this is how it ends

you may have noticed that cocoons are recurring forms in my work. they are symbols of protective containment, and to me, the ripped ones represent self imposed growth and change. i love the organic nature of cocoons and their bulbous, pod-like forms. and it's infinitely interesting to me how small changes in where i choose to saw my lines or how far i move my pliers can change the look of the tears.

when i first learned enameling i tried to make some ripped cocoons, but there were some small logistic problems that have now been solved. the cracks can be more detailed if it's just metal like in this piece, but if i enamel, fine cracks in metal lead to cracks in the enamel.

well, i'm always learning :)

some good and bad

i had some technical problems with my kiln today leaving me extremely frustrated. hopefully it gets resolved soon.

i felt better when i found my transitional cocoon was uploaded to this site. as well as when i found some of my work on flickrhivemind - which is apparently also known as a place for "the world's best photos."

the very first cocoon i made from my first year in jewellery was included in the set "the world's best photos of sterling silver and thread." though, the photo itself is awful. this was long before i knew how to document my work properly.

and my labyrinth bun cage, aka "sometimes goodbye's the only way," "jack's spoon," my rollercoaster earring, and my leaf knife were all included in the set "the world's best photos of design and metalsmithing."

i'm not sure who curated these sets but thank you for including me in them :)

a busy week

this week has been very tiring, but also very productive. 

i tried indoor rock climbing for the first time on sunday with some old friends. it was really fun and made my upper back really sore for a couple days afterward. my friends complained of having sore fingers, but mine were fine. at least being a jeweller gives you strong hands! here's one of them climbing to the top of the 60ft wall. i was surprised when i grabbed that top rock myself.

then on monday i was off to teach art with my friend Connie. this week the kids worked with pastels. Clinton Public School has a really good art program for kids - a program i wish i had when i was their age. the parents are extremely supportive of the arts and consistently organize fundraisers to keep the program active as well as art nights to keep the work appreciated. i was astonished to find that some of the kids are learning silk screening, paper making and ceramics - things that i learned at OCAD for $500 a class.

on monday's and wednesday's this summer i'm the class assistant to Gillian Batcher's casting class. it's really good to have her as part of our faculty. George Brown tends to teach jewellery a bit differently and more intensively than OCAD, so whenever we get an instructor who was educated there we tend to happily learn more tricks of the trade. i've already learned a couple of things i didn't know about casting just from assisting her for two classes.

on wednesday and thursday i went to yoga (i really needed that). and then i spent part of monday, wednesday and friday, as well as all of tuesday and thursday sawing, filing, and forming some of the jewellery i plan to have for the toronto outdoor art exhibition (exciting and tedious).

i also ran some errands, went chain shopping, and had a mini meeting with a friend i'm entering a european design competition with in august.

i am pooped.

but i still have to go to a family gathering and spend the rest of the weekend enameling.

someone get me a coffee :)

testing...

i'm officially done taking classes at OCAD now. with my free time i've been trying out my new kiln and doing lots of colour and design tests. i like this new shape i'm working with, it's one of my cocoons, but transformed into a 3D paisley design.

here are a few of the explorations i've been working on.

i'm still working out some kinks...

stay tuned my dears :)

some more cocoons

i did some more tests on tuesday. i like the ripped effect on metal, it was time to see it with enamel on top. i found that the big open gashes work better when there's an enameled surface. but when it's just plain metal, i like the spiderweb like cracks similar to the one in my thesis piece: you try to take the best of me.

i don't like the butter yellow too much in this context, maybe if it was on the ones i showed in my previous post...i tried to change it up a bit by adding a transparent enamel, but it stayed almost the same. if i could do it again i would use a more subdued yellow.

i only have two more enameling classes left at Jewel Envy...i'm tres sad.

adventures in enameling

yay! colour, cocoons, lace, and ribbon!

these are the products of my enameling class...so far.
Emily Gill will be teaching some new enameling workshops and classes very shortly at Jewel Envy, so take a class if you like what you see!

i want to buy an enameling kiln now.

instead of making half cocoons, i tried wrapping my full cocoons with wire, then enameling them. i like the effect, but i think i should find some thinner wire for me to be perfectly satisfied...

on a good note, i found my silver chains!

i will take photos this weekend so you can all see my small adventures in enamelling :)

enameling!

so i am really loving my enameling class with the very talented emily gill from jewel envy :) i'm not used to working with so much colour in my work so i guess i'll constantly be amazed at the results.

i made some very cute cocoon necklaces last night and i am excited to get them on some chains so i can get people to wear them...now if only i could find my bag of chains...

out of the shadows

i have some new (old series) shadowboxes for sale at the upcoming Out of the Shadows show at *new* gallery. they'll be on display from November 18th - 22nd. it's a fundraiser, so buy something :)

all you see is where else you could be 
(cocoon series #5)

bronze, organza, thread, handmade paper

and

because it's too important to stay the way its been 
(rebuilding series #3)

coffee stirrers, thread, white out, handmade paper, steel wire

Square Foot Show Stuff

I finally finished the pieces for the Square Foot Show at AWOL Gallery. Here's a peek at two of them. The opening is August 15th. Over 500 artists are exhibiting. Check it out, you're bound to see something you like.