intangible ideas

"the unreal is more powerful than the real.

nothing is as perfect as you can imagine it,

it is only intangible ideas, concepts, beliefs, and fantasies that last.

stone crumbles. wood rots. people die.

but things as fragile as

a thought

a dream

a legend

well, they can go on and on."

- chuck palahniuk

"the world's best photos of sculpture and sterling"

just found a couple of my pieces on "the world's best photos of sculpture and sterling" gallery courtesy of flickr hive mind :)

to learn more about these pieces click here.

an article on crafthaus

i've recently joined crafthaus which is an online guild of sorts where professional craft artists display their work and build connections.

Rickson Salkeld is one of their frequent contributors in discussions and recently published  "Who am I? I am Canadian." There she compiled a small gallery of "some of the great Canadian jewellery, ceramics, and miscellaneous craft artists [that she's] come across in [her] travels" and has graciously included one of my thesis pieces "just because you feel it doesn't mean it's there." 

thanks Rickson!

the militarized mind

i saw inception the day after it came out. ever since i heard about it, i was SO excited to see it in the theatre. and not just because christopher nolan is visionary and thought provoking but more specifically because the film revolves around intrusions of the mind.

some of you may know that my thesis work revolved around secrets and the walls that accompany their keeping. i liked working with this concept because the barriers i created were initially intangible. i gave them form in my wearable sculptures.

this movie resonates with me because there were instances in this movie that depicted the militarized mind and how the subconscious reacts to intrusion. it was amazing to see.

i knew during my thesis year at OCAD that i wouldn't stop my series on secrets with graduation, that it would be an idea that would change and grow. i'm working on some new ideas now...i'm really excited about where it will go.

some wax carving

since i had so many fans of my fertility charm at the Outdoor Show i decided to carve out a new smaller, lighter, and easier to clean version in wax so i can have it cast in sterling silver in time for the Cabbagetown Arts and Crafts show in September.

when i'm making wax pieces to be cast, i normally work in a very malleable brown wax (this one is covered in purple wax shavings) first so i can get the size and shape right before i move on to carving and refining the final form in the hard wax (the purple wax in this example) with files. the aqua coloured wax is from OCAD's wax injector which creates the form in wax if you've already had a mold made of your original piece.

this new fertility charm is a third of the weight of the original one, about half the size, and has a different texture on the back side.

i've gotten much faster at carving wax now. i'm quite pleased with myself.

p.s. this is my 100th post! crazy.

a blog post

a fellow jeweller, Alexis Kostuk, was kind enough to visit my booth at the Outdoor Show last weekend and then write up a little post about her visit on the Jewel Envy blog.

it's nice to see other jewellers at your booth, they tend to have insightful perspectives. and of course, they know what you're going through. 

here is one of her pieces that i particularly like, it's very whimsical and includes turquoise, flocking (a technique i want to try), resin, pearls, and sterling silver.

a little publication

i recently found out that one of my pieces was included in the Ontario Craft Council's Annual General Report. it's just a little photo of my labyrinth bun cage "sometimes goodbye's the only way," but it's there.

above it is a piece by the very talented miss julie moon. i was fortunate enough to see her MFA thesis work at the Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition last weekend and it was ah-mazing.

i especially love this piece and want it in my home:

enthusiasts

i hadn't initially meant to sell some of my more sculptural pieces at the Outdoor Show but i had some very enthusiastic patrons who convinced me that they needed to have my work in their life.

because i didn't expect to sell those pieces, i didn't even bother to price them or even consider a price in my mind.

but i'm very happy to have met these admirers of my work. they have been so sweet and they remind me of why i'm in this field - of why it's worthwhile to do what you love.

this fertility charm is a sculptural pendant that was made in my casting class during my first year of jewellery at OCAD. i had painstakingly carved out the form in wax, cast it in bronze, cleaned it up for a week for my critique, and then two days before it was due had it stolen :(

i quickly had to make a new piece, and this time i had to do it in brass. though, when i had it at the Outdoor Show, i had taken off the dark patina (colouring) and left it a nice satin finish where you could see the shine of the brass.

this piece now has a new home with a very lovely lady.

the aftermath

TOAE is over and i had planned to take a rest. but i just can't bring myself to do it. i've been in the studio every day, hard at work on some commissions and building up stock for Cabbagetown, but i do find myself very sleepy on my train rides now. i don't even pack a book anymore (the train rides are my coveted times for reading) because i know i'm just gonna fall asleep.

the six weeks right before the Outdoor Show left me constantly multi tasking. i couldn't watch a movie unless i was sanding a piece or sewing a flower pin together. i'm getting used to being very busy.

but tonight i'm going out to a beach BBQ with some jeweller friends. i'm excited, it's so hard for us to get together because there always seems to be a need to polish a piece or meet a deadline.

TOAE is over!

thanks so much to everyone who came to my booth at the Outdoor Show. it was amazing to hear all the positive feedback and everyone's plans to colour co-ordinate their outfits to my jewellery :p

a special thanks to Jon, Jay, Warren, Yoon, Sherif, Joyce, Maha, and my parents for being so helpful, patient, and hardworking. i couldn't have done it without you guys.

it was a really great (though exhausting) experience and i'm looking forward to participating again in the future. one of the good things about the Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition is how much it can lead to other things in your career. for some it means commissions, or getting picked up by galleries or being asked to participate in shows.

i did get a few commissions that i've already started working on now. but i've also been pre-approved to participate in some upcoming shows such as the Cabbagetown Arts and Crafts Sale which is happening in September. i'm going to keep trying to make new designs and play with more colours in my enamel work - so get ready to see more of me and my jewellery soon. i told myself i'd have at least have two days to rest...but then i found myself in the studio the day after anyway! i just can't stay away!

i was really fortunate to have had my booth moved to underneath the bridge area in City Hall. because of this i was able to get a nice corner space as well as a good mix of shade and sunlight. it also sheltered me from the insane rainfall that plagued us during set up. i basically set up my booth looking like a wet cat.

but it was done with much help and i'm happy with the results.

here's my three cases...colour coordinated of course! i had more red enameled pieces but they sold out so quickly.

this show was so busy that i barely had time to see any other booths. i had limited myself to the top 15 i wanted to check out, but i'm pretty sure i only saw 5, and only because they were on the way to the restrooms.

for some reason all my set up pictures were taken with my dad's camera...so you can't see us looking all frazzled and rushed. but here's one of my friend Nini, hurriedly setting up her own booth which was only two down from mine.

thanks again to everyone who came by, it was lovely meeting you all.