Ideas to Materials in Contemporary Jewellery

Here is another video ‘Conversations about Contemporary Jewellery: Ideas to Materials‘ that interviews contemporary jewellery makers on their processes, ideas and materials in their work.

I always find it very fascinating to hear where other artists come from and what makes them thrive.

If you would like to read up on contemporary artists’ studio practices, check out the book ‘Jewellery Design and Development: From Concept to Object‘ by Norman Cherry (also read my post: ‘Reading 1: Amy Tavern & Inspiration in Books‘) It feels like one is sitting next to the artists looking over their shoulder when reading the book.

Thank you for reading.

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Art & Environment: A Sense of Place

I woke up very early this morning, so I thought it would be wise to use the extra time to do some research on possible future work developments. Things still haven’t completely unraveled in my mind but there is a glimpse of direction coming through. I find that I am very fascinated with the relationship in between humans and nature. How humans influence and manipulate nature and how nature fights to get back what is hers. There are several directions I would like to experiment with in the near future. They might or might not relate to each other. But even if they don’t, I think it can be very interesting to juxtapose the objects, since the topic of human and nature is very diverse and controversial in itself and it can be seen from a lot of different angles.

During my research this morning, I stumbled over a very recent blog-post of a fellow jeweller friend, Melissa Cameron, and I thought it would be great to share her post ‘A Meditation on Place’. The post features a video called: ‘Conversations about Contemporary Jewellery: Locating Place’.

As you might know, the influence of place plays a big role in my work and I can relate very well with what is being said in the interviews. Being born in Germany, having studied in the UK, having worked in Shanghai, China and now living in the USA has filled my mind with the strangest habits, cultures and influences, which can clearly be seen in my different bodies of work. Still, sometimes it is hard to find the self in it all, especially (as mentioned in the video) in addition to the internet that offers the world on a fingertip. I do agree though that by the end of the day, the culture and influences of one’s upbringing and home country are the ones that take the lead in defining who one is and what one has to say. It is as Helen Britton mentions when she says that if she had to choose in between Germany and Australia, she would have to go with Australia. Living in a foreign country helps to get the needed distance and a new perspective on the home country. It helps to focus and the new influences of a foreign country can be a great addition to the creative thinking process. I am happy to be living in the USA but if one asked me to make a choice, I am not sure I could be without Germany. I find this relationship in between art and upbringing very fascinating. Those early years shape how we see, understand and read things and deep down, they influence it all.

Thank you for reading.

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3D Printing, Janne Kyttanen & New Inspirations

Sometimes it happens that life delivers inspiration at exactly the right time without me even actively looking. I really like when this happens, since it feels like someone switched on a light bulb in my brain and the jungle of ideas in my head that could make up a new project suddenly magically unsnarls.

Today this Aha-Moment was given to me by Janne Kyttanen who decided to follow me on Twitter. I had never heard of him and I looked him up… and I was stunned. He is a designer, based in the Netherlands, who is very much interested in 3D printing. He started to investigate and work with this technology since the mid 90’s and his portfolio is very impressive. From his designs, over to founding his own business ‘3D Systems‘ to collaborations with shoe-designers, interior architects, jewellery artists (like Ted Noten) etc. Janne really likes to dip into multiple design disciplines. A fact that I find highly refreshing and inspirational.

Janne Kyttanen Designs

Janne Kyttanen in collaboration with Andreia Chaves, Invisible Shoes, 2011

Janne Kyttanen in collaboration with Ted Noten, Fashionista Necklace, 2009

There are quite a few things that kept my mind busy lately. One thing that I have been thinking about for quite a while is that I would like to have my artistic work run in a new direction again and 3D printing is one technique that fascinates me. Back when I was still living in Shanghai, I purchased a 3D printer from Makible, a start-up company based in Hong Kong that offers a very price-tag friendly 3D printer, the MakiBox. At the time when I purchased the printer, I was not aware that they were just starting of (completely my misunderstanding) and that it would take some time for the product to be finished, so I could not yet try to work with a 3D printer. But some things are worth the wait and now, almost two years later, it seems like my MakiBox is finally in the post and I should receive it any time now. I so cannot wait!

Another thing is that recently I feel the urge to explore other art and design fields. For the last ten years I have mainly been working in jewellery and as of lately I feel like the small scale almost seems to ‘suffocate’ me from now and then. In order to get my mind free, I find it helps to work big sometimes or do something completely unrelated. (This is also one reason why I decided not to go to see the Schmuck 2014 exhibition in Munich this time.) Right now, I would love to indulge in making chandeliers and lamps and I would like to dive into sculptural art.

But to get back to 3D printing… As mentioned before, I am fascinated by the technique but I find it very controversy at the same time. A lot of artists have dipped into the field already, like jeweler Arthur Hash or the design team from Nervous System and I admire their work a lot. But for me, I love making things by hand, it forms an essential part of my designing process. Using a technology that is solely based on a machine fabricating an idea might not be enough for my bench-experience and it also raises a lot of questions as to how the making process in art and craft should and can look like. Does the artificial making process ‘water down’ the quality of work, since a 3D printer might soon be a house-hold stable in every home for everyone to use? Will art soon be something that every person can do by the mouse-click? Can suddenly everyone be an artist? Or will in the end the artistic mind take over and even in such an easy, approachable technology, the creative idea will determine the quality and level of the work? I assume the latter will be the case. In order to create objects, one needs to have a mind that can think accordingly but the question of whether art should actually be made by the artist and not necessarily a machine will remain. Also, is the sole idea of a piece of work enough? Individuality might get lost in the machine-making process, uniformity might take over. But then again, this can also be a very interesting approach to a body of work.

Arthur Hash, Necklace

Nervous System, Kinematics Jewelry in 3D printed nylon.

In fact, this approach is one point that I am quite interested in at the moment. I have a few ideas turning around the symbiosis of hand-made and 3D printed structures. I think that combining two different forms of making, in their process and the choice of material, will add a very interesting contrast to my future pieces. Another thing that I will add is a new topic that the work will turn around. In the spirit of contrast, that has always been a major motivator in my work, I have recently looked into the relationship of nature and humans again. This is an issue that has always been in the back of my mind. (Have a look at my ‘Booming Blooming‘ and ‘Globalores‘ series.) In my opinion, the modern human primarily takes from nature and does not give much back. There are major man-made natural catastrophes happening all around the globe, gene-manipulation in plants and animals becomes bigger and bigger etc. … and all in the name of consumerism without people thinking about the consequences. What will happen if humans ‘win’ and nature is gone at some point? Will we have to fabricate nature too? Will nature be a reminiscent of the past with all those new technologies ‘improving’ the natural ways of being?

This image was recently sent to me by my sister-in-law. Will nature and technology work as one or will technology take over nature?

I will see where this path will lead me. It might take a while before I can show some actual finished pieces. Since I have never 3D printed anything before, I am not familiar with any 3D modeling programs. I am good in Illustrator but learning 3D will be a new task that might take a while. If anyone knows of any good, easy-to-learn and free 3D programs, please let me know! I appreciate all the help I can get.

But for now, thank you Janne Kyttanen for following me on Twitter this morning!

I apologize for the length of this post… I hope you made it this far! Until next time…

Thank you for reading!

Feel free to follow this blog.
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Reading 1: Amy Tavern & Inspiration in Books

First, I hope you all had a great start in the New Year and that the ‘Year of the Horse’ will take you on a memorable ride in 2014!

I apologise for not having updated this blog in a while. For the last few weeks, I tried to concentrate more on ProonK, especially with all the Christmas business coming up and the artistic side of my making fell off the wagon a little.

