Hello Everybody
A good response for members joining in the fun for our first exhibition since the earthquakes disrupted things so badly. Perhaps, despite continuing dramas, we are seeing some light at the end of a long tunnel, and people are beginning to look to getting back to some of the more fun, creative parts of their lives! It takes time and energy to get past all the essentials of life following a big upheaval, and having the freedom to follow our creative imaginings is one of the later things to return. This year has been amazing for us and we are celebrating!
Some lovely work will be up for your enjoyment. You don't have to be exhibiting to come along to the opening night on Friday 6th December, 5.30 to 8pm. Come and celebrate the end of our first year at the Tanner St studio workshop with the rest of us. There will be some light refreshments, lots of good company, and some gorgeous creations to admire and inspire! There is a wide range of techniques and styles and some very skilled people amongst us, something for everyone.
°With Christmas rapidly approaching our studio timetable will be much reduced. It is time for your volunteers to have a bit of a break and catch their breath before 2014 rolls around. Anita will send out an email if she is planning to go into the workshop over the break, and I am happy to open up if I am free and you want to go in - just email me joannacrompton@gmail.com, or ring me 9818061.
Our next committee meeting is at 7pm, on Monday 3rd December. Please come along if you are interested, we would love to see you, and Solvejg makes great coffee!
Think about taking a more active part in the committee next year too. Arthur has been chairperson for three years running and we will be looking for someone to take over that role at the AGM in June/July. He has done a sterling(!) job over such a turbulent time, and will remain very active with maintenance and tutoring, but the constitution says 3 years consecutively is enough, and so it is! Time for someone else to step and learn the ropes....
We had a good meeting with people who are interested in being tutors for the classes next year, and some good visits to see how the classes are over the following weeks. There will be a training session set up early next year to have a chance to fill in any areas people are less confident about.
* Studio hours will not go on during Christmas except for Anita who will email members if she is planning to come in on a Tues or Weds.
* The next meeting after Christmas will be Monday Feb 3, 2014.
*Open studio days start that week.
* Classes start Tues Feb 4, 2014.
*Arthur will be gone during Xmas.
*Sol and Diederic will be away til Monday January 26, 2014.
* February 20, 2014 is the first Club Night of new year.
* If you have a hankering to access the workshop in the holiday period, you could contact me and see if I am free to open up, with the usual $10 cost. joannacrompton@gmail.com, or 9818061.
Kobi Bosshard Design Workshop Report
Fourteen of our members had the great privilege of spending
two days with Kobi Bosshard for a design workshop last month. Kobi Bosshard has been a leading jeweler in
New Zealand since the 1960s. He is
considered by some to be a link between the modernist jewelry designers of the
1940s and 1950s who used precious materials and continued traditional
metalworking techniques to interpret the spirit of their own times, and our own
contemporary jewelry makers who often include materials like plastic, rubber
and textiles in their designs. Kobi made
it clear that he is a metalworker, having apprenticed as youth and learned the
craft, art and trade from masters. Silver is his medium of choice and is always
the most important element in his designs.
Solvejg Ruarus organized it the workshop and Noeline Walker
applied for and received funding from the Arts in the Community branch of
Creative New Zealand. It was Kobi’s
second visit to the Guild Studio since he came for an informal discussion in
August during his exhibition at The National.
Kobi was easy to talk to and very generous with his ideas
and encouragement. We gathered around him first for a chat about design. He encouraged us to find pleasure in our work
and to incorporate our own experiences into our work confidently. Although we did not have time for it during
this workshop he described an intense exercise he sometimes uses to help define
individual style. He asks students take
hours to draw their lives on paper with great detail and then distill essential
forms from within that drawing by “drawing the drawing” over and over again,
faster each time.
We did do several exercises including one about using our
personal design styles using limited materials – we assembled open-faced
sandwiches for each other using the same ingredients but making them for
someone else. None of the plates was the
same and all were attractive in different ways.
What a simple way to reinforce individual style! Kobi said that materials, techniques and
ideas all lead to design. Making can be
part of design and sometimes a happy accident leads to a better design than
originally planned.
Kobi took most of the time during our two days to meet with
each person individually for about half an hour. While he was talking privately to one person
the rest of us worked on another exercise he set for us. He asked each of us to make several designs
for a brooch using seven equal triangles.
We were to use cut paper along with sketches to help visualize the
design. Kobi said that he likes to
design using geometry and often works within a particular geometric shape like
a circle or triangle. We all became
immersed in our designs and he came around to each of us to discuss them later
in the day.
