July 6th, 2010 09:07
For makers, collecting can be a dangerous addiction. It’s hard to justify buying another artist’s work if you’re barely making ends meet selling your own. The inevitable solution of trading is well established in every creative field, and bartering has always held a special appeal to anyone who maintains a less than traditional livelihood. In the field of art jewelry, the Pin Swap at SNAG’s annual conference is one established method of acquiring a lot of work at one time, but what about special pieces? I’m going to explore a few different avenues for makers to trade with other makers and share my experiences.
The dance between two makers trying to arrange a trade can be many things – thrilling when someone you really admire contacts you for a trade, awkward when someone wants a piece that you’d really prefer to sell, and frustrating if the value of the pieces on the table feel out of balance. I’ve experienced all of the above scenarios, and I’d like to think I’ve navigated alright so far. I’ve come away with some amazing work from artists I really admire, and I’m proud of my little fledgling collection. Also I’ve got a few outstanding trades in the docket that keep me working if I hit a lull.
For those suffering from anxiety over ‘losing’ merchandise in a trade, try and remember that a piece that finds a good home can become very good advertising. More importantly, you’ll get a piece in exchange that will connect you to that other person forever. Of course if you aren’t into the piece that’s been offered then don’t feel obligated to trade either. Brush up on your etiquette and politely decline - or else the piece you end up with will just be a constant reminder of what a milquetoast you were.
Thanks to the diligent work of Emily Watson, I’ve been part of two group exchanges organized through Flickr. The first was built around the ‘Secret Santa’ model. (For those of you unfamiliar, names are cross-matched so that no one does a one-to-one trade and the person you will receive your ‘gift’ from is a surprise.) I sent my piece to a jewelry maker in Turkey, and I was very lucky to receive a piece from Marta Miguel Martínez-Soria. I had admired her work for some time, and the piece I received – a necklace made from disassembled colored pencils, resin, and wood – was amazing.
The second exchange that Emily organized was more akin to an exquisite corpse project, though with only one level of removal. Makers selected an element from their studio that was incomplete and mailed it to their assigned artist. Each participant then received an unfinished piece from another artist. We all finished the elements in whatever fashion we saw fit, and mailed them back to the original maker. This swap was more challenging, but also more rewarding. I received several unfinished electroformed and enameled elements from Liz Steiner, along with a lovely note. She was familiar with my work and very excited, so the pressure was on! In the meantime my element was destined for the Swap Mistress herself, Emily Watson. I was a fan of her work as well, so I chose carefully and sent something I thought was both representative of my work but also open for another maker. An unfinished electroformed piece fit the bill.
It took me awhile to resolve the pieces I was sent, but I was glad when they all came together and I returned them to Liz. But even more exciting was my piece back from Emily’s studio. She had added carved ebony elements that were something I strongly associated with her work, and the copper had been heavily oxidized. The final piece felt much more somber than my typical work, but underneath that strange little form was still mine. We had our own little love child.
‘We Swap’ was founded by two Etsy users, Uloni and JuliAni, who began their friendship with a trade after mutual Etsy admiration. They decided there must be other Etsy users and makers out there who would want the same opportunity so they created We Swap, a universal swap hub for makers of all kinds. Though both founders are based in Hamburg, Germany, the swaps are open to artists around the world. I decided to try out this new site and see what the results were.
I chose a brooch that I thought would make a good swap piece and followed their listing procedure on the site. Swappers can stipulate what they’re looking for, so I just put that I wanted another piece of art jewelry in return. When a piece is listed, others watching the site can propose what they have on offer with links to photos or to their Etsy shop. It’s particularly exciting to watch offers rack up, and I can see how the whole process could become addictive. I decided on scoring a crocheted necklace by Uloni that I just happened to have had my eye on for a couple of months.
We will both cover the cost of shipping, but I don’t think that’s too much to ask when getting a covetable piece of work from a maker who lives halfway across the globe. I hope the introduction to We Swap encourages others to list work and see what happens . . .
May 15th, 2010 09:05
Recently AJF made the decision to enable the comments function on our blog. You, our lovely readers, can now tell us what you think and take part in a stimulating dialog about contemporary jewelry. We have been inundated with responses, and if any of you are interested in finding out more about Russian brides or cheap erectile disfunction medicines, please drop us a line and we can pass on the relevant contacts that have flooded the inbox. Still, as the old proverb suggests, there might just be a pearl along with all the swine, and so we bring you some of the best reader comments and hope that you will enjoy them as much as we did.