Yesterday though was a great reminder of why I love to make Art Jewellery: I went to a lecture of Amy Tavern at the PrattMWP Institute yesterday afternoon. The lecture was very interesting. Amy talked about her upbringing in New York State, her college years and studies, her unusual way to recognising jewellery was her passion, over to more studies, living in Portland Oregon, starting off making mainly production work until she realised that the artistic aspect was missing for her over to her work from the beginnings to now, her artist residency in Iceland and travels to Europe and finally her current life back at home with the family. I always find that listening to other people talk about their work has a very uplifting effect on me. I admire many makers for what they are doing and what they have done in their work. Seeing the paths other people took to get where they are is very inspirational. Meeting and talking to fellow artists is the best support system one can think of. It was great meeting Amy yesterday and chatting about bits and bobs. It really is crucial to talk about work to keep moving forward.

Blow Clusters, Amy Tavern

After my meeting with Amy, I felt very inspired and I decided to use the evening to revisit the basics of making to get a fresh perspective on things: Increasing knowledge and finding new inspiration. I felt very energised last night, so I ordered eight new books online (two were mentioned in Amy’s lecture) and I went through my bookshelf to pull out all the books that I either started to read or always wanted to read.

I also unwrapped my camera. I have a very special relationship with it: It is a Rolleicord double-lens camera from 1957 and I got it from Ebay when I was 18. It is called James. The reason I got this old-timer was because I am not a huge fan of digital photography. For some reason it just does not feel right pushing a button and the camera does all the work for you. I like the old fashioned handling of it and the feeling of actually having ‘made’ something. So, James is ready to go and I hope that I can take him out for a walk over the weekend.

 James, the 1957 Rolleicord camera.

Here is also a list of the books I found in my shelf that I intend to read in the next few weeks/months, in case you are interested in good Art & Design books. I might write reviews on a few of them to let you know why I believe they are a great read.

‘Jewellery Design and Development‘ by Norman Cherry (Yes, my work is featured in the book but this is not the only reason why you should read it! 😉 As I said, it is always inspiring to hear or read how other makers create their work and this book is as close as you can get to a jeweller’s bench and mind without actually talking to them.)

‘Curating Subjects‘, Paul O’Neill (Knowing about curating is always great when being a maker. An idea for a great show can be an awesome inspiration for a new body of work.)

‘Reasons for Knocking at an Empty House‘, Bill Viola(This is Bill Viola’s sketchbook and writings from 1973 to 1994. I LOVE his work. One of the greatest books I was ever recommended to read. It has been on and off my nightstand for the last seven years.)

‘Sculpting in Time‘, Andrey Tarkovsky (Just like Viola’s book, Tarkovsky’s writing have been recommended to me by my former MA tutor Jivan Astfalck. Great insights in the creative process, life and time.)

‘Instant Light‘, Tarkovsky Polaroids (I found this book when I still lived in Shanghai. I fell in love with the way light was presented and highlighted in these rather simple, every-day shots. Light is such an important element in making art!)

‘What is Contemporary Art?‘, e-flux journal (This one will be a tough one to read but a question that I am interested in finding discussed.)

‘The Art of the Novel‘, Milan Kundera
(Interviews with Kundera about writing and creating art and quite much more.)

‘The Trend Forecaster’s Handbook‘, Martin Raymond (Great book about how to foresee and I guess ‘make’ trends. Definitely interesting to know but I think it needs to be digested with caution in order to keep on making art with an unbiased mind.)

‘Abecedarium‘, Peter Bauhuis (Personal dictionary about Bauhuis’ work. A great farewell gift from a friend in Shanghai.)

‘How to be a Graphic Designer without losing your Soul‘, Adrian Shaughnessy (Professional insights are always appreciated, especially when they are meant to maintain personal integrity.)

Thank you for reading. I always appreciate your input and comments.

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Schmuck #4: Flora Eats Fauna

On Schmuck-Friday, I went to see the show ‘Flora Eats Fauna‘, featuring work of contemporary jewellery artists: Dana Hakim, Hannah Joris, Jasmin Matzakow, Jimin Kim, Leonore Jock, Nora Rochel, Stephanie Hensle & Susanne Wolbers.

When I had a look at the mega-long Schmuck-flyer, I was a little reluctant to go and see this exhibition, since it was on show at Schloss Nymphenburg, which is a little bit out of the city. One has to take the tram and walk for quite a bit to get there. Still, since that Friday was nice and sunny, I thought I’d give it a try and enjoy a little walk through the park. I have to say, just seeing the Schloss Nymphenburg by itself was worth the trip.

Schloss Nymphenburg

The exhibition ‘Flora Eats Fauna‘ was on show in the Johannissaal at the Orangerietrakt and was just as impressive as the main building. The room itself was beautiful but so was the way the exhibition was set-up and arranged. When entering, one found oneself in a sea of paper flowers that supported and complimented the jewellery.

Like the title of the show suggested, all pieces had something to do with nature. Was it in form of natural materials, shapes of butterflies and fishes or compositions that made it difficult to tell what was man-made and what was ‘genuine’.

‘Flora Eats Fauna’

During my visit, I had the chance to talk to Dana Hakim (It was the first time we met after having exhibited at Preziosa Young together in 2011. It was great meeting her in person!)  and Susanne Wolbers, who both explained the backgrounds of their work. I also overheard Stephanie Hensle talk about her pieces, when she explained them to a gallerist. To me, the most important thing when having a look at contemporary jewellery is to build up and find a personal connection to a piece. When this happens, I find the piece is a success. I think, being able to read and see something in a piece of art is more important than recognising what the artist meant to express. However, if both is showing, the piece is sheer perfection. Therefore, next to having my own impressions, I like to listen to the artists themselves talk about their work.

When having a look at Dana Hakim‘s pieces, I was puzzled about the materials she used in her compositions. Especially the blue material kept me wondering. I assumed it was some sort of pigment but later I found out that the pieces were made of industrial rubber gloves! The entire time I had a look at them, I was mesmerized by the characteristics of the materials. Even though I knew then what the pieces were made from, they still did not look like gloves to me. Dana really found a way to give the used materials a completely new identity, a thing that is not easy to achieve.

Dana Hakim’s blue rubber glove jewellery on the bottom left and top right.

Susanne Wolber‘s work was an actual, literal puzzle. The pieces were a composition of a piece of nature (tree bark or leaves), an insect and a man-made imitation of those contents that blended in perfectly. The trick was to determine which one of those three components was the actual man-made one. A task that was more tricky to achieve than it sounded!

Susanne Wolber’s compositions in the white frames.

Stephanie Hensle‘s work was inspired by old pressing machines that were previously used for making costume jewellery. She used the old pressing techniques to make hundreds of multiples that made up big movable, animal-like pieces. Although some of them were really big and looked very heavy, they almost seemed to snuggle with the body when being worn. I found this formed a very interesting contrast. I had this stiff making mechanism in my mind but then I was proven that they were super agile and moved all over the place!

Stephanie Hensle’s pressed, movable animal pieces.

Nora Rochel’s jewellery on the left, Jimin Kim’s jewellery on the right.

Nora Rochel’s jewellery in the front, Hannah Joris’ work in the back.

I very much enjoyed this exhibition and I am still happy I took the trip. All three, the set-up, the work and the Schloss were absolutely worth it. I am very much looking forward to seeing more future exhibitions of those girls!

Thank you for reading.

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Schmuck #3: Fallmamal – Umsturz erwuenscht. Nine Jewelers at the Bowling Alley.

Another exhibition I visited during Schmuck 2013 in Munich was the show ‘Fallmamal – Umsturz erwuenscht. Nine Jewelers at the Bowling Alley’.

The show was curated by Anja Eichler and Gabi Veit and showed pieces that turned around the idea of subversion and falling over. The nine artist taking part were: Sungho Cho, Anja Eichler, Beate Eismann, Julia Heineccius, Young-Hee Hong, Wolfgang Loeffler, Barbara Schrobenhauser, Gabi Veit & Manuel Vilhena.

