Radical Jewelry Makeover

Last year I had the amazing opportunity to work with a project called The Radical Jewelry Makeover (RJM). This project is the brainchild of artists Susie Ganch and Christina Miller. RJM is a part of the non-profit group Ethical Metalsmiths. 

This installment of RJM was hosted by The Visual Arts Center of Richmond. RJM RVA was the ninth installment of this program. From January to June of 2014 the Richmond VA community was a home to RJM.

The project invites a community to "mine their jewelry boxes" and donate items that are no longer worn. The donations are then sorted. Jewelers are given a stash of discarded jewels along with the challenge to create a new piece, one that will be worn. That may mean the work transforms in aesthetic value or simply trades out some emotional value. 

Folks donated pounds upon pounds of unwanted baubles and bling things. All of the donations were sorted at Virginia Commonwealth University. Teams of professional jewelers and metalsmithing students worked together to document and sort all the pieces that came in. Students (and myself) learned how to test metals for purity and to read makers marks.

Once all of the materials had been distributed to participating artists they only had 6 weeks to recreate a piece of wearable art. Some pieces were melted down into ingots, gems were reset, items were sawed & soldered, and all the while I could hear Susie asking “Is glue necessary?’

Finally in an Exhibition at the True F. Luck Gallery at The Visual Arts Center of Richmond, over 200 reworked pieces of jewelry were back on the market. Until this point I had been hands off in the making experience and hands on in the field of wrangling.

Once the show opened, I was ecstatic to be asked by The Visual Art Center to help them with their Engage gallery education program. For me this was the most rewarding aspect of the program. I was able to work with both children and senior citizens as students. What is disposable fashion? Where do a jeweler's raw materials come from? What consequences come with obtaining said raw material? Not only is there a lot to talk about but skills to learn and tools to grab on to. The stories that came out of digging through the discarded jewelry were priceless. I may have received a better education on the meaning of jewelry than the students did.

So Thank you a million times over Susie, Christina, Caroline Cobb-Wright, Ethical Metalsmiths, and VisArts!

VMFA Workshop with Aggie Zed

Over the weekend I was able to attend a fantastic workshop with one of my favorite artists, Aggie Zed. I discovered Aggie Zed when I was a child. There are vivid memories in my brain of her horse head/human body figures displayed right at my little kid eye level at Arts in the Park. As an older person (still not yet a grown up, never will be) I have been lucky enough to meet and work with Aggie Zed on a professional level. The more I get to know her the more smitten I become.

This workshop was a new experience for everyone involved. It was not a regimented "this is how you make a specific item" sort of workshop it was more of an experience, getting to know Aggie and how she works. It felt like a group went on a studio visit. What is her process? How do these creatures come about? What experiences have shaped her professionally? How many chickens does she have? All the really important information.

There were about eight to ten people in attendance. The workshop took place in the Clay Studio at VMFA's Studio School. Aggie sat at the head of a work table with a tiny little workspace all laid out. She had a simple board covered in canvas with a few tools and a lump of clay scattered about. While delighting us with stories of painting shrimp boats on fire and feeling the need to be sneaky in the creation of horses, she magically pinched & sprigged* a figure to life. People asked questions. Aggie served up answers that had some scribbling down notes, some laughing, and others sitting with gears turning in their heads. She was simply wonderful as always.

I learned about process, came out with a new perspective on scale, and grew a deeper admiration for both Aggie Zed and VMFA Studio School.

Thank you for a really cool and bright afternoon. Aggie Zed, Mary Holland, Steven Glass, and VMFA, you guys are pretty fantastic.

*pinch & sprigging is a new term I took away from this workshop. Thank you to Steven Glass for giving a name to what I like do to clay.

Ceramics Assistant Professor needed at VCU

VCUarts Craft/ Material Studies program is on the hunt for a Ceramics Assistant Professor. The position opening was posted yesterday and has a deadline of January 15th 2014. Here is a link to the open position. 

