maker: brooch.
"Woe unto them that rise up early in the morning, that they may follow strong drink " (Isaiah 5:11)
materials: rubber stoppers sourced from empty grolsch beer bottles and stainless steel
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Green D 27
strangely the only photo I snapped whilst away. weird.
Melbourne, some might say Australia's contemporary jewellery capital, others, may not. Either way it so happened that last week I managed to escape the world of gaffa/sydney/keeper and headed south for a little time out and some jewellery nerd excursions.
First stop - A studio visit to see/meet Natalia Milosz-Piekarska and Karla Way. These ladies know how to rock a studio. Thanks for having me and good luck with the show preparations.
Next stop eg.et.al, Craft Vic, Studio Ingot, Gallery Funaki, and finally to the Ian Potter Centre to see the amazing work of the late Mari Funaki.
Believe me, it wasn't all beer and skittles, there was pizza and cocktails too.
However the main reason for my trip down south was to attend a jewellery symposium (*cough*nerd*cough*). you bet.
If you want to actually know what the papers were about and what other lovely jewellers thought, you're best off going here (Melbourne Jeweller) and here ( Melissa Cameron).
I, on the other hand, am unsure what I could tell you about the day, tend to have a different approach to taking notes and remembering things. It's not a straight up science, more catch phrases, words and nuances that are left marked on my pages. Ideas and concepts that seemed to resinate with me, that made me nod my head in an appreciating silence. I collect words. They aren't special words. They contain all the meaning they need (for me) without the use for other words. Sometimes, however, they gain strength when combined into a small bunch.
responsibility.
I walk.
recovering - recovering.
garnish.
art with a punch line.
whatever.
jewellery way of seeing.
DEAD.
can contemporary jewellery save the world? does it need to? would anybody care? does any body care?
can you be maker, wearer and viewer? do you have to chose? which one would you give up?
Now it seems I have more questions, more worries and more thoughts about the world of contemporary jewellery, but those I guess you'll hear another day.
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Monday, July 19, 2010
welcome back.
All photos taken by Joy and John of lyrebird photography (www.lyrebird.joylai.com) and not to be reproduced with out permission.
looking good kids, looking good!!
Now that the shop has officially launched, I can try and focus a bit more of my energies back to Keeper Gallery and my own making practice. Hurrah.
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
something and nothing.
a collection of singles.
my grandmother never got rid of any thing.
a collection of things.
A collection of combinations I have made.
material : c.1950's education toy
(plastic shapes that slot into each other).
These will probably be brooches one day.
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
boldfaced humanity.
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1# THE BLACKBOARD POST
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Boy-o-BOY what a stir they have caused.
They are priced at $120.00 each. Some people really REALLY don't like this.
Being a maker and having your work out in the 'real world', you have to take what ever comes your way, but really, I had to laugh at the some of the comments that have been made, not just on the Oyemoden website, but also on another blog.
here are a few of the best comments (the good, the bad, and the down right hilarious):
e:
Yeah, but you get a piece of chalk with it!
People that buy this should also get a psychological examination.
People that buy this should also get a psychological examination.
Kipper Millsap wrote:
LOVE! As a male brooch fanatic these are an easy win in my book. And as a retail salesman who moves a lot of unique jewelry, the price is super reasonable. Not everything can be purchased at Wal-Mart, folks. Special items come with a higher price tag, as they should.
LOVE! As a male brooch fanatic these are an easy win in my book. And as a retail salesman who moves a lot of unique jewelry, the price is super reasonable. Not everything can be purchased at Wal-Mart, folks. Special items come with a higher price tag, as they should.
Matt:
Cute idea, but WAY too expensive, especially considering it’s just blackboard paint and not the real thing (says the product description on the linked page.)
Carl wrote:
love em but too expensive--there are certain things where short runs prevent practical applications and this is one of them. I'd love to order them for a wedding but they are waaaaaayyy out of the budget.
love em but too expensive--there are certain things where short runs prevent practical applications and this is one of them. I'd love to order them for a wedding but they are waaaaaayyy out of the budget.
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2# THE 'WHAT DO PEOPLE REALLY THINK OF CONTEMPORARY JEWELLERY?' POST
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quirky, fun, unique.
do I need to say any more.