As the name suggests, the exhibition was set-up in the bowling alley of the restaurant Theresa in Munich. It was the first time I had seen this kind of set-up in such a fun-place. When walking down the bowling aisle, it made me wonder how on earth I had not seen a bowling alley as a place for this kind of exhibition before! It’s the perfect venue to show jewellery. The white walls are perfect to show the jewels and it even comes with its own little green catwalk!

Unfortunately, I arrived very late at the show. Since the restaurant wanted to rent out the bowling alley for guests after 5pm, I had to rush down the ‘catwalk’ to take a little glimpse at the works.

Anja Eichler was there and she showed me her new pieces and explained the concept of the show.

Previously, Anja’s work was marked by the use of industrial rubber gloves. Now, living in Shanghai, she moved on to quail eggs as her main medium. Seeing the egg shells made me want to go back to Shanghai myself and pay a visit to one of my favourite restaurants that sell the best tea-quail-eggs in town! But even with a hungry tummy, it was very interesting to see how Anja concentrated on the patterns and colours of the eggshells and how she found ways to underline those qualities. I am always amazed when I stumble over materials in jewellery that are usually disregarded and rarely looked at twice but that are then transformed into something that shows their natural beauty with a force that feels like a slap in my face!

Anja Eichler‘s quail egg jewellery.

I think this necklace was made by Gabi Veit from a previous bowling pin that was gnawed at by a wood worm.

Thank you for reading.

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Schmuck #2: Plateaus Jewellery Project

As mentioned in my previous post ‘Schmuck #1: Guck ins Schmuckloch, Schmuck im Guckloch’, I visited quite a few exhibitions during Schmuck 2013 and I decided to write about a few that had a lasting impression on me.

One of those that stuck in my mind was the show ‘Plateaus‘ of Idar-Oberstein makers: Barbora Dzurakova, Patricia Domingues, Katharina Dettar & Edu Tarin.

The show was on display in the attic of a five stories living house and I have to admit that I kept cursing my way up the stairs but I was rewarded with a very intriguing and well-balanced show. The four makers met at the Fachhochschule Trier in Idar-Oberstein during their studies (I think a few of them are currently still enrolled in courses) and they decided to show together on the platform of saying that they have the same starting points in being individual artists in Idar-Oberstein but in addition they can build up on each other and find links in their different works and making processes.

When seeing the exhibition, the link of the works became obvious: big stones, either in their natural form or in cut shapes were present in most pieces. With Idar-Oberstein and its long history in the gemstone industry, this comes not as a surprise. Still, each artist used the medium in their own individual way but without giving or taking too much from the others. The whole exhibition had a feeling of relaxation and tranquility to it. No piece tried to stand out from the crowd, they were allowed to be next to each other in harmony.

Although the set-up of the show was a little bit more quirky and experimental, it blended in perfectly with the look and feel of the raw attic with all its untreated wood panels and floors. The artists decided to show their work on top of wooden drawing boards that are usually used for life-drawing classes in Idar-Oberstein. It was funny for me to see them, since they took me back to my student days, when I was studying there. But again, the artists arranged them in a way that took them away from their previous use and they transformed them into very funky looking display surfaces that looked like they had always belonged to that very specific attic.

From all pieces, there were two that especially intrigued me.

One was a necklace made by Katharina Dettar. At first sight, I have to admit that it did not impress me that much. It looked like cut wooden sticks that were connected to each other. But when I figured that it was made from unpolished and cut semi-precious stones, I was intrigued. I had a very close look and I found that one part of those sticks might be made of agate but the other part still leaves me puzzled. Until now, I can’t tell whether it is also made from stone or wood. This play with the look of materials and having the viewer guess about its nature, without being able to touch and hold the piece, is incredibly tempting and quite a bit cheeky!

Katharina Dettar’s stone (wood?) necklace.

The other piece was a blue enameled, octopus-like, brooch of Edu Tarin. I have to admit that I am quite a fan of enameled jewellery anyway. However, Edu finds a way of connecting the ideas of traditional jewellery techniques with the individual eye and making of an artist. It was obvious to see that he comes from a very technical and strict jewellery making background, in using multiples of common jewellery settings, but it seems like he almost tries to drown this tradition in covering the settings in layers of enamel. Even the shape of the brooch seems to underline the revolting struggle of the settings under the heavy layers of enamel but without success. The hands of the artist win this interesting battle of goldsmithing knowledge and artistic practice. Still, I kept thinking over and over about one little detail… the use of the enamel is done in such a thick and sometimes clumsy looking and uncaring way that the idea of an experienced enameler at work does not come to mind. But then I guess this is exactly what Edu tried to achieve and where the most interesting stories begin…

Edu Tarin’s blue ‘octopus’ brooch on the left.

Thank you for reading.

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Schmuck #1: Guck ins Schmuckloch, Schmuck im Guckloch

Last week, from March 5th to March 10th, I was in Munich for the ‘Schmuck‘ show curated by the Handwerkskammer Muenchen. Schmuck is the empress of exhibitions, when it comes to contemporary jewellery exhibitions in Europe and each year, there are thousands of jewellery enthusiasts storming the city to see the show.

Because of the huge rush of people, there are a lot of little independent satellite exhibitions on show throughout the city that are organized by all sorts of jewellery artist, students and galleries. In my student days, it was still possible to go and see all of those little shows. However, during the last few years, the list of exhibitions has become so long that it is physically impossible to go and see them all in six days. This time, when I went through the flyer that comes with each Schmuck madness, I had to sit down and study it hard to make a decision on where to go. I will write about a few selected exhibitions in the following posts.

Now, I would like to start with showing you the set-up and look of the show ‘Guck ins Schmuckloch, Schmuck im Guckloch’ that also featured my three most recent pieces. You already know ‘Cicada’. It’s time you get to see ‘Starlight’ and ‘Green Roots’.

Here are pictures of the show:

Sina Emrich during the set-up of the show. It was Katharina Moch‘s and Elena Ruebel‘s idea to paint the window and present the pieces through holes that were scratched free from the paint. This type of set-up made it possible for all of us to walk through the city and have a look at other exhibitions ourselves without having to be present in the gallery. 

Elena Ruebel painting the window.

     Elena Ruebel‘s newest work. Her porcelain pieces (she calls them her sausages!) and coloured rope.

 

Katharina Moch‘s organic plastic jewellery.

Tabea Reulecke‘s wood creations.

              Sina Emrich‘s movable growth-ring jewellery.

 ‘Cicada’, the first of my newest tree pieces made from enamel, silver, stainless steel cubic zirconia and a porcelain cicada I found in Shanghai.

The exhibition was on show from March 5th to March 10th at Galerie im Raum in Munich.

…and here are the other two of my newest pieces, ‘Starlight’ and ‘Green Roots’.

‘Starlight’, brooch/neckpiece, silver, enamel, stainless steel, cubic zirconia, lamp piece from a very dusty artist studio in shanghai, glass.

 ‘Green Roots’, brooch/neckpiece, silver, enamel, stainless steel, cubic zirconia, tiles from a demolition site in shanghai, glass.

I hope you like the show and my new work. Let me know what you think!

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#2 Work in Progress: Enameling Accident – Disaster or Blessing?

In my last post, I showed you a pic of an enameled root next to a porcelain cicada and some other pictures with roots that still had to be enameled.

Today, I had another enameling day. Unfortunately, things went slower than planned and not the way they were supposed to. The roots really ‘eat’ a lot of enamel and it takes a long time to apply it but I managed to enamel all of them. When they came out of the kiln though, I noticed that the silver wire was more oxidized than the one of the roots that I had enameled before. The wire from the first roots is not the same as the one I used for the new ones. I was and I still am bummed about this… silly me, it looks like I ordered the wrong type of wire with my last big silver order.

