emiko-o reware

Thanks to Jessica Fromm’s article “Art as Fashion” in last week’s Metro Silicon Valley, I had great success at Palo Alto Art Center’s STYLE 2009. An all day event, starting with a special breakfast at 9:30am, and catered lunch by former Google chef, Charlie Ayers, who now has his own restaurant, Calafia (the name of which is supposedly the origin of our state’s name). As Liz Lemon would say, “I want to go to there!” A busy day all around, you wouldn’t have known that a recession was going on with all the shopping bags; can I get an Amen over here for the “LEGO lady”!

And for those of you who are surprised by the non-LEGO accompanying image, well, so am I. Don’t be fooled by the caption; it was a misprint. While, yes, that is me in the photo, pre-red streaks (photo credit to Christine Dhein), the incredible circuit board ensemble here is by the lovely Reed Easley–her “Electronic Empire Series”. I notified the editor and writer and was assured that a correction would be printed with the correct artist names.

There were so many great artists (and familiar faces) at this show; I was in superb company in the auditorium, where the jewelers and accessory artists were located. Carol Windsor had a super pro display showcasing her handmade paper petal designs, and Julia Turner had her exquisite collection of handmade wood and metal pieces. Plus NICHE winner and local gallery owner, Davide Bigazzi, and April Higashi representing her Berkeley gallery, Shibumi Studio & Gallery. Thanks to  Diane Masters, “Empress of Style” for coordinating this fabulous event!

Carol Windsor's earrings

Julia Turner's brooch

Yesterday Christine and I sadly packed up our shows at the SF Museum of Craft + Design, marking the end of a spectacular run for both My First Royal Jewels, MakeArt and Jewelry_cycle. Ahh, the memories…the group tours, the press, Sept & Oct’s never-ending adrenaline rushes. Now it’s how to fit it all back into the apartment.

We just received a copy of our TV debut interviews of our exhibitions on Comcast Channel 104′s Inside City Limits, and hopefully will be able to post clips online soon. There really is nothing like a 3-month run for an exhibition to get the word out on the street and online. Here is the clipping from Dec 14th’s SF Chronicle Datebook, where The Duchess is featured.

Apparently, Reed Easley’s circuit board series was featured on Dec 25th; haven’t seen it yet, but will post it when I get a hold of a copy. Her fan showed up on eventful.com (events posting site), as did my Maharajah piece.

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…..