Carbon

Exploring charcoal on porcelain.

Plastic Galore

Abs plastic is a wonderful material. I made a form (image posted previously) on RhinoCAD, which was then printed, cut using a spiral jeweler's blade and filed. Can't wait to make more brooches!

Tryin to look cool with my file.

Do you love the bubble band? I do, thank you roommate!

Never Have I Ever

Are you the kind of person that never seems to get anything done on time? No matter how ahead of the game you feel, does everything come down to finishing the night before? Do you still say, "I don't procrastinate. I just have too much to do"?

Welcome to the club. I should be President. Start a national chapter, at least.

Never have I ever finished something on time.

Here are some photos of my work for our first Sculpture critique. All made with cotton batting and spray adhesive.

I'm on an exploratory high...or maybe that's the spray adhesive. Meh.

Holy Eventful Batman

Just got home from a productive day in the studio, and had a strange desire to blog. So here it goes.

On Wednesday our Junior/Senior Jewelry class has our first pre-critique for a three brooch series involving transformation. I posted the finishing process of the first brooch, which is made of recycled sterling silver (mostly flatware), porcelain and keum boo. Gotta love good ol double pin stems.

Thursday I have my first Advanced Sculpture critique, which we have to have 3-5 pieces made. Tonight I completely scrapped my idea, threw the piece out and reverted back to the original idea...but without any way to obtain proper materials. So I've been messing around with batting from a comforter bought at Amvets and making a Modesty Panel. Yeah, one of those ridiculous products marketed by Harriet Carter. And been putting plaster on batting which was pulled apart to hopefully resemble lace. It'll be about 9'x6', maybe a floor piece. I'll post photos of it later :)

And I have an African Dance solo tomorrow, because I skipped our testing day last Thursday to see a lecture on technology, computation and 'design' by NERVOUS System at MWP Pratt in Utica, NY.

Let's talk about this lecture.

Positives:
Great trip with great company. Very informative about the integration of computer programming and computation with user-friendly, and extremely accessible design programs. These programs allow anyone to create a unique wearable piece, yet ultimately the design was programmed with intent to portray the aesthetic vision of the artists.
Brilliant! Hands down fantastic, guys...and they even have an iPad app. That's how geared they are to not having to design/create their own work.

Not so Positives:
Complete emotional disconnect with what was supposed to be presented as their passionate body of work. Hate to say it guys, but I felt like I was visiting a high school senior bio class. Yes, the scientific and computer programming information could be/sort-of-was interesting...if I was down on the other side of Upton taking a Tech class. I want to know why you are making jewelry, and recently lamps. Why are you using industrially manufactured products instead of creating some sort of hand-crafted element (not even wire wrapping?! Peeps love wire wrapping!). I like to believe we appreciate hand-crafted objects/jewelry (if anyone disagrees with that...meh, oh well), and CAD/CAM capabilities have been widely accessible and popular (sometimes confused as a fad) amongst the crafts.

(next time, try making something. just a little something. like a scarf. start small.)

Why not large scale architectural sculptures? Why not clothes? Why not designer air fresheners? Shoes? Toys? Cellphone accessories? ...do you see where I'm going with this?

I just want to know that you aren't disguising your apparent love for computation and biological growth patterns with a faux-desire to create fascinating, approachable, elegant and simply beautiful jewelry. Because it sells, on Etsy. Of course it does, it's $12 and beautiful. Who wouldn't want it?!

Recap:
-Good company.
-Great info on computation, blah, blah, blah.
-Reaffirmed me that anyone can do anything, even art. Who knew?
-Kinda boring. I understand issues with slides (and honestly, kinda glad that happened...cause we were a bit late. Excellent lil deli down the street kept us. We tried to find Tiny's) and last minute issues, but you move on. Laugh it off. Have a good time delivering us the information you should be so excited about you're almost waving your arms around...pretty exciting. And please, if you plan on lecturing to art/design students again, please re-write your overly sophisticated explanation bit to something a little more bearable.
I don't mean VH1, Jersey Shore dumb it down. Just please speak more about your inspiration for the design and where you see it going in the future.
-Computational DIY.

Hope anyone who read that had a good time, I have a tendency to banter.

Check out NERVOUS System at
http://n-e-r-v-o-u-s.com/

Alright, time to get some sleep. Peace, love all.

Thematic

Throw a cup, fire a cup, smash the cup and wham bam you have inspirational forms. Exploring a relationship of organic/geometric form, porcelain-silver-gold brooches.

The Buffalo Rising did a spread on the Art in Craft Media 2009 exhibition at the new Burchfield Penney Art Center, here in Buffalo!  Check it out here.