emiko-o reware

The opening reception for re/PURPOSE at the African American Art and Culture Complex was quite the turnout last Thursday–besides the show that Christine and I are in (there we are in the photo to the left), the Simply Nina show upstairs had its opening as well. Not only did so many artists show up, but city officials like Ross Mirakami (District Supervisor) came to celebrate the newly renovated spaces (next month the city will have an official ribbon cutting, since funding for the renovations have come from the city). In the downstairs gallery, each of our jewelry-wearing mannequins sits statuesquely in their own window, facing the lobby. Just before we left at 8pm, we got in a little papparazzi action in front of our work. Check out more photos on my flickr.

my "Maharajah" LEGO necklace

my "Cygne Noir" LEGO necklace

Christine's circuit board breastplate

Christine's runway circuit piece

Come join Christine Dhein and I for another fabulous Recycled Artwork exhibition, called “re/PURPOSE“, at the African American Art & Culture Complex. The Opening Reception is this Thursday, July 23 from 6-8pm. Our lovely mannequin possé is out yet again, sporting circuit boards and LEGO pieces, in a primo spot, enticing you to enter the show…. Other artists in the show (curated by the lovely Samara Rivers) include: Evan Bissell, Wosene Kosrof, Moses Nornberg, and William Rhodes. Should be a great party: funk dj and wine and cheese for our show, and another art opening upstairs, “Simply Nina“, celebrating Nina Simone, with a live jazz singer singing Nina’s songs.

The AAACC is located at 762 Fulton St @ Webster. Stop by and say hi!

Accessorize with Toys was again a superstar hit of the party, this time at the Renegade Craft Fair this past weekend at Fort Mason in San Francisco. The fair was both Saturday and Sunday, from 11am-7pm and our booth was rockin’ pretty much nonstop! This time Shana and I zoned in on helping people create specific projects: charm bracelets and keychains, which worked out perfectly for our limited 10×10 space (we actually prefer the more intimate setting). Over 50 people per day participated, and about 70 bracelets and over 30 keychains were made. Families, young kids, teenagers, adults, seniors, and fellow crafters alike sat with us in our crafty toy zone. Thanks to organizers Danny and Sue for promoting our workshop, both on the website and on other online bulletins! We can’t wait to come back next year.

Photos of our lovely participants and their creations are up on Flickr. It was great fun seeing everyone get revved up about making; we had SuperMoms (like this mom here to the right, who helped her 2 girls all the while with an infant strapped to her front), Super Dads, entire clans (thanks Pam for bringing your family and a donations bag!), best friends, other artists, you name it!

Our next stop on the Accessorize with Toys train is at SCRAP on Saturday, August 8. You get to use materials you find at SCRAP as well as what we bring. It’s going to be epic. Call or email SCRAP to register: 415-647-1746 or workshop@scrap-sf.org
Hope to see you soon!

To add to my incredible emiko-o Month of Press (someone recently asked me “Who does your PR?”, and i was like, uhhhhh…you mean me?), the current issue of Metalsmith features My First Royal Jewels Collection, starting on page 46. An intelligent and interesting article, “Mining History: Ornamentalism Revisted“, written by Namita Gupta Wiggers (curator of Museum of Contemporary Craft, Portland OR) and Lena Vigna (curator, Miami University Art Museum, OH), takes us on a tour of contemporary jewelers (myself included) whose work harkens back to an earlier period of the decorative arts . I was overjoyed and floored that a full-page image of my Queen Margherita necklace was presented opposite the title page!

I really  had no idea that a return to ornamentalism was happening on a larger scale until I saw the Decorative Resurgance show that my work was in (and won first place for) this May at Rowan University. Then this article came out and now I’m seeing more and more exhibitions pop up in this vein. Works for me!

metalsmith article

Queen Margherita in Metalsmith

Craft Tiara

My recycled glass tiara makes it debut at the Museum of Arts and Design in NYC on Thursday, July 16, for the GlassWear exhibition (it’s been traveling all over the world and US since 2007!). And what better way to kick-off than by being mentioned in a NYTimes Style Magazine article! Slick. The opening was tonite (July 15), and sadly, I could not be there in person, but my pal Alecia Wesner went in my place (fellow jeweler and SU alum, check out her site), and filled me in on how FABULOUS it was (Fern Mallis was spotted!). Apparently my tiara is in the front display case. Can’t wait to see it in September….

NYTimes Style Magazine

Cygne Noir necklace

Well, it only took me 6 weeks to finish the photos for the 2 new necklaces I made for SNAG’s Jewelry In Motion at the Philadelphia Museum of Art this May. Cygne Noir (pictured left) and Blue Steel (see below, left) are the latest editions to the My First Royal Jewels Collection, reinterpreting works by Lalique and Boucheron, respectively.

The photo shoot was well worth the wait, as I discovered that Calumet Photographic rents Canon lenses, specifically the EF 24-105mm f/4L IS. LOVE IT! For $30/day I can finally shoot portraits of my jewelry with the appropriate lens and not have to stand 20 feet away from the model. And to think that I was considering plunking down $1300 for the lens new! One of the many reasons I love living in the Mission.

Jamielyn in Cygne Noir

Thanks to my gorgeously photogenic model, Jamielyn, who graciously let me squeeze her into what seemed like a size -0 david’s bridal dress from Mission Thrift (another plus for the hood!). And also get powdered white for a few hours. Special thanks to Shana Astrachan‘s makeup artistry in helping realize my 18th century aristocratic vision! Go team!

Blue Steel necklace

See more of the photos on my flickr.