New pearl rings with bubbles. These are naturally coloured akoya pearls from Uwajima. I love how each has a unique ‘face’, also naturally occurring. Pearls of this type are not usually put on the market as is because it’s not “perfectly round”, which is a shame because they are so lovely.
I’ve designed some new earrings by melting silver into half round balls then drilled 0.6mm holes into them. I’ve then riveted on tourmaline stones. Drilling has been one of my weak points since starting jewellery but recently I’ve improved so I’m happy.
Pink Tourmaline
Green Tourmaline
I’ve learnt a new word.
Wracking my brain for the past week I’ve tried to calculate how to make a dome thing that looks like a parabola but in 3D. Why does high school mathematics slip from the memory immediately after graduation? From the effort it took to cram and practice functions, calculus and integration I decided that there would be no chance of forgetting this stuff. By the way, as anyone ever heard of the word “paraboloid”?
This is a model of a sake vessel that I’m going to make for an exhibition this northern autumn in Osaka. Tin is very good for containing sake as the metal ionises the liquid and making the sake tastier. Not having made a vessel before or in tin I was told by a master tinsmith to make a model out of paper so we can make a mold. I love my master tinsmith. So I tried to research how to draw parabolae again so I can make an accurate drawing and calculate the volume of liquid it can hold. 180ml or 1 Go in sake language is appropriate for one round.
Not so much luck on relearning mathematics, better to wait until I can have my future children teach me. However, I am so proud of myself for making this model. It’s so beautiful, like an American football, a blimp of a butterfly egg. It’s amazing how people make structures like these without it falling on people’s heads. Architects deserve everyone’s admiration. I don’t know of many but my favourites are Hundertwasser and Gaudi. Anyone making crazy curves I look to with awe.
Now I look back on it though, if only my mathematics teacher said something like ‘Pretend you are an apprentice to a Renaissance architect that has just been commissioned to construct a new palace for the Medici family. You have been given the task of making the calculations for the domes on the palace. Plot the points where the windows will go. If the roof is to be covered with tiles how many tiles do you need? Construct this dome in paper’. What an awesome maths problem would that have been?
The next step is to convince master tinsmith that I can make this.
On Sunday I conducted a workshop at the Itami Museum of Arts and Crafts. I had help from two lovely volunteers who are currently studying at the Itami College of Jewellery. Thank you you lovelies! My students were children that came along with their siblings and parents. I hope they had a great time because I did!
The morning class was making pendants from PET bottles. First we cut the bottles using scissors and then dyed them and finished them off with cord.
I’ve hid their faces with lovely shapes.
This mother and child looks as though they are showing off medals or something.
The afternoon class was making brooches from bottle caps. The children used tools they have never seen before like jeweller’s piercing saws. They even set up the blade themselves which was fantastic, drilled holes (well, watched the volunteers drill for them) and then put in pins.
Couple of things Rui learnt: 1. Children will rise to a challenge. 2. Their little hands are so fast so bring lots of extra materials. 3. Doesn’t matter if the class gets a slightly out of hand. It’s all about balance.
One of the children said that he will like to come again so I’m hoping to hone in on my teaching skills. A great afternoon.
My friend Ninja and I went to a new contemporary jewellery shop Facile in Kyoto on Marutamachi-dori, opposite the Gosho. The owner, KOJIMA Takashi focuses on custom made jewellery and selling his own pieces. His mother is also in the business, being a collector of antique jewellery, and have numerous pieces on display and for sale. Facile is Italian for “easy”.
Front of Facile
The floating cabinets. The interior is a mixture of modern and classic styles. Lovely.
Takashi’s art jewellery pieces. His father’s painting hangs in the background.
Takashi
Beautiful pieces and a beautiful shop. Ninja and I had a great afternoon.
Such a long summer, I wonder if this has an effect on the lives of insects? Will they get problems with an aging population too?
Japanese Rice (Oryza sativa var. japonica)
For those who deny the earth is warming, I’m feeling pretty warm right now.
