International Jewelry Exchange

Members of the Metal Arts Critique Collective (MAC), Shana Astrachan, emiko oye, Christine Dhein, Kelly Nedderman, Aimee Golant, David Casella, and Reed Easley, hosted four members of the Jewellers and Silversmiths Network (JSN) of Farnham, Surrey, England in July as part of an international jeweler’s exchange sponsored by JSN.
 


JSN members Rebecca Skeels, Clare Stiles, Ruta Brown and Susan Levett, enjoyed a private curator’s tour of the Oakland Museum’s Modernist Jewelry collection as well as tours of Velvet da Vinci, the SFMOMA gift shop, and the Revere Academy. Visiting JSN members joined MAC for a special monthly critique. As invited guests, JSN members learned about the critique format, shared their work, and solicited feedback. Upon their return to England, JSN members planned to report back to their group and blog about what they had learned from their American counterparts.


For the second part of the exchange, the JSN has organized Material Connections, a one-day symposium to be held September 10, 2010 in Farnham Maltings, England. MAG/MAC members Shana Astrachan, Christine Dhein, Reed Easley and Kelly Nedderman will lead a panel discussion presenting how they as American designers combine alternative and traditional materials and the influences of the materials on the making process. Christine Dhein will also lecture on Recycled and Ethical Jewelry and co-present a lecture/demonstration on Keum-boo.
For more information visit the following link
http://www.jsnfarnham.com


Watch for a follow up report on our travels and Materials Connections.

-above entry reported by Christine Dhein

Custom Colors

Last week I completed a custom ring for Saskia, shown below wearing her new ring. I loved her color choices so and was pleased she got exactly what she wanted.



The custom order has re-inspired me to get working on a few more felted pieces and to play with combining some new colors. Here below are a few pictures of some pieces in progress.
Panels knit by my mom! Thanks for helping out mom! The panels will be washed over and over again so they felt into tighter squares.
The result will be a bracelet similar to this one made a few years back, made up of over 50 of the hand knit and felted pieces.

A new bracelet design in progress, still working out the details.


Not sure yet what I will do with these, maybe a new earring design.

My Mission Neighborhood Studio

I went to some of the Mission Open Studios last weekend here in my neighborhood in San Francisco. I was totally inspired by some of the amazing workspaces I saw, along with the art of course. It made me a bit nostalgic for my old Yosemite Street Studio, a huge industrial space I shared with artist April Higashi and Deborah Boskin for many years. But then I came back to my lovely studio and was reminded how much I adore my current workspace. So just wanted to share a few images of my studio.