Sunday, December 27, 2009

Giovanni Corvaja

I would like to thank my gold smiting teacher - Merav Goldsmith kay - for introducing me to this great goldsmith artist  Giovanni Corvaja
Giovanni Corvaja is an Italian goldsmith artist. His idea of creating a fleece made of gold led him in the early 90's to develop a technique to reduce gold and platinum to the size of one fifth of human hair. 
Golden Fleece ring
Giovanni Corvaja

In his fascinating  "Golden Fleece" collection he created jewelry which are not only beautiful to the eye but also very pleasant to touch. Each piece requires thousands of hours of precise labour and hundreds of kilometres of gold wire.



Golden Fleece bracelet
Giovanni Coraja



Golden Fleece brooch
Giovanni Coraja


The Greek legend of the Golden Fleece has been told for 3,000 years. It is a classic hero's quest tale in which the hero embarks on a long journey into unknown lands, with a great task to achieve. He is in search of a magical ram's fleece, which he has to find in order to reclaim his rightful throne and power.


Giovanni's studio where he gives workshops as well, is one to be jealous of. This XV century building was renovated and transformed to specious fully equipped workshop and the whole space reflects the artist’s working ethic: the utmost respect towards Craft.

A view from the entrance 




Student's working stations



Discussing library area


I promised myself that one of this days I will get to see this studio from close and even participate one of Giovanni's workshops.

Friday, December 18, 2009

Enameling and jewelry

The use of enameling in jewelry is one of my favorite techniques, especially when it comes to jewelry from the art nouveau period.
Art nouveau was the period when enameling was for the first time combined in jewelry by artist jeweler Rene Lalique, by this he initiated a revolution in French jewelry design.
Lalique asserted that his work should be valued for its design and craftsmanship, rather than for the value of the materials used. And god the beautiful pieces he made.



Art Noveau
 Sunflowers & Maiden's head 
enamel & rose diamond bayadere
 pendant by R Lalique c1896-98


So what is enameling? Enameling is the fusion of a special powdered glass to metals in high temperature usually 750 - 850 degrees Celsius. The glass can be applied using different techniques, but all methods use heat to melt the powder.




An Israeli artist who uses enameling in a different way is Shirly Bar Amotz.
in her work she reflects the cultural and political situation in Israel she uses precious stones gold and silver








Shirly Bar-Amotz
Brooch: Precious stone 2008
Fine gold, enamel
8 x 4 x 0,2 cm
From series "A minor bump at the wing "







More examples of the different ways enameling can be used in jewelry - 











Regina Aradesian
Ring, Necklace, Bangle Set - 2008
35mm x20mm, 35mm x20mm, 95mm x 90mm












Pink Rings - 2006 - 07
Sterling silver and enamel
10mm high









 I guess I have found another challenge in my new journey of jewelry designing and I am definitely going to learn the enameling technique to use in my jewelry.


Have a great weekend

Monday, December 7, 2009

Finally something of my own

I am glad to share with you the first rings I made after 7 metal smiting lessons.
This rings called "Bombe" rings made of brass metal.
Soldering is a bit intriguing for me still but this time it went pretty well and I even managed to make the soldering area hard to find. 

I had lots of fun making them and I can't wait to the next lesson.



  Bombe rings brass

shirley van der veldt 2009
 
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