Festive spirit.

Having a bit of fun in the studio getting pieces out to my various galleries in time for Christmas...

Pieces of Fate - @ Pieces of Eight Gallery

Amazing group show currently on at Pieces of Eight Gallery, Melbourne.

PIECES OF FATE - 24th May - 2nd July

I'm honoured to be one of the participating jewellers involved.

Instrument of Divination. Sterling silver, timber, paint, silk cord.

Pieces of Eight Gallery presents
Pieces of Fate
24th May – 2nd July, 2011


Have you ever come across a piece of jewellery, and thought to yourself, this must have been made for me… And there it was, just sitting there, quite simply, waiting to be found.

Pieces of Eight Gallery presents Pieces of Fate, a group exhibition of exquisite handcrafted pendants. Drawing inspiration from Professor Robert Baines, who coined the term, the exhibition includes works from 37 of the gallery’s represented artists who broadly explore the idea of an objects fate. Within the pendants various manifestations lay inherent intentions, purposes and appeal; an unquestionable right to exist. What then becomes its destiny?

Historically, pendants have provided all kinds of meaning and perceived powers for the wearer. Pieces of Fate explores how the modern day pendant can tell a story, possess magical powers or provide particular protection to an individual. It playfully engages with conversations about how materials, symbols and personal concepts give power or inscribe meaning to a piece of jewellery, and consequently how this may cause it to potentially determine its wearer.

With the making of each pendant, the artist was asked to record who or what the pendant may be for. This confidential text travels with the piece as a secret exchange between the creator and wearer of the pendant. As Kevin Murray states in his essay about the exhibition, "These incantations represent an important step forward in the restoration of jewellery power. They’re more than reflections on the personal inspiration of the jeweller. They also anticipate how the pendants will be experienced by the wearer."

Participating artists Bridget Bodenham, Cesar Cueva, Cinnamon Lee, Craig Spark, David Parker, Djurdjica Kesic, Dougal Haslem, Elfrun Lach, Jin-Ah Jo, Justine Austen, Karla Way, Katie Jacobs,Katrina Freene, Katrina Tyler, Krista McRae, Lucy Folk, Marcus Foley, Mark Edgoose,Melinda Young, Meredith Turnbull, Nadja Soloviev, Natalia Milosz-Piekarska, Nicky Hepburn, Nina Oikawa, Nina Ellis, Pennie Jagiello, Peta Kruger, Raymond de Zwart,Shimara Carlow, Sian Edwards, Sim Luttin, Steffi Kalina, Tamara Dixon, Teresa Lane, Tessa Blazey, Tim Fleming, Zoe Crowder

Opening
May 24th, 2011, from 6-8pm
Exhibition to be opened by Melanie Katsalidis, director and curator, Pieces of Eight Gallery. RSVP by May 20th, email marketing@piecesofeight.com.au

Book Launch
Exhibition publication to be launched on the opening night. To pre-order or purchase a copy, email info@piecesofeight.com.au

Workshop
‘Lucky Dip’ with Rachel Gorman and Pennie Jagiello.
June 25th, 2011, 10 – 3pm.
Open to all, bookings essential, participation fee $50.
RSVP by June 20th, 2011 to marketing@piecesofeight.com.au

http://piecesofeightgallery.blogspot.com/2011/05/upcoming-exhibition-pieces-of-fate.html

Touch, Pause, Engage.

I had a piece in a recent group show in Auckland, NZ titled Touch, Pause, Engage. This exhibition showcased works from a selection of New Zealand and Australian contemporary jewellers at Object Space Gallery, Auckland. For more info check out: Touch, Pause, Engage.

The piece i offered was a timber neckpiece titled 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.

UNDERFOOT. OVERHEAD. Studies in Nature.

I currently have work in the newly opened exhibition 'UNDERFOOT. OVERHEAD. Studies in Nature.' at Object Gallery, Sydney, curated by Kate Ford.

Exploring the environments beneath us and above us, and all that lies between. Underfoot. Overhead. includes a number of makers who take inspiration from the natural world and create artefacts that then challenge our idea of what is 'natural'.

Featuring work by Juz Kitzon, Ken + Julia Yonetani, Emily Valentine Bullock, Natalia Milosz-Piekarska and Michelle Kelly.

My work came under the title 'Immortal Morsels' and is an idea i think i might like to explore further down the track...

'Immortal Morsels' sees Natalia explore the mysterious world of food and it's endless uses as mediums for worship, healing and protection. Throughout time and across cultures, certain foods and an endless repository of enigmatic edibles have been administered with the belief that they house magical and medicinal properties. They have been used to heal, protect and alter our physical and mental states. Some foods and ingredients take on such divine eminence, the question could be asked, are they the food of the gods, or are they gods in themselves?

Natalia plays with these ideas through the construction of her own fictitious talismanic morsels . Using a veritable apothecary of materials to conjure up her creations, she cooks up a collection of weird and wonderful bite size charms to be taken strictly as prescribed.