YIKES!!!
This pretty much leads on from the last post. Some people just don't get it.
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3# THE RE:PRODUCTION POST
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re:production41 artists. 205 images. 12 hour install. 654 dill holes. 25 broken drill bits.
1 perfect install partner.
I didn't quite make it to my magic number (100).
Which in some ways is a blessing, as it pretty much would have doubled the stats above.
Unfortunately, it does not look as spectacular as I would have hoped.
But still, you know what? not a bad effort I think.
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4# THE 'NEW GAFFA RETAIL STORE' POST
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Last week we opened the retail store at gaffa.
It is not quite finished yet, a bit more stock and a few finishing touches are still needed.
Come on down and have a gander and a chat.
www.gaffa.com.au
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5# THE 'I"M HEADING TO NZ' POST
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As a birthday present to myself, I purchased some very cheap flights to Auckland, NZ.
2 more sleeps and i'll be hanging out with all of Aucklands finest jewellery nerds.
I CAN'T WAIT.
Sunday, May 23, 2010
re:production Blog
images: alice potter
re:production the exhibition
has a blog
I'm also working on a proposal to hopefully take the show to Masterworks in NZ next year.
Sadly I'm not anywhere near my target of 100 jewellers....
It looks like I have made it to about 40 with a few more to come, not a bad effort, but if you still are still keen to take part, and I know you are, just drop me a line. (zoe.brand@hotmail.com)
So, rally the troops and jump on board.
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Art Jewellery Forum
let me know what you think.
Monday, May 3, 2010
re:production
Please see below for an invitation to participate in re:production.
Feel free to pass this along to anyone who might be interested.
Adorning almost every surface of a room, re:production is an exhibition of roughly 500 images that document the practices of a diverse range of contemporary jewellery makers.
By removing the ‘end product’ of a work and displaying only the documentation in the form of a series of images, the viewer is given a different perspective from which to understand further the workings of contemporary jewellery practice.
Exhibition Dates: 3rd June - 29th June 2010
Location: Keeper Gallery @ gaffa, Sydney, Australia
Deadline: Thursday 20th May 2010
If you any questions please feel free to email zoe.brand@hotmail.com
Cheers - Zoe
click on images to make larger.
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
statement.
it was a hardboiled fiction.
plastic eggs, silver, blackboard paint.
zoe brand 2010
She was trying to construct a life that made sense from things she found in variety stores.
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Schmuck 2010 (PART #2)
So armed with little more than a hangover and my wits I found myself traveling in a pack of unfamiliar people in an unfamiliar land on a train heading towards the Munich Craft Fair. On arrival I was relieved to find that most of my pack where flowing towards the Auto show that was also on, so I bought my ticket and proceeded past the shiny cars and scantly clad women towards Hall A where all my craft needs where to be met.
I worked my way slowly to the back of the exhibition hall, past some interesting and some not so interesting displays, trying to savior the moment before I would actually witness, the often thought of, but far off reality of attending, Schmuck. Of the 59 artists in this annual award showcase, there were some who I recognized instantly, others unfamiliar but excited me all the same, just to see the scope of work and artists on display was, well, pretty bloody awesome. It was interesting to note, perhaps because I was an Australian/ Australien a long way from home, but to see two of our national animals referenced, by two non-Australians, a pink plastic koala in work by Jantje Fleischhut and a ceramic Kangaroo brooch called Australia-Mary has a bigger bag by Marie-Louise Kristensen, made me reconsider my thoughts about how ‘faraway’ Australia really is. Highlights: Felieke van der Leest, Sergey Jivetin and Gesine Hackenberg.
Felieke van der Leest
Schmuck shared the back of the convention centre with Telente and it was a buzz with fresh excitement and approaches. It clearly succeeded in presenting the youthful exuberance of the best in their fields under the age of 30. The total highlight for me was two South Koreans, Semi Kim and Ji Hye Lee, there is just something about the immaculate technique and interesting subject matter that gets me every time. “Frame” was also placed in the back corner of the hall and showcased three of the more influential galleries in Europe, Galerie Marzee (Netherlands), Galerie Platina (Sweden) and Galerie Ra (Netherlands).
