bkmw press release - Brooklyn Metal Works

 FOR IMMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Erin S Daily or Brian Weissman 347.762.4757 EMAIL: info@bkmetalworks.com BROOKLYN METAL WORKS TO HOST ITS FIRST OPEN STUDIO WEEKEND th
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On July 18 and 19 meet and view work by the best of Brooklyn’s fine, fashion, and contemporary jewelry artists and one-­‐of-­‐a-­‐kind object makers (Brooklyn, New York, July 18-­‐19) In conjunction with the Prospect Heights Music and Arts Fest (PHMAF) Brooklyn Metal Works (BKMW) will for the first time open its studio doors to the public. Home to some of today’s leading emerging designers, Brooklyn Metal Works is the permanent work space for over 17 professional jewelry and metal artists working in a variety of materials, media, and styles. Throughout the weekend there will be demonstrations by resident artists showing techniques such as enameling, metal forming, and fabrication, among others. A curated selection of finished works created by the 17 resident artists will also be on display. All events throughout the Open Studio weekend are free of charge. Over the course of the weekend, visitors will have the opportunity to meet in person some of the artists working at BKMW. “This open studio weekend gives us a wonderful opportunity to introduce the public to the artists who create the work you want to wear in the place where the magic of fabrication happens,” says Erin Daily, co-­‐
owner of BKMW. She continues: “Brooklyn Metal Works is the primary studio space for the dedicated artists who work here. The artists in this collaborative environment come to work here every day, and our first Open Studio Weekend supports all of these creative entrepreneurs and small-­‐business owners who make up our rich and dynamic community.” The community of artists working at BKMW is comprised of designers who are makers, makers who are jewelers, and artists who are metalsmiths. The featured artists whose work will be on view throughout the open studio weekend are: Virginia Chiang, Monica Guerra, Samuel Guillén, David Hardcastle, Mia Hebib, John McVeigh, Leigh Newman, Lucia Perluck, Rebecca Pinto, Judi Powers, Danyell Rascoe, Andrea Shiman, Eve Singer, 640 Dean St
2nd Floor
Brooklyn, NY 11238
Phone 347.762.4757
info@bkmetalworks.com
BKmetalworks.com
Kristi Sword, Kate Taylor, and studio founders Erin S. Daily and Brian Weissman. A schedule of demonstrations by some of the resident artists and BKMW artist instructors is available on the BKMW website. In The Gallery at Brooklyn Metal Works, which is open to the public, will be open throughout the Open Studio weekend and attendees can view the recently opened exhibition “Paper Plastic Metal Stone”. This traveling exhibit features the work of four contemporary jewelry artists from Australia, New Zealand, and Japan who explore the materiality of the four media that title the show. This exhibition is part of the Brooklyn Metal Works guest curator series. SCHEDULE OF EVENTS Saturday, July 18 Sunday, July 19 Artist talk and Demonstration schedule Artist talk and Demonstration schedule 12:30 – Wire Twisting Demo with Brice Garrett 12:30 – Chain making Demo with Sarah Abramson 1:30 – Wax Working Demo with Brice Garrett 1:30 – Enameling with Sarah Abramson 2 – Lucia Pearl Artist Talk 2 – Brian Weissman Artist Talk 2:30 – Tube Bending Demo with Lucia Perluck 2:30 – Sawing & Piercing Demo with Brian 3 – Soldering Demo with Kristi Sword and Monica Weissman Guerra 3 – Soldering Demo with Timothy Veske-­‐McMahon 3:30 – Soldering Demo with Kristi Sword and 3:30 – Lapidary Demo with Erin S. Daily Monica Guerra 4 – Judi Powers Artist Talk 4 – Sam Guillen Artist Talk 4:30 – Wax Carving Demo with Judi Powers 4:30 – Roller Printing with Erin S. Daily 5 – Raising & Forming Demo with Brian Weissman 5:30 – Enameling Demo with Timothy Veske-­‐
McMahon ABOUT BROOKLY METAL WORKS Brooklyn Metal Works (BKMW) is a metal art studio that offers space to rent for the development of work in the metalsmithing field, as well as offering concept based classes and gallery space to promote artists, designers and makers. The intention of this studio is to present a safe working and learning environment, complete with a wide inventory of tools and equipment. This collaborative setting is designed to foster exploration, encourage experimentation, and strengthen the knowledge base of all involved. Brooklyn Metal Works aims to promote the field of metalsmithing and to further critical dialogue among those who practice, write and invest time and energy into the field. For more information visit bkmetalworks.com. CONTACT: Erin S. Daily or Brian Weissman EMAIL: info@bkmetalworks.com PHONE: 347.762.4757 640 Dean St
2nd Floor
Brooklyn, NY 11238
Phone 347.762.4757
info@bkmetalworks.com
BKmetalworks.com
VIRGINIA CHIANG
ARTIST STATEMENT
While working as an art specialist for an auction house, I happened
across a rare collection of fine jewelry that completely captivated me.
