PHEW! I made it!

It's been a VERY busy three days, but I made it through - thanks so much to everyone who came out to the shows, especially those who trekked out to Guilford - which was moved indoors given the unpleasant weather. We also raised a bundle of money for the kids and staff of Nkoaranga orphanage at The Small Things through your contributions with the paper necklaces - thanks so much! The absolute highlight of the weekend - getting to see the gorgeous Grace and her mom Jean, who was my dorm mother in my sophomore year of high school, when Gracie was born! She's grown up a bit since then...

In Clinton on Saturday

For the future, I highly recommend both shows - the Shoreline Jewish Festival was well organized and managed to transfer inside on a few hours notice, no small feat for such a big event. The Clinton Summer Fair was fabulous, with live music, an auction, great food, tons of people, interesting vendors, a train, moonbounce, face painting and art projects for kids! In addition, the organizers were out of this world and went the extra mile to make sure everyone had a good time, including the vendors - truly good people doing good work.

Also, I highly recommend the work Susan Canarella is doing in Uganda through her organization Beads4dreams, which buys paper beads from women in the vicinity of a particular hospital in Uganda, and uses all the proceeds to continue to support that hospital and the surrounding community. Beautiful work, beautiful project, gorgeous kids.

Looking forward to doing the shows next year, if I'm on the continent!

Feminist jewelry

I've been alerted to the existence of another very interesting source for anyone interested in body politics and jewelry - disappointed I didn't have access to it prior to writing my own book! By Susan Cohn:

RECODING JEWELLERY: identity, body, survival addresses a central problem facing contemporary jewellery practice: through the course of the Contemporary Jewellery Movement, the potential of the jewellery-object to mediate intricate social relationships has become constrained. This is in part due to a singular focus of ideas in the field, and in part due to the developmental trajectory of contemporary jewellery networks. Caught up in the art-craft debate, contemporary jewellery missed the potentials in theory for developing a critical voice. This was not helped by the fact that academic discourse (philosophical, social, sexual, political) has largely neglected the significances of jewellery. The aim in this thesis is to negotiate this mutual neglect - or 'double gap' - by finding connections between theory and jewellery in practice. Jewellery involves complex interactions between makers, objects, wearers and audiences within social networks. Possessing a distinct set of codes enlivened by its relationship to the body, jewellery is a way of thinking and connecting which is strongly embedded in the activities of managing identity that define cultures and epochs. In the process, the instinct for adornment becomes an integral means of survival. This thesis draws on modern and postmodern theory, as well as art and jewellery practices, to examine contemporary shifts in thinking about identity, the body and reproduction. Through the three main chapters of this thesis I endeavour to: (i) provide an informed interpretation of the internal and external pressures that have defined contemporary jewellery practice over time; (ii) introduce relevant examples of my own work, and seek ways to move beyond the limitations of my own practice; and (iii) advocate new ways of thinking about contemporary jewellery that might lead it to a different voice. Reflected in this approach are three fundamental influences to my practice: the Contemporary Jewellery Movement; non-jewellery practices such as art, architecture, street culture, technology and performance; and academic writing across a number of fields. The thesis concludes with a discussion of how these interests came together in a single show, Black Intentions. However, the span of work covered extends through my career in jewellery to provide a basis for future directions.

 Thanks to Christopher Hardwick for the heads up. 

R Cubