Poly Poly Polymer!

In January and February SCC is offering a couple of Polymer clay classes. This is a first on a series of posts to show the variety of work created with the material.

Polymer clay is an incredibly versatile material. It is a synthetic modeling compound that comes in a variety of colors and ranges from translucent to opaque to metallic and liquid. It hardens at a low temperature (between 250°F and 300°F) allowing it to be cured in a regular oven. During this process the material doesn’t shift colors or size. Once cured it is strong, durable, flexible and lightweight.

Using accessible tools It can be rolled, sheeted, molded, sculpted, textured, stamped, extruded, it accepts inclusions, holds inks and paints, is conducive to image transfers and silkscreen; once cured it can be carved, sanded and polished. It also lends itself to imitative techniques: glass (millefiori), jade, coral, turquoise, ivory, wood, opal, and really anything people can imagine.

Polymer began being used by artists in the 1970s. Now a day it is used in jewelry, sculpture, wall art, furniture, installations, mosaic art, books, just to name a few of its uses.

But there is nothing like images to show the possibilities…

Elsie Winters

Maggie Maggio

Loretta Lam

Janna Lehman

Donna Kato

Celine Charuau/Grisbleu

Ronna Sarvas Witman

Tory Hughes

Wendy Malinow

Ford/Forlano

Cynthia Toops

Julie Eaks

Sarah Shriver

Carol Simmons

Melanie West

Rachel Carren

Dan Cormier

Kathleen Dustin

Katrin Neumaier

If you’d like to try your hand at Polymer clay Laura Tabakman will be teaching two workshops at SCC:

Try it: Polymer Clay T013012 Wednesday, January 30th  @ 6-9

Polymer Necklace MM020913b on Saturday February 9 @ 10-4 

Laura Tabakman

For more information or to register, call Sherrard Bostwick at 412.261.7003 x25, email thestudio@contemporarycraft.org or use our new online registration by clicking here.

How does music inspire art? Find out....

Metalsmiths Lisa and Scott Cylinder and a Pittsburgh treasure, Chatham Baroque, join forces for a night of musical collaborations at the Society for Contemporary Craft (SCC) in the Strip District on Friday, October 26, from 6-8 pm. Much like changing a piece of music from one key to another with historical reverence, the Cylinders transpose discarded musical instruments into exquisite jewelry. A series of the Cylinder’s wearable works will be featured on exhibition and available for sale. Chatham Baroque, an ensemble of baroque violin, viola da gamba, theorbo and baroque guitar, will perform a concert as part of the program. The event is free to the public and includes light refreshments.

 “Peg-Eyed Violin Scroll Snail Necklace” 2010 -  Vintage Violin Scroll,  Epoxy Resin, Copper, Sterling Silver, Ebony Violin Pegs, Cello Strings, Paint and Patina. Fabricated, Cast and Carved.

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Nationally recognized artists Lisa and Scott Cylinder began working together in 1988, after graduating from Tyler School of Art at Temple University in Philadelphia. For 22 years, this husband and wife team has collaborated from their studio in Oley, PA, to make small production pieces and one-of-a-kind, highly collectible art jewelry under the label of “L and S Cylinder.” Their influences are as varied as their materials. With a reverence for Lalique, Spratling, Los Castillo, Jensen, Ken Cory and many other fine handcraftsmen, the Cylinders are always looking for that elusive inspiration from which their next concept will emerge. The work that will be on view at SCC is the result of an exploration that began with a discarded clarinet. Disassembled and repurposed, the deconstructed instrument merged into a body of work that transformed a once aural implement into a visual one. About this series of jewelry Scott comments, “these well-crafted instruments carry with them a rich history of use: played, tarnished, worn, repaired, loved and hated. From practice room to concert stage, we are left only to imagine the stories each instrument could convey.” During the evening, the Cylinders will talk about their artistic process and how their love of music has directed them to an exploration of musical instruments. 

“Planar Pony Brooch” 2012– Bronze, Sterling Silver, Vintage Ebony Violin Tail Piece, Patina.  Fabricated. 

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With their sharp technique and lively interpretations of 17th- and 18th-century music played on period instruments, Chatham Baroque engages local, national and international audiences. Founded in 1990, the ensemble presents a full calendar of concerts, tours and musical collaborations, and has recorded nine critically acclaimed CDs. With a nod to the repurposed instruments used by the Cylinders’ to create their unique art jewelry, the 30-minute concert by Chatham Baroque will offer audiences the opportunity to hear baroque music that is accessible and thrillingly vivid, with an improvisational freshness akin to jazz.