That encounter set into motion a rapid and upending chain of events
that lead to leaving my job at Christie’s to pursue jewelry. It is a
homecoming of sorts--a return to the studio, a return to working with
my hands, a return to the tangible expression of ideas.
My process with jewelry begins with prototyping and experimenting with materials,
techniques, and fabrication. It is a non-linear process of trial and error where I pare away at
an idea until it is distilled to its essence. I revel in the process and the resulting tiny
intricacies and small imperfections organically borne in each work I make.
***
Virginia received her B.F.A. in Fine Art from the Art Center College of Design and her M.A.
in Aesthetics and Politics from CalArts. Originally from Los Angeles, CA, Virginia moved to
New York City to work as an Art Specialist for Christie’s. In 2014, Virginia studied at Studio
Jewelers in New York City and is a member of Brooklyn Metal Works where she is currently
creating her first collection.
MATERIALS: Gold, silver, precious stones.
TECHNIQUES: Wax carving, lost-wax casting, fabrication, stone setting.
MY STYLE: Handcrafted, delicate fine jewelry.
Contact: virginiachiang@gmail.com
Instagram: virginia_chiang
ARTIST’S STATEMENT
I am a maker of many things, all of which are inspired by
my curiosity about our materials and cultural connections
to the made world. At the center of this approach is my
love of metal, and my consuming interest in the human
body and its varied relationships to objects. From the
physical act of making, to the physical act of wearing and
interacting, I find jewelry and metalsmithing an engaging
art form on multiple levels.
ARTIST’S BIO
Erin S. Daily is a metalsmith who lives and works in Brooklyn, NY. Her artwork has
been exhibited internationally, and her jewelry can be found in galleries and boutiques
throughout the country. In addition to making, Erin co-owns and operates Brooklyn Metal
Works, a collaborative metalsmithing studio, exhibition space, and concept lab. At BKMW
Erin continues to pursue her love of teaching and her fascination with new ways to develop
the ideas and practices of metalsmithing. Erin received her MFA in Metal from SUNY New
Paltz, and her BFA in Metal from the University of Kansas.
MATERIALS: Metal, lacquer, paper, wood, bamboo, silk, minerals.
TECHNIQUES: Metal fabrication, forging, carving, casting, enameling, lapidary.
MY STYLE: Considered surfaces, physical convergences, constructed nature.
erinshay.com
Contact: esdaily@gmail.com
Monica Guerra
ARTIST’S STATEMENT
Monica Marcella Guerra was born in Los
Angeles where she grew up making jewelry
and tortillas alongside her grandmother.
She received her BFA in metals from Cal
State Long Beach and her MFA in
Jewelry/Metals from UMass Dartmouth.
In 2014, The Boston Globe profiled her
thesis work and named her one of New
England's top emerging artists.
She currently resides in Brooklyn, NY with
her husband and her oval shaped cat.
MATERIALS: Sterling silver, 18k gold, gemstones.
TECHNIQUES: Fabrication, wax carving.
