emiko-o reware

This coming Thursday, Sept 10 I will be back at my alma mater Syracuse University (it’s been over 12 years!) to do my Top Ten Tips for Post Grad Success workshop for the Jewelry & Metalsmithing Dept, plus give an evening artist talk at 7pm. The workshop is only for students, but I believe the artist talk is open to the public. The talk will be held at the Comart facility at 119 Comstock Ave, Room 022 (see poster below).

emiko SU poster

I’m super excited to share my decade+ of real world experience with the students, as I often hear that Professional Development is not covered in the classroom and SHOULD be. The Professional Guidelines (co-sponsored by SNAG, Harriete Estel Berman, chair) is definitely going to be an underlying thread to the afternoon, plus interactive activities, worksheets, demos. Get ready for brain explosion!
Highlights from the lecture will be posted on this blog in the weeks ahead–so stay tuned!

LEGO Blue Steel Necklace and domino bracelet

The evening lecture will focus on my work from the last 4 years, mostly the LEGO series, so if you’re in the area, bring your buddies along for a trip down brick geek lane…..

Let’s take a minute to give props to the student body of SNAG, for as Stanley has said, and I agree, they are our Future, not to mention some of the most creative and innovative makers. When I head into the Pin Swap event, I go straight to the students, because more often than not, they have the coolest pins and are the friendliest of the bunch.
So, first let’s congratulate the winners of the SNAG Educational Endowment Award:

Vincent Pontillo

WINNERS: Vincent Pontillo (SUNY Buffalo) (see image, right)
Rachel Shimpock (Cal State Long Beach)
Davina Romansky (RIT)

Elliot Gaskin

HONORABLE MENTIONS:
Elliot Gaskin (Academy of Art, SF) (see image, left)
Andrew Kuebeck

On to the Student Exhibition, MetalEvolution, curated by Susan Myers and Bruce Metcalf, and organized by Erin Williams. Great work, you three, this show was outstanding.
WINNER of this show: Vincent Pontillo!

Vincent Pontillo's Pomegranate

AUDIENCE CHOICE: Lindsey Phillips (see image, left bottom)

Lindsey Phillips

My personal favorite was a velcro necklace by Yong Joo Kim. Thread was the material for Ashli Brooke Taylor‘s necklace, and the political pin multiples of Sean Scully were also memorable.

Yong Joo Kim's velcro necklace

Ashli Brooke Taylor's thread necklace

Sean Scully's political pins

Abigail Williams also had work in the show, and she happened to be watching over the gallery when I first stopped in. She had a great felted wool and metal collar piece on, as you’ll see below.

Abigail Williams

On the last night at the banquet, I met Jenny Schneider, whose Beaver crown was in the show; here’s a photo of her (center) and her friends wearing her work.

jenny schneider and her jewelry

Lifetime Achievement Award

9am on Thursday, May 21 and we’re all gathered in the large ballroom for the Keynote by Stanley Lechtzin (I’m a bit behind on my posts, as it is currently Day 3, but let’s pretend for now it’s still Day 2, Thursday). First, however, Stanley was awarded the SNAG Lifetime Achiement Award, very fitting as this year’s theme is Revolution! Cynthia Eid created and presented this beautiful silver vessel award (as shown in the slide above onscreen). Stanley gave a moving speech, personally thanking individuals and sending out his love to each of them, for being so supportive of him over the years. In closing, he had all the students in the audience stand up, and to them he said, “You are the most important part of this conference; you are the future of this organization.” Over 200 students are in attendance this year, not too bad out of 700 attendees!

Stanley Lechtzin

Incoming President, Harlan Butt introduced Stanley for the following Keynote address, the theme and title which I love and is my personal motto this year, “Seizing of Opportunities.”

He continues to be at the forefront of our field, leading the way for art jewelry to integrate with today’s technologies, from design in CAD/CAM to realization in 3D resin modeling. In his keynote, he posed these questions which I pose to you:

Are you recognizing your opportunities?

Are you using your opportunities to their fullest?

Are you preparing your students for the future?

He went on to share these words of wisdom: “This is not a dress rehearsal. When they [opportunities] come up, grab them.” And lastly, “Those who CAN, Do; Those who can Do it Better, Teach.”