Baroque violinist Andrew Fouts joined Chatham Baroque in 2008. In performance with the ensemble, he has been noted for his “mellifluous sound and sensitive style,” and as “an extraordinary violinist” who exhibits “phenomenal control”. In 2008, he won first prize at the American Bach Soloists’ International Baroque Violin Competition. In addition to Chatham Baroque, he has performed recently with the Four Nations Ensemble, Apollo's Fire, Musica Pacifica, Philharmonia Baroque, and as a soloist with American Bach Soloists. Patricia Halverson (viola da gamba) holds a doctorate in Early Music Performance Practice from Stanford University in CA. After completing her graduate work, she studied in the Netherlands at the Royal Conservatory in The Hague. A native of Duluth, MN, she is a founding member of Chatham Baroque. Her recent performances include concerts with Ensemble VIII of Austin, TX, the Washington Bach Consort, and a duo viola da gamba recital in Pittsburgh with Martha McGaughey. Scott Pauley (theorbo and baroque guitar) also holds a doctoral degree in Early Music Performance Practice from Stanford. Before settling in Pittsburgh in 1996, he lived in London, where he studied with Nigel North at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama. There, he performed with various early music ensembles, including The Brandenburg Consort, The Sixteen and Florilegium. Pauley has also performed with Tempesta di Mare, Musica Angelica, Opera Lafayette, the Folger Consort, the Four Nations Ensemble, The Toronto Consort and Hesperus, and has soloed with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. 

French Knitting and Wearable Geometry Workshop with...

Meghan Patrice Riley

2011 Elizabeth R. Raphael Founder’s Prize for small metals winner

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER!

Dates & Times: Saturday & Sunday, June 23 & 24, 10 am to 4 pm 

Mixing metals with textile techniques, Riley fashions uniquely elegant jewelry. Using thin, lightweight silver and nylon coated steel wire as "fiber," she forms small line segments to make geometric shapes and then builds the shapes into three-dimensional forms that are lightweight, flexible and adapt to the wearer. Geometric shapes were chosen as the foundation because they are simple, basic and elementary, but can be expounded on to produce multidimensional forms. Each form acts like a link to interconnect with other forms; creating an even larger volumetric structure. Riley will teach her wearable geometry and also a form of knitting, known as spool knitting, corking, French knitting or tomboy knitting, that is done on a spool and nails to create a spiral knit woven cord. On Saturday, students will be introduced to both methods, and on Sunday, they will transform one of Saturday’s exercises into a finished piece of jewelry. This workshop combines geometry with fiber and metalsmithing techniques, and welcomes mathematicians along with fiber and metal artists. 

Tuition: $200, Materials Fee: $75 

UK artist Alex Raphael comes to SCC!

Exhibition of Enamel Jewelry: March 30-June 30, 2012

Free Artist Talk: Friday, March 30, 6 pm (Reception: 5:30-7:30 pm)

Join us for this special opportunity to meet and hear from Alexandra (Alex) Raphael, a gifted artist who has perfected the ancient craft of enameling over many years. Largely self-taught, she specializes in plique-à-jour (backless enamel) and cloisonné jewelry. 

Alex's talk will reflect on the experience of growing up with SCC Founder Elizabeth R. Raphael as her mother and how this influenced her artwork. She will also speak about her new "Celestial Dream Series," which showcases the delicate ethereal images in rich colors reflected within gold and silver that can be achieved with the challenging plique-à-jour technique.

Necklace for my Mother, Gold and silver cloisonné enamel with tourmaline on lapis and silver beads

 

Necklace for my Mother, Gold and silver cloisonné enamel with tourmaline on lapis and silver beads

The depth and meaning of images in Alex's jewelry are often personalized for the wearer. This necklace, created in memory of the artist's mother, depicts: "eclipse of the sun with date of my birth, windows (from our first house), zodiac signs, acorn (representing our community of Oakmont), bee representing Mother - always busy as a bee and her initial, the letter "B", water, the word "STAY", phases of the moon, stars, and my hand holding a drop of blood."