Anyway… since they looked different from what I had expected, I thought it would not hurt to experiment a little and I managed to make them look really old. The complete opposite of the first ones.

Now, my head is still spinning from a super long day in the studio and I think I don’t have the necessary distance yet to make a proper decision but what do you think? Does it work?

The roots in this pic look the ‘oldest’. The light grey enamel even partly changed color and it looks yellowed. As you can see, the silver wire is not as shiny as the one in the ‘Cicada’ piece. Since the lamp part looks old and dusty too, I kind of think that the two might work together but still, I am not sure.

This piece is definitely off. I will try to re-enamel it tomorrow and see what will happen then. Not sure about the color or the shine.

Also this one. Not sure about it at all.

I ordered new wire and new enamel… let’s hope the post-man will ring my doorbell soon.

Please let me know what you think. Any opinion will be highly appreciated.

Thank you for reading.
Please have a look at my websites www.lisa-juen.com and www.proonk.com.
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Sweet Sweet Studio

So… after a good seven month without making any ‘serious’ jewellery, due to moving countries and some personal procrastinating issues, I am sitting in my brand-new studio and I am MAKING. Finally!

It really is about high-time, given that 2013 started off on a really good foot. I just realized the other day that my work is going to be on show in five exhibitions until April alone. The rest of the year is yet to come! I very much hope for the chance to have a solo show some time soon and I am going to work hard towards that goal.

Until then, my work can be seen in the following exhibitions:

‘The Beauty Chase’, Espace Le Carré Gallery, Lille, France, until Jan 14.
‘Con Decorados’, Klimt Gallery, Barcelona, Spain, opening in February.
‘Ferrous’, Velvet Da Vinci Gallery, San Francisco, USA, March 1 – April 14.
‘Guck ins Schmuckloch, Schmuck im Guckloch’, Galerie im Raum, Munich, Germany, March 7 – March 10.
‘Stories & Symbols’, Facèré Gallery, Seattle, USA, opening in April.

With ‘Guck ins Schmuckloch, Schmuck im Guckloch’ coming up during ‘Schmuck’-time in Munich, I really have to focus and make new pieces. So, yesterday, I had a big enameling day and I experimented with techniques, objects and compositions.

It was fabulous, after a long time of simply knitting socks, to design and make jewellery again. I came up with three ideas for future pieces and I can’t wait to hold the finished works in my hands soon. Let’s hope for many more to come!

With my move to America, I realized that my origin is really important to me, alongside my traveling experience. ‘Heimat’ (birth place/home) is what shapes us first, traveling cuts our facets. I would like to play with both of those influences, showing the ‘product’ of them until this point in time. So, I think Germany, UK, China and America will play a big factor in my future pieces.

When still in China, I started to collect ‘found objects’. This was something very new to me, as I usually don’t like to collect stuff. I am used to work with an idea in my head and I go and find the materials. For some reason, maybe some melancholic reasons when knowing that I would leave Shanghai, I collected some objects that looked intriguing to me. Now, they are lying on a table in my studio waiting for me to work with them… and I did start with some. Another first.

Found objects on my studio table

The Yellow Studio Room

The Blue Studio Room

Another thing that I realized when arriving in America was that my creative process is going in a ‘looped line’. I am not thinking from A to B to C. In the process of shaping new influences and ideas, I like to reflect on earlier work and sometimes, old influences peek through in new ways. At the moment, I find that I am interested in some things again that intrigued me during my MA days in 2007. It will not be the same as the work from that time. The new work will represent my experiences from then to now through the choice of known but also new materials and techniques. My mind is going in circles and yet, it arrives at new places.

Accordingly, the new body of work will be called ‘Circle Spirit’.

The beginnings of the first piece. The cicada came from a small street shop in Shanghai. I made the ‘roots’ from silver wire and enamel. Roots: home, growth, basis, knowledge, past & present. I think the roots will have a strong presence in the pieces of the ‘Circle Spirit’ series.

More to come soon…

Thank you for reading.
Please have a look at my websites www.lisa-juen.com and www.proonk.com.
Feel free to follow me on Twitter @LisaJuenProonK and like my FB ProonK page.

Inspiration – Hedda Bjerkeli

It sure has been a while again since my last post and really, I should be working on my display for pieces that will be on show at Broad Street Gallery in Hamilton, NY. …for anyone in the area who is still looking for something special for Christmas, this might be the place to go.

Still, I stumbled over the work of artist Hedda Bjerkeli this morning and I instantly fell in love with one piece. It is a brooch that at first sight might look pretty simple due to its oval shape but taking a closer look reveals millions of little details and characteristics that make this brooch exquisite. I love the way the enamel looks messy and in some sort natural. It has an incredible ‘home-ly’ feel to it. It is calm but at the same time incredibly vibrant. The stitching, is it crochet?, really pushes me over the edge… I can see parallels to my graduation pieces and future ideas for many more pieces to come. I am excited!

The workshop is almost ready by the way and I can’t wait to have a big enameling session soon. More good things to come…

Work and photo credits: Hedda Bjerkeli

Work and photo credits: Hedda Bjerkeli

Lisa Juen – Become One, Ring 2007

Lisa Juen – Snembryo, Brooch 2007

Thank you for reading.
Please have a look at my websites www.lisa-juen.com and www.proonk.com.
Feel free to follow me on Twitter @LisaJuenProonK and like my FB ProonK page.

Adirondack Roots

When my parents came for a visit a couple of weeks ago, Barry and I took them to the Adirondacks for a weekend. One of our adventures, while we were up there was climbing ‘Bald Mountain’.

To get to the top, it is a nice little hike that takes around 45min. On the way, one is exposed to a great landscape, a fascinating mix of trees and enormous ‘bald’ rocks.It is a great contrast that shows the roughness but also the survival instinct of nature. One observation that I found the most interesting was the way the trees grow their roots in this environment. Of course, I have seen roots before but not as often as exposed as on my way up to the Bald Mountain summit.

While climbing, I felt a weird connection with those roots. I could not really put it into words back then but it led me to take a lot of pictures. I like to document things that interest me, even if I am not sure if I will ever use this inspiration for my work. In this case, I think it will find a way into my artistic practice in some sort, as the roots seem to have found a hold not only on Bald Mountain but in my brain! Since the day of the climb, my mind keeps going back to those roots and I come to think that the connection might be in me finally trying to figure out where my roots were, are and where I want them to be. For the first time, after all my travels, it feels like I have arrived. This does not mean that this is where it ends, I see it more as the beginning of something new that has its roots here.

Roots at Bald Mountain

Funny coincidence… This morning, I stumbled over the work of artist Henrique Oliveira, thanks to the contributions of the friendly duo of the Hovercraftdoggy blog. Seeing Henrique’s work made me smile. There couldn’t be anything better to express the way I feel at the moment and what I am looking for to express in my own work.

Henrique Oliveira, ‘Tapumes – Casa dos Leoes’, 2009

Henrique Oliveira, ‘Alley Abscess’, 2011

Henrique Oliveira, ‘Dead Fire’, 2012

Henrique Oliveira, ‘Boxoplasmose’, 2011

I am not sure, if I will use actual wood in my future pieces or experiment with more contrasting materials. Right now, I opt for the latter, as I am thinking about experimenting with Faience and 3D printing. I had the idea to try and work with Faience when I went to see the ‘Shodow of the Sphinx’ exhibition at the Munson Williams Proctor Arts Institute in Utica, NY. I then found this great blog about making and working in Faience and I am very much looking forward to trying. I love the origin of the material, being the first high technology ceramic, one of the first man-made materials mankind worked with. Working in this material really means going back to the roots! Right now, I am still trying to figure out where to get all the materials from that are needed to make the paste. If anyone has some suggestions, I would very much appreciate to hear them.