MY STYLE: Building future heirlooms one piece at a time.
web: monicamdesigns.bigcartel.com
Instagram: monica_marcella28
Samuel Guillén
ARTIST’S STATEMENT
My main inspiration lays on the everyday experience of the urban
landscape. My creative approach is driven by systematically inquiring
how
to
transform
urban
complexity,
often
made
of
rough,
straightforward technical elements, into visual sources for jewelry. For
that purpose I systematically photograph fragments of the city that I
might consider inspiring, and this photographic research always
constitute the start of my jewelry process. My pieces are all made in
sterling
silver
techniques.
using
hollow
construction
and
various
oxidation
My intent is that my pieces echo the entanglements of
basic metallic elements that constitute the modern city: rough steel,
visible welding junctures, scaffolding, tubing, fencing in subways and
construction sites, bridges, etc.
My aim is to constantly transform
these structures and visual presences in motifs for my jewelry.
MATERIALS: Silver, steel, porcupine quills, recycled corals
TECHNIQUES: Hollow construction, fabrication
www.samuelguillen.com
Contact: guillensamuel@gmail.com
DAVID HARDCASTLE
I studied art back in England before moving to New York in the eighties
where I continued to paint and sculpt while embarking on a career as a
graphic designer.
And then came jewelry and from the beginning everything about it had me
enthralled. Jewelry combines, first, the problem-solving discipline of design,
second, the imagination and its wanderings which I had been working to
capture in paint, and third and most captivating, the physicality of a
sculptured object; and with this mix jewelry can create miniature worlds of
wonder whose weight and substance you can hold in your hand, feel around
your neck, your wrist, finger...wherever. www.davidhardcastle.com
david@davidhardcastle.com
ARTIST’S STATEMENT
Mia’s design language concerns itself with the journey of the line. It is simply
interested in seeing the line move, create form, become a shape. It watches the line
repeat itself numerous times to test the creator’s patience. The line mimics what
happens in nature alas not intentionally rather intuitively. The jewelry collections
bring the handcrafted and fashion forward aspects along side each other, keeping
the tradition alive while moving with the ever-changing trends of fashion.
MATERIALS: Brass, patina, gold plated, rhodium plated
TECHNIQUES: Forming, folding, fabrication
MY STYLE: Alliance between fashion and art
www.oblik-atelier.com
mia@oblik-atelier.com
www.instagram.com/oblikatelier
LEIGH NEWMAN
ARTIST’S STATEMENT
Leigh Miller is a collection of fine and costume jewelry
designed and produced by Leigh Miller Newman in Brooklyn,
New York.
Leigh received her formal education in fashion design from
OTIS College of Art and Design in Los Angeles where she
graduated in 2003. Shortly after graduating, Leigh moved to
NY where she worked in the fashion industry designing for
J.Crew and Calvin Klein among other houses. After nearly a
decade of fashion, Leigh started to experiment in the jewelry realm, attracted to the
lack of parameters she had felt in the fashion world.
In December of 2014, Leigh launched her collection at Creatures of Comfort, where
the line was carried exclusively for the winter season. The line is inspired by the
natural patterns and forms we see in the world around us translated into metal.
Leigh works in an unconventional method using melted wax, which is then cast in the
ancient tradition of lost wax technique, after which she hammers into organic forms.
The collection is crafted into nearly the full spectrum of metals traditionally
associated with jewelry--from brass and bronze, to sterling silver, to pink and yellow
gold. She also uses semi-precious stones as well as Japanese silk cording in a
selection of her pieces.
MATERIALS: Brass, sterling silver, gold, semi-precious stones and Japanese silk
cording.
TECHNIQUES: Organic wax is melted into unique textures which are cast, then
formed and refined.
STYLE: Bold, modern forms cast in rippled, water-like textures.
ARTIST’S STATEMENT
Lucy is a native of Providence, RI (at one time the costume jewelry
capital of the world!) After enrolling in a metalsmithing class at Rhode
Island School of Design and spending her senior year of high school
apprenticing with a local jewelry artist, Lucy relocated to Philadelphia to
attend Tyler School of Art where she received her BFA in
Metals/Jewelry/CAD-CAM. Her academic experience included traditional
bench practices and strongly encouraged the use of Computer Aided
Design in 3-D object making.