Alexandra's latest collection of gold and silver cloisonné jewelry reflects the individual style for which she is well known. From ancient times, the mystical properties of stones are held as precious talismans. In her new three-dimensional "Within the Stone" series, she entices you into the magic and powers of the jewel. Looking through the stones there are delicate pictures drawn in gold and silver cloisonné, with the stones’ facets changing the reflective image.

Silver and gold cloisonné earrings with foils and natural pearl drop. 1"x 3" long. Photo by Richard Valence.

In her new "Study in Grey" series, her imaginative use of reflective gold and silver foils change her colors as they flow across the surface with warmth of the gold and the cold of the silver.

Alexandra's amazing enamels have won her numerous prizes worldwide, and are in the permanent collections of the Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths as well as the Musée Municipal de l'Évêché (Limoges, France), Musee de l’Horlogerie (Geneva), and the All- Russian Decorative-Applied and Folk Art Museum (Moscow).

The exhibition of Alexandra Raphael's work and her March 30 talk are signature events of SCC's 40th anniversary year. The talk is free of charge, but we ask that you R.S.V.P. in advance to 412.261.7003, x12, or development@contemporarycraft.org.

The Art of Transformation

By Lucy Peterson, SCC Intern

On Friday, February 3^rd, the 8^th installment of SCC’s Elizabeth R. Raphael Founder’s Prize Exhibition, Transformation 8: Contemporary Works in Small Metals, was unveiled to the public! Raphael Prize-winner Meghan Patrice Riley traveled to Pittsburgh from her New York City studio to attend the opening reception and accept the award, comprising a $5,000 cash prize and the purchase of her winning piece, Interstitial, for SCC’s permanent collection.

Bisected-Cones
Part of the Transformation 8 Exhibition

During the reception, Riley delivered an excellent talk about her work and artistic process. In case you missed it, you can check out a video recording of her remarks on SCC’s You Tube page.

Riley draws inspiration from her background in mathematics and geometry and it definitely shows in each of her pieces. Born in Anaheim, CA, she studied economics and fine art in Toulouse, France before completing her B.A. in economics from the University of California, Berkeley in 2002. To create her independent line, she joined a collective art studio in San Francisco’s emerging Mission District, where she held open studios and art shows, before relocating to her present space in New York.

Mobius-Strip and Bottle-Cap Earrings, 2011

About her winning piece, Interstitial, Riley says, “I want to show the starts and stops by creating a circular neckpiece reflecting a cycle. Counterclockwise the bottom right starts with an arrow leading the viewer to the top where there is a tipping point, and then coming around to the bottom a crescendo of interconnected, volumetric Möbius strips that cycle back to the origin. The Möbius strips are non-orientable and therefore have one side, illustrating an additional layer to the cyclical aspect of the piece.”

Meghan Patrice Riley, Interstitial, 2011
Raphael Founder's Prize Winning Piece

I was lucky enough to sit in on the final stage of jurying for Transformation 8 and got to handle Riley’s winning piece myself. I have to admit, I was wary of handling the necklace because it looked so fragile and delicate. Once I picked it up, though, I was pleasantly surprised! Not only light and wearable, it felt almost electric from the moment I picked it up; the gold beads jumped along the wires as I interacted with it. All of the jurors seemed to feel the same way about the piece, commenting about its transformative nature as you look at it, handle it and wear it. Juror Bruce Pepich might have put it best when he described Riley’s work as “a three dimensional drawing” reminiscent of “a jazz riff.” Other words I heard repeated about Riley’s piece were “refreshing”, “whimsical” and “transformative”. It was really fascinating listening to the comments of each juror as they approached their final decision and even more interesting to watch each of them respond so similarly to Riley’s piece after having a chance to handle it!

One Triangle, 2011
Part of the Transformation 8 Exhibition

The 33 outstanding finalists for the Raphael Prize submitted works that somehow address the theme of transformation and Riley’s winning necklace certainly accomplishes this in the way it continuously transforms on the wearer’s body. Because of its flexible nature, it looked slightly different, but equally stunning, on each juror that tried it on and I think that’s part of the real beauty of this piece. Transformation 8 features seven pieces of Riley’s jewelry, most of which can be purchased and taken home after the exhibition closes on June 30, 2012. In each work she mixes fine and industrial metals to fashion both a delicate and durable end product.