I can’t wait to start experimenting and finally work with my new pink kiln. I will keep you posted about future developments.

Thank you for reading.
Please have a look at my websites www.lisa-juen.com and www.proonk.com.
Feel free to follow me on Twitter @LisaJuenProonK and like my FB ProonK page.

‘Nāmanja’ & ‘Solipsistic’

Recently, I wrote about a piece I made for my friend Anja’s birthday. (Read about the beginnings here: Wave Structures & Loudlives.)

At that time, her birthday was yet to come so, I could not post any pics. Now, I am proud to introduce the finished piece called ‘Nāmanja’. The title derives from the Hawaiian sea goddess Nāmaka and my friend’s first name. Since she is a devoted surfer who loves the Hawaiian islands, I thought it would be a nice touch to go with the sea goddess.

The enameled blue and white piece in the center is inspired by a wave photograph that was taken by Hawaii artist Clark Little. The flower and the blue stones are my way of expressing the feelings I have about Anja: Depth, pain, pride and blue are the first words that pop into my mind when I think of her. Also, vulnerability and strength.

Shortly after the completion of ‘Nāmanja’, another very close friend, Rachel Marsden, had her birthday coming up. Rachel and I met in Shanghai through work. Rachel, and also Anja, are two people who are for me what Rachel usually refers to as ‘corner-stone-friends’.

The piece for Rachel is a very personal one. It started off with Rachel’s favourite word ‘Solipsistic’, a word that has a very special meaning for her and that comes with a nice little story that she sometimes tells people. Rachel is a person who is lost in the world of words. She is obsessed with letters and alphabets, typewriters and books. She is a mega-blogger and a workaholic. Wherever she goes, she takes her camera to take millions of pictures of people, art and food. Sometimes she complains though that not enough people take pictures of her. So, I decided to incorporate her image in the piece. The center showing Rachel’s portrait is made of enamel. Other materials are stainless steel, cubic zirkonia and glass.

Front of the brooch.

Back of the brooch.

The designing and making of those two pieces was pretty straight forward for me. I usually spend a lot of time overthinking every little detail of all of my pieces and I tend to overcomplicate them at times. I quite enjoy the process of designing them but I have to admit that I found that working more from the belly (and not just the brain) can be quite rewarding and satisfying too. I think making a series of smaller, faster ‘belly’-pieces will be something that I will have to experiment with, once I have my new studio up and running. Looking forward to it. I hope you too!

Please have a look at my websites www.lisa-juen.com and www.proonk.com to see more jewellery and join my Twitter @LisaJuenProonK and the ProonK FB page. Thank you.

ProonK at DAFF

The time has come to report about ProonK at DAFF, the Design, Art & Fashion Fair in Shanghai that took place at Wharf 1846, Bund Promenade on Cinqo de Mayo last Saturday.

After a couple of VERY busy weeks in the studio, trying to get as much jewellery done as possible (23 Globalorettes, 23 pairs of earrings, 24 Solitaire Rings, 8 Clover Rings, 5 Cluster Rings, 24 ProonK Rings, 4 MeiHua Book Marks and 3 pairs of Solitaire Cufflinks), I was ready to embrace this event. Luckily with the help of two really great people, Rachel Marsden and Barry Sinnott who went far and beyond to help with packing, coordinating, planing, setting-up, chatting, attracting, looking great in their ProonK T-Shirts, feeding me, take-down, schlepping and of course partying… Thank you so much!

I was very nervous at first, since this was the first time I participated in such an event with ProonK but it was super exciting at the same time, not really knowing what to expect.

The Ice Cream Truck-team, the main organizers behind the event, kicked it off with a pre-party at Source, which was a great opportunity to meet other artists and designers participating in the fair. I met Frau Ana, a German fashion designer based in Shanghai for the first time, as well as the product designer Jonas Merian from Jonas Design and my friends Nini and Gregor from Idle Beats. I met the two because of a screen printing workshop in which I participated last Thursday to print my own ProonK T-Shirts. They looked absolutely fabulous and it was such a lot of fun to print them with Gregor, who is a taught Church-Painter (Kirchenmaler), a trade that I wasn’t even aware existed but sounds incredibly exciting! I will blog about the print-making evening in a separate post soon.

The party was big fun, partially because of the free beer and pizza, which were the reason why I had BIG trouble rolling out of bed in the morning at 8am. Somehow we made it to the Wharf around 11am and we managed to set everything up in time. I decided to go with a hanging theme, since it was easy to transport and install and did not look super heavy. I am not a big fan of displays that kill the excitement of entering right on the doorstep. The hanging idea was perfect, since I attached the jewellery to its packaging and it was very easy to wrap them up and send them on their way.

DAFF officially started at 2pm and was meant to run until 12pm. There were several artist and designers participating, as well as food and liquor stands. I had some great sausage from Amelia, the lady in Shanghai who is known for her jam. Recently, she started to sell home-made sausages too, which were a DELIGHT! I had to go back a second time to satisfy my meat-cravings!
Around 4pm, there was a fashion catwalk with Frau Ana and other participating fashion designers. Unfortunately, I could not see it, since a lot of visitors started to show up around that time and we were all super busy talking and introducing ProonK. I think the majority of people visiting really liked what we had to offer and it made me really happy to see that. There were a lot of surprised and astonished faces, especially because of the use of the LED lights in the jewellery.
At some point in the evening, I heard of a street art competition with several graffiti artists taking part but again, I could not make it there. Rachel went to see it though and she was kind enough to give me her pictures, so you can see them now too. I met one of the graffiti artists, Siu Tang, later on. Have a look at his blog here.

For some reason, the event was shut down by the police around 10pm. They just came in at some point and locked the main entrance gates. I am not sure why or what happened. It was a bit of a shame, since the fair was meant to last until midnight but I felt sort of relieved as well, because my feet were killing me from straight 12 hours standing. I did not even make it to the after-party at Strictly Designers United anymore. Instead, I fell asleep on the 15min cab journey home to wrap up the display!

Here are a few more pics of the event, showing you the vibe of the day in 30 degree sunshine and hundreds of visitors. I really enjoyed taking part and I hope there will be a repetition soon! I am very much looking forward to it… I hope you too!

Please follow this blog and visit www.proonk.com, www.lisa-juen.com. Thank you!

‘Dating Medal’ for ‘Con Decorados’

A couple of weeks ago I was invited to make a piece for an exhibition in Valencia, Spain called ‘Con-Decorados’. The exhibition will be part of a row of shows accompanying the second opening of the ‘Schmuck‘ show from Munich in Valencia. It will be held at the ‘Museo Nacional de Ceramica y de las Artes Suntuarias Gonzalez Marti‘, as part of the celebrations of the 10th anniversary of the Jewellery Department at the ‘Escola d’Art i Superior de Disseny de València’ EASD. To mark this anniversary, the school has organised a programme of activities, exhibitions and talks on contemporary jewellery and called the event  ‘MELTING POINT 2012’. ‘Con-Decorados’ will open on the 5th of May at 6pm. To visit the blog accompanying the activities, click here.

The topic of ‘Con-Decorados’ turns around the subject of medals. 23 artists were asked to work with and around the idea of interpreting and creating a medal.

The artists who will participate in this exhibition are:

Peter Bauhuis

Mirei Takeuchi

Sung-Ho Cho

Volker Atrops

Jorge Manilla

Christine Graf

Lisa Juen

Alexander Friedrich

Tabea Reulecke

Rodrigo Acosta

Marie Pendaries

Carlos Pastor

Kepa Karmona

Sarah O´Hana

Kerstin Östberg

Elvira H.Mateu

Edu Tarín

Ramón Puig

Silvia Walz

Grego Garcia

Mauricio Lavayén

Gemma Draper

Mariona Piris

My idea for my medal came from personal experience. I wanted to create a medal that is a witness of our time, a medal that can be worn and used for a purpose of today.

