Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Live From Dublin: A Hallmark Moment



I had the great fortune and opportunity to tour the Assay’s Office of Ireland recently. The very gracious Ronald Le Bas took me around the labs, the hallmarking rooms, the library, the Master Warden’s Office and I got to view the private collection of master works the Assay’s Office has commissioned over the years. The collection includes works from Brian Clarke, Kevin O’Dwyer, and Aidan Breen among others. Ireland and the UK have mandatory testing and hallmarking, unlike the US, so it was interesting to be taken through the process.

Eily dancing outside Rathfarnham Castle
On the culture scene: I enjoyed a wonderful dance performance in Temple Bar called Touch Me, which explored Irish society post-Celtic Tiger and in the wake of the economic recession. Also enjoyed several exhibition openings, among which was one called 21st Century Icons. Eily O’Connell had a great torc in the collection, so I went with her and her boyfriend, Ross, to Rathfarnham Castle to see it. (Rode a double-decker bus for the first time since being in Ireland this trip!)

In Project 51: The Collective celebrated Christmas early by heading out to a terrific dinner. Everyone went home stuffed and most, inebriated. I’m posting the promised image of my filigree hat embellishment. I’ve completed sketches for my body of work and have begun work at the bench once again. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Thursday, November 10, 2011

Live From Dublin: One For The Record Books


It’s official- I’m a Guinness World Record holder! Ok, so really the event took place last week, but I didn’t get official notification until this week. The event took place at Trinity College and was organized by a number of student and non-profit groups working together to raise awareness about mental health in Ireland. The record was for “Most People To Write A Story”, the previous record had 838 participants and our record now stands at 953 participants! The organizing group began the story by depicting the main characters and initial circumstances, then over the course of 12 hours each participant wrote one sentence- the next line of the story until time closed. The story has been transcribed and is now officially published, check out http://www.seechange.ie/index.php/news-and-events/272-see-change-breaks-guinness-world-records-title. I went with Eoin McDonnell from Project 51 and our lines are near the end of the third-to-last paragraph since we got there near the end of day. It’s all pretty wild and funny, and I guess it’s another item to check off the bucket list, haha; I made my nephew jealous at least.

On the studio front, I managed to salvage my filigree sample piece. It’s finished and ready to be used as a hat embellishment. So now I’ll have to have a think about what kind of hat I want Martha to teach me to make… Pictures to follow some time later.

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Live From Dublin: Trial and Error

I made another trip to the Design Tower on Grand Canal Quay- this time to visit the hard-working and humorous Seamus Gill. Seamus makes everything from jewelry to tabletop objects to sculpture in a beautifully elegant style. He started selling his own creations by chance when he organized an exhibition of emerging jewelers in Dublin during the 1980s. While the mix of what he makes, jewelry versus large objects and commissions, has varied over the years as the economy demands, he’s been a successful, working silversmith ever since. It’s difficult to pick just one favorite thing but I must say I like some of the bronze pieces he’s begun working on recently. He’s been experimenting with patinas and the finishes on the pieces in his studio were just lovely! To learn more about him and his work, visit www.seamusgill.com

I’ve completed my “Creative Quarter” necklace. I ran into some issues with filigree during my sample piece and decided to alter my necklace design slightly, but I think it still turned out well. (Not sure if it’s the difference in torches/heat or if my solder is off or what…) I still might try fixing the sample piece some time later. Now, I’m on to researching and sketching designs for my new body of work. It will be a collection of jewelry and the goal is to have it on exhibition here the last two weeks I’m in Ireland- so fingers crossed! Other than helping the designers set up for the Movember Men’s Fashion Festival pop-up shop in P51, I’ve just been busy brainstorming.