Jewellery Workshop weekend

Hi All,

Busy time lately.  Another birthday has come and gone.  My son and daughter treated me to a jewellery making weekend in the Design Centre, Bow Lane.  Wow!   It was amazing.  It caters for beginners and the tutors Laura and Clare are brilliant.  They only take small numbers so you get plenty of help whenever you need it.  The photos show the pieces I made.  You start with copper and cut out small pieces using a tiny saw.  Then you can progress on to your own design.  I had a piece of agate which I was using on my project in college.  I made it into a pendant.  I also made a silver ring.  It has a piece of spalted Beech attached with a silver screw which I made.  Yes I made my own silver screw.  I then soldered the screw to the ring.  Mary D made fab stuff which I hope she will put up on her blog. 

I will certainly be going back again.  They hold a couple of 2 day workshops each month.
If you are interested in going, I can give you the information.

Mx

Hi All

It's the 7th July and here I am trying to retrieve my favourites which somehow got lost on the computer.  Just returned from a wonderful holiday in Co. Mayo.  It was so nice to be by the sea again.  The little cottage is right beside the sea.  The view from every window looks out on the sea.  The one above is from the kitchen.  There are wonderful sunsets and I miss it already.

Trying to get myself into my art practice again.  Started painting which is really enjoyable.  My birdhouse didn't win an aware but it did get to the judges final which was an achievement in itself.  Who knows maybe next year I might get further. 

Devore Workshop with Olga Tiernan

What a great workshop.  I loved it.  So sad that this is our last workshop of the year.  I will really miss the course and thanks to all who made it so wonderful, teachers, colleagues, caretakers.  It has been a really posititve experience and I have learned many skills and fun things to do with my time.

Looking forward to the End of Year Show but a bit nervous about it too.  Hope I can get all my stuff in without breaking anything.  I have my pieces framed, shelf is built for the birdhouse, getting samples mounted for the cradles.  Nearly there.

Mock Interview

Hi All,

Well I had my mock interview and it was fine.  Got a helpful tip from Gwen about putting one of my images on my CD of artwork.   I have a few different images now, one for metal another for stitch and one or two which can be general.  It was a great idea and if anyone wants to know how to do it, don't hesitate to ask me.  I have to think about getting my professional ID logo printed now.  I am very happy with it and will have to contact a few printers about getting it printed onto business cards for now at least.  The other bits can come later when I'm feeling more flahulach.

Signal Arts

I have submitted my application for a possible exhibition in the Signal Art Gallery in Bray.  My fingers are crossed.  I also entered the RDS crafts competition.   I am feeling nervous already about my interview on Monday.  Please God it won't be recorded, that will finish me off altogether.  I am normally not that nervous about things so I cannot understand why I am feeling like this.  Maybe because it matters a lot to me. Ah well I'll get over it.............

Good luck to all interviewees

Hammering and Banging in the shed

I've been out in the cold shed hammering and banging pieces of metal over the weekend and trying to avoid damaging my already damaged finger.  Sometimes it just doesn't work out the way you want it to.  I could have been with Mary in her imagined capital enjoying the workshops instead.   Ah well, I did produce a few bits which were learning curves even if they are not presentable pieces.  I am at the stage in metalcraft where I am teaching myself new things via practice, experimentation and research on the internet and through books.  I miss Suzanne, my tutor from Inchicore.

Guest Speaker - Linda Scales

On Monday, 28th February, we had a guest speaker called Linda Scales in to talk to us about copyright.  With a background in commercial law, she practices as a specialist in copyright and the other media and information technology laws which increasingly govern the dissemination of content and data.  It was an interesting talk and very worthwhile being in attendance.

There are patents, trademarks, and other sorts of registered ways of protecting work but the one which concerns us as artists is copyright.  It is our legal right to prevent others from exploiting our work.  It is an unregistered form of protection.   So we don't have to go down costly legal routes prior to putting our work out there for the public.  We as authors and creators own the copyright and have rights.

If and when we get our own websites we can protect images of our work by watermarking or reducing our images to thumbnails with a low resolution.  This means when the image is enlarged, it will be pixelated and there unclear to the viewer. 

It certainly gives me peace of mind about my artistic endeavours.

Linda has her own website http://www.lindascales.com/ if you want to check it out.

News

Temple Bar Gallery & Studios

News

Saw my Graphic Design student Eileen last week.  She showed me some ideas she has been working on which I really like.  Go girl!

Going to see the venue for our end of year show tomorrow with Caroline.  Oh yeh, forgot to say I volunteered for the student EOY exhibition committee.  As if I didn't have enough work.  Ah well, it should be a good experience for me.  Minutes of first meeting typed up and dispersed.  I knew that other life would serve me well in this one.....

Mona Lisa Smile

Hi  All,

I just watched Mona Lisa Smile, the film Mags referred to in Art History lecture last week.  It is set in 1953 Massachusets, starring Julia Roberts as  an idealistic art history teacher who comes to teach in a girl's school where the young women are more interested in nabbing a husband, setting up home and having a family than going onto college.  Post war times indeed where women were being encouraged back into the home and to be the  'good wife'.  Very watchable.  I got a great laugh out of these advertisements of the time.

Showcase Ireland 2011

Showcase Ireland provided me with a great opportunity to talk to artists and to learn more about the world of business.  I was fortunate in that the designers I chose to talk to were very open and receptive to me and very generous with their time and information given. 

The prime positions at the show were sited near the door and the artists/designers at these positions were all under the umbrella of the Craft Council of Ireland.  They have their profile and photographs of their work featured in the creative expo book which was free to visitors.  These artists are Irish designers, based in Ireland producing hand crafted products. 

I spoke to many artists whose work appealed to me but focused on three in particular to write about in my competitor case studies.  Rachel Swan is a young jeweller who work in silver.  She uses sterling silver to create hollow formed and satin finished jewellery.  She was lucky enough to get an apprenticeship with jewellery designer Alan Ardiff.  He is still her mentor although she is out on her own now.  Her work is amazing.  Her display was really professional.  The display cases, business cards and backdrop to her stall were really impressive.

Rebeka Kahn designs and makes jewellery which combine beads and pieces of ceramic.  She works from her studio at home in Co. Wicklow.  I really liked her display and in particular the necklace display stands.  Her work is more affordable as ceramic is low cost as compared to precious metal.

 

Lesley Alexandra Frew goes by the tradename of LAF.  She creates contemporary, ethical jewellery using plastic bags.  Her work reduces the negative environment impact of plastic bags, taking the discarded on a journey fro waste to coveted accessory.   Lesley's jewellery is more in line with my work.  Her jewellery is not precious metal, her price points are affordable and her theme of recycling has similarities with mine.  Her work is amazing.  She makes plastic look like its frilly and soft and I was dying to touch her work.

Her stand was uncluttered and I wondered why she wasn't using her recycling ethos as a strong selling point.  She told me she wanted the designs themselves to be the selling point.  She is right.  It is not enough to be recycling, you have to make something beautiful out of the recycled materials you are working with.

Showcase Ireland 2011 is well worth a visit.

Visual Artists Ireland

I have just paid my membership to join Visual Artists Ireland.  If you are a student it costs €25.  You can then avail of a resource pack for students.

Felt ribbon and beaded necklace

Seaweed pendant

My Birdhouse

Work in Progress

I am currently working on several projects for college.  I am posting a few pieces of work in progress.
My theme for Design in Use is "Recycle, Reuse, Restyle".  I hope to design and make jewellery pieces with a mixture of textile fibres and metal.   I have a love of metal and like to work in copper.  Why copper?  Well is can be obtained relatively cheaply and it is a beautiful and forgiving metal with which to work.

One of our projects was to design and create a birdhouse.  This was great fun and I got a chance to play with copper.  The inside of the birdhouse is lined with felt.  I was going to use Borris' (my cat) fur but he needs it all in the winter.  So I made some felt for the interior instead.

Some of my current work. Jewellery pieces made with wooden curtain rings I have had in a drawer for years. I knew I'd find a use for them some day. The bracelet is made from woven ribbon.