Until I met my partner, I was a single woman in Shanghai for a very long time and I had to learn the hard way that dating can be really hard work that should be awarded a medal! So… here it is, the ‘Dating Medal’.

…and a short explanation:

Modern society does not make it easy to meet one’s ‘better half’. The Internet, Hollywood and the fast pace of a steadily growing throw-away-culture heightens the bars of expectation when it comes to choosing the right partner.

How can one meet this person without having to bend over backwards?

Dating in the mentioned conditions can be really hard work, especially for girls. The ‘Dating Medal’ is to be a helping device for women dating but is also act as a dating award.

The brooch holds two LED screens: one in green and one in red.

The screens are connected to an ON/ON switch, which enables the wearer to decide which of the two screens is going to light up.

In the case of the lady meeting an individual of interest, the green screen can be lit reading:

 ‘Did the sun come out or did you just smile at me?’ 

The sentence can act as an ‘ice-breaker’ leading into a conversation. In the case of the initial chat being a success, the gentleman can take the lady’s contact details written on small paper-strips hanging from the series of brooch-hooks. If he would like to leave his details, he can choose to take one of the plain paper-strips and write down his contact information with the attached pencil. By hanging the written strip back on the hook ‘rewards’ the girl with the possibility of a future date.

In the case of the lady not feeling attracted to an approaching individual, the red screen can be lit reading:

 ‘Save your breath.’

In this case, a lot of drama and heartbreak can be prevented right from the start.

Not just my dating experience was a little rocky but the way of making the brooch was pretty painful too. Just when I was about to finish the brooch, a piece of the bearing broke off. Since the metal part is entirely cut and bent from one piece of stainless steel sheet, I had to remake the entire brooch.

Here are some pictures I took along the way that show the process of making.

Polishing. Even after almost 10 years of making professional jewellery, the contrast of dirty hands and shiny metal still amazes me! It feels great looking like a pig but holding this precious little something in one’s hands!

Before bending.

Wiring.

I hope you like the ‘Dating Medal’ and the journey of its making. If you should be in Valencia around the 5th of May, please feel free to join the exhibition opening. The show will be on until the end of June.

If you can find a chance to go, please take a picture of the piece and send it to me! I would love to see it on display! Enjoy the show!

body architecture, rockstars and jewellery art

The day started off on a super exciting foot! Thanks to my good friend Rachel Marsden I was introduced to the work of Lucy McRae, a body architect living in Amsterdam. I just LOVE the fact that she calls herself a BODY ARCHITECT! How awesome is that? Being a jewellery artist, this makes my hair stand on edge! 😉

Rachel forwarded me a link to a TED-talk showing Lucy explaining her work. (click here for the link) She says that she worked for Philips Electronics in the Far Future Design Research Lab… again, how freaking awesome does just the name of this lab sound? I would love to go and see it big time…

In her work, she explores the human body and how she can transform it, which she does in all sorts of different directions. She developed an electronic tattoo that can be augmented by touch, a pill that can be swallowed to transform one’s perspiration into perfume-sweat, she had a look into trying to redefine the skin and created a dynamic textile that was then featured in one of Swedish rockstar Robyn‘s music videos…. The list of her experiments and projects seems endless…

She says she is fascinated by the way biology and technology can be merged and change the future life of people. I love the fact that so many different aspects and directions are merged in her pieces. Not just biology and technology meet but also art, design, architecture, fashion and of course jewellery. I find it very fascinating to see how she blurs the barriers of predefined knowledge, perception and aesthetic understanding.

Pushing barriers and challenge perception: ‘What can be done, what can’t and most of all why shouldn’t it be done?’ are questions that constantly need to be pushed and further explored. The answers might be cheeky and maybe sometimes even over the top but isn’t this the spice in the soup of any artistic practice that should not be missed?

Seeing her work makes me reflect on my own artistic practice again and how much deeper I can go with it. I love to push boundaries as well in my work. My ‘Pussy Brooch‘ that I made for rockstar Peaches still evokes tons of reactions just because of the way it is worn on the body. The piece ‘Yin+-Yin’ that I made for the upcoming exhibition ‘Mirror Mirror’ in Cagnes-sur-Mer in June will surely evoke some sort of reaction again… I am very much looking forward to that… As soon as the exhibition is officially opened, I will write more about ‘Yin+-Yin’.

Needless to say that I would love to meet and work with Lucy McRae at some point, since her Body Architecture practice connects perfectly with art jewellery and there is so much that could be developed and explored… I can see myself taking off to the realm of pink clouds…

But now it’s time to come down and back to reality. I have a long studio day ahead of me, remaking work that was meant to be finished 2 weeks ago… partially thanks to my Ayi (Chinese cleaning lady) who threw a box of finished jewellery in the bin…

Wave Structures & LoudLives

The birthday of a very close friend of mine is coming up and for that reason I decided to make her something special.

The current series of work that has been on and off going in my mind for the last year plus, is called ‘LoudLives‘. It all started off with a trigger project that spun around the exhibition outlines of the JAMES show, which was held in Munich at the same time as the Schmuck fair for four years until 2011. For the show ‘The JAMES Days‘, each artist created work based on daily life pictures that were sent to each other.

After I had made the pieces for JAMES, the essence of the concept stuck with me. I was intrigued by using imagery instead of my comfort-zone starting-point: words & headlines. Over the last couple of months, it became more and more clear to me that the real thing that intrigues me in the topic is its closeness to people. So far, most of my work has been based on facts, things that I see in my environment and I make my comments on them/digest them in my work. But now, it seems like I am looking for something that goes a little deeper, underneath the skin. It can be more personal but doesn’t have to be. It can be seen from my point of view but can be seen entirely different. I am intrigued to find which kind of response I will get on a piece, knowing my personal feelings about something/someone and other people being able to recognise their own experiences in it.

Anyway, I decided to get into this direction by making a small piece about my friend. There are several characteristics about her that I would like to show in the piece. She is a very deep character, she thinks a lot, is a little insecure but incredibly strong at the same time. She constantly keeps challenging herself, which is admirable but can sometimes get to a point close to self-destruction. Strength and vulnerability walk together on a very thin line.

Depth, pain, pride and blue are the first words that pop into my head when I think of her.

The main element of the piece will be inspired by the ocean, waves in particular. I started to make some research on waves and stumbled over this really beautiful website by Hawaii based photographer Clark Little. The pictures are amazing! It makes my wish to go and travel to Hawaii even bigger! Shanghai, why can’t you have waves and beaches??? Look at the structures of the waves! Aren’t they beautiful?

A year ago, shortly after the ‘The JAMES Days‘ exhibition, I made the first piece that is going in the direction of the ‘LoudLives’: ‘Flower Lady’

It is based on an old woman who sells flowers on the streets of Shanghai. She has been lurking in the corners of my mind for quite a while now and still is. She really triggered some sort of emotional quest that I am still trying to discover and find answers for.

As mentioned before, I want the ‘LoudLives‘ series to be about people. People who are close to me but also people seen from a distance. How do we interpret people and their behaviour? How and on which level do and can they touch us? How do we touch each other and how can it be expressed? How close do we have to be to each other and which differences does distance in closeness show us? Being in China also means embracing cultural differences, a topic that becomes more and more important with the world rapidly developing into a huge inter-cultural melting pot. It would be very interesting for me to see how people will behave and treat each other in 100, 200 years time, when cultures are even more mixed up.

