Don’t miss your chance to see these exclusive exhibits at SFMC+D!
Silver of the Stars, a glamorous exhibition, unites ten world-renowned Scottish celebrities from film, fashion, theatre and music with ten of Scotland’s finest contemporary metalsmiths. Each artist has designed and created innovative drinking vessels chosen by their partnered celebrity based on the theme “A Drink with a Close Friend.”

Participating celebrities include: Nicola Benedetti, Robbie Coltrane, Billy Connolly, Sir Sean Connery, Sir Cameron Mackintosh, Ewan McGregor, Alexander McQueen, Ian Ranking and Sharleen Spiteri.

The Millennium Collection for Bute House features an eclectic collection of contemporary silver created by fifteen of Scotland’s top silversmiths. Originally commissioned to celebrate the founding of the Scottish Parliament, these works are now the official collection of state silver used at the Edinburgh residence of the First Minister of Scotland. Outstanding design and meticulous craftsmanship reflect the individuality of each participating artist.

Fred Ball Enamels is a retrospective of one of the most innovative artists working in the enameling field in the 20th-century, Fred Uhl Ball (1945 – 1985). Viewed as highly unorthodox at the time, his experimental techniques – which include torch firing, metal collage, conscious exploration of fire scale, and use of liquid enamel materials – are admired today by many of the foremost leaders in the field. He is one of the artists credited with transforming enameling from its traditional association with small size and preciousness, to a grand scale consistent with Postwar painting and sculpture.

METAL Inclinations2 International Juried Online Exhibition

METAL Inclinations2 International Juried Exhibition 2010-11 will include selections of the most exemplary fine metal art jewelry created by metalsmiths, silversmiths, goldsmiths and jewelers all over the world.

METAL Inclinations2 is sponsored by the Hauser & Miller Co. Refiners and fabricators and produced and presented by the Society for Midwest Metalsmiths.

DEADLINE: June 30, 2010 METAL Inclinations2 will debut on the Internet October 31, 2010 and continue for one year until October 31, 2011

JURORS:

Jamie Bennett, Klaus Bürgel, John Cogswell, Sydney Lynch

AWARDS:

$2,000 First place award sponsored by the Society for Midwest Metalsmiths.

$1,000 Second place award, sponsored by Hauser and Miller.

$500 Third place award gift certificate, by Rio Grande.

$200 Award of merit gift certificate, by Pasternak Findings.

$100 Three awards of merit gift certificates by Pasternak Findings.

Enter METAL Inclinations2 directly by using the Juried Art Services website

METAL Inclinations2 is sponsored by Hauser & Miller and produced and presented by The Society for Midwest Metalsmiths. SMM is a not-for-profit organization of volunteer metalsmiths. The Society’s goal is to promote, develop, educate, and encourage individuals who are interested in metalsmithing.

John Axel Prip 86 died Wednesday, April 8, 2009 from complications of Parkinson’s disease.
Born in Yonkers, NY in 1922 to a family of silversmiths, his family returned to Denmark in 1932 where he apprenticed with master silversmith Evald Nielsen at the age of 15.

A pioneer of the American Craft Movement, Prip founded the metals program at RISD in the early 1960s. He retired from RISD in 1981. Before joining RISD he developed academic programs in metalsmithing for the museum school at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston and  the School for American Craftsmen in Alfred, NY. He was also a designer/craftsman-in-residence at Reed & Barton from 1957-1970.

He is survived by his daughter Janet, son Peter both also accomplished metalsmiths, and his second wife Judy Skoogfors Prip. A public memorial service will be held at 2pm on June 6 in the Woods-Gerry House at 62 Prospect St., Providence RI.

DEADLINE: Entries must be postmarked by APRIL 30, 2009

ELIGIBILITY:

* Applicant must be a full-time, matriculated student in metalsmithing program
* Must be a member of MAG or sign up for a student membership ($20)
* Can reside anywhere in the United States

For more information and submission form:
http://www.metalartsguildsf.org/events/grant.htm

The Metal Arts Guild of The Bay Area, a non-profit organization, focuses on promoting the recognition of metalwork as an art form and offering Bay Area jewelers and metal artists a network of information, education and support.

Appalachian Center for Craft
1560 Craft Center Drive
Smithville, TN 37166

May 8-10, 2009 Hand-Hammered Copper: Arts & Craft Style – Robert Trout

May 15-17, 2009 Earrings & Rings – Stephen Spicer

May 31-June 5, 2009 Metal Vessel Fabrication – Kee-ho Yuen

June 7-12, 2009 Repoussé & Chasing – Richard Prillaman

June 14-19, 2009 Stone Setting Plus – Howard Thompson

June 21-26, 2009 Hydraulic Assist Die Forming – Val Link

July 5-10, 2009 Imagery on Jewelry – Joanna Gollberg

July 12-17, 2009 Keeping It All Together: Enameling in 3-D – Deborah Lozier

July 19-24, 2009 Beginning Jewelry: Powder Coating – Sung-Yeoul Lee

July 26-31, 2009 Box It Up – Alison Pack

Sept. 11-13, 2009 Explore Cold Connections – Connie Ulrich

Sept. 18-20, 2009 Beginning Jewelry – Sung-Yeoul Lee

For more info contact Gail Gentry – Workshop & Event Coordinator
Appalachian Center for Craft

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 use

I 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

This 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 2004

This 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.

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.

Workshop Topics

•  Alloying jewelry metals
•  How to alloy different colors and karats of gold from 24K and pre-mixed alloys, and making sterling silver from fine silver and copper or S88 alloy.
•  Strategies for selecting and adjusting ingot molds for correct sized finished wire and sheet stock.
•  Melting and pouring ingots with a torch.
•  Care and maintanance of rolling mills.
•  Making basic square wire stock.
•  Making a true square, rectangular wire, bezel stock, tapering wire for the drawplate.
•  Correct annealing of wire and sheet stock, coiling and wrapping for annealing wire.
•  Upsetting rectangular stock for narrowing.
•  Reshaping larger wire shapes into smaller wire forms.
•  Using the mill to make sheet stock “dead flat”.
•  Using drawplates to make wire stock.
•  How to straighten wire.
•  Assorted rolling mill tricks for making fancy stock.
•  Roller printing with assorted materials.