Saturday, March 18, 2017

Make Lace Not War - Part II
ArtCloth Exhibition

Marie-Therese Wisniowski

Preamble
For your convenience I have added a link to the other post in this series.

Make Lace Not War - Part I

Make Lace Not War - Part III

Make Lace Not War - Part II

Jane Bowden
Artist's Statement: My grandmother's family was from a small village in the United Kingdom known for its wool production. A part of me, a part I like to think of as inherited, just seemed to know intuitively how to knit. It felt as if I only had to be shown a stitch once and I could do it. It seems now that it was natural and inevitable to combine my craft and jewellery skills, but at the time it was very sub-conscious. The first piece I ever wove was a brooch. The fine metal wires seemed to lend themselves to weaving. The form of each woven work builds from an underlying structure that due to the nature of weaving is still discernible beneath the surface. The rhythm of the weaving process and the surface texture and pattern echoes lace and lace-making techniques.

Lace for May.
Description: Bangle: handwoven sterling silver, titanium and gold.
Size: 50mm x 110mm x 95 mm.

Michaela Bruton
Artist's Statement: This work investigates the illusory possibilities of repetitive line, through traditional filigree techniques. It examines how movement and rhythm can be generated through repetitive patterning, and whether this can create an illusion of line in otherwise inanimate forms. The essence of time and handmade processes is reflected through works that pursue repetitious detailing. For this work I have investigated 18th century Chinese filigree specifically for its ability to capture and claim space. In contemporary times, filigree has survived as a folk art and in manufacturing of souvenirs. In this context, this medium is associated with lost craft traditions and mass reproductions. Referencing traditional techniques with materials and applications unorthodox to this process allows me to create unique three-dimensional forms that are reminiscent of delicate lace. In part, the results remain embedded in their cultural context, whilst also identifying a cultural statement about the present.

#3, Silver Wire.
Description: Neckpiece: filigree technique using sterling silver wire.
Size: 90mm x 260 mm.

Melissa Cameron
Artist's Statement: "Blue Tin Set" is part of my "Strung Planes Series". Each piece begins as a single plane, cut into a series of precise patterns, whose shapes are constructed with tools of Euclidean geometry - translation, rotation and reflection. They utilize replication of forms at shifted scale, using uniform scaling as well as morphological scaling - otherwise known as dilation and erosion. They also exploit the principles of fractal geometry as seen in the repetition of lines and forms at varying scales throughout a single work. The concentric layers are then strung together, held in dynamic tension. A frail line of steel thread connects the layers while simultaneously holding them apart.

Blue Tin Set.
Description: Pin and brooch: hand sawn, assembled and finished using recycled tin, sterling silver fixings, heat-treated steel, stainless steel cable, surgical steel wire.
Size: 75mm x 75mm x 15mm (brooch); 45mm x 45mm x 25mm (pin).

Stephen Gallagher
Artist's Statement: I am a jeweller with a focus on Elizabethan surface decoration. I adapt the textile motifs and embellishments of the era - from existing portraits and objects - to demonstrate how the past continues to be relevant to contemporary craft and design. By employing modern materials, I translate my findings into decorative artefacts which are a fusion of the contemporary with the historical. I am drawn to the condition of surviving items, the Renaissance 'bling' that is held in major collections throughout the world. It is the damaged, the unfinished, the unmounted, the detached or missing that intrigues me more. What is left is the sense of the original, giving an illusion to a space that needs to be filled by one's imagination.

Aradian Brooch.
Description: Brooch: synthetic polymer-silicone is extruded through embroidered stainless steel mesh; materials include silver, pure gold, paint, cotton, crystal, amethyst, ametrine, glass and pearls.
Size: 143mm x 145mm x 72mm.

Dalya Israeli
Artist's Statement: Growing up in Jerusalem I spent many hours walking through the markets and looking through the treasures on the streets of the Old City, a place where three religions live side-by-side. I wanted to create an object that looks like a religious item without knowing which religion or what it's for. It could be used by Jews, Christians and Muslims and it looks like it has been used for many years. Lace can give you the feeling of an 'aged' object. That idea symbolises my wish - that people will be connected and respect each other despite their differences and different religious beliefs, and can coexist in a land that is important for all, Israel. I wanted to design a mysterious object by creating spaces inside the object that you cannot see through clearly, while you feel there is something underneath the surface or inside it. Peeking through lace creates mystery.

My Wish.
Description: Pendant: Cast in an 18 carat gold, sutured together with two gold beads hung on a chain; ring cast in 18 carat gold, set with six emeralds.
Size: 450mm x 17mm x 17mm (pendant); 22mm x 20mm (ring).

