Barbara Smith

A few weeks ago, I started working on a new cameo piece. So far, the going is SLOW. I’m currently waiting on a few materials and angsting about the back of the piece and the design of the pin stem.

The wire piece to the left is a wrapping test and will eventually be made out of gold filled wire to match the acupuncture needles. Right now, I’m thinking about having 5 needles in the tooth and may cut them down just a bit as I think they are a tad long. We’ll see. I’d like to bring the wrapping to the back of the piece by coiling the gold wire on the top ends of the pin stems. Perhaps some hair there too, but I’ll know more after I’m done angsting over it!

I’m excited about a few things that are happening with this piece, at least in the way the materials are being applied. I’ve also never done such a dimensional piece…I’m a little nervous about how it is going to read, but, I’m hoping for a strong visual impact.

I haven’t picked out the crochet pattern for the collar yet, but I’m hoping to tackle that next week…and possibly get the cameo piece put together this week. My goal is to submit it to Metal Inclinations. The deadline is June 30th, and I’ll be at Arrowmont for a week this month…the clock is ticking.

Update: I think I found a crochet edging patter that will be perfect: Dewdrop Edging.

I’ve started working on my design for my next cameo neck piece. So far I have the back form made, but that is as far as I have gotten. This week I’m going to focus on getting the other pieces cut out and prepared so I can start putting things together. I am going to use a combo of sterling silver and 14 karat gold. I’ve not actually worked with gold before, but I don’t think it will be that much of a stretch for me. I really wanted to bring the 2 colors into this piece for some nice back and forth repetition in the design.

This weekend I spent 2 days at the Arline Fisch workshop put on by CMAG. It was a pretty fun time. Although I’m not sure if I’ll use the processes in my own work, they will definitely be helpful in future teaching. I seem to always have a textile student or two who want to use techniques they already know with metal. I did determine, however, that plaiting is the most evil invention ever…I had decided this years ago during a textiles class in Colorado…and it definitely isn’t more enjoyable with metal!

I have some really good news!! I’m so excited about it that I just had to post it.

First, I’m taking a class this summer at Arrowmont with Gretchen Goss called ” Captured in Glass: Photographic Transfer on Enamel”. I’m really looking forward to this workshop, which specifically mentions using gum bichromate processes on enamel. And, as if that wasn’t enough, I was awarded a scholarship from Arrowmont and by Pi Beta Phi to attend! I’m really excited about that, since funding is always an issue.

And, secondly, I’m all lined up to start my M.F.A. at SUNY-New Paltz this fall! I’m really excited about working with Jamie Bennett and Myra Mimlitsch-Gray (who did a stint teaching at Purdue years ago). I’ve been awarded a scholarship for fall!! I can’t wait to start working again…like, really working.

This week is finals week here, but after that is over, I’m switching gears into maker mode. I hope to start posting images of work in progress again soon.

YAY!

I had a great time meeting Jessica Calderwood this Sunday, and getting to work with her for awhile this past Monday. She was wonderful! Very open about every aspect of her artistic process. She gave a great lecture covering some work from her undergrad, her residency at Kohler, and her grad work at ASU. She also talked about how she has survived as an artist post graduate school, and had many students asking her, “What am I going to do when I graduate?” We have already mentioned to her that we would love to have her back for a longer workshop at some point.

The students really enjoyed working with her…it was a perfect topic for the enameling class, which had yet to do much with painting/drawing with enamel. (I’m not incredibly well versed with this) The students asked intelligent questions and, I think, really gleaned a large amount of information from Jessica. I’m excited to see how my students integrate what they learned from Jessica into their last two class projects.

