Thursday 25 October 2012

Brand: Emerging design talent @ Birmingham's School of Jewellery.

"The new mark on contemporary Jewellery. Second year students from the world famous School of Jewellery, Birmingham, have formed an exciting new company of emerging designers."
“Brand” is a collective of inspired young jewellers from across the globe. Stimulated by this they have initiated their own brief. With ideas developing from their concerns with identity, collaboration and collisions of worlds. They are a multicultural, multi-styled and multi-skilled company, who have been nurtured by some of the world’s leading contemporary jewellers."
"By creating diverse, unique and challenging contemporary pieces, “Brand” are targeting the trend savvy, the art enthusiast and the design minded. With their passion for creative innovation, they are making their mark on the world of contemporary jewellery."
"To celebrate the completion of thirty-eight individual collections “Brand” will be hosting an exhibition and selling event on the 20th of November at The Vaults in the Jewellery Quarter. Please join them at one of their further selling events during the run up to Christmas. Event details will be confirmed and publicised on their website. Work is also available on a commission basis."
You can read and see more about this exciting new project on Facebook, Twitter and their Blog, which is particularly interesting as it tracks their works in progress and how their work is evolving.

Monday 22 October 2012

An Autumn Event and Knit Bombing @ Manor Park

This weekend I took part in a Knit bombing and craft event at Manor Park. It was so good to see the communal green space being used by locals and people sharing skills and selling produce/work. The event was set up by Laura Lewis a local resident and visual merchandising Wiz / Lecturer, She teamed up with a local cafe in the park to promote and organise it all.
Sally Pharo, Director at Dilly Knit was there with her work and she also produced a lot of the knit and baubles for the knit bomb event.
I also met some of the people from Quaggy Waterways Action Group who are working to restore the waterways in the area. It was really interesting to hear about all the work they had done so far on urban spaces, there is so much wildlife in the area too.
I made a few one-off cakes and cactus...not normally what I make and it was really fun to be involved with. It was also British Wool week, so nice to contriubute to the awareness and celebrate something the UK does very well. All my yarns were from Yorkshire!

Tuesday 16 October 2012

Paula Lindblom's collaborative project with Eva Zethraeus

"Since November 2011 ceramist Eva Zethraeus and jewelry artist Paula Lindblom have had an experimental collaboration."
"Eva Zethraeus ceramic twigs are unique and have become jewelry that Paula Lindblom has worked on with her humour and characteristic materials creating a combination of their aesthetics." Välkommen – welcome to Sintra Konsthantverk and the window exhibition 22/9 -16/10 2012

Highlights from the Pitt Rivers

I always enjoy my trips to Oxford and come back home with a big stash of photos, itching to draw, think and test ideas. My last visit in late summer was the first time I have been since the Pitt Rivers and Ashmolean had re-designed their displays. The Pitt Rivers upper floors were open again. In the same building you can also visit the Museum of Natural History. I thought I would share some of my favourite objects from this visit.

Carving

Again at the Ashmolean Museum, this Viking wood carving was something I had not noticed there before. Such beautiful carvings and what looks like stylised oak leaves. It was presented in the same room as other objects from that time and area. I have added a few detailed photos so you can see some of the leaves closer up. I can't wait to go back there again. So much to see and take in.

Music

"Music" 1894, Sir John James Frampton. A model for a relief, cast in plaster. One of the most significant sculptors of the Arts and Craft movement. He is better known for his Peter Pan sculpture in Kensington Gardens. I found it interesting that the same sweeping shape of the instruments are used in both. This work can be seen in the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford. At first I thought it was a wooden panel, but on closer inspection I saw that it was polychromed plaster. The pigments were very beautiful. I have not seen the silver panel it was to become, but I wondered if I would prefer this model as the colour would be lost in the translation to silver.

Monday 15 October 2012

Door

This beautiful door can be found in Oxford, near the Radcliffe Camera. I go and see it every time I visit. It is such a contrast to the architecture around it, you feel like it might be part of a treasure hunt!

Tuesday 9 October 2012

Zoe Robertson

Over the Summer Zoe Robertson was selected for two prestigious exhibitions. The first being The European Prize for Applied Arts, Worlds Craft Council, Mons, Belguim. The second being selected for Premio Fondazione Cominelli per il Gioiello Contemporaneo, Italy, with an Honorable Mention. Zoe Robertson commented " I am extremely delighted to be selected for this prestigious exhibition and to be amongst such esteemed company alongside applied artists of the highest calibre is a great honour" A huge achievement to get both, Congratulations Zoe!
"Its Sublime" Series of magnetic brooches

Rings @ City Lit

As there were so many beautiful rings produced in the City Lit Live Project with Annoushka I thought I would share some more with you. You can read more about the project on the Annoushka blog here
Images from Top: Katherine Clark, Tomoko Takai, Yeenham Chow, Linda Godfrey, Louise Scholefield.