Taster

I won't say too much right now but here's a taste of what's to come...

17 Days of Madness

This trip has been such an amazing experience. I've fallen in love with just about everything and can't wait until I get a chance to visit again...I've started saving up!

I will leave you now with some (more) photos, I do love my photos.

Amsterdam, Oh Amsterdam

Awesome bike - Amsterdam edition

Awesome bike - Munich edition

Behind the clock tower - Munich

Funky tiles #1 - U Bahn, Munich

Coolest train stations ever!

Funky tiles #2 - U Bahn, Munich

Mirror in the underground, perfect for last minute touch ups - U Bahn, Munich

Funky tiles #3 - U Bahn, Pforzheim

Awesome telephone - Pforzheim edition

Snow sprinkles

Plane day sprinkles

Jenny - Day 15 Train Day

It was time to leave our beloved youth hotel for one night and venture out to Pforzheim to visit the Shmuck Museum.

Tools, tools, and some more tools

Trauerring (memento mori)
England
gold, bergkristall(rock crystal?), hair, enamel

Hair comb 'achillea'
1903-1904
horn, gold, diamonds

Funeral wreath
4th century bc
gold, traces of enamel 

It was exciting to visit a museum completely dedicated to jewellery, why isn't there a museum like this in Australia? But I guess it's a good excuse to visit Germany again.

Jenny - Day 12 Sick Predictions

A number of us haven't been feeling the best for the past few days, but we're all slowly getting better and recovering from the sore throats and feet. The last 12 days has been a whirlwind of fun and excitement, occasionally overwhelming and notably enriching. We're all trying to squeeze as much as we can into our days, there's just so much to see!

I was really drawn into the Dialogue Collective's exhibition showcasing an interactive space, you were encouraged to decode a message and write predictions for yourself to read in a years time. I however decided to mix it up a bit and asked the lovely Steph, Emma, Peter and Chris to predict my future for me. The predictions have been sealed and exchanged, to avoid any temptation. I'm hoping we'll all forget our predictions, it'll be interesting to see what or if any of our predictions will come true.

My predictions for our predictions:
- One prediction will come true
- At least one person will 'misplace' one of our predictions
- one envelope will be unsealed

Jenny - Day 9 Getting Stuck

First day of intense jewellery business, in total was visited 8 galleries and saw 9 exhibitions, two highlights had to be The Aftermath of Jewellery at Museum Villa Stuck and Conspiración at Instituto Cervantes.

Lets talk about the Aftermath of Jewellery first. Despite being greeted by a lady who spoke no English at all, we managed to find our way up stairs at the right exhibition in no time, however we forget to visit the cloakroom, so we had to venture back down stairs again. After the initial confusion we go 'stuck' (we were at Museum Villa STUCK, get it?) into the jewellery.

Aftermath of Jewellery

We had a few minutes of quiet until a large group of students caught up to us...the space was quite crowded so there was also a lot of waiting for people to move into the right spot to take photos of the work without including a lovely foot, bum or ear into the shot.

I prefer being alone when looking through a gallery or museum, as much fun as it is walking side by side with some friends, the experience is just not the same. I think you get to absorb a lot more when there isn't anyone around, which is the main reason why I looked through this exhibition from back to front, also the company of all these other people made it a lot harder to see things 'properly'.

One artist I found the most captivating was Eunmi Chun. The material she used was probably why I found her pieces to be one of the most interesting, who can turn away from dried intestine and human hair? Most people turn away when they realise something is made out of bits and pieces of questionable material that may or may not have come from a living/once living creature, I however have the complete opposite reaction. Sure at first you can't help but to recoil a bit, but once the initial shock disappears, there is nothing but beauty left. There is something nice about seeing an object made out of hair and intestines, these 'natural' materials come from a body and it's not something that creeps me out...so I guess when I see them I think,

'Oh wow, not only is hair on a head beautiful, but it can also be really I beautiful not on a head'

Or

'Ehh intestines are alright, they're kinda just there doing their thing, chilling - BUT WOW, intestines can be made into such beautiful objects!'

- my strange logic

Gorilla 2010
Human hair, gold leaf, small intestine of cow, seeds, silver

I also really loved the exhibition Conspiración at Instituto Cervantes. It showcased work from the alumni from the Art and Design College of Valencia in Spain (EASD Valencia) and Barcelona (Escola massana). I especially loved the layout of everything, the display of brooches on photographs of various people that were hung at eye level, the actual brooch on their chest made it look as though there were wearing these pieces of jewellery - something I really appreciate, seeing jewellery in relation to the body and not just as a static object on display. The jewellery was pretty cool too. I'm not too sure why, but whenever I see anything made out of human hair (going on about hair, again) I always get a little bit too excited...it might be because I'm quite attached to my hair and it might also be because I will be shaving it all off for charity when I get back to Sydney, either way I love seeing what people do with hair.

Carolina Giner Soler
Estructura y Vacio 3, 2013
alpaca, black porcelain, steel wire

Montse Basora Morato
Naturaleza Imposible 1, 2013
aplaca, resin

Rosa Nogues Freixas
Eterea, 2012
alpaca, silver, glass, stainless steel

Not too sure what type of material alpaca is - the internet isn't helping either...

Rodrigo Acosta Arias
Lo Permisivo de tu Dios, 2009
silver, human hair, brass, cotton thread

Jenny - Day 8 SHMUCK TIME!

