Recently, I found some old pieces I casted at school.  They were casted in bronze from organic material – dried ginkgo leaves. I am developing an idea that would combine my previous designs inspired by ginko seeds & fertilizaton with these ginkgo leaves.  I’m intrigued by the potential of combining my more abstract pieces with pieces from nature.
I want to share a documentary film I recently saw “Between the Folds” filmed by Vanessa Gould. I was amazed by all the wonderful possibilities of a simple form – hand folded paper! It can be transformed into very complicated 3D forms that I would never have imagined. The beautiful origami not only has delicate craftsmanship in art, but also greatly influences scientific research. It has enlightened a new world in art, science and philosophy and given me a new perspective on the creative process.  Be sure to check out the link!

ChiaChien Tsai

After hearing a bit about the SNAG conference I think that next year I am going to try and finagle my way into Phoenix to prepare myself for it’s year in Toronto.  The anticipation is already building up and I for one am looking forward to exposing our Metal scene to a larger audience.  Although I missed out on the it I feel like I got a tiny snippet of what it might be like at the Pecha Kucha held at Harbourfront.  It was a very relaxed atmosphere with some interesting talks from a group of very talented individuals.  Be sure to check out the Harbourfont link to see who was there and take a gander at their work!


-Alexis

Last week I had the pleasure of attending a SNAG conference (Society of North American Goldsmiths) in Seattle, Washington. This annual traveling event for jewellers centers around lectures and exhibitions of contemporary jewellery. There was also a vendor room with tools and technical demonstrations as well as a trunk show of members work for sale.

Jewellery as an academic topic may be a little surprising to some but I was loving it! So you might wonder how jewellery can be about anything other than a decorative ornament. If that is the case you should think of jewellery like you would painting on sculpture. Metals, gemstones, and alternative materials are the medium for this artistic expression and the body is the natural place to display the message.

My favorite lecture was by Damian Skinner a writer and curator from New Zealand. He spoke about artists creating what he called “ambitious jewellery” as a means to convey important ideas with both a local and international focus. What I liked about his talk was that he acknowledged that so much of what we think of as contemporary jewellery has really only been informed by a few countries in Europe and now the United States.

This view of contemporary jewellery is quite narrow and excludes so much of what the rest of the world has done and is currently doing. As a Canadian attending this conference for the first time I felt that most of the work on display reflected American contemporary jewellery. It was for this reason that Damians lecture resonated with me and made me think about Canadas contemporary jewellery scene and how it differs from the states.

In 2013 SNAG will be coming to Toronto where we will get our chance to show the jewellery community what it is we do here in Canada! I will keep you updated on the plans for this exciting event as they unfold. If you would like to get involved check out the facebook group for SNAG Meta-Mosaic.

-Gillian

Well hello everyone! My name is Lauren Hanham and I am the newest addition to the Jewel Envy family. This is my very first blog post so I wanted to start off by introducing myself and talking a little bit about my work.
I am a 2009 graduate of the George Brown Jewellery Arts Program right here in Toronto, Ont. Before coming to Toronto for school I lived in Burlington, Ont for pretty much my entire life. I’ve always loved craft in any medium, even if I wasn’t good at it. Jewellery is by far my favourite. There’s something so satisfying about art you get to wear.
Some of my favourite things to experiment with in metal is seeing how far I can bend or stretch sheet metal or wire. I love how malleable metal can be. When I was in school many of my projects utilized these techniques. Now being back in a fully equipped studio, I plan to bring this character back to my designs.
After graduating I worked for Matsu Jewellery, a local Toronto jeweler, for about a year where I learned some great production techniques that enabled me to create my first collection out of college that I have called “The Lady Slippers”. Recently the slippers have been joined by a seaweed inspired collection called “De La Mer”. Soon to follow is a currently unamed collection inspired by animal claws.
Thanks for stopping by and come visit at the studio!
-Lauren

https://laurenhanhamdesigns.blogspot.com

My “H2o” Ring is accepted to be part of the National Juried Show-“Inspired By”.

Gillian’s beautiful ring “Burnt Stew Trail” is also part of this show and it is awarded honorable mention by the judges.
Hope you can find time to visit this exhibition that will take place at Zilberschmuck Gallery .

Time: May 19, 2011 at 6pm to June 25, 2011 at 6pm
Hope to see you there!
Fatima

I have admired Theo Jansen’s kinetic sculptures from afar for some time: he is the dutch artist/engineer who has created the oddly beautiful strandbeests. These “creatures” move in an animal-like way, and Jansen speaks of the way they charm observers.

Now people can own their own strandbeest, or at least a small replica. The 3D printing company Shapeways has made them available, printed in one pass, already articulated.

Hi all!
For last few weeks, I taught Intro to fabrication class here at Jewel Envy. It has been a lot of fun, and class is heading toward the end already. It is always exciting to see students get excited about the projects and their ideas. 🙂 

Band rings by Satoko NaKaima, Leigh Courdnesne, Anna Dai, Kate Cherney

Earrings by Deborah Lewis, cuttle fish casting project

Pendant by Binh Truong, cuttle fish casting project

Bracelet and earrings by Suzanne Johnson

Bangle by Leigh Courdnesne

Pendant by Anna Dai

Rosalyn

brass gypsy earrings

   

bronze leaves

enameled stars





 





Young Kyoung Ko