Hongsock Lee

This week's entry is the 4th of a 10 week series based on interviews Jan did at the ACC show in Baltimore 2010.  Each artist was asked the same question, "how do you define yourself?"

This Friday, Hongsock Lee discusses his jewelry.  Lee's sculptural jewelry plays with both light and movement while at the same time possesses a monumental quality. 
 

Check out his website here. 

 

Hongsock Lee from Crunchy Bugs Creative on Vimeo.
Thanks to Crunchy Bugs Creative - Elliott Houston and David Hall for their fabulous editing skills!

Frucci Design: Paper Jewelry by Francesca Vitali

This week's entry is the 3rd of a 10 week series based on interviews Jan did at the ACC show in Baltimore 2010.  Each artist was asked the same question, "how do you define yourself?" 

This Friday, Francesca Vitali of Frucci Design discusses her unique and fabulous paper jewelry. 


Francesca Vitali from Crunchy Bugs Creative on Vimeo.

Tommie Rush

Sorry for the delay, due to unforeseen circumstances we were not able to do our Friday posting. So here is the interview with glass artist Tommie Rush at the ACC show in Baltimore 2010.  We are pleased to present Tommie's video as we kick off Spotlight on Tennessee in the Center for Southern Craft & Design.  Tommie lives and works in Knoxville and shares her studio with husband / glass artist Richard Jolley. 

Also in the exhibition are: potter Anderson Bailey, metalsmith Ben Caldwell III, potter Bill Griffith and furniture maker Tim Hintz. 

Visit us next week for a new interview!


Tommie Rush from Crunchy Bugs Creative on Vimeo.

Joanna Gollberg

This week's entry marks the beginning of a 10 week series based on interviews I did at the ACC show in Baltimore 2010.  Each artist was asked the same question, "how do you define yourself?" We start the series with Joanna Gollberg, since this week marks the end of the Center"s Brooching the Subject: One of a Kind exhibition and Joanna was part of it. 

I thought it important to honor another member of the exhibition, Marcia Macdonald  today with this launch. Marcia was too sick to send in her work for the show but I told her that her name would be on the wall and in all printed materials  anyway- and that next year she would be the first artist invited to participate. Next year we will dedicate the exhibition to the memory of this wonderful artist, teacher and human being.

Check back with us each week to hear and see a different artist talk about themselves, their work and the field. Let us hear from you...how you define yourself as an artist, collector or an admirer of craft and design.

A huge thank you to the Crunchy Bugs Creative guys for their editing genius and for making these videos look professional. 

Best, 
Jan

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Joanna Gollberg from Crunchy Bugs Creative on Vimeo.

BROOCHING THE SUBJECT: ONE OF A KIND

Thank you to master jeweler Tom Mann for the outstanding review of the Brooching Exhibition. See below to read Tom's take on the show.

Drawer 1 and Drawer 2 (See line sheet below for artist attributions)

Brooching the Subject: One of a Kind  Center for Southern Craft & Design at The Ogden Museum of Southern Art   Curator: Jan Katz  April 21 – July 15    925 Camp St. New Orleans LA 

A review by: Thomas Mann -- May 31, 2010

 It’s an important moment in the history of contemporary jewelry design in New Orleans. There are only a few venues for contemporary work of this nature in the city so it’s a remarkable moment when a one of the city’s prominent museums is willing to celebrate work from the field of contemporary metalsmithing.  

Jan Katz knows her stuff.  She’s been a fan of contemporary jewelry, collects it and knows the current maker scene.  She selected an appropriate range of artists relative to experience, reputation and influence from the field and, as a result, the show makes a vigorous statement about the quality and character of the artists working in the medium today.

I was a bit disappointed at the installation site for the show. It takes place in the museum store, which is a nicely designed modern space, but not as nice, nor as important, as many of the museum’s primary exhibition halls. 

But, in light of the restricted budgets that most organizations and galleries are working with to mount exhibitions these days, displaying the work in four pull-out drawers (the top two side by side, which had glass tops), was adequate, just not as celebratory as you might hope for.  In support of that decision though, Katz’s very helpful sales assistant is happy to remove any of the pieces for closer inspection.

To their credit as well, at the opening on that Thursday (April 21), in between Jazz Fest weekends, models walked around the museum acting as moving canvases, with exhibition brooches displayed from collar to hem.  Of particular note is that, despite the lack of funds for a catalog, they made the inventive, creative decision to enlist the aid of artist Fredrick Stivers, who hand drew a lovely illustration of each piece in the show.  His work was employed into the design of a simple broadside layout catalog in B & W.  This piece alone is remarkable.   A unique document of the event and, in my estimation, a documentation collectable in it’s own right.