Bow-tie Necklace from the Axis Mundi line

Curious about her other bodies of work? Stop by SCC’s Store to see some colorful wire pieces from her 2011 Axis Mundi line that you wouldn’t have to wait to take home!

Descend Earrings from the Axis Mundi line

Bio-Organically Inspired Jewelry

The work of Jillian Moore is bright and colorful, shiny and bold. It can also be slightly disturbing in that it-looks-like-something-that-is-supposed-to-gross-me-out-but-I-don't-want-to-look-away kind of ways. Moore creates wearable pieces that abstractly reference biology. Working from micro to macro, her objects mimic that which is too small to be seen, such as viruses and bacterias, and that which is contained within our bodies. The glossy finishes accentuate the organic forms of organs and microorganisms, giving them the slimy and slick appearance one might expect of such unfamiliar anatomies.

Having earned her MFA in Jewelry and Metal Arts from the University of Iowa on the coat tails of having completed a BFA in Metalsmithing and Jewelry from Western Illinois University one might expect to recognize more metal  in her pieces. The truth is, it is often difficult to parse out exactly what materials are used in making these extraordinary objects. I admit, I found the lack of material definition immediately provocative. As a jack-of-all-trades maker, I often examine closely the type of materials artists use, the technique and appropriateness for both, but Moore's work is not willing to be so easily read. Pieces that appear to made from great gobs of glass and to have great weight prove themselves to be nearly weightless and far less fragile than expected. Free-standing objects have such movement that they appear to be boyant, yet they are heavy with the copper form that lies deep under many layers of paint.

In her artist statement, Jillian addresses her choice of materials and techniques, "I choose materials and techniques that are transformative, resulting in objects that do not readily reveal the processes of their making. Copper may be hidden under layers of paint, the only exposed metal oxidized. The electro-forming process allows for wax forms to be coated in copper leaving a hollow shell with textural encrustations--evidence of the accretive nature of the process of building copper on a molecular level. The resin pieces are light in weight, built on a core of carved foam that is strengthened by successive layers of an opaque, water-based composite resin. The clear epoxy resin is then layered with paint to create a depth of surface typically expected of glass work."

Jillian Moore is currently a participating artist in the Elizabeth R Raphael Founder's Prize Exhibition, on view in SCC's Main Gallery. She is also being featured in our Store. All of the works pictured in this blog are available for sale. Please call 412-261-7003 x 16, or email theStore@contemporarycraft.org to inquire about purchasing.

Parallels between graffiti and antique jewelry

Congratulations to artist Amy Tavern for making the cover of Metalsmith Magazine. What an honor for her!

We love Amy Tavern here at SCC. Not only do we represent her work in our store (in-store only) , but she has recently been juried, as a finalist, into our upcoming biennial Elizabeth R. Raphael Founder's Prize Exhibition, Transformation 8: Contemporary Works in Small Metals. This competition awards one finalist a $5,000 cash prize and purchase award. All 33 finalists from the first round of jurying are included in a published catalogue and exhibition at SCC's main gallery space. 

Brooch in Light Blue and Hot Pink, 2010
Oxidized sterling silver, light blue, hot pink, and white spray paint, cotton string
Fabricated with sgraffito, knotted string, 4” x 5” x 2”

Amy holds a BFA in Metals from the University of Washington and a BA in Arts Administration from the State University of New York College at Fredonia. Working with formal art elements such as line, shape, repetition, and rhythm Tavern creates light, gestural pieces which are often reminiscent of maps, arial landscape views, and simple line drawings. 

Necklace Arrangement, Oxidized silver

Her current work draws parallels between graffiti and antique jewelry. Amy explains, "I am intrigued by the accumulated history graffiti conveys via layers of marks and how antique jewelry depicts specific time periods. In both cases evidence of the individual remains whether as graffiti artist, maker, or wearer. Although my work does not resemble graffiti in its purest form, I reference it by the way I manipulate the spray painted surfaces of each piece. I further reference graffiti by purposefully covering precious metal with paint like an irreverent tag on a statue. I show reverence also for the past by creating work that alludes both to traditional adornment, such as the teardrop, as well as jewelry that once belonged to my grandmother."

Bow Cluster Brooch with Teardrop, 2010 
Sterling silver, light blue, navy, yellow, and white spray paint 
Fabricated with sgraffito, 8.5” x 4” x 1.75”