WIP Talks

Sometimes you need an extra set of eyes and a fresh perspective. Every now and then my dog will give a project a good once over, but his feed back is really lacking. He likes it! He really really likes it! As if the project has come home with a pocket full of bacon. That's sweet but. . .  simply not helpful. In school sometimes crits can be too heavy. That one person has something to prove and this and that and the other. What I am looking for is honest straight up feed back for folks. Feedback from folks who are interested in what other people are up to. I have my feelers out for a spot to host what I call WIP Talks. I will let you know as soon as I have found a space to host this adventure.

Artists talking about Works In Progress. 3D, 2D, Craft, Sculpture, bring it on. Let's talk about it. 

Deadlines, deadlines, deadlines. . . .

Here are a few cool deadlines coming up real soon.

Don't be late. Links to all the serious info are found at the end of each blurb. 

Holiday Shows / Markets:

Bizarre Market at Chop Suey November 3^rd, 2013

This is a great place to sell small items in Richmond. Last year I picked up some lovely prints and ceramic work. Beware, 1/3 of their applications are jewelry. So if you are a jeweler bring your A game. For info email bizarremarket@gmail.com they will give you all you need. Here is their Facebook page.

Ghost Gallery 2013 Holiday Miniature Art Extravaganza! October 13^th 2013

This is a great gallery in Seattle. This year they are expanding their Miniature Art Extravaganza to two sites. All pieces should be smaller than 12" X 12" X 12". The call for art is listed here.

Virginia Specific:

Open Lab installation at Center for the Arts at Virginia Tech November 1^st, 2013

Whoa this is an amazing opportunity. Such a cool space, I can’t wait to visit in the summer of 2014. Find the Call for Submissions here.

VMFA Virginia Visual Arts Fellowship 2014-15 November 8^th, 2013

See my post on this long running gem of a fellowship. All the details can be found here.

Simply Awesome:

1708 Gallery Exhibition Submissions are accepted all month long in October 2013.

That’s right you have from October 1^st to October 31^st to get your submission into 1708 Gallery. They prefer developing work, that is fantastic for those heavily involved in their process. Exhibition Proposal Application as well as information can be found here.

Shoebox an international sculpture exhibition at MTSU Todd Art Gallery November 8^th 2013 for discounted application rate, December 2^nd 2013 for final application deadline

This one is all about sculptures that fit in a shoebox. Not shoe or shoebox themed, but simply about the shoeboxes' dimensions. There is some pretty good award money in addition to being a really fun project. More details and application can be found here.

VMFA Visual Arts Fellowships

Last week the VMFA hosted one of their How. . . ? talks. Normally these talks have to do with a specific art making technique however, this event was an information packed session on How to Apply For the VMFA Visual Art Fellowship. Elizabeth Cruickshanks the Fellowship Program Coordinator was on hand to deliver the basic steps, helpful tips, as well as some interesting trivia. Did you know a VMFA Fellowship helped Cy Twombly travel to Europe in the 1950's? More interesting facts and history can be found in this Blog Post from The VMFA. 

 All the information you could ever want is served up on a silver platter on the VMFA's website. They include all the nuts & bolts as well as the actual application and a checklist in PDF form. 

This is the vital information I took away from this session:

• Applications are due by 5pm November 8th, 2013 if hand delivered. If mailed, materials must be postmarked by November 8th, 2013. (hint, if you can't physically get to the Pauley center by 5pm run to the UPS Store or FedEx Kinko's and get that sucker post marked)

• Over 700 applications are received each year. 

• There are three categories, Professional artist, Graduate Student, and Undergraduate Student. 

• Art History Applicants are only viable through The Graduate Student category. 

• On the Application you are asked to list your work under one of the following disciplines: Crafts, Drawing, Film/Video, Mixed Media, New/Emerging Media, Painting, Photography, Printmaking, Sculpture, Art History (graduate students only) 

• These disciplines are used ONLY for the jurors guidance. Because the Fellowships are awarded solely on merit, there is not a certain number of awards given to any discipline. 

• 2013 welcomes a new discipline: New/Emerging Media. This discipline was created for non-traditional techniques such as sound art, installations, or digital media that do not fit within the other disciplines recognized in previous years. 