One of my first destinations on day two of my trip was Galerie Für Angewandte Kunst that was showing, Nicht Dass Du Mir Von Der Blause Fällst (don’t you dare fall off my blouse) a group show by who, I might consider the ‘parents’ of contemporary jewellery in Munich (and perhaps the rest of the world). Back in 1999 these jewellers got together on the last Wednesday of the month for some beer, food and jewellery chats. It appears that while the members of this group seemed to ebb and flow what was to be “…constant was only the young talent still in training and all jewelry gallery owners, collectors and customers were categorically denied attendance.”[1]. I was rather excited by the exhibition design, it had been a while since I had seen such a considered effort in the display of jewellery, and it was a great solution for such a large space, but honestly can’t remember a single piece from the show. I have often wondered if is it better to have an exhibition stick in your mind because of the wow factor of display and not remember the work as apposed to seeing good work displayed poorly and forgetting the show entirely. Because lets face it, there is a very fine line between these two things, even if the work is great, if the display doesn’t do it justice, it’s just another show.
[1] Klimt02 Community, Don’t You Dare Fall Off My Blouse, http://www.klimt02.net/showcase/index.php?item_id=17118, date visited 31st March 2010
to be continued...
Friday, April 9, 2010
re-sauce 2010
re-sauce
a contemporary jewellery conference.
attended by 2 sydney jewellers who could not attend the other conference.
young & brand
'make your own' pin swap
re-sauced conference bags
we checked out this great exhibition called 'designer jewellers'
interesting installation
I think this piece really 'pops'
always a fan of a 'pearl' necklace
-----00000000000000000000000000----
it twas a wonderful night, full of jewellery chats, slideshows and Kammadhenu (yum).
I hope all that made it to the other conference had as much of a rocking time as we did.
Sunday, April 4, 2010
Schmuck 2010 (PART #1)
kate, gillian & me.
Austr(alien)
Visiting somewhere new isn’t a foreign concept, it’s the foreign part that is, well, foreign. I arrived in Munich after spending a week in Madrid with my Family (I now understand why family holidays are such oddities), and it seemed that I was unprepared for the snow, the overwhelming amount of jewellery I was about to observe and they quantity of bread and beer that I was going to consume over the next six days.
I unfortunately arrived into Munich on the tail end of Schmuck, missing a good portion of the program (I did manage to catch about 15 exhibitions out of the possible 28 or so on the program) but spent my first night meeting up with the New Zealand contingent who very kindly filled me in on what I had very jealously missed out on. Later that evening after a few goodbyes I found myself wondering around the very cold and snow lined streets of Munich with two Talente participants, Gillian Deery (nz) and Kate Britchford (aus.) who allowed me to tag along with them to an Academy Student night. It was in a little bar where the bar staff wore shirts that said “your Sunday is my Monday” that I had the chance to meet, if only for an exceedingly brief moment, a man whose work I had ogled over for years, who I had only ever dreamed of meeting, and of the witty banter I imagined we would partake. My first (and only) meeting with Otto Kunzli, sank lower than the anchor on the titanic, it started with a handshake, proceeded with a high-pitched “hello” and ended a second later with a nervous schoolgirl giggle. This was perhaps one of the first moments I really felt like an Austr(alien), in another world and notching up yet another moment of life experience.
I have often wondered if Jewellery is not best observed through the mist of a hangover. It’s that state of fragility that requires you to muster your strength and focus all your attention to the task at hand just so you can make it through the day, and it was in this condition that I was to observe my very first Schmuck.
To be continued...
Saturday, April 3, 2010
114-124/365
124 - a sign from the ladies bathroom at the MLC centre.
123 - from the fabric pouch that you get when you purchase/receive as a gift a piece of jewellery from Prouds.
122 - a sign from a hand drier in a bathroom. yes, that is a kangaroo and an emu drying themselves under a commercial hand dryer.
121 - my expired medicare card
120 - found old green fiberglass
119 - cardboard from an old receipt book
118 - taken from the back of a plastic outdoors chair found on the street
117 - found headlight cover
116 - "A lovely day for a Guinness" vintage metal sign
115 - scotch bright (10 points if you can guess where you have seen this before)
114 - from the cover of a children's book 