Friday, May 22–Day 3, 9am. Crafting Ecology by Neri Oxman

Material Ecology

Material Ecology

Probably the most fitting lecture to the theme of Revolution and the future of craft, was this lecture by Neri  Oxman, PhD candidate at MIT. In 2008 she exhibited extensive design research in Design and the Elastic Mind, commissioned by MoMA, NY. Her work in Material Computation, “Material Ecology” as she calls it,  investigates and pioneers how well-designed Form can optimize Performance. She lists 4 Movements of Craft Ecology:
Adaptive Components–how small parts affect the design of the whole; Adaptive Materials–capturing material behaviors via computers; Adaptive Form & Environment; Adaptive Material & Environment–what tools you use to build form.

She touched on Green Fabrication, finding a relationship between how badly industry treats material efficiency today, and how well nature knows how to optimize materials. Looking into how one material can be used to cater to multiple performances. Quoting Brian Eno, “The problem with computers is that there is not enough Africa in them.” Basically, a synergetic approach to achieving generative design; looking back to the source, to Nature.

Camille Paglia

11:30am, Art and Sex by Camille Paglia
By far the Most Entertaining of all the lectures was Art and Sex by scholar and culture critic, Camille Paglia. What a riot; imagine half a semester of Art History class in less than an hour, including personal quips and hilarious commentary. I did learn a few things that I missed the first time around in college, such as with Donatello’s David.

Donatello's David

Besides being a fruity looking guy, check out how the feather in the severed head’s helmut seems to caress David’s inner thigh, dangerously close to his parts…Can you see it? How about here:

In Ingres’ Grand Odalisk, not only is this woman of the harem a bit doped up on her hookah, but the exposed, perfect soles of her feet give rise to an unexpected erotism of feet. 

1:30pm, Anti/icono/clastic by Myra Mimlitsch-Gray
After an equally speedy lunch, we returned for an artist lecture by Myra Mimlitsch-Gray, who gave us a tour of her Arts/Industry residency at Kohler Co., working in the foundry to create utilitarian ware and abstract sculptures. Inspired by the movie, The Future of Food, and the regional culinary culture (Kohler is based in Wisconsin), Myra tweaked the familiar and created sculptures based on the genetic modification of food. We were lucky enough to see these works in person at the Wexler Gallery on Friday night. Here are a few images from that show.

Braut pans

Mitosis by Myra Mimlitsch-Gray

2:45pm, Notes: Postal Art & Musical Instruments by Bobby Hannson

Bobby Hannson

What started out as a curious project by Tim McCreight to collect artistic, custom envelopes that Bobby Hannson had sent to friends and family over the years, turned into a 13 minute DVD movie of Bobby’s art and musical instruments, featuring the eclectic, lovable character himself. We got a sneak peak at the film, and even were encouraged to take home a complimentary copy to share with the world. You too can have a copy ($20), available soon on Tim’s Brynmorgen Press website.

Have a look at the Youtube clip yourself:

Philadelphia Museum of Art

Jewelry in Motion at the Philadelphia Museum of Art was certainly a highlight of Day 2. All 34 of us who were showing in the event were corraled into the main entry in front of the grand staircase inside the museum, and given brief instruction on the catwalk, stair placement, and order of artists.

Here is just a sampling of images: James Thurman‘s Book Jacket of recycled book covers, and Anthony Tammaro‘s Here I Am chandelier-like neckpiece with bells that chimed. Below that is Christine Bossler‘s Inhibit reverse arm pieces of monofilament and pearls.

James Thurman and Anthony Tammaro's piece

Christine Bossler's Inhibit

Curated by Gail Brown and organized by Marjorie Simon, everything fell into place, from the live music by Alex Styer, choreographed dancers from Jeanne Ruddy Dance, and witty emcees Lola Brooks and Jonathan Wahl.

Jewelry In Motion (photo by Jennifer Crupi)

There really is no better way to show jewelry than on the body, and after the show was over and we all descended the stairs and made our way off the catwalk, the cameras continued snapping and countless curious audience members introduced themselves to us to inspect the pieces.

emiko's jewelry in motion

Here I am (center) with SNAG member Alecia Wesner and my partner in catwalk crime, Christi Swier. The debut of my latest creations, Blue Steel (Boucheron replica), and Cygne Noir (Lalique replica). The costume designer in me couldn’t resist the opportunity to be theatrical with the 18th century wigs and ball gowns, especially after my Cher appearance at SNAG 05 at the Rock and Roll Hall. I encourage everyone who participates in future Jewelry In Motions to consider their entire get-up just as you would the display of your pieces in a gallery. Not only are you memorable, but it’s the best opportunity to meet TONS of people. Next JIM is SNAG ’10 in Houston, so start designing now!