Line sheet by local artist Frederick Stivers

All work is for sale.  So…maybe…. the store is better exhibition space for everyone concerned. Still, as of this writing, (May 31) they haven’t sold piece one. Let me offer some encouragement to everyone out there who is a fan of the work to check it out online (see links below) and call Elizabeth Bowie (504-539-9614) to purchase one of these amazing piece by these truly fabulous artists!

Drawer 3 and Drawer 4 (See line sheet above for artist attributions)

JEWELRY DESIGNERS: Julia Barello, Kathleen Browne, Linda Darty, Robert Ebendorf, Sandra Enterline, Pat Flynn, Donald Friedlich, Susie Ganch, Heidi Gerstacker, Joanna Gollberg, Arthur Hash, Thomas Mann, Valerie Mitchell, Anya Pinchuk, Natalya Pinchuk, Biba Schutz, Sondra Sherman, Marjorie Simon, Rachelle Thiewes, Linda Threadgill, Marlene True, Joyce Scott and Kiwon Wang.

Linda Threadgil: really snappy copper compositions.  Lots of kinetic energy.  Inventive shapes and connections.

Biba Schutz: I wanna’ see these pieces BIG on a wall somewhere.  Biba’s imagination is on the threshold of the 5^th dimension!

Bob Ebendorf: Ebendorf appears to be channeling Rauschenberg, Klimt, and Cornell all at the same time!  And the eclectic fine mesh personal vocabulary filter he strains them thru produces iconic work.

And….the pieces he sent for this op are in addition really, ridiculously low in price.  What were you thinkin’, Bob?

Valerie Mitchell: WoW! Valerie really stepped out into a new dimension for these pieces.  I’d love to see the rest of this group cause’ these enameled, 

Rachelle Thiewes: This girl is always pushing the edge, and always…successfully!  That’s whatz so unnerving about it….damn it!  Brightly painted circular motion steel forms with brilliant magnetic discs for securing the pin to fabric.

Marjorie Simon: Must of us know Marjorie for her torched fired enamel work.  But the pieces she sent for this exhibition are revelatory and exceptional.  So, even if she dug them out of a personal archive of work they are still delicious in their creativity and structure.

Kiwon Wang:  We know that Kiwon is the Pearl R Us designer of record.  So, it was cool to see here actually systems bashing her silver structural work (with pearls) with her also signature use of newspaper (with pearls) in one of her two pieces.

Sondra Sherman: Black is beautiful! These pieces from Sandra’s current body of work are an exceptional exploration of steel and enamel.

Marlene True: Steel, gold, delicious apparently fragile elegant forms.  Luscious!

Natalya Pinchuk:  This girl is really workin’ it!  An awesome extrapolation of polymer clay, crystals, wood, copper, leather, and wool!  Three pieces…all completely different…all completely cool!

Joyce Scott: Hey, make a face Joyce!  No, not that face, the one with BEADS!  Get these prototypical Joyce Scott pieces NOW!

Linda Darty: Queen of enameling, flower goddess…delicate lovely enchanting….pink!

Sandra Enertline: Did you know that Sandra drills everyone of those tiny tiny holes by hand…no techno tricks…..its INSANE!….but beautiful, elegant and full, absolutely stuffed with metal umami!

 Arthur Hash: Only one piece but a clear demonstration of Arthur’s continuing interest in exploring the possibilities of technology applied to jewelry design.

Joanna Gollberg: Space is the place Johanna!  Suspended stones on a course to somewhere…most likely on your lapel!

Kathleen Brown: The butterfly piece is deceptively light, precise and enchanting.  Kathleen is always experimenting.  Her very precise vocabulary reveals itself delicately in these pieces.

Julia Barello: The floating window escape….with x-ray lenses…another world awaits.

Heidi Geerstacker: dude….let’s get minimal…thin • balanced • sharp.

Marcia McDonald: Marcia we love you even though, invited, you weren’t here in this show with us.

Pat Flynn:  Pat’s work drives elegance strait down the center of brilliance.  His evolution from historic the inspiration imbued in hand forged nails through those objects delivered to these exquisite objects is a true travel adventure.

Don Friedlich:  Donald has carved out (literally and figuratively) his own niche in the pantheon.  slate then glass…what’s next.  Remember the Clothes Pins?  Really inventive….ask him about them. 

