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!

Review

A BIG thank you to Le Dandysme for the thoughtful review of "Catch and Release"!

Being an artist is often such a solitary activity; sometimes I feel like a naked mole rat- all pale and socially awkward from being holed up all the time. It's nice to get feedback from people about the weird things I make.

One of the things I did with this body of work was try to get people to overcome their initial disgust of the hairy material by creating lots of details nestled in the pieces, so that one would have to get in close to see the whole picture. That's why I really liked this part of the review:

"The collar’s clasp is pierced with the image of a flea, the opposing side, a cluster of flea eggs. The hair from which the collar is made feels scratchier, the pedestal is messy with loose bits of hair, and the urge to take a step back becomes stronger... Her craft is immaculate, all of the pieces exquisitely detailed, especially on their reverse sides."

The physical body is such a ghostly presence in these pieces, since they're not fully complete until someone is wearing them, performing in them. The experience of wearing them and other people's reactions to the wearer is an important part of the pieces. I'm planning a photoshoot soon- so watch this space!  

Catch and Release

ARTISTS:
Jana Brevick, Dorothy Cheng, Kimber Leblicq, Tara Brannigan

OPENING RECEPTION:
Saturday 9 March, 6-9 pm

LOCATION:
LxWxH Gallery
6007 12th Ave. S
Seattle, WA 98108

END DATE:
through Saturday 30 March until 3 pm, by appointment only

Catch and Release is a group show about sculpture and the body, featuring pieces that might be extremely uncomfortable, impractical, or impossible to wear. The inspiration behind this collection of work was to play on the idea that jewelry can create a kind of armor, whether actual or psychological, or that it is used as a sort of plumage to display wealth or power. Often the collection will demonstrate the tension between opposites: attraction/repellent, caress/recoil, fragile/indestructible, natural/synthetic, and so on. The title plays on the function of jewelry's hardware, utilizing some sort of hook or clasp; while encapsulating the concept of the show.

Fountain -
by Dorothy Cheng
2013
human hair, wool, glass beads, thread