If you TOOK PHOTOGRAPHS of Jewelry in Motion, please let me know and I’ll post your links. So far, Jennifer Crupi has her images up on Picasa and Jennifer Zwilling has images on Flickr .  SNAG photographer, Phil Renato, has some raw b&w images on Flickr. And there were rumors that a local TV station was filming…I’ll keep you posted.

Francesca Vitali and her pins

One of my favorite parts of SNAG conferences is the Pin Swap, a great ice breaker/social where hundreds of jewelers are unleashed to trade their pin creations and meet other artists. The trick being able to get there with your pins before all the good ones are gone, and not too early that you give them all away before the second wave of stragglers arrive. And of course, it’s the perfect opportunity to catch up and find old friends–without fail, I always manage to bump into my Syracuse University undergrad prof, Barbara Walter (3rd from left, next to me), and SU alums Erin Williams and Susan Myers (1st & 2nd from left, see below). Erin was the Student Exhibition Coordinator, and Susan is on the Exhibitions Committee.

the ol' Syracuse metals gang

Amy Weiks and Brigitte Martin

Brigitte Martin (pictured, above right) of the ever-growing Crafthaus–if you haven’t joined, what are you waiting for–she’s the coolest!

Marla Johnson Norris and Mr. Norris

Congratulated Marla Johnson Norris and her husband, both of Aristotle Design, for such a mind-blowing fantastic web optimization presentation. Hire her–you can’t lose!

Here’s a sampling of the pins I got tonite (not my optimal bathroom-at-4pm shot, but good for now).

emiko's pins

SNAG 09 pins

Alrighty, then; it’s 2:43am, my usual bedtime. Better head up to the 28th floor to get some shut-eye. Tomorrow will be another crazy day!

Gallery Panel SNAG

The last segment of the PDS program, The Evolving Role of the Gallery in a Virtual World of Commerce, gave us the insider perspective of what it takes to run a gallery in this age of internet commerce, not to mention a bad economy. Each gallery owner had 5 minutes to show a powerpoint presentation about their gallery and mission. From left to right: Ruth Synderman of Works Gallery, Beth Ann Gerstein of Society of Arts and Crafts, Sienna Patti of Sienna Gallery, Whitney Couch of ObjectFetish, Patti Bleicher of Gallery Loupe, Karen Lorene of Facére.

Questions posed to the group were:

1. What does a Brick and Mortar Store (all are physical sites, except for ObjectFetish being the sole online-only store) have to offer that justifies the 50/50 split on sales? Why wouldn’t an artist just sell retail through their own site or on Etsy?

2. How are they finding and educating new, young collectors?

3. And how is the internet affecting their sales?

Answers (higlights):

1. “the gallery is there to facilitate the future of the artist,”-Sienna Patti. “It’s ALL of our jobs to be the advocate for art jewelry,”-Karen Lorene.

2. Co-sponsoring important art jewelry exhibitions with local art museums, as Patti Bleicher did with the recent Helen Drutt Collection show; brings in new audiences. “All my customers are collectors,” says Karen, who makes a point to educate every customer about the artist they are purchasing from, even with a letter welcoming them to the world of art jewelry collecting.

3. Whitney finds that the competition, like Etsy, pushes her to work even harder to promote her artists; she encourages the competition!

Thanks to the PDS organizers for all of their hard work: w

SNAG PDS organizers

From left to right: Andy Cooperman, Harriete Estel Berman, Don Friedlich, Ken Bova. Also, much thanks to Etsy and MJSA for sponsoring this program.

This will be the last year that the PDS will be a Pre-Conference event. Next year, PDS will be incorporated into the SNAG conference itself (no more flying in the night before, maybe…)

Maximizing the Online Revolution: Improving Web Performance & Design

Marla Johnson Norris

Marla Johnson Norris, CEO of Aristotle Design wowed us for 2 hours straight with an amazing presentation completely catered to jewelers, giving us the lowdown on what makes successful websites. She not only laid it out in terms we could understand (not too techie), but had example after example of SNAG member’s websites and what could be improved or tweaked, or what was hitting it right on. No holds barred, she went to the top and scrutinized even the PDS organizers’ websites.

Let me share with you some of the highlights I’ve gleaned from her Top 10 Tips to improving your website performance.
KNOW YOUR KEYWORDS:  use your Artist Name, Jewelry types/Materials/Trends, Specific Design Terms. Start Broad and narrow down; you’re aiming for that sweet spot where a lot of people are searching for your keyword, but there isn’t much competition for that keyword.

