The leaves are finally coming out here in Halifax, on this long Victoria Day weekend. There was even a sighting of that yellow orb in the sky … it had been so long, I had almost forgotten that it is called “the sun”! I have been picking up my camera more again lately, and was looking forward to sharing with you some of what I have been seeing … alas my camera won’t talk to my computer any more! Ah, it is sad …. because I would like to be able to show you some pictures, some of the things that are happening around here!
Oh well, you will have to be patient.
Oh I know! Before the connection broke down, I did manage to get a few photos on my phone. Here is one of the new “Suess” rings in progress on my workbench:
You can see that each one of the strips of silver on the left is a slightly different length from the next (these ones here are roughly around 5 – 6 mm long each). This is what creates the different ring sizes. It really is quite astonishing, I find: just a few millimetres, and an entirely different ring size is the result! What the length of a ring shank should be depends on a few factors, including the thickness of the metal used. In this case, the rectangular silver wire is 1mm thick. What you see here will be sizes 5.5, 6, 6.5, and 7 . Once I solder each into a loop, and shape and polish it, I will fit an individual ‘Suess’ top on top of each one, and then solder it on, before they get polished and tumbled again. The fit is not always easy, but it is fun to create so many different rings! Just today, I finished another set, to go out to the Lafreniere and Pai Gallery in Ottawa, where they will arrive mid next week, together with all of the other new pieces (Suess earrings, Allegro Pendants, Cadenza brooches, etc.). If you are in Ottawa, drop by the gallery and have a look!
And, while you are there, don’t forget to take in the special exhibition at the National Gallery just down the street, where work by the winners of the Governor General award is displayed. I was particularly thrilled to see on display the Saide Bronffman award winner Kye-Yeon Son (on the linked page, look at the right side, there are interesting videos!), who was one of my very challenging (in a good way) professors at NSCAD university. Oh my goodness, she is so skilled. I really was moved to tears by seeing this work in the National Gallery, as I remember watching in awe when Kye worked on these gorgeous pieces while I was just a baby student. Like the piece below, where the roundness of the bowl gets gathered into the thought of square towards its rim. It reminded me of exquisite vessels I have seen while observing Chanoyu, the art of tea.
In the exhibition of Kye’s work, I loved the elegance of the pieces, and how the artist is able to say so much with so little, in a way. Perhaps that is what elegance is: to be able to express beauty with simplicity.
Something like that …. Let me know if you have any ideas on the subject. I would love to bounce some ideas back and forth and think further about this idea of elegance.