Regarding the portfolio work she created during this time Lucy once stated:
“I like to approach my work as a problem-solver. When designing jewelry objects, I begin by exploring the
unique or unusual ways in which the piece could be worn, questioning what the piece could provide for
the wearer apart from its aesthetic qualities. I challenge myself to look beyond the conventions of everyday jewelry by incorporating clever mechanisms in my designs that encourage the wearer to interact
with the piece in more ways than one.” (Perluck 2010)
Since graduating from Tyler, Lucy has been employed in the fashion industry and with studio jewelers in
NYC, while also maintaining her own artistic practice. Her intentions as a student continue to inspire
some of her current works, as do the experiences she has had abroad as an artist in residence, and her
surroundings at home in Brooklyn. Since 2014, Lucia has been focusing on a collection of production
work that she calls Lucia Pearl Jewelry, which blends fashion with contemporary design to offer unique
jewelry pieces that are smart, elegant, versatile, and completely handmade.
MATERIALS: Sterling silver, brass, gold-filled tubing, magnets, semi-precious gemstones, silicone, leather.
TECHNIQUES: Fabrication, tube-bending, stone-setting, engraving, casting.
MY STYLE: Clean, fun, versatile.
www.luciapearl.com
INSTAGRAM: therealluciapearl
FACEBOOK: Lucia Pearl Jewelry
CONTACT: lucia.perluck@gmail.com
ARTIST’S STATEMENT
THE REBECCA PINTO FINE JEWELRY COLLECTION was launched by
New York designer and artist, Rebecca Pinto. Trained in fashion
design at Parsons, The New School for Design, Pinto’s love for design
and the art of craftsmanship developed into her longtime dream:
launching her own jewelry line.
Rebecca Pinto’s work has evolved from painting to textile design to
jewelry design and creation. Her craftsmanship is fueled by the use of
precious metals, 18K gold, 14K gold, and south sea pearls that she
hand picks of the coasts of different islands in Indonesia.
Pinto has long recognized the shared beauty of people, places and things. She brings her
creations to life in her Brooklyn studio based on objects, ideas and inspirations she gathers
from her travels around the world. Pinto currently resides in Tribeca with her husband,
Francisco, and two bulldogs, Balthazar and Pancho.
MATERIALS: 18K and 14K Gold, Sterling Silver, South Sea Pearls, vegetable dyed leather,
hand dyed organic silk cord.
TECHNIQUES: Fabrication, wax carving, pearl drilling, found-object casting, beading.
MY STYLE: RAW LUXE. ORIGINAL. ELEVATED QUALITY.
www.rebeccapinto.com
Instagram: REBECCA_PINTO_JEWELRY
Twitter: @REBECCAPINTO
Facebook: REBECCA PINTO
Contact: HELLO@REBECCAPINTO.com
ARTIST’S STATEMENT
I had a wonderfully long career in book publishing
before becoming a professional jeweler. Working
with books fueled my love of story: Works of
nonfiction gave me new perspectives through which
to view the world while novels transported me to
beautifully imagined places. That love of creating
narratives deeply influences my own approach to
making jewelry and each of my pieces has its own discreet tale about something
special, whether an experience, a place, a person, or a time.
Launched in fall 2013, my collection is inspired by nature and travel and I use
classical lines, organic shapes, and whimsical elements to create my jewelry.
Flowers and trees from my Brooklyn neighborhood, Buddhist architecture from
travels in China and Thailand, beach treasure from Montauk, and animals from a
childhood spent in the country inspire the forms and stories behind my work, all of
which I fabricate here at Brooklyn Metal Works.
My jewelry education started in 2002 and became formalized when I earned an
AAS Degree (Summa Cum Laude) in Jewelry Design from F.I.T./SUNY in 2013. I
have studied jewelry making at 92Y, Jewelry Arts Institute, S.V.A., Brooklyn Metal
Works, and Studio Jewelers and I still take classes whenever I can. I am a member
of WJA (where I serve on the board of the New York Metro Chapter), SNAG, and
Ethical Metalsmiths.