REPEAT your KEYWORDS on your site in multiple places: hypertext links, image titles, title pages, title tags, website address, headline font.

HAVE CONTENT ON YOUR HOMEPAGE: Just having a pretty image doesn’t cut it, you NEED to have text (and text that is not a rasterized image), content, and links. Content on POP UP windows or PULL DOWN MENUS won’t be seen by the search engines. Now, before you freak out, do this at least: have your SITE MAP to your website posted, which will list all the hypertext links.

FLASH-driven SITES ARE BAD. Yes, this I was aware of and had my pretty flash site redone into HTML so the search engine spiders can find you. Flash sites are basically seen as one big image–so get over your flash selves and get with it!

MUSIC IS BAD. Nuf said.

PROVIDE PRICING ONLINE: Make it easy for people to buy your work, saves your time and theirs.

LABEL ALL YOUR IMAGES. Be specific, concise with your file names and don’t forget to label your Alt Tags and Captions. Flickr is a good example where they make it easy to label the tags for all your images. Abbreviated labels, or using your own coding system (like eo_id346) does not help others find your work, nor does it help Google Images find you either.

Marla Johnson Norris

CREATE APPROPRIATE TITLE TAGS, and LIMIT THEM TO 65 CHARACTERS MAX. This was the big whammy for all of us, especially those people who use web mac templates for their websites, which often have default, lame title tags. The TItle Tag being what comes up on that very top bar of your browser, above the URL. This is definitely a programmer/coding kind of thing, but UBER IMPORTANT. Every character counts, so GET RID OF :: | | _ _ in your title tags. The FIRST WORD is the most important, the second word the second important, and so on.  If your title tag says “Home :: Welcome”, you better change it quick. “Francesca Vitali Paper Jewelry” is ideal.

And not that, but EVERY PAGE SHOULD HAVE A DIFFERENT TITLE TAG. Otherwise, you’re only competing with yourself.

My last AHA tidbit to share is: DESIGN FOR CURRENT SCREEN RESOLUTION. Yes, this sucks for those of us whose sites are coming from the age of 800 x 600 pixels. Lesson: redesign every 2 years. Stats are that only 8% of web users have a max screen resolution of that size. Today less than 32% of people are viewing at 1024 x 768!

To sum up, remember these points: Make it EASY, Have CLEAR CATEGORIES, Every page leads to SALES, BIG IMAGES, PROFESSIONAL looking DESIGN.

WHew!

loews philadelphia hotel

First day: Checked into the SNAG Conference hotel, Loews Philadelphia; an Art Deco building, comfortable, and has a boutique feel. Just had a chance to run down a block to the Reading Terminal Market on 12th St and grab some fresh fruit and get back for the Professional Development Seminar at 2pm.

PDS Gallery Panel

Here are the lovely ladies of the Gallery panel portion of the afternoon, waiting for the Professional Development Seminar to start. Left to right: Karen Lorene (Facére Gallery), Beth Ann Gerstein (Society of Arts & Crafts), Ruth Synderman (Works Gallery), Whitney Couch (Object Fetish), Sienna Patti (Sienna Gallery) (not pictured: Patti Bleicher of Gallery Loupe).

A jam-packed 4-hour afternoon of very very important info, with the theme, “Maximizing the Online Revolution: Websites and Beyond”. And while I’ve been to my share of website optimization sessions (and having a boyfriend in the industry doesn’t hurt), I learned a TON of stuff that I will share with you all later tonite. But off to the pinswap–it’s 7:13 and I don’t want to miss out on the good ones!

A few weeks ago I got a call from ReadyMade magazine, which was interested in writing a story about me and my LEGO work (they had a LEGO focus and found me on Etsy). So not only will you see me in next month’s print issue on the newstands, but I was also interviewed by the lovely Katherine Sharpe, the new online editor for this article that went online today! Definitely one of the best written interviews I’ve had so far. She calls me “Miss Modular”, and I have to say I find it quite catchy and appropriate. Go to ReadyMade to read the article.

I’ve got less than 24 hours to get everything ready for the SNAG (Society of North American Goldsmiths) “Revolution” conference in Philadelphia–the heat is on, to pack, and finish my new pieces (see Cygne Noir in progress, to right) for the Jewelry In Motion runway show on Thursday, May 21 at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

SNAG has tapped me to be an official blogger for the conference, along with Francesca Vitali and Gabriel Craig. Check our bios and links to their blogs on the SNAG Conference page. Stay tuned here for updates and images from the conference, starting Wednesday, May 20.