Above are some of the pieces i included.

Beastly Buddies

A private commission and an exhibition piece evolved together over the last few weeks. They really do look like great friends.

Some of the materials used are timber, resin, glass beads, coral and paint.

Rings for Pieces of Eight Gallery.

Well boys and girls, the news about town is that Pieces of Eight Gallery in the city is about a week away!!! Just in time for Christmas! Start walking by when you're around Melbourne town to see if the doors have opened. Head down Russel Place, (btw lt Collins and Burke st).

Here's a couple of rings that make up part of an exclusive collection i've been working on for PO8.

The reddish stones are carnelian, the other two in the last pic here are painted timber.

Little Beastie Charm

A great little commission from a fellow Realise Your Dream winner.

Catch up...

Eek, it's been a while, it's so here's a catch up post to get things back up to speed.

A commissioned piece for the talented and ever so lovely designer, Skye Jeffreys (http://www.isleofskye.com.au/). It was one of those wonderful commissions where i was given free rein the make something big bold and colourful.

I also found out recently that a piece of my work was selected to be a part of the 2011 Talente showcase in Munich. This is a big honour as it it an annual juried international show of work, presenting emerging innovative practitioners from the areas of design, craft and technology. From Australia only myself, fellow jeweller Mel Miller and glass artist Kristel Britcher were selected this year, so no mean feat getting your foot in the door.

And with Christmas looming, i've been busily getting new work ready to send out to my various galleries and stockists. One exciting project that was handed to me was to create a one off Christmas piece for a festive showcase at E.g.etal. I won't say much more, you'll have to check it out when it goes up closer to the date (i'll keep you posted when it's officially launched), but it sounds like it will be quite a beautiful tribute to celebration, colour and festivities. A group of E.g.etal artists where invited to create a one off piece to be part of the collection and will available for purchase in store very soon. Here's a sneak peek at mine.

And for more exciting news, the new Pieces of Eight Gallery will be opening oh so soon (we're talking weeks, days even now), in Russel place, Melbourne. I will be involved with PO8 both as an artist, but also as gallery staff, so really looking forward to seeing this rocket launch. Their new and comprehensive website showcasing all their artists will be up and running soon also, so i'll be sure to get the link up as soon as it's updated. Here is a pic of two of my piece that will be part of my new one off collection for PO8.

Photography of the last works: Andrew Barcham

Image Courtesy of Pieces of Eight gallery.

Phew! There's more to come, but now i better get back to making...

Some new works...#3

With Open Studios snapping at my heals recently, i found myself in a flurry of new work production. With no brief or boundaries restricting what i made, the output became quite random and diverse, which was quite nice and confusing at the same time. Here's an attempt (in a 3 post series), to organise some of the work, though by no means did these pieces necessarily come about in this order, but they did all occur roughly within a two month time frame. Phew! Now it's full steam ahead getting the last of my pieces ready for the upcoming exhibition... stay tuned!

Some new works...#2

Some new works... group #1

Journeys with timber...

After numerous conversations at open studios regarding the seemingly endless variety of materials i utilise, i got to thinking about where i began with my work and how it's travelled. One material that i truly love is timber. I started experimenting with timber half way through uni and it has continued to cropped up in various guises in my work over time. Having no true knowledge of timber and how to work it, my treatment of it has it has always been quite experimental, naive and unorthodox. Some might think i'm quite the butcher with my heavy handed and brutal linishing, carving and joining, but i can't help but be drawn to it, it's forgiving nature, it's warmth, and it's subtle insistence to stay true to itself. No matter how much i torture and colour it, it always remains timber.

With so much of my work exploring the animist belief that inanimate objects can be imbued with a spirit or soul, i found timber to be a perfect material for communicating this notion as i discovered that each piece i worked with harboured it's own characteristics and personality.

Here is a little retrospective of my timber journey from some of the first piece through to now...

2007. Archane Landscape. Neckpiece. Timber, copper, enamel.

2007. Sad Eyes. Ring. Timber, oxidised copper.

2007. Companion Brooch. Timber, rubber thimble, copper, plastic.

2007. Hidey Hole. Ring. Timber, copper.

2007. Secret Garden. Brooch. Timber, fine silver, enamel.

2008. Adventure Playground. Neckpiece. Timber, copper, paint, cord.

2008. Beastie. Neckpiece. Timber, oxidised copper, paint, cord.

2009. Gone to Seed. pendant. Timber, glass beads, oxidised sterling silver, silk cord.

2009. Forest for the Fences. Neckpiece. Timber, paint, cord.

2010. Climbing Trees and Scraping Knees. Neckpiece. Timber, oxidised silver, shark vertebrae,

rhodochrosite, job's tears seeds, glass beads, pink coral, acrylic, paint.

2010. Untitled. Timber, oxidised silver, glass beads, job's tears seeds, paint.

2010. Untitled. Neckpiece. Timber, paint, silk cord.