Busy times running up to Christmas now. Our streets will have a liberal smattering of people disguised as various ghouls and ghosties tonight, and just a week later the skies full of fireworks and the sounds of pyrotechnics. Perhaps there is some material for inspiring those little sculptures that your jewellery pieces are! How are your pieces for our exhibition going?
This is an information heavy newsletter so take time to go through it, you don't want to miss anything! You can print it out, just make sure you tell your printer to only print the first few pages or you will get the whole 27 editions. I can't believe this is number 27 since we went online!
Next Committee Meeting on Monday November 4th, 7pm at 39CTanner St. please come along if you are interested.
Housekeeping
1/ There are no parking spaces available outside the studio, so please park on the road.2/Workshop Practice
We have had a few questions about why we do things a certain way in the workshop. There are many ways to do some things, and as we develop our personal practices we have our own preferred methods, that may differ from how things are done in the Silversmith's Guild workshop.
This is perfectly fine and good, but:
• We want to maintain an expected, predictable, and understood practice at Tanner St.
• There are a bunch of safety issues when working with numbers of people at a time, the use of various chemicals and substances, and sharing tools and space.
•We need to know exactly what we are dealing with if there is an accident or something behaves in an unexpected way.
It is great to share your own way of doing things with each other, but you need to follow our procedures while working in the Guild workshop.These are the methods we teach our students during classes, and encourage members to follow while working together.
Some things that come up are:
• Misuse of tools, especially damage of polished hammers and mandrels
• Disposal of pickle and sulphur patina. These must be put into the plastic container in the chemical cupboard under the sink - ask the supervisor. Do not pour down the drain - there are council rules about this
• Fire damage, careful use of torches, watch out for hair, hands, the person next to you, and no paper in the soldering bay! Watch out for hot metal and skin contact too.
• Closed footwear is essential, and restrained hair and sleeves.
• Borax and water as flux, this works well and avoids flames that occur if you use meths or alcohol as the solvent for borax. Using a brush avoids lots of mess that happens if you use a spray bottle, and lots of users + lots of mess = lots of cleaning up for your long suffering tutors!
Most problems soldering are due to less than perfectly clean surfaces being soldered, or taking the torch off the flowing solder joint a bit too quickly disrupting the completion of the joint. Experience is a wonderful thing but we all have problems occasionally and best to go do something else if it isn't working!
If you are not sure about what to do, or how to use a tool or piece of machinery, ask the supervisor or someone else who does know. All questions are welcome!
3/Tutors for next year
Interested parties can contact Arthur,382 1332 ,and we are meeting on Monday 11th November at 7.30pm for about an hour to discuss training. Something new for your 2014 perhaps?
4/ Members' Monthly Workshops 2014
We are also looking for ideas and people to run some members' monthly workshops next year, again ideas to Arthur please. We had some popular additions this year, enameling, bringing colour to your metal, and silver raising were all member led workshops that added some great new skills to our repertoires!
5/ Display of Member Jewellery
You might have noticed the display cases containing some member jewellery pieces. We are looking for someone who would be willing to take on organizing a rotating 'exhibition' of members' jewellery.
This could be a monthly or 6 weekly rotation, themed or not, and could be fun setting up different displays and trying out different props. It is an area full of possibilities and gives you contact with other creators of lovely things you might not normally get to know. The cases are locked and secure. People are always keen to see what is being made and students, visitors, and other members often stop to enjoy what is on display. It is good exposure, and sometimes leads to commissions or a private sale.
While we do not sell on your behalf you are welcome to display your contact details and business cards for interested purchasers to contact you directly. It is just too complicated having different people handling sales and money on behalf of others, and taking responsibility for all that is not what we are about!
2013 Inaugural Annual Exhibition!
Opening Night Friday December 6th, 5.30pm
We are putting on our members' exhibition from our own fabulous workshop this year.
After trying hard to find a gallery or other venue we have decided it is a good way to celebrate the completion of the first year in our new home here in Tanner St. It will give members an opportunity to show off their work, meet together, and share our space with our friends and other interested parties! We have some beautiful display cases to display our work, a great studio to work in with volunteers to man our open times, all sorts of monthly workshops for members to attend, and well attended classes in our new venue.
Many members have worked really hard to set things up, support the committee, and re-establish their own workbenches at home over the last year, and we have had some fantastic support from Creative New Zealand, and the Tannery folk as they accommodated our needs.
So a good opportunity to share our progress, gratitude, and letting people know we are up and running with lots of good things planned for the future. We look forward to sharing this exhibition and ask for your support in this!
The Details
•Your jewellery pieces
We are asking for all our members to contribute at least a couple of pieces of their work, and up to 10 pieces. These don't have to be for sale, but we will selling those pieces that are for sale. We will take a small commission to help fund the exhibition.
•Dates etc:
* Opening night will be on Friday December 6th, 5.30pm, and the studio will be open until the following Friday 13th. There will be a roster for people exhibiting, and any others who may be interested, to man the exhibition over that time. It will probably be possible to do some work while you are there on duty.
*November 23rd, Saturday
Deadline to have sent me a list of your pieces(up to 10), what they are made of, and prices, numbered 1 to 10. This will give us time to compile a catalogue list and organize how to set your work out to best advantage. (joannacrompton@gmail.com) It would help me if you put 'exhibition' in the subject line
Please include the bank account you would like the money from any of your sales transferred to.
*November 30th, Saturday
Deliver your pieces to Crystal at the workshop between 9.30am and 1.30pm
A maximum of 10 pieces, individually labelled, priced, and in a ziplock bag or similarly packed to keep them clean and unscratched.