I’ve been told a few times this summer that the gods have put on the heater outside. Well, someone’s left the room and forgot to turn it off.
I taught a workshop at the Osaka Fashion Design College in June over four weeks about my PET bottle technique. The students were mostly 18-19 years old - ah so young!
I think they were a bit confused in the beginning because I wanted them to think for themselves a little bit, but then they got the hang of things and got more adventurous and confident.
One student though I am so proud of because he went absolutely overboard and even did homework between workshops! Here’s a selection of his pieces:
A little while ago now.
When this giant block arrived on my doorstep it was a bit daunting to open. Primarily because you can’t flip through the damn thing. You have to ‘move’ the pages. It’s great having my work in this book together with over 1000 other people, but I keep on forgetting which page I’ve already seen and the names of all the artists. The number doesn’t sound like much but it looks like lot in a 13.5kg book. Are there really 1000 of us? Actually there must be much more because there are many who do not appear.
It’s the most ambitious book project I’ve seen in the arts and I’m glad that Andy Lim went to the extreme (or overboard) for such a little known genre.
The Compendium Finale of Contemporary Jewellery Makers
Cologne: Darling Publications, 2009
Technical data: 2 Volume Hardcover in the Lim-slipcase, 13,5 Kilo, 2400 pages
Price: from 560 €
Order Book
This 13,5 Kilo, 2400 pages Opus Maximus was released 14 March 2009 during the International Schmuck 2009 Fair in Munich and already nicknamed by many jewellers as “the Messiah” as it was eagerly awaited since a year and was expected to bring great relief in the sleepless nights of jewellers from 54 nations.
At the Compendium Party during the release, over 1000 visitors could catch a glance at the most rumoured and gossiped about publication of 2008, and managed to empty over 180 bottles with alcoholic content within a couple of hours (at daytime!).
132 lucky jewellers could carry their boxed copies home (although quite many of them somehow underestimated the physical weight of 14 kilos!). During the waiting time for the rest of the edition to be bound (by hand!) it is expected that the nickname “Messiah” will be still valid, although a big difference is that The Compendium did show up.
The Compendium will show on a never done before scale and manner what is happening in 2008 in the entire worldwide Contemporary Jewellery scene.
Jewellery Artists from 54 nations has been nominated by Jewellery Artists.The 1st purpose of Andy Lim, the publisher and editor, is to try to establish Contemporary Jewellery as an equally respected art form in the Contemporary Art and to create a platform, not to be neglected, which will be reached already by its sheer volume and power of 1044 artists, united in one single publication. It is not only a book about 1000+ jewellers, it is a book created by 1000+ jewellers, as every jeweller have the full freedom of a 2-page presentation a person. The alphabetical order of presentation secures a non hierarchical and non political ranking. The publishers 2nd purpose is to discover beyond the already wellknown and established artists (ca. 300) interesting positions of contemporary jewellery. And who are better „talent scouts“ than the artists themselves? Who are more aware than anybody else of what collegues are doing? They are at the cradle of the work process. And as 3rd, but not least goal: to present an astonishing bibliophile book in an unsurpassed quality of the highest standards in the Art of Bookmaking.
- 2 Volume Hardcover in the Lim-slipcase with separate pull out system.
- Bound in the Final Edition of the stunning Techno Fabric.
- Print and handbinding entirely in Germany, as always with Darling Publications.
- A stunning book where you discover everything your heart desires and covets.
- An already legendary reference book, and that´s why a MUST for libraries, museums, galleries, design lovers and the serious art and book collectors.The Schmuckmuseum Pforzheim is co-editor.
A Kyoto tradition held on the 16th August every year is Daimonji, where a pattern of words on the side of the mountains are lit on fire. I can see this from my parent’s window, though I like to go onto the roof, it’s more fun, especially with the families and parties out on the balconies.
My camera can’t zoom very well so I stuck my mother’s binoculars onto the camera lens to take this photo.