The half-hour one-on-one sessions were interesting and
helpful. Kobi asked us to bring examples
of our own jewellery, designs and inspirations. He looked at our pieces, picked up some to
examine closely and discussed our designs.
In my case he looked closely at a couple of silver pieces I had not been
particularly delighted with and said that they showed good honest use of
materials. He looked at others that I
was proud of (antique buttons set in simple bezels) and said that the buttons
probably should just be left as buttons and that there was not enough focus on
silver. He also said repeatedly that he
did not want to be considered an authority.
He wanted us to take everything he said and filter it though our own
experience, use what we could and discard the rest.
At the end of the workshop Kobi brought out some of his own
work and passed it around the table for use to handle and look at closely while
he talked about how and why he designed each piece. The large forged bracelet from the cover the
book Kobi Bosshard: Goldsmith was one of them. We tried it on (not a comfortable piece of
jewelry to wear since it is wide and has to be manually ‘screwed’ on to the
wrist) and looked closely at the deep hammer marks while he encouraged us to try
using very large tools like industrial hammers and files to get away from tiny
forms. He said that he does not use
applied textures and was surprised that so many of us did layered and textured
work. He said also that he was
impressed with the good quality and workmanship of our jewelry.
Several of us had asked him to show us how to mount river
stones in the silver brooches he makes.
He took time to show us exactly how to do it and answered questions and
gave clarifications. He was extremely
generous with his knowledge and experience.
He showed us what is now called the “Kobi clasp” let us peer at it and
take notes and sketches. He described
how he makes the lentil-shaped ingots he uses for some pieces. He melts and pours his own ingots, casting
them under water using cloth over a copper tube. He showed us how he used the outside of one
of these ingots to make a ring and then used the plug that he cut out of the
interior to make parts for his pendants based on religious scapulars.
This was a very rich workshop. I have been thinking about it
and talking about it with other attendees for weeks now. It was a wonderful experience to have such a
gentle and generous master jeweler come share his knowledge with us.
SSG November 2013 committee meeting, a summary
November 4, 2013
7 p.m.
The Studio
Present:
Solvejg, Arthur, Noeline, Karen, Anita, Jo
Apologies:
Crystal, Diederic, Megan
Minutes read beforehand by all and
approved.
Matters arising:
Artist in residence: No further discussion since current members
are keeping studio open as much as is needed.
Noeline brought in the studio use survey that asked for open days that
are not being used as much as we hoped they would be. We will think about changes. Studio hours will not go on during Christmas
except for Anita who will email members if she is planning to come in on a Tues
or Weds.
The next meeting after Christmas will be
Monday Feb 3, 2014. Open studio days
start that week. Classes start Tues Feb
4, 2014. Arthur will be gone during
Xmas. Sol and Diederic will be away til
Monday January 26, 2014.
February 20, 2014 is the first Club Night
of new year.
Arthur and John O prepared a draft OSH
policy for members. It will go on the wall along with an accident register. Will also be in student handouts.
Arthur’s vacuum cleaner is great – works
very well although a bit noisy and might be covered with doors at some point.
Noeline reported Term 4 was going well, with pretty full classes, and lots of lovely work being made. There are already some bookings for 2014.
Dates for 2014:
Term 2, Tue 29 Apr – Thu 3 Jul – 10 weeks
Term 3, Tue 22 Jul – Thu 25 Sep – 10
weeks
Term 4, Tue 14 Oct – Thu 4 Dec – 8 weeks
Workshops: Katrina thinking
of doing etching workshop next year.
Sylvia’s husband can make a prototype of etching kit.
Exhibition:
Karen handed in exhibition pack draft –
accepted. Anita will do a physical
mail-out of exhibition pack (Karen will buy envelopes, labels, jewellery
labels) including invitations to opening night party (which Jo is having
printed). Thursday Dec 5 is the last class.
We will clean up and move desks as required. Diederic can hire an eftpos by wire. We will advertise in South Harbor News and other small newspapers. Also have two sandwich boards. Posters in Brewery and Tannery arcade.
Acceptance criteria for unknown
applicants: Arthur will put down ideas for
discussion during next meeting.
Tutor’s meeting: Planned for Monday night --
one hour.
Discussion re website: We will not be creating a
website at this time.
Signs:
The Tannery accepted our sign design. Anita to follow up with Crystal to get it
completed.
Meeting adjourned 9 p.m.