MATERIALS: Recycled silver, recycled gold, platinum, ethically sourced gemstones, vitreous
enamel.
TECHNIQUES: Fabrication, found-object casting, wax carving, beading.
MY STYLE: Effortless. Enduring. Sustainable.
www.judipowersjewelry.com
Instagram: judipowers
Twitter: @judipowers
Facebook: Judi Powers Jewelry
Contact: info@judipowersjewelry.com
ARTIST’S STATEMENT
Danyell Rascoe's fascination for gems began as a young child who collected rocks and stones
at the gift shop at the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C. During a business trip to India, that
love was rekindled. Curves in space and ancient cultures are often present in her body of
work but India remains the biggest influence in her jewelry. Her pieces are hand carved and
fabricated using gemstones with intense saturation and her favorite, flawed stones with
naturally occurring imperfection.
Dan-yell collection is an assessable line of Danyell’s first pieces sold at layla Brooklyn, flash
black of "tola" days, and new favorites. Crafted in 10k, sterling silver and heavy gold plating.
MATERIALS: Gold, silver, precious & semi-precious gemstones.
TECHNIQUES: Fabrication & wax carving.
MY STYLE: Delicate solidity… fine & modest… hints of the past
www.dan-yell.com
!
hello@dan-yell.com
! instagram: danyellrascoejewelry
KRISTI SWORD JEWELRY
Brooklyn, NY
Inspired by clean lines, repetitive patterns, and
familiar forms I create classic sterling silver jewelry
that highlights the subtle intricacies of form and
construction through a minimalist approach.
I began making jewelry in 2001 at the Savannah
College of Art and Design and continued my
studies at SUNY New Paltz from 2006-2008.
www.kristisword.squarespace.com
Instagram: kristiswordjewelry
Facebook: Kristi Sword Jewelry
Contact: kristi@kristisword.com
kate taylor design
My work is heavily influenced by the geometry of ancient
and tribal jewelry, and I visit museums frequently for
inspiration. I enjoy creating pieces that are substantial and
memorable, but at the same time thoroughly wearable. My
approach to jewelry making involves a huge amount of
drawing, sketching, and contemplating before I even touch
my materials, and a ton of reworking and adapting once the
actual making process has begun.
When I make jewelry, I feel connected to a process that has
existed for thousands of years. It is a humbling challenge to
try and create something original within the context of that
much history, but the community here at Brooklyn Metal Works inspires me to push myself
and continue experimenting and learning every day.
MATERIALS: Sterling silver, gold, platinum, brass/bronze, fibers/textile, alternative materials
(wood, acrylic, cast resin)
TECHNIQUES: Hand fabrication, wax carving/lost wax casting
MY STYLE: Eclectic geometric
www.katetaylordesign.com
Instagram: kate_taylor_design
Facebook: Kate Taylor Design
Contact: kate@katetaylordesign.com
Brian Weissman
Artist Statement
My intention with the Dead Languages body of
work is to transform old and forgotten sterling
silver and silver plate into intricate pieces of art
that speaks to the nuances of the life cycle of
materials, the ebb and flow of traditions, and the
appreciation of the traditional handmade silver
objects.
Artist Bio
Brian received his MFA in Metal from SUNY New Paltz and his BA in Technical
Theater and Art studio from SUNY Geneseo. Recently Brian was one of the
artists in residence at the Museum of Art and Design. In the past Brian has
taught at the University of the Arts, the 92nd St. Y, SUNY New Paltz,The New
England Craft Center and at The Fashion Institute of Technology. Brian’s
artwork has been exhibited both nationally and internationally and his work
can be seen in Silver Magazine, 500 Judaica, The 16th Silver Triennial catalog
and most recently in the Metalsmith magazine’s Exhibition in Print.
Materials: Sterling silver and silver plated tableware.
Techniques: Piercing, sawing and soldering.
www.brianweissman.com
beweissman@gmail.com