I think it took me so long to really embrace this topic because I thought it might be a little boring to ‘talk’ about people from only my point of view, since I know that the impressions and experiences of the viewer will always differ from mine and they will never see things the way I do. Also, a lot of artists have worked with that starting point already. But then isn’t there a deep fascination in this concept as well, thinking about the realm of possibilities that one little thought can trigger in different people, although it started off on a very personal emotion?

Picasso kept painting the same women all over again… and the paintings still fulfill me with awe whenever I see them. Working with people might be an old concept but it is still endlessly full of discoveries. Let’s see how far it will take me!

 

 

 

 

 

‘XinCheJian’ Hacker-Space Shanghai

Yesterday night I was invited to visit the studio of XinCheJian, the first real Hacker-Space/Maker-Space in Shanghai, China. On Wednesdays, they usually host several speakers to come and talk to the community about their projects. Min Lin, the Co-Founder of the space got in touch with me to inquire if I would be happy to give a talk about ProonK at some point too, since she thought that the electronic components being ‘wrapped-up’ in an art & design concept would be a great topic to present. So, I went there with my boyfriend last night to check out the space and see the format of their presentation-nights.

Usually, they try to invite two to three speakers to come and talk but last night, there was only one. A very nice American young man, who was very handy on the guitar, introduced us to the workings and wonders of Apple’s Garage Band. It was an interesting little presentation about the making of music, based on traditional means being introduced to the world of computers. Pretty impressive program actually!

After the presentation, Min Lin gave us a tour around the space, which was seriously impressive! Before I went there, I had no idea about hacker-spaces and how their concepts worked but I felt like having entered paradise! I have to admit that I am a little bit of a fiddling and making geek myself, although my making knowledge in the electronics area is still pretty limited. I learned that XinCheJian also offers workshops for the public to attend on the weekends. I am SO going to test the waters in the near future!

The studio space.

Min Lin also showed us some of the projects some members work/worked on, such as…

…little robots, which are built for a race that takes place every four weeks in the studio…

…a little robot that is connected to a web-cam, showing real-life scenes on the web…

…a moody tree, which frequently tells you to hug and love it more when it starts to feel neglected…

…an arcade machine that is built from a TV screen located in the bottom of the construction and a mirror that reflects the image of the TV screen onto the viewing area…

…a high-tech mouse-trap ‘The Ratmotel’ , which is equipped with a sensor to lock the door once the mouse is in…

…this one made me laugh quite a bit, the ‘Useless Machine’ that once you pushed the switch has a mechanical finger coming up to push it back in the starting position and the game starts all over again…

…a modified e-scooter that has a holder for a smart-phone in the front, which is connected to the machine to have it report to the driver about it’s well-being…

…and finally, for me the highlight of the night, a DIY 3D printer! How awesome is that? For a jeweller this is one of the machines that make me enter heaven! How great would it be to play with a machine like this in my studio and see what kind of things I can create for my artistic practice! Tons of new possibilities opening up in a flash! 😀

Min Lin got me even more amazed when she told me about a HK based company that offers DIY 3D printer kits for about $300+$50 international shipment!! …and there we have another addition to my workshop-wishlist!

The company is called Makibox and next to their awesome 3D printer, the MakiBox A6, they also sell other little really useful gadgets. Check out their website or follow them on Twitter @makible for more info.

When reading through the MakiBox A6 product description, I stumbled over the following:

‘We are just getting started with both the A6 and other devices that will help people build things they need. The next features we will build for the A6 are multi-color printing and plastic recycling, laser cutting and marking, and PCB routing. These new addons for the A6 will turn it into a desktop manufacturing system, not just a 3D printer.’

SERIOUSLY???? When is this going to happen?? I SO CAN’T WAIT!!!!

Another tip Min Lin gave me was to check out the website of ShapeWays, a USA based 3D-printing company, that made my day with the selection of materials they have on offer. Ceramics and Alumide!!! We’ll be in touch soon! 🙂

I guess it is pretty obvious that I went to bed last night with a HUGE smile on my face, dreaming of all the future design-possibilities ahead of me!

If you would like to join my talk at XinCheJian, please come around, possibly on the 18th of April (yet to be confirmed) at 7pm. I guess the studio might have moved to the new location by then, down Wulumuqi Lu, Chang Le Lu. I am pretty excited to see the new space and I can’t wait to attend the workshop with Mitch Altman soon! See you there!

www.proonk.com, www.lisa-juen.com; Please follow my blog or join me on Twitter and Facebook. Thank you!

Enameling Kilns

For the last couple of days, I have been spending time on getting to know more about enameling kilns, since I am currently trying to collect and decide on tools for my OWN future workshop! … My mind is still throwing a huge party by the mere thought of it! 🙂

So, I started off having a look at all the major websites, such as Rio Grande, to compare models and prices. In the USA, it seems like the most common kiln makers are Paragon, Sierra (but it looks like they closed down), Evenheat, Olympic, Amaco etc.

For my studio, I would like to have a kiln that is preferably not too small, preferably heats up to 1200°C, not too expensive and that can have the heating elements changed easily, since I am currently facing huge problems with the Chinese kiln at the AIVA studio. A nightmare really!

On the Rio Grande website, they offer two types of kilns, one small version, ‘Rio Model 900 Enameling‘ and one big version, ‘Rio Model 1000 Enameling‘. I would like to get a kiln that can be programmed, in case I have to leave the studio or want to fire glass/porcelain, so a fully manual one is not an option for me. Both Rio kilns come with a digital programmer that can be individually set. The main differences that are important to me are the size and the temperature range. The small kiln has a chamber that measures 216mm x 229mm x 114mm, the big one measures 215mm x 230mm x 220mm. The max temperature of the small kiln is 1093°C, the big one reaches 1232°C. The small one costs $685, the big one $899 plus shipping (app. $50).

Then I continued having a look at the Paragon website and I instantly fell in LOVE with this kiln!

Yes, I admit that the colour does give me a special thrill and I know that the mere sight of this little machine would put a smile on my face every day! …and I really thought that this would be the one but there are some issues with it of course…

I originally thought that it would be great to have a kiln that can be used for several making processes, like enameling, firing PVC clay, firing porcelain and glass etc. and all of this seems to be possible but the question comes up if it makes sense to go for this one, since it is more specialised for firing PMC clay, not enamaling. It is more pricey than the Rio Kilns too. It would come to $860 plus shipping (the price is from the Paragon website) but I was willing to consider a buy anyway because I thought since it is made by a proper kiln company, it would weigh up the price difference in quality. Until I found out that the Rio kilns are made by Paragon too! Have a look at an online discussion about this here: www.pmcguild.com

Another fact that makes me hesitate to buy this kiln is the fiber chamber which has the heating elements embedded in it. In case of the heating elements breaking or any other sort of damage, the entire chamber needs to be replaced, which is not only a more complicated procedure but also more pricey. I found one website that offers replacement chambers for the kiln: http://www.ottofrei.com They sell them starting from $270. 😦 Depending on the use and the duration of each heating session, the heating elements will die sooner or later.

Also, apparently ceramic fiber chambers were originally put into kilns for the use of PMC. The ceramic fiber makes the kiln heat up and cool down faster, which is more appealing for the PMC firing process. Since for normal enameling, the heating temperature needs to stay on a steady level for a longer period of time, the heating elements have to ‘work harder’ and might die faster. Normal firebrick kilns need more time to heat up and cool down but they tend to keep the heat for longer, which makes it easier on the heating elements too. Also, the heating elements are not embedded in the walls but lie in a slot that is cut into the firebrick, which makes it super easy when having to replace them.

I found a really great blog that explains kiln and maintenance related issues pretty well: www.electrickilns.blogspot.com

After this set-back… (I was pretty disappointed!)… I decided to go with a firebrick kiln, since I will need it more for enameling, and I started to compare the Rio kiln models with the other Paragon firebrick models. It looks to me like the ‘Rio Model 900 Enameling‘ is pretty much identical with the Paragon ‘Xpress E9A‘ ($835 on Paragon website).

