Ladies Night Art Crawl

Fall is my favorite time of year for several reason;, scarves, foliage, spiced cider, but most of all craft fairs.

My pumpkin spice fiance and I decided to enjoy the newly crisp fall air by moseying through the Ladies Night Art Crawl.  The event consisted of a string of predominantly female owned studio spaces opening their doors to the public to come look, touch, and buy made in Philly art.

Scrawled below is the map distributed by the vendors, the starting point being The Common Room , a creative space to curate woman created art.

There I came across two new artists to follow.  The first being Sadie Francis of Only in the Forest.  Francis has worked in the environmental field for 15 years, in doing so she carried her hobby over to shareable wearable art.  The flowers she encases in resin are found during long daily walks through Philadelphia’s expansive park system. I’ve seen this type of jewelry before, so what really makes these pieces poignant is knowing they’re local and made by someone who deeply cares about sustaining nature.  They’re not just flowers, they’re flowers from our community.

The second artist I came across was MEO-C.28  who created an exciting take on the necklace bib. She paints exaggerated baubles onto re-purposed fabric to create the look of a bib without the heft of it.  Light weight and handcrafted, these works give new life to a tired trend.

Last but not least is always a favorite of mine, Forge and Finish.  A trio of Temple ladies working together to handcraft jeweled treasures.  My current favorite collection is Talo, jeweled with a tasty bluish green tourmaline.  Forge and Finish does an excellent job of echoing shape between collections allowing a wearer to mix and match between collections. Each piece is a work of art with a slight edge that sets it aside from it’s peers. Very wearable while still making a statement.

 

A look at Heritage in Bloom

   Pictured above "Heritage Flower Gaze"

Chinese jewelry retailer, Chow Tai Fook, purchased the Cullian Heritage rough diamond in 2010 at 35.3 million dollars.  Weighing in at an astounding 507.55 carats, artist Wallace Chan undertook the task to cut this miraculously (D) in color, near flawless diamond into several smaller counterparts in the journey to create his masterpiece, “A Heritage in Bloom”




47,000 hours of manipulation to yield the gorgeous and innovative neckpiece that can be worn 27 different ways.  Adorning the very center is a 104 ct Forever Mark inscribed diamond cut from the Cullian Heritage.  It is set in a layered seat to create dimension and to keep continuity of the piece, the eye completely remains undistracted by the setting and can focus on the form of the piece.  This centerpiece is echoed by its smaller cut brethren descending from the same Cullian Heritage diamond creating a sense if unity and completeness.  Historically we rarely see a cohesive plan for a high grade diamond, typically it gets passed around and cut down several times , so it’s truly beautiful to have it cut and set altogether in one place, one story from beginning to end.


Incorporated into the necklace are winged bats, a symbol of good fortune in the Chinese culture.This iconography is coupled with diamond and jade encrusted butterflies, a symbol of eternal love.

                                                  "Heritage Bright Day"


This neckpiece has an optimistic undertone of love and fortune apparent in the symbolism described above, but the mood is well executed in the utilization so soft pink diamonds and light shades of jade.  It portrays a soft tone of innocence and delicateness that we associate with love.  The sharpest edge in the piece is that of the bat wings that rest upon ones shoulder, even that has a sensual curve that we would not find in the bat anatomy in nature.

                                                    "Heritage Ethereal"

In past decades, even centuries, a piece as ornate as this would be created to showcase the wealth and power of the commissioner.  Here in the modern era we are treated in the delight to marvel it as a spectacular piece of museum quality art.  A means to push our ideas of how we can create something beautiful from something rough and amorphous, and have the end game be something to be admired for years to come.



Sources:

Artist's Site: http://www.chowtaifook.com/en/node/30685

Pictures: http://www.nationaljeweler.com/galleries/editorial/A-Heritage-in-Bloom-10004.shtml#4

Information: http://www.forbes.com/sites/anthonydemarco/2015/09/03/wallace-chan-creates-statement-necklace-from-507-carat-diamond/#5edce2ae7629

http://www.barrons.com/articles/200-million-masterpiece-lifts-luxury-to-new-heights-1441335925

Flower Show 2014

Having been a Philadelphian for several years now I find it surprising I had actually never been to the Philadelphia Flower Show, a showcase of bursting colorful flora in contemporary design.  This year I finally made the time to take in this exhibition of living medium.  I have always worked with painting, drawing, and metalsmithing, but I have never dappled in the botanical arts.

                So I ventured into the dimly lit convention center with an open mind to be met with a floor to ceiling floral sculpture.  Reminiscent of Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland, these structures were saturated in color and made up of several types of plant life that blended together effortlessly to give the illusion of soft pillow-like structures.   It was a wonderland of a garden that we could walk through and interact with,  a 360 degree installation that keep me in awe no matter which way I turned my head.

                Moving away from the show-stopping structure that stood immediately in the doorway, you were able to mill about different exhibitions that all focused on the floral medium.  To the right of the entrance we were able to look at black and white project concepts jump from the flat, untelling, restraint of the sketchbook into the tangible universe where all the facets of its design could be fully appreciated. 

                What I really enjoyed of the show were the installations based off of famous artists, such as Van Gogh, Mondrian, and Kandinsky.  Artists for centuries have drawn inspiration from nature so it was delightful to see the role reversal and have nature channel these artists.  In a similar realm of creativity I was thrilled to see student work at such a large public show.  We always see the polished professionalism of veteran art works but rarely get to see the humble beginnings of an artist’s portfolio unless it is sought out at student shows.  The student work that particularly drew my attention was of course the jewelry made out of items found in nature.  These works were based off of designers such as Valentino, Chanel, and Tiffany and Co.  It was incredible to see a vibrant red brooch give the illusion of lace with the use of a colored skeletal leaf.  As well as the use of painted poppy seeds used to create intricate beaded work in the series based off of Faberge Eggs.

                                     

                Another aspect of the show I appreciated was that they brought it back to gardening basics of the ostentatious displays in the showroom.  In the “PHS Hamilton Horticourt”, there was just a focus on the beauty of growing healthy happy plants.  It was segregated by plant, with information of how each of the plant was judged.  This was a simple and clean display of the nurturing of nature for those that enjoy the hobby of gardening and were not there for the avant-garde world of design. 

                Overall I was truly impressed by how much was squeezed into the showroom.  There was a little bit for everyone, and the show keep switching gears to keep it fresh and new.  I constantly felt like I was switching rooms when going from display to display because of how different each exhibit was.  One moment I was looking at a desert themed Subaru display then I turn around and see a Zen inspired bonsai showcase.  I can honestly say that I didn’t get tired like I do at craft shows because there was no repetition.    However, my criticism of the show was there were a lot of elements that did not fit with the theme of the show.  Such as the indoor market, I felt was really tasteless to have people selling clothes and bags at a flower show.  It cheapened my experienced to be corralled right into a pop up market after seeing such incredible, beautiful, well thought out things.  With that said I did thoroughly enjoy myself and very much do look forward to next year. 

For more pictures feel free to browse my g+ gallery: google.com/+ShannonHenry