• Do not send more materials than requested.

• Nowhere in your artist sample should your name be legible. That's right, no big old "this is mine" signature. It's an anonymous process. This award is merit based, not "my mother went to school with your mother based". 

• If you would like to know your application was received please include a self addressed stamped postcard with "application received" on it. 

• If you would like your materials returned, please include a Self Addressed Stamp Envelope. Your materials will be returned in the Spring of 2014. If you do not include an envelope and you are not awarded a fellowship your materials will be disposed of. 

• If you do not follow the instructions a clearly outlined by the VMFA your application will not be considered. 

My main takeaway from this event was to carefully follow the listed criteria. The VMFA seems more than willing to help with this process and is open to answering any questions. They even provide a checklist in the application PDF. That being said, they do receive a great deal of applications each year.  Below is a very detailed list of what is needed when providing the sample of your work. I suggest reading over the information posted on their website a few times before completing your application. If you are not detail oriented, have a friend (or two) read over and look at your materials before submitting them. It would be a shame if your work never even got to the jurors eyes. 

This is what the VMFA website has to say about submitting your materials: 

Work Sample. Submit your work sample as outlined below for your selected discipline. NOTE: If you have received a VMFA Fellowship in the past, your work sample for the 2014 – 15 Fellowship application may not include any of the previous “winning” works. 
Crafts, Drawing, Mixed Media, Painting, Photography, Printmaking, or Sculpture ApplicantsA work sample consists of a total of eight digital images. Of the eight images, at least six must represent individual works; no more than two images may be details of the individual works.• Professionals: All works must have been completed in the past three years. No works in progress. • Students: At least four of the works must have been completed in the past three years. No works in progress. • Submit images on a PC-formatted CD-R, labeled with applicant’s name. • Format digital images as JPEGS, approximately 1000 pixels on the longest side, with a file size no larger than 2 MB. No gifs, tiffs, or other formats are accepted. • Number each image to correspond to the Work Sample List on the application form. • Title image files on the CD in the following manner: 1_VMFA.jpg, 2_VMFA.jpg, and so on. • Obscure any legible names or signatures on the digital images to ensure anonymity with the juror(s). 
New/Emerging Media ApplicantsA work sample consists of either A or B (you must select only one of the following options —you may not submit both digital images and video samples):
A) A) A total of eight digital images. Of the eight images, at least six must represent individual works; no more than two images may be details of the individual works. No works in progress. See above guidelines for dates of works, and image formatting and labeling. ORB) A video sample of 15 minutes (maximum) in length. The video sample must show representations of at least six, and no more than eight, individual works.• Professionals: All works must have been completed in the last three years. No works in progress. • Students: At least four of the works must have been completed in the last three years. No works in progress. • Submit work on a DVD labeled with the applicant’s name. • Include a menu on the DVD with titles of each work and running times. Formats other than a standard DVD will not be accepted. • Number videos and works to correspond to the Work Sample List on the application form. • No legible names, credits, or signatures may appear on the DVD menu and/or the individual on-screen works, to ensure anonymity with the juror(s). 
Film/Video Applicants A work sample consists of a 15-minute (maximum) DVD sample of three works.• Professionals: All works must have been completed in the last three years. No works in progress. • Students: At least one of the works must have been completed in the last three years. No works in progress. • On the application form, include the category of each work: Narrative, Animation, or Experimental. • Submit work on a DVD labeled with applicant’s name, titles of works, primary creative responsibility, dates completed, and original format running times. • Include a menu on the DVD with titles of each work and running times. Formats other than a standard DVD will not be accepted. • No legible names, credits, or signatures may appear on the DVD menu and/or the individual on-screen works, to ensure anonymity with the juror(s). 
Art History Applicants (Graduate students only)A work sample consists of three research papers or published articles. • Submit two hard copies of each, neither of which will be returned to the applicant. • All papers or published articles must have been written in the past three years and must be written in English. • Art History applicants must have sole authorship of their work sample submissions; applicants’ names must not appear anywhere on the submission to ensure anonymity with the juror(s). 

I hope this is helpful to folks. Good Luck!