Old things - New things

It's a busy time right now in Wellington - Jemposium is on, the Fringe Festival is on, and my work bench is full of commissions and my calendar full of classes.
I am experiementing with Mokume Gane - not in fusing the actual billets of metal together, as I don't have a kiln at the moment, but definately having fun working out textures and patterns.
The process (I love PROCESS!) is very intense, and messy sometimes, but I like the methodical grinding and twisting and rolling.
I am making a wedding band for a good friend of mine with the results.

Twisted pattern in brass and copper



Grinding and drilling and rolling.....

 Jemposium is taking up a bit of attention as well for now, last night I  listened to Marcel van Kan , who  spoke for Atelier Ted Noten (NL); Manon van Kouswijk (NL/AUS);  - who I loved! Fabrizio Tridenti (IT) was a little harder to listen to as his interpreter was speaking quietly, but so very sweet! and also Liesbeth den Besten (NL).
It was VERY intense, and I struggled to stay awake after a sleep deprived night, but it confirmed for me that my instinct to experiment, experiment experiment this year is a good one.
Tonight I will go to a local bar to the Jemposium pin swap... I have no idea what I will make for it, but I need to make a pin, then I can go and swap it for another jeweller's.
Exciting!

The talks last night were great  but I wanted to hear more about the artist's inner process - why they feel, how they feel, what they see... rather than to simply look at pictures of work. Of course, when you try to fit a lot into a short time, this is always a pain!


on another note, it's always fun when you come across old exhibitions or events, referenced on the internet... like this one, a bit of a photo-montage of a show I did with a buddy of mine: Beauties and Beasties.

And speaking of Beasties... somehow I always end up looking after little beasties... this time a baby hedgehog that I found wandering around a dog park. Not the best place to take an evening stroll for such a wee thing - even if you are prickly!