors co-exist: manual skill remains very evident in as much as these pieces of jewellery testify to the attention paid to ensuring they are well made, a judicious choice of materials, a genuine pleasure in producing a beautiful object. But this manual skill is placed at the service of the expression of each individual’s private questionings. It is this combination that makes contemporary jewellery so fascinating. One can allow oneself to feast one’s eyes while enjoying a pleasant sensation of intellectual titillation. Benjamin Lignel, jeweller and art historian, has set out a number of common characteristics of contemporary jewellery. He underlines “notions of individuality, craftmanship, and its troubled relationship to the production mainstream.” And adds the following elements: “the human body as a general working area; an open attitude to methods and material that echoes art’s own agenda, complicated by the notion of wearability; […] and an emancipation from consumer goods’ vocation to ‘just’ satisfy consumer desires.” [In Metalsmith Magazine, autumn 2006]. These are a few of the facets which allow one to define better the preoccupations of contemporary jewellery creators.Europe
Apart from a few isolated examples, it would be difficult in Europe to find a school that is characterised by its territorial roots. The majority of European jewellery schools and colleges have developed an international style, based rather more on the identity of the creator than on his or her origin. Ever since the 1980s–1990s, Europe has represented a crucible for the creation of contemporary jewellery. Students still come from all over the world to undergo training here. Creators who have passed through European schools are consequently right in the centre of the reflections that prevail in the contemporary jewellery field.Ties and links
To define more closely the relationships that exist between the exhibition’s participants, the latter responded to a questionnaire regarding the transmission of skills and knowledge. Their answers echo their creations in the exhibition as well as in the catalogue. Thus, all the jewellers relate their experiences during their years of training; their relationship with their teacher(s); who pushed them, who supported or discouraged them; who they still remember several years later; how there was a certain amount of connivance. Some pupils, having become masters in their turn, are continuing an artistic process that was developed under the influence of their teachers. Fabrice Schaefer, who teaches at the Haute école d’art et de design in Geneva, says: “‘Transforming a material’ was at the heart of Esther [Brinkmann]’s teaching; I still work along those lines”. Others, on the contrary, claim to have broken with them completely: “I think that I have never been faithful to my teacher. We have completely different ways of facing our craft and making jewellery.” (Marc Monzó, Spain, 1973).The exhibition
The exhibition brings together works by 58 jewellery-makers of 3 generations (12 masters, 39 pupils, 7 pupils of pupils) who have emerged from 10 schools in various countries: Germany, Spain, Finland, France, Great Britain, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal and Switzerland. It is organised around the first-generation teachers, with the addition of their pupils and, in some cases, the pupils of their pupils. The tradition that the Swiss are great travellers is confirmed here: of the 17 Swiss jewellers included, 5 of whom currently teach abroad, 5 pursued complementary training outside Switzerland before returning home.The choice of pieces was carried out in agreement with the creators. The majority of the works date from the last five years. In a few cases they are older because they are emblematic of the work of particular teachers. Each creator has the same module at his/her disposal, without any sort of hierarchy: a trolley on wheels offering a presentation area of around 1m2. This display option conveys the very great mobility of jewellery creators: both the teachers who move around giving workshops and the pupils who follow the teacher of their choice.
Despite every effort on the scenographer’s part, a piece of jewellery presented in a display case is nothing but a miniature sculpture. It lacks its natural support, the body. To compensate for this absence from the exhibition, some of the jewellery pieces are also shown being worn by means of black-and-white photographs taken by students of the Ecole de Photographie in Vevey (CEPV).
The exhibition’s organisation and scenography were undertaken by Carole Guinard, jewellerymaker and scenographer at the MUDAC.
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The Miniature Worlds of Bruce Metcalf
Sept.28 – Dec.21, 2008
Special Events on Sept.28, 2008:
Bruce Metcalf Lecture: “Chapters in a Life of the Imagination” 2-3pm at the Palo Alto Art Center auditorium
Public Preview 3-5pm
The lecture and preview are free to the public; please call 650-329-2366 to RSVP for the lecture.A 120 page full-color exhibition catalogue is available.
Curated by Signe Mayfield of PAAC, this first major exhibition of his work examines social, moral and political issues, many of which Metcalf has also raised in his essays. In this exhibition, diminutive size matters. Cast in silver or carved in wood, Metcalf’s vulnerable protagonists act out issues on the stage of miniature worlds. Some of his pieces serve dual lives as wearable brooches, where the protagonists venture into the world and engage the unsuspecting viewer with their stories and distinctive visual language. The exhibition also marks the premier of the United States tour slated for multiple venues through 2011, including the Mint Museum of Craft+Design in Charlotte, North Carolina; Bellevue Arts Museum in Bellevue, Washington; Fresno Art Museum in Fresno, California; Fuller Craft Museum in Brockton, Massachusetts; Arkansas Arts Center in Little Rock, Arkansas; and Racine Art Museum in Racine, Wisconsin.
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The Art of Jewelry: Plastic & Resin: Techniques, Projects, Inspiration by Debra Adelson 2008