Ah, and it continues: more new pieces, about more cities: ‘Paris’, and ‘Berlin’. Photo credit goes to Christina Arsenault in Halifax. Two more pieces will follow in my next post!
Here is ‘Paris’:
I spent quite a bit of time in that glorious city a few years ago, and got to know it a bit more intimately.
I went very much by ‘feel’ with these pieces, worked very intuitively. I decided to hang the piece on a really thin and delicate, almost non-existant vermeil (24k gold over sterling silver) cable. Perhaps the round cable wire speaks of the many roundabaouts in that amazing city. The straight stone, ornamented right and left with further stones, reminiscent of stops along a certain tall structure in that great city, while the whole piece carries notions of art nouveau and art deco. I added the pure gold in the cracks after the recent shootings at ‘Charlie’.
For ‘Berlin’ I based the entire piece on hear-say, since I have not been back since before the wall fell, imagine! What I know of Berlin is this: things are wild, they are not cohesive, not particularly of one nation, but much more cosmopolitan – cultures mixed and matched, and free to do so. Perhaps that’s why I have such separate bits and moving parts to this piece: many dangling parts. When I think of Berlin, I also think of the great drummer Jerry Granelli, who teaches at the music academy there. He in turn makes me think of blacksmith John Little and his sound sculptures, which again bring us to moving parts. And there is elegance, and beauty, art. The pearl, courted by the blue sapphire set in gold? Because sometimes Berlin considers itself the centre of the universe.
One of the things I find really exciting about it is the meteoric iron shard that comes off the back of it: if you imagine a woman wearing the piece, the back of her dress might be cut quite low, and the meteor would hang down the back. That piece of iron came from space! It was delivered with a meteor that touched down in Russia. How amazing is that!
Ok, I hope you enjoyed meeting these new pieces. I will tell you about the last two pieces next post. Do let me know what you think. It helps me.
Dorothee,
Has your brain exploded? OMG it looks like your creativity is going totally insane, have you been smoking, drinking or whatever? It is STUNNING, do not want to know the prices, Dennis has to save a lot of money!xoxo.
All I can tell you is that it feels great!
Paris, this is what I see. A city that stands up and supports itself. A city that in some ways is insular (the silver grips around the stone) but has beauty, elegance and strength. Like it. I can’t comment much on Berlin. Looks like fungal ‘fingers’ reaching out. Although it is very ‘growth-like’ it is very nicely balanced, like a well aged french Pinot. Earthy. Love the meteorite; am wondering how that came to a part of this. To me, just adds more balance to his wonderful piece. Great work…