Bethany Linton
Artist's Statement: I am a fourth generation silversmith. My professional practice is built on a sense of honour and obligation in learning the craft developed by my father, grandfather and great-grandfather. This connection through shared labor provides the opportunity to reflect upon their philosophies and beliefs. One shared value is a profound respect for the Australian landscape. This is evident in the meticulous landscapes painted by my great-grandfather, my grandfather's delicate carved sterling silver motifs that celebrate the beauty of Australian wildflowers, and my own works referencing wildflowers and landscape forms. These works incorporate uniquely Australian motifs, for example the collar in this collection depicts Eupphrasia Arguta, a West Australian wildflower listed as extinct. This flower, a tiny delicate blossom, is insignificant and not particularly striking. Its loss could be easily be overlooked. For me it speaks about fragility and impermanence.

Heel to Throat.
Description: Roella cuff, Deathadder cuff and Euphrasia argues collar: hand-cut and formed anodised titanium with hinges and decorative elements handmade in sterling silver.
size: 100mm x 100mm x 70mm (largest cuff); 95mm x 190mm x 90mm(collar).

Vivienne Martin
Artist Statement: Looking at my over-familiar surroundings, I wished to see it with new eyes and a heightened sensitivity, in order to reveal the invisible in the familiar. My interest in sensory experiences, namely sight and touch, aims to encourage a new, richer awareness and appreciation for one's love, everyday surroundings. Through a sensitive and intuitive approach to materials, I created jewellery with sculptural, delicate, lace-like qualities that has a striking visual and tactile sensation.

Haptic.
Description: Neckpiece non-precious fine wire, manipulated and embroidered nylon.
Size: 480mm x 380mm x 30mm.

Wendy Ramshaw
Artist's Statement: Magnificent lace collars adorn the clothing in many grand portraits of the 15th, 16th and 17th centuries. The Victoria and Albert Museum (London) has collections containing marvellous examples of the art of lace making. Petrified lace is inspired by an example of Spanish lace made in the 17th century. I have imagined that lace - so soft and delicate, a magical material - might be reinvented in a harder and stiffer state to be worn in a different way. My "Collar of Petrified Lace" still performs the same function as the original wondrous material: the ornamentation of clothing. It is a reminder of the glorious lace of the past, enhancing and elevating its wearer.

Collar of Petrified Lace.
Description: Two collars to be worn together; cut stainless steel, powder coated.
Size: 300mm (diameter) each.

Lenka Suchanek
Artist's Statement: I fell in love with Chantilly lace at first sight. I love its irregular free flowing patterns and shadings of fine black silk. I love the feminine beauty and sensuality of the designs. In my own work, Chantilly lace continues to be the most difficult technique. The traditional patterns were designed for extremely fine silk, and it is a true challenge to adapt them for metalwork.

The bee design was inspired by the Alencon lace commission by Emperor Napoleon I on the occasion of his marriage to Marie Louise in 1810. It featured the golden bee, one of the emblems of France.

Chantilly Necklace.
Description: Bobbin lace using black enamelled copper wire with Swarovski crystals; centrepiece made in gold-plated wire.
Size: 250mm x 480mm x 30mm.

Robin Wells
Artist Statement: Inspiration for this work initially came from finding some of my mother's old photo albums, in which she had pressed leaves and flowers collected on a road trip around Australia in the 1950s.

The leaves and flowers were still perfectly formed, but incredibly fragile. Some had developed a translucent lace-like quality. I wanted to embody this quality in Flora Memento, to convey the fragile situation of endangered native plants today. In my own garden I have begun planting inly native species, including endangered varieties, which has fuelled an even greater compulsion to make work that reflects this keen interest. Flora Memento is a neckpiece to evoke a reflection on Western Australia's fragile native plant species, water shortages and urban sprawl.

Flora Memento.
Description: Neckpiece etched and hand saw pierced sterling silver sheet hammered to create hollow floral designs. Size: The largest piece has a 18 carat yellow gold flower 2300mm in diameter.

Alison Wheeldon
Artist Statement: I grew up in rural Australia in a beautiful stark landscape. Visual images of couture culture felt so removed from this country life. it was in this landscape that my father's mother created handmade lace. The pieces were delicate, precious and made with great skill. Her art appeared to be a celebration of femininity, dedication and love.

With my work I aim firstly to celebrate my grandmother's life and the traditions of craft within our family, and secondly to create jewellery for a world other than my own - one of opulence and high fashion.

I discovered a casting technique that could capture delicate and fragile pieces of lace and transform them into the more lasting materials of gold and silver. This technique offers me a way of uniting my passion of fine art, fashion and traditional jewellery and is also, in many ways, an experiment in preservation.

Lacqueus
Description: Necklace: cast lace with 18 carat yellow gold, fine silver, onyx, natural pink sapphires, natural rubies and synthetic rubies.
Size: 300mm x 350mm x 10mm.


Reference
[1] Make Lace Not War, Powerhouse Publishing, Sydney (2011).

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