Today is the first day of crazy jewellery sight seeing, but to be honest I was expecting there to be a lot more stalls and stands - just from hearing people talking about the previous years, but I guess they were referring to the all the galleries exhibitions and the fair together rather than just the fair alone.

Walking into the exhibition hall we saw people making car models, wood workers and textile artists, Shmuck was a small part of the larger trade fair of all things handmade.

It was very exciting to see all these pieces of work that you've gapped at and researched about for various assignments, in real life! Some of them you imagine to be a certain size, certain texture etc. but once you see them all up close these thoughts are instantly dismissed and the beauty of the object captivates all your attention and you end up staring, in awe, completely swallowed up by the immaculate pieces of work, not even thinking about taking photos, which is the reason why I don't have many photos of actual jewellery in this post.

Bruce Metcalf (USA) "Pink Void", "Hagemann's Blossoms" 2012

Cai-Xuan Wu (Taiwan) "Transit Knitting" 2012

Next we were off to meet Mari Ishikawa and Laura Deakin!

I've always had an interest in jewellery that incorporates organic forms in their construction, so Mari was someone who captured my attention every time. When I found out we were going to meet her, I was over the moon. I was even more excited to have the opportunity to touch and try on her jewellery, in fact she encouraged us!

Safira - adding one more brooch to her jewellery display

A close-up

Touch is such an important part of engaging with an object, whether it be jewellery, a piece of furniture or a handbag. Seeing something purely in 2D does not allow the viewer to engage with the piece to the fullest extent - probably why I don't like jewellery displayed in draws...there is no engagement and that's the main purpose and function of jewellery. When I saw photos of Mari's jewellery on the internet I always thought they would be very fragile and quite light, however it is quite the opposite, the construction is very solid, there is a definite strength in the structures and quite a noticeable weight to them.

It was a long day, but a wonderful experience finally going to Shmuck and meeting Mari and Laura.

Jenny - Day 6 Plane Day and Adventuring

After an extremely early flight from Amsterdam, we're now in Munich!

Starting the day with some pretzels!

Emma and Steph with a lovely man

Jenny - Day 5 DAY OFF!

Some highlights from today...

Good advise, I suggest everyone to follow

Typical Amsterdam

Funky lane

Dutch Pancakes from lunch!

Finishing off the day with the art market

Jenny - Day 4

Ruddt Peter mentioned the importance of presentation which resonated with me throughout the entirety of the talk. The meaning and interpretation of an object can be changed, manipulated and influenced by the way in which it is presented, it is one of the vital elements when exhibiting.

It's hard to imaging such a personal object in situ, on the body, when it is displayed in a 'flat' way. Incorporating installation into the presentation of a series of work not only captivates the audience and draws them in on a more sensory level but it also allows interaction and communication with the audience, carrying on the dialogue between the artist, theme, product and wearer.

The meaning and in turn the response to a piece can also be altered through the presentation. It would be fun to play around with presentation and to witness the different responses people would have towards the work displayed in various ways.

Jenny - Day 3

Today we visited Galleries Rob Koudijs and saw Terhi Tolvanen's Curiosity Collection. I felt as though this was a collection that seemed very 'complete', every piece had it's own place and fit in with one another. I was particularly interested Terhi's process of making and the materials she choose to use. As I mentioned before, I'm find that I'm drawn towards the making process and the experimenting that would have gone on before the completion of the final product. This was one collection I felt both aesthetically and technically intriguing.

Jenny - Day 2

Today was a completely different experience compared to yesterday. Having the opportunity to hear artists talk about their work in person was an amazing experience. It allowed me to really understand how these pieces came to be and where the idea originated from, rather than having a completely superficial reaction. The talks gave a platform from which you then have a deeper understanding and respect.This means that you will then be attracted to different aspects of jewellery or will be attracted to different types of jewellery than what you would normally drift towards.

In this case - when I first saw Ela Bauer's "aprons" I didn't fully appreciate them until she started talking about them, which changed my outlook on them completely. Once I had an understanding of the concept behind her work I then started to draw connections between things she had mentioned and ideas I find to be extremely compelling.

Ela with one of her aprons

However when put into museum context some problems arise in relation to information, language and time. There is usually limited information about work we see, when it is available there is a language barrier and because we're all running on quite a tight schedule, there is also a time restraint.

Being quite "newly" exposed to the contemporary jewellery scene and not knowing "everyone" all that well can have it's problems, so having someone there who can do a little explaining allows you to appreciate the work so much more, instead of relying on just aesthetics and conjuring up a superficial response.

Jenny - Day 1 the Jewellery Explosion

Apeldoorn!

The past 48 hours have been excruciatingly long, tireing, inspiring and enlighten. After stumbling off the plane in Amsterdam we hit the road without delay, an hour later we were in Apeldoorn stepping through the doors of the CODA museum. 

'A little earth on the skin'

Tiina Rajakallio
Purity, 2008
Necklaces, brooch | porcelain, clay, lint, human hair, shellac, alginate, wood, vinamold, bioresin

Peter Hoogeboom

Gallerie Marzee was next, it was a lot more intense compared to CODA but I guess you can't compare two galleries that are so different to begin with. There were so many things to see at Marzee I found myself opening and closing draws aimlessly and no longer absorbing anything, but I think that was also a side effect from the lack of sleep and hunger.

Tiina Rajakallio's use of human hair as a necklace cord, a natural fibre not normally associated with jewellery, a material and concept I find to be the most intriguing. Exploring and experimenting with different materials can be a fascinating part of the development of work, something I know I will find myself doing when I get back to the bench.