Well, thank you very much, Dofus. You are exactly the type of reader we here at AJF are looking for! Who wouldn’t love being told that their blog is so powerful it can change the way people behave on the internet? But what about the question marks? Do they indicate a subtle unease with the concept of beauty within contemporary jewelry practice, and perhaps a suspicion of adornment that wows its audience through trickery rather than a true melding of technical skill and concept?
Well, Dofus, it sounds like you’ve changed your tune a little bit since your first comment! But we sat down and took a serious look at ourselves, and we have to agree. Sometimes it is enough that a piece of jewelry is attractive and well-made. You don’t always have to be searching for deeper meaning. Sometimes a brooch is just a brooch!
It’s always good to know who’s on the market, Surfer Dude, and we’ll keep your ex-girlfriend in mind. Hopefully you can get back all the fantastic contemporary jewelry you gave her during your relationship.
Ffxiv, you need to make up your mind. Jewelry is, at heart, about commitment.
Tracy, that is certainly good advice, and we know our members will certainly treasure it. After all, even those who understand the value of contemporary jewelry appreciate a bargain!
Never a truer word was spoken, Ffxiv! The world of contemporary jewelry is a vast and beautiful one, which you can spend a lifetime exploring and still not understand.
We’re not sure what you have against refreshing the hair of her face, Peter. We do that all the time here at AJF. Still, we like the obfuscatory nature of your prose. Have you considered becoming a contemporary jewelry critic?
March 17th, 2010 11:03
Based on the evidence of this blog, you would be hard-pressed to imagine that we here at AJF do anything productive at all. At the risk of cementing such erroneous impressions, here’s a jewelry game that we stumbled upon while researching serious conceptual issues. Yes, we stopped and played it, but that was only so we could be informed in writing this post. It’s not a great game (unless you are a tween, or enjoy the saccarine sweetness of mainstream animation), and the jewelry is pretty awful. We can’t even talk about the music. But its jewelry, and so we boldly go where no member of AJF should ever have to. (To play the game, click here.)
March 6th, 2010 07:03
Keen to find out what 30 of the big jewelry brains think about the current state of play? Having finished all of our America’s Next Top Model DVDs, we here at AJF were excited and relieved to come across Jewellery Talk, a series of interviews with leading jewelers, curators and gallerists from Europe, filmed by Daniela Hedman and Kajsa Lindberg in 2006. We had no idea that talking heads could be so engrossing, but then we’ve always been suckers for intelligent conversations about contemporary jewelry. So microwave your popcorn, pour a big glass of California red, and click here.
February 27th, 2010 07:02
The Association for the Study of Jewelry & Associated Arts are busy creating a series of videos called Moments in Jewelry History. To view their first effort, the overlooked and underrated movement of 19th Century French Electric Jewelry, click here. Here at AJF we particularly liked the scarf pin of golden rabbit beating a tiny gong – a prophetic glimpse of that twentieth century icon of electricity, the Energizer Bunny. (To learn more about the Association for the Study of Jewelry & Associated Arts, click here.)
February 26th, 2010 07:02
Setting ambitious goals at the start of a new year is quite common. Having your new year’s resolution become a booming Internet phenomenon with more than 200 jewelers participating in the first month is an extraordinary event.
New York jeweler Nina Dinoff first heard about making a ring a day for an entire year while attending a workshop at the Haystack Mountain School in Deer Isle, Maine. Though the idea wasn’t new, it nevertheless stuck with her. As someone who felt ‘relentlessly challenged by any sort of day-to-day routine’, Dinoff was inspired to take up the challenge herself. She posted images of her daily creations on Flickr, a photo-sharing website, and encouraged other artists to take part. Just one month into the New Year, there were more than 3000 images at the Ring A Day Project. By December 2010, that number could easily grow to 36,000! (To visit the Ring A Day website, click here.)
Dinoff’s challenge, to ‘make a ring a day no matter where you are, what materials are at your disposal, or how much time you have available’, is yielding some spectacular results. Of equal importance, the Ring A Day Project is building a community of makers that are communicating about and through jewelry every single day. In this virtual workshop setting, all are welcome to explore ideas and techniques and give and receive immediate feedback.
The Ring A Day project is an example of the internet at its best. Bookmark the site, check back often, and prepare to be inspired day after day after day after day.