We will send out a form with 2 copies for you to fill in with the details of each piece (which should match the information you have already given us for the catalogue - no time to make changes now!) You keep one copy for your records, and the other goes with your work so we can match everything up.
We will also send you the correct labels to use. This keeps everything looking uniform so there are no distractions from your beautiful works!
• How can you help?
If you have any ideas of how you can help, please contact us and let us know
We will be organizing some publicity and inviting everyone we can think of. If you have people you think it would be good to invite please let me know and we will add them to our list.
I will make a digital invitation that you can email or forward to your own contacts as well. I have only had one person say they want paper invitations to share. I need to know what you want to be able to organize printing numbers....
Other News
This weekend, November 2nd and 3rd - Kobi Bosshard Design Workshop
There are a couple of places still available. Contact Arthur if you can attend - you need to come both days, and Kobi will spend some time individually with each of us - a wonderful opportunity!
Contact Arthur on 382 1332 to secure your place
The outline follows.
This is a design weekend so the focus is on the design process rather than the actual making. It will build on what we already do and be a valuable resource to keep on growing our repertoires and approach to our jewellery making.
Kobi Bosshard
Workshop on Design
November 2nd & 3rd November
After meeting on Saturday morning, 10am, we will have a general discussion about the aims of this workshop, about making jewellery, and what we consider planning and design to be.
During lunchtime Kobi will run a little project. This will help us get to know each other a bit more informally. Kobi will bring the ingredients for a communal, simple lunch which we will make together.
After lunch, there will be further discussion covering sources and ideas, and how we can derive our forms, shapes, and designs from them. How we can intergrate with our materials and skills, and how we can make jewellery from them. We will do some simple exercises to illustrate and practise what we have been talking about.
To help each of us apply what we have learned to our own work Kobi plans to spend some time with each of us,talking about our motivation and ambitions as he looks at our work. This is to encourage us individually and increase our confidence to develop their own work in our own way.
This will continue, with some practical exercises will continue on Sunday.
To Bring:
Drawing equipment that you usually use
Paper to draw on
Some coloured paper
Scissors
Paste
Some of your jewellery that you have made.
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Workshop Opening Hours, $10, or $8 if you buy a concession card
Tuesday, 10am - 2pmWednesday, 10am - 3pmSaturday, 9am - 1.30pm
SSG Committee Meeting 7/October/13 - Summary
Present: Arthur, Karen, Noeline, Jo, Diederic, Solvejg, Crystal, Megan
Apologies: John W., Anita
Minutes from previous meeting were accepted.
Matters arising:
* Idea of an
artist in residence program was discussed. Decision reached after lively discussion to
have no artist in residence program at this time.
* Tutor training. Arthur will
organize a meeting with Jo and Sol to talk to people who want to be
tutors. Discussion will cover job scope,
expectations of reliability and remuneration.
Arthur and John O will then make an assessment of their skills and give
any demos of techniques necessary.
* Arthur will get the vacuum for the polisher tomorrow. Should cut down on the polishing dust that
settles on workshop surfaces.
* November 2-3 Kobi Bosshard design workshop. Fifteen people can attend. Two-day time span (10 a.m. to 4 p.m.) Need newsprint (we will buy), have good paper in stock, attendees to bring pencils
and markers and bring work and designs to discuss with Kobi during personal
sessions. Funding by Creative
New Zealand granted.
Treasurer’s report: Diederic
reported that we are in good financial shape.
Stock take of silver showed some possible losses but we can’t
be sure because our recordkeeping is not faultless. Some improvements to recording incoming monies put in place.
Classes: Noeline is still getting regular inquiries. She is about to send out the Certificates
from the last class. Classes are filling
nicely – Tue has 14, Wed daytime has one, Wed evening has 11, Thurs Level One
has 3 and Level Two has 9.
Fire Alarm: Arthur reported that
we had a call from the fire alarm people saying that the alarm had gone
off. There was no reason apparent for
the alarm to go off – possibly dust or power fluctuation. Perhaps it is time to put the pickle pots on
a timer. We will look for the old one
from the Art Centre. If the alarm goes
off we enter our code, ring Code Nine and talk to them. We assemble by Muma D’s and wait for
clearance to go back in.
Exhibition: Solvejg reported
that the Tin Palace is not available for an exhibition. We agreed to have an exhibition at The Studio
the first weekend of December and carry out sales for the week after with a
roster of workers. A group will get
together to plan the details. Jo, Karen, Sol.
Selling work in studio: One
person should take on the job of rotating work in the display cases. Several members have asked for display
space. If it comes up again we will ask
them to write a letter to the committee.
We should then put a note in the newsletter asking for pieces and business
cards for marketing.
Acceptance criteria for unknown applicants for membership: We will make a sheet to hand out – Arthur
will do a rough draft for comment.
Future workshops: We need more
workshop tutors. We should approach people within the Guild who can teach
techniques like etching. Megan will talk
to some of the Hagley students who will be ending their term and might want to
participate. We also might contact
Katrina to see if she is interested in giving an etching workshop.
General:
Signage: Crystal came up with
several ideas for signage for The Studio.
We liked the white logo to go on the door and window. Crystal will run it past The Tannery to make
sure it meets their requirements.
Postcards: Crystal gave several
samples of possible post card designs.
We need to send her jewellery photos.
Crystal will do another design and give it to Noeline to proof.
Website: Crystal presented a
plan to create and run a website and gave the details to the committee. It sounded like a good idea and we will think
about it. Karen will talk to Mark about
whether or not he would be willing to work on more funding for this
project.
Parking: We do not actually have
a dedicated parking space. We are
allowed to park one car in the shared area.
