emiko-o reware

Mark your calendars for this Sunday, Nov 9 from 1-3pm when I and fellow Critique Collective members are hosting a Meet the Artists Open House at the San Francisco Museum of Craft+Design. Artist walkthrough/tour begins at 1:30. I’ll be giving a tour of My First Royal Jewels Jewellery Collection LEGO necklaces, and the Collective will be talking about the Jewelry_cycle exhibition.

Jewelry_cycle:Artists Discover Hidden Sparkle in the Discarded is an educational showcase of wearable treasures made from re-purposed and re-cycled materials. With the idea of an exhibition in mind, co-curators Christine Dhein and Christoph Koch asked the Critique Collective to create wearable art from a variety of small, discarded circuit boards. Circuit boards are commonly made from fiberglass, epoxy resin, and a variety of metals, which is likely to be one third of the material. These metals include copper, silver and gold, which add a precious element to what would otherwise be considered e-waste. These artists discovered the hidden potential, and transformed these materials to create brilliant, sparkling jewels.

Participating artists are: Shana Astrachan, David Casella, Christine Dhein, Reed Easely, Aimee Golant, Christoph Koch, Kelly Nedderman, and myself. Shout out to Christine for working extra hard to have the exhibit be super clean and pro looking! Check out Julian on the job!

Come join us and learn some facts about environmental waste and how you can do your part to lesson your carbon footprint while being creative!  Plus sit down and make your own jewelry from recycled toy parts at the MakeArt:Jewelry + Objects self-serve table that I developed.

Shout out to SCRAP and UGlu for being awesome sponsors of my MakeArt table and workshop!

Last Thursday, Oct 16 was the artist reception for my show, My First Royal Jewels Jewellery Collection, at the SF Museum of Craft+Design. Finally, the day had arrived after an intensive, adrenalin-pumped month of prepping, making, photographing, and installing. Wow! I still can’t get over seeing my name all huge in vinyl wall lettering. My first solo show, and boy does it look sharp! It’s so exciting that it has a nice long run through Jan 4, 2009.

Here I am finally taking a moment to catch my breath and take it all in. Salut! Photos taken by the ever-gracious Matt Cantu, who made the digital interactive component of the show possible.

I really dig this angle, where you can see all four pieces, including Maharajah’s 6th necklace (in the mirror).

I feel that people really responded to seeing the process of each piece, through the drawings and historical photo reference. Above is The Duchess 2, based on a Cartier necklace and Harry Winston pendant. Below is The Duchess, based on a Cartier bib necklace.

Luckily, no one tripped over or got tangled in the brass ball chain that secures the necklaces to a fixed surface. It actually adds a bit of jewelry-esqueness which I like.

Turnout was super, considering it was an invitation-only event. Best part for me is observing people interact with my work, especially when they have that AHA realization that: A. They are allowed to try on the work,  B. It’s LEGO, and C. They can take a photo of themselves in that proud moment, wearing the work. And hopefully by the end of next week, these self-portraits will be viewable via the museum’s Flickr account. Stay tuned for more info on that front.

We’re planning on having a docent tour/walkthrough/2nd opening, very casual, sometime in November (tentative date: Nov 9, Sunday). The Critique Collective’s Jewelry_cycle show (see Julian at work!) will also have a walkthrough/tour at that time as well.

In case you’re near Union Sq and want to check out the shows at the museum:
SF Museum of Craft+Design
550 Sutter St @ Powell    SF CA 94102
Open Tues-Sun: Tues-Sat 10-5, Thur 10-7, Sun 12-5

Much has developed in the last week on the upcoming exhibition space at the SF Museum of Craft + Design. I’m developing the MakeArt Gallery: Jewelry and Other Objects activity table for the back room; a simplified version of the Accessorize with Toys workshop that Shana Astrachan and I will be conducting on November 15 in that same space. So for those who can’t make that Nov 15 date, you’ll have the entire run of the exhibition to stop in and create something of your own.

Complimenting that in that space the Critique Collective will be showing a BRAND new Group Project in an exhibition co-curated by Christine Dhein and Christoph Koch called, Re-Purpose, Re-Use, Re-CREATE! We’re all super pumped up and ready to get others on the Green Train. Hopefully I will get a chance to update the crit collective website to include the press release on that. Until then, click here to grab the pdf.

What’s this: A. Abstract depiction of California in an earthquake; B. The inside of an old computer I scavenged at SCRAP; or C. Future Man-thong.
If you chose C, you are Correct! Cher thong ensemble will be showing in the above crit show, and she will have a partner in crime. Here is a sneak peak of the parts I cut up a few hours ago. Think electronic jock strap. So far the title that strikes me is “Population Control 2.0″. Definitely conceptual, but will be wearable/lifesize. Commentary on how constant laptop use on male laps is being linked to impotence, using technology to create genetically superior offspring….

Fellow Critique Collective member, Reed Easley, was featured with her bridal bouquet today on Craft magazine’s blog! And right after her wedding to boot, which was this past Saturday. The Collective definitely had a hand in creating crafts for the wedding; Shana Astrachan in particular created these fabulous vintage rafia flowers from a loom she bought from Cathy of California while we were at Maker Faire. Together we created the base by carving it from a large styrofoam sphere and covering it with pleated white cotton, tulle, and a large satin bow. The handle was a screwdriver wrapped in floral tape and inserted into the foam base, a perfect solution for our tool-loving bride! Amazing how innovative one can be at the witching hour on deadline! Perhaps Shana will start a line of bridal bouquets…..