Prince Philippe and Baroque Love Songs

As one often does when one is procrastinating (in my case, from packing to move to England), I found myself in a section of youtube that I little expected to be. Discovered an incredible French countertenor named Philippe Jaroussky.

Here was the first video I stumbled into- a Vivaldi aria called Vedro con mio diletto:

Damn. I like how he sings "l'alma dell'alma mia" (soul of my soul) in the second half, with that little lilt.

And then, I found this video of Prince Philippe singing with French-Canadian contralto Marie-Nicole Lemieux, whose velvety, dulcet tones meld so perfectly with his. So sensual it's almost obscene. This is Pur ti miro by Monteverdi from a 17th century opera about the pyromaniac tyrant Nero and his ruthless and calculating lover Poppaea. This opera totally goes the opposite route of a morality play, with these illicit lovers triumphing over everyone who tries to stand in their way of being together. And not only that- they get such a sensual, gorgeous love duet at the end. But I guess the dramatic irony of knowing that Nero kicked Poppaea to death after the story ends just makes it more bittersweet?

Material Witness

Two of my pieces from my most recent body of work The Feast and The Fast will be on display at the Dalton Gallery of Agnes Scott College in Georgia for a juried group exhibition called Material Witness. I'm excited to see the work of the others featured in this show, since the theme is one that is close to my heart and mind as an artist- how women creatively carve out meaningful spaces for themselves within the world.

I look forward also to the full-color catalog that will be published!

From the call for entries:
"Material Witness seeks to broadly represent artwork defining our time. Organized by the Georgia chapter of the Women’s Caucus for Art in collaboration with Agnes Scott College, the exhibit will present the perspective of women artists from across the United States working in a variety of media. Through their art they process the world around them, their work becoming a document of these times."  

Gorgeous Gorgets

Here are a couple of new pieces inspired by the gorget and pauldron sections on a suit of armor!

Gorgets were metal or leather collars that protected a knight's throat while pauldrons protected the shoulders. In this Rembrandt painting below, the man is wearing only his gorget- perhaps a reference to his military background or maybe just a way to add some texture to his outfit? Either way, I love how the gorget stands so snugly up around the neck, like a piece of protective jewelry.

This illustration of French medieval armor shows some curved pauldrons that stand up vertically at the edges, designed to repel attacks on the neck. Very useful when you're doing some swordplay on the battlefield, but also just an elegant design.

My collar and bracelet inspired by these pieces of armor are available at Velouria right now. They will likely be one of a kind designs, since I probably won't embellish the panels in exactly the same way again.

You won't be protected from swords or axes in my Gorget Collar, but it will show off your neck and shoulders to terrific advantage!

Gorget neckpiece. $220.

Gorget bracelet. $115.

Mighty Metalsmiths at Tieton Mini Maker Faire!

I will be at the Tieton Mini Maker Faire next Saturday with a crew of awesome jewelry artists and metalsmiths: Lori Talcott, Naomi Landig, Jana Brevick, and Julia Heineccius. We'll be demonstrating metalsmithing techniques: drawing wire, soldering, piercing, engraving, and more. Mark your schedules: there will be a different demo every hour! 

Plus, lots of beautiful, handmade jewelry will be for sale. Naomi and I are making dragon-scaled jewelry (like the brooches we made for George R. R. Martin that he wears on his hat) so you can show the world your allegiance to House Targaryen.  

Don't miss this event- It will be so much fun. A road race through the streets with handbuilt cycle carts that look like vintage race cars. A chance to help make the world's largest piece of felt. Fandango music and dance in the evening. Batik and indigo dying and knitting. Chai-making. Mosaics.  

Hope to see you there!