Susie Ganch: Absolutely the most cutting edge piece in the show!  Susie is kickin’ it big time for inventive use of materials and techniques.  Buy this work NOW…its gonna’ be immensely important.

Thomas Mann:  You don’t really expect me to review my own work here….do you?  You’ll have to be satisfied with my admission that I am addicted to beach combing for stones!

Opening Night of Brooching the Subject: One of a Kind

OPENING NIGHT

BROOCHING THE SUBJECT: ONE OF A KIND 

Brooching the Subject: One of a Kind opened last Thursday night during Ogden After Hours. Our models Aurelia Taylor and Kelly Brenes did a fabulous job. They acted as moving galleries with brooches displayed from collar to hem!

Aurelia wore nine brooches

 



5th Floor Terrace 

Interacting with curious museum visitors

 

3rd Floor Pedestals

Rachelle's Thiewes Mirage Brooch # 349

Adjusting the brooches 

 

Brooching the Subject: One of a Kind and Guest Blogger: Carol Sauvion

 Bob Ebendorf, She Like Long Cut

Brooching the Subject: One of a Kind

We are thrilled to launch our new blog along with the opening of the Center for Southern Craft & Design exhibition, Brooching the Subject: One of a Kind - 24 studio art jewelers from across the country submitted two, wearable, one of a kind pieces- each artist is Southern, based on where they live, work or teach. View images and read about the show in the 4/19/10 Times Picayune article and hear Curator, Jan Katz, talk about the brooches in the exhibit. The exhibition officially opened last night with models acting as moving galleries with brooches from neckline to hem. Check back soon for videos and pictures from the event. Click here for a sneak peak of one of the models!

Artist Include in Brooching the Subject: One of a Kind

Julia Barello

Kathleen Browne

Linda Darty

Robert Ebendorf

Sandra Enterline

Pat Flynn

Don Friedlich

Susie Ganch

Heidi Gerstacker

Joanna Gollberg

Arthur Hash

Thomas Mann

Valerie Mitchell

Anya Pinchuk

Natalya Pinchuk

Biba Schutz

Joyce Scott

Sondra Sherman

Majorie Simon

Rachelle Thiewes

Linda Threadgill

Marlene True

Kiwon Wang

 Guest Blogger: Carol Sauvion

And, we are honored to have as our first guest blogger, Carol Sauvion, owner of Freehand Gallery and Executive Director of the PBS Documentary, Craft in America.

 4/17/2010 - Weaver Jim Bassler at Craft in America Study Center

 I am so happy to be writing for the Ogden Museum, Center for Southern Craft & Design Blog! The launch of the blog coincides with Craft in America's trip to New Orleans to film Tom Mann and discover the craft that makes New Orleans a unique part of the American craft scene. I'll give you a brief overview of our work at Craft in America and our plans for New Orleans. To learn more please visit our website or visit Tom Mann's website.   

We at Craft in America are passionate about the handmade! We are a nonprofit organization based in Los Angeles, California with a mission to increase awareness of craft and artists who dedicate their lives to the handmade. The cornerstone of our effort is a documentary series that has been shown nationwide on PBS. If you haven't seen Craft in America, you can watch all five episodes on pbs.org. And, if you are ever in Los Angeles, you are invited to come visit our Stud Center full of resources, exhibitions, and monthly artist talks.

Season Three of Craft in America has just been giving the green light by PBS and New Orleans will be our first shoot, where we'll learn about Tom Mann's art and his dedication to the revival of New Orleans. After Katrina, Tom spent weeks driving around the city, gathering pieces he then used to create a series of 3-D panels called Storm Cycle. Each panel tells a different story - of abandoned pets, rescue boats landing on roofs, and ghostly presences. You can see all of the Storm Cycle panels on Flickr.  

We are also looking forward to visiting the Ogden Museum. Jan Katz, Curator, the Center for Southern Craft & Design, has promised to give us a guided tour of New Orleans craft!

Jazz Fest will be in full swing when we arrive in New Orleans on April 24th  What a great time to visit NOLA! If you find yourself in the Crescent City, make sure to visit the Ogden Museum, Center for Southern Craft & Design and Tom Mann's gallery, Gallery I/O on Magazine Street.

Carol Sauvion

Executive Director

Craft in America

Coming Up Next Month:

A 360 Degree tour of the Center with Curator, Jan Katz, and Manager of the Center, Elizabeth Bowie.

Also, an overview from Jan- observations and videos of artists at the ACC show, some impressions of the SNAG conference, CODA conference and the Center for Craft Creativity and Design Windgate Fellowship panel.

So bookmark us and visit often!