Unfortunately, there does not seem to be a similar Paragon model to the big Rio kiln. The bigger Paragon models won’t heat up to 1232°C, which is quite a shame, since I would like to be able to fire ceramics as well.

I then found two more interesting websites on my quest to find out more about Paragon kiln pricing (I am on a budget of course) and to my surprise, I found the Paragon ‘Xpress E9A with window’ for $697 including shipping at www.cooltools.us and for $645 including shipping at www.metalclaysupply.com. Both companies offer the option to choose from different casing colours (pink, purple, black & turquoise) for an additional $50. So, there might be happy mornings ahead for me, thanks to a quirky pink little machine!

So far so good… But now I find myself in a little dilemma not being able to make the decision to either go for the small Paragon version (in blue or in pink) or for the big Rio kiln.

I am not sure, if I will really ever properly use the measurements of the big kiln, so why pay so much money, but then it would give me the possibility to fire ceramics (maybe). On the other hand, the small kiln is more cost efficient and saves space in the studio. (The big Rio kiln will cost about $950!! and they are currently sold out!) By the way, does anyone know of a similar model that is comparable to the big Rio kiln?

So, is it better to go for a small version first and maybe get a bigger one at a later point or should I opt for the big pricey one in the first place, although I might not really need it?

I would love to hear your opinion on this! Please leave a comment in the feedback or mention me on Twitter & FB! I would really appreciate it! Thanks.

www.proonk.com, www.lisa-juen.com

CAFA Beijing ‘SightSEEing’ Two Weeks Teaching Project

For the last two weeks, I have been to CAFA in Beijing (Chinese Academy of Fine Arts) for teaching different grades of students majoring in jewellery design.

The first day started off with a general introduction and explanation of the project brief. The first group of students wanting to participate in the project were BA and MA students in their fourth and final years. The project they had to work on was called ‘Beijing SightSEEing’. The idea for the topic came up after a talk with the CAFA Jewellery Course Director Teng Fei. She had invited me last year already to come and teach a ten-day project with her students, which turned around the idea of using one specific Chinese poem as starting point for the designs. Within ten days, they had to make one piece of jewellery, created from materials of their choice and based on their individual concepts. The outcomes then were pretty diverse and Teng Fei was now intrigued to work with a topic turning around a Chinese historical background as main theme for the project again.

So, this time, I decided not to go with a poem but with all the major different sight-seeing spots Beijing has to offer. For all of you who haven’t been to Beijing yet, it really is a MUST to go and see the Great Wall! This thing is super impressive and hard to wrap your head around, even when you’re standing right on top of it!

The students could choose from the following sites: Lama Temple, Forbidden City, Summer Palace, Temple of Heaven, Great Wall and the Ming Tombs.  They were then asked to go to one site and have a very close look at the surroundings, in order to find something new in a well-known environment. They had to take at least 10 landscape photographs and 10 macro photographs. Based on one chosen picture, they were asked to identify their interests and develop their concepts. Most students chose the Lama Temple and the Forbidden City, since they were closest to school.

I quite like this kind of open exercise, since it makes students go out and get active. From my experience, especially in China, a lot of students don’t want to leave their well-known surroundings of the campus. They are used to only look inside of the same old boxes they usually refer to for inspiration, not really leading them anywhere new. By making them leave the studio, they are forced to explore and work with something unknown, which in most cases is super inspiring and exciting for them and for me!

After the general introduction, the BA students decided to keep going with their final projects of their CAFA course and came to see me during the week to have individual tutorials about their progresses. Five out of six MA students signed up for my project.

In the afternoon of the same day, I went downstairs to talk to the students of CAFA IFC (International Foundation Course) and I gave a lecture with the topic ‘Material Mania’, focusing on the use of different materials in Contemporary Jewellery and their interpretation. I think the students were a little overwhelmed by the diversity and mass of information but they seemed pretty interested and excited about seeing this kind of jewellery. I then introduced the ‘SightSEEing’ project to them as well and they were asked to finish it within the next ten days. Since they were on a tighter daily schedule than the BA/MA students, I could only see them twice a week in the afternoon. So, in total, we had three afternoons worth of contact and discussions followed by a big presentation on the fourth afternoon.

Given that the IFC students really had to manage their time well and the amount of tutorials I could offer them, they did a really good job. I was positively surprised about the outcomes on presentation day. I think quite a lot of their concepts and ideas are worth being pushed further, since there is still a lot of potential in them. I really hope they can find a way to do so! The 3D Studio Coordinator Adrienne Erickson was very pleased about the outcomes too and said she would think about carrying on the project! This made me leave with a big smile on my face. It makes me happy to know that the students learned something new and that I could contribute to the outcomes of this year’s IFC teaching modules.

Here are some images of the IFC’s students’ work.

Hua Yi Yun. Headpiece inspired by the roof of the Lama Temple.

Deng Li Qi. Neckpiece ispired by the lake at the Summer Palace. The part of the piece worn on the chest shows elements of the long bridge at the Summer Palace. The back of the piece shows the frozen surface of the lake, remembering traces of life in form of carvings in the wax surface.

Shi Nuo. Armpiece based on the idea that faith and belief is not always something that has roots on the inside. She said that some people who like to worship and pray just do so in order to satisfy other peoples’ believes and social expectations, when in reality, they are rotten on the inside. The piece is made from food chips and noodles, materials that are used for worshiping but that can also show the process of decay.

Gao Yi. Face Mask inspired by the Lama Temple, especially screens and room dividers.

Liu Tian Qi. Headpiece inspired by the Lama Temple’s roof, made from chopsticks, tooth-picks, fabric, pearls and a little duck figurine that is meant to protect the wearer.

Liu Min Yang. Body Piece inspired by the clothes of a monk at the Lama Temple, made from incense sticks.

He Jing. Neckpiece based on the burning of incense sticks at the Lama Temple. The colourful batches are made from incense powder that is ‘drawn’ on PVC in the shape of fire. The gray parts are made from the ashes of the powder.

Hang Feng Ling. Series of brooches based on the trees of the Summer Palace. She said that the trees are the only witnesses around the palace that could see what happened during the course of history. Therefore, she started to work with wood and wood bark to make pieces that resembled the shape of an eye.

At the end of the presentations, one of the girls, Shi Nuo, came to see me to show me pictures of her previous works, since she is very much interested in studying jewellery design in the future. Frankly, I was astonished by the pictures she presented! It does not happen very often, especially in China, that I meet students who are as devoted in what they are doing as she is. The girl in the picture is herself! It is great to see that there are students who put their mind, body and soul in their creations.

On Friday morning, the BA and MA students came together to present their outcomes of the last two weeks working with me. Unfortunately, from the five MA students who had signed up for my project, only three could show their work to present.

Here are the pieces of two of the MA students:

Brooch inspired by the ruins of the Summer Palace that burned in a big fire.

Gu Li Mi La. Brooch based on the walls of the Forbidden City.

After the presentations, I was invited to a very nice lunch with my new CAFA colleagues and great food at the CAFA cafeteria, before I had to head to the airport and back to my daily life in Shanghai.

Although the teaching period was again very tight and there was a lot of pressure on the students and myself to work on this project, I enjoyed the process a lot and I very much hope that the students had the chance to learn and grow from it too. It certainly was another great experience for me!

CAFA design department main entrance.

The CAFA campus itself is a great source of inspiration. For some reason, I have a thing for fences….

….and chimneys….

…random whale/plane sculpture on the campus…

…really lovely but very quirky trees…

…CAFA main entrance….

…CAFA Art Musuem….

…and finally, I couldn’t resist to include this picture. Another really great example of the use of Chenglish in China. Loving it! 🙂

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