Interestingly enough, this was my first time at Purdue that I’ve had the opportunity to go to a lecture and workshop by a metalsmith. Come to think of it, we never had anyone in to even do a lecture in photography the entire time I’ve been at Purdue! I know I’m not the only person here who feels this way, but, one of the huge things that we lack is a strong visiting artist program. It is really so important for the students to get opportunities like this one during their formative years in school. It is even important for the faculty! All of the faculty who attended Jessica’s lecture and demo yesterday, including myself, learned a lot and felt excited about this new technique that we could teach and/or use in our work. Yesterday was awesome….and as excited as I was I also felt like I had missed out; that my students miss out because of a lack of funding for visiting artists at Purdue. Maybe one day. I think this was a step in the right direction.

Well, the spring jewelry sale is over. It was a pretty busy week, but, all in all we had a TON of work and had pretty good sales.

Today I spent the day at Spring Fest in the College of Liberal Arts tent in 40 degree weather…windy…rainy…talk about cold. Three cups of tea later I’m still not warmed up!

Despite the crap weather, Spring Fest had pretty good attendance….although we didn’t really sell much jewelry. The laminated paper brooches were a hit though.

At any rate, tomorrow, a WARM dinner with Jessica Calderwood. I’m very much looking forward to her talk. And, if all goes well, we are going to shoot for having Kiff Slemmons in during the beginning jewelry class this maymester. Fingers crossed!

A few pieces of my spread for the spring jewelry sale–my last one here at Purdue. I managed to compile 41 pieces to sell, which might be a new record for me.
We have 2.5 weeks of school left here and between that and the sale I’m pretty much a grumpier version of my normal self. I am really excited to report that this coming Monday, April 14th, Jessica Calderwood is coming to Purdue to give a lecture and demo on her work processes. I REALLY like her work, so I’m looking forward to meeting her (and letting the enameling students learn from someone who knows what she is doing…) This is the first time since PAJAMA’s formation that we have brought in a visiting artist from outside the university to work with us. Very exciting, since this is mainly what PAJAMA was made to do.

Tonight I spent some time pursuing the new online show hosted by Ethical Metalsmiths called “Composting Good and Evil”
As I was browsing, I paused at this piece by Kerianne Quick:

Of course, the teeth, but there is also the idea of matriarchal heritage in this piece, which really draws me in.
I just have this mental image of a woman moving through her life, and as one mother figure passes, the ring is given to the next in line…an act of passage to a new stage if you will…and that at some point in her life, one woman might wear all these rings for a moment, before passing them onto the next generation…I want these rings to be a performance piece…

We have 4 weeks left in the semester here at Purdue and I am going insane.

My current task is the upcoming spring jewelry sale put on by our metals club called PAJAMA. (Purdue Art Jewelry and Metals Association). I’ve been working non-stop on some items to sell, since this year our sale is participating in Spring Fest (a very well attended event, depending on the weather).

I’ve just finished my set of flyers:

With all the post-SNAG talk about the Bruce Metcalf presentation, I’ve been thinking a lot about my feelings towards making my “serious”, more conceptual metals pieces vs. jewelry. I’ve often talked to a former student about how I really don’t enjoy making production jewelry…its true. It has to be more organic for me; more intuitive. I generally find that if I make too much of one thing, I get really bored. When it is playful and unscripted…now that is when jewelry making is at its best (for me).

I’ll be sure to post a few images of the work I made for the sale as well as our display. We’ll be making laminated paper brooches with the kiddies at Spring Fest, so if you are in the area and want to eat some bugs (Bug Bowl…), stop by!

Iris Eichenberg’s Chatelaines on Klimt02.

front

back

This sounds weird to say, but this piece is actually my first real live enameling piece. Don’t get me wrong…I’ve done lots of test tiles and playing around, but I’ve never made anything significant that involved enamel. (which is funny, since I’m teaching enameling this semester…)

This piece has an interplay between phallic and feminine forms throughout—-side to side and front to back. The larger copper forms were conceived through sketching from images of cell division (I’ve been particularly interested in diagrams of cell division lately). I’m the blue form (phallic) and my brother is the green form (breasts). The overall shape of the butterfly is a symbol of both femininity and homosexuality.

Hi Michelle