New Life

Our New Life exhibition is coming to an end at Jewel Envy.  The exhibition was a part of the Toronto International Jewellery Festival and SNAG 2013 Conference.  Coming this Monday I will be clearing out the cases and replacing them with our regular work.  I feel guilty about letting my blog fall to the wayside... Here are my excuses: In the past year I have moved into a new apartment AND the studio I manage - Jewel Envy has moved into a new location.  I am a creature of habit.  The change of environment hasn't tampered with my creative spurts, but my web presence (what little there is) fell off my radar.  I hope this won't be the case and my next update will not be spaced out so far.

Okay! enough with the excuses and ramblings.  I present to you my work and artist statement from New Life.

HANSEL / Vitreous enamel on copper using cloisonne technique, Sterling silver, steel pinback, flocking

ZSADIST / Vitreous enamel on copper using cloisonne technique, Brass, steel pinback, flocking, various chain

MAXIMUS LEONIDAS / Vitreous enamel on copper using cloisonne technique, leather, seed pearls, sterling silver

I am a proponent of the cult of new domesticity.  I have a feverish DIY spirit that keeps me up some nights to randomly bake a batch of cinnamon buns made from scratch or cut apart a pile of cardboard to create a shoe rack.  On the flip side of things I would hardly say that I have bolted upright before dawn to accomplish a DIY project, but there have been a few rare incidences.  That is until I volunteered to maintain my sister’s farm while she was out of town.  There was no question in my mind how much I wanted to do this.  I had reaped the rewards of her laying hens, ridden on her horses, and helped out in the first couple of days when her goats gave birth to their kids.  Now I would be there every day to care for her brood of animals.  I would have to wake up at the crack of dawn to feed them all.  And not to mention all that horse poop.  Seriously, there are hills behind the barn composed of horse poop.

Of the things I learned:

Having the hose handy while feeding the goats is paramount.  They are more excited and friendly when you are bringing them food and lunging goat hooves don’t feel so nice.

 Zsadist the horse will bend to your will if you offer him a treat, this includes clumsily trying to put a horse blanket on him when it’s something you have never done before.

Never leave anything on the kitchen counter that can be consumed.  This includes and is not limited to used Kleenex and sticks of butter.  Adding to the weight of Maximus means you run the risk of being squished when he is in lap dog mode.

The sense of accomplishment and pride of the daily labour involved is like no other that I have felt.  Neither have I ever slept so well.  My temporary new life has instilled a deeper curiosity and appreciation for the rise in small farming ventures and an examination of how animals are cared for on a larger scale for mass consumption.  However, I am (with a twinge of guilt) grateful that I now have the option to sleep in on the weekend.

List of animals:

Dogs: Maximus Leonidas (Bernese Mountain Dog), Detective Olivia Benson (Miniature Dashchund)

Cats: Death Wish Kitty, Tip, Boo, Bob, Zoob (barn cats), Socket Plug (indoor cat)

Horses: Zsadist, Avalon

Goats: Gert, Hansel, Katinka, Tony, Levi

Sheep: 41, 42

Fowl:  24 ducks, Dindin (sole rooster), 8  chickens, 6 guinea fowl

Check out: newdomesticity.com

AND I have yet to read, but am going to go ahead and plug: Homeward Bound by Emily Matchar

In her own words:

"An examination of the fascination with reviving “lost” domestic arts like canning, bread-baking, knitting, chicken-raising, etc. Why are women of my generation, the daughters of post-Betty Friedan feminists, embracing the domestic tasks that our mothers and grandmothers so eagerly shrugged off? Why has the image of the blissfully domestic supermom overtaken the Sex & the City-style single urban careerist as the media’s feminine ideal? Where does this movement come from? What does it mean for women? For families? For society?"                        

Superstition

After coming back from vacation and working nonstop on my Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibit application for the week leading up to the due date I didn't think that I was going to be creating any work to submit to Zilberschmuck's themed show that was due the following week.  Especially since I didn't initially have any ideas.  My mom came up with a great suggestion to make a garlic necklace and I was riding out that idea in my head before I thought about making evil eye jewellery while walking to the studio last Tuesday.  Most likely fueled by my lack of sleep (my own fault).  I am addicted to Top Chef and I "had to" watch the two episodes leading to the finale even though I have to wake up early on Tuesdays to open the studio.  Asinine, I know.  Apparently sleep deprivation leads to the impossible - attempting enameling things together that you have never done before.  The brooch was the result of painting a dapped copper circle.  Then there was the mutant eyeball. I had myself convinced that using a strong binder like A4 - which is like a glue that holds enamel in place - would also hold smaller dapped forms onto larger ones.  This is not the case.  It seemed like it was going to do the trick but after a few seconds in the kiln they slid off.  Time for a creative solution.  I decided that some well placed and carefully sized rings of cloisonne might do the trick and they did just that, phew!  The eyeballs did migrate a bit during the firing in the kiln so I kept a close watch on them and after a few attempts got the effect that I was hoping for.  I cannot overstate how much in love I am with the chartreuse colour of the mutant eyeball.  The finished product is equal parts nouveau zombie and world of goo which makes me smile.  Semi related side note: I was uber excited that Lianne was in the studio today so that I could gush and discuss the latest episode of the Walking Dead.

Back of the brooch, yay handmade pinbacks!

I see you.

Here's looking at you, kid.

It's a mutant!

Flip side

Side view awesomeness.

So, I present to you my submissions for Superstition.  Their arrival comes after two failed attempts, one melted piece, one ridiculously ass backward fabricated ring, and another ring that got close to being finished.  That is until I decided to plunk the eyeball in place to see how it would look disregarding that it was not yet polished and there was no way to remove the eye without damaging it... sigh.

The brooch and pendant ended up being made from scraps of metal that are cast-offs after punching out discs... great for creating eyelashes apparently.  And that chain that I thought I hated some how worked out just right for the final touch.  I often find that when I am scrounging for materials and trying to throw things together that I wouldn't have initially thought of while drawing out a design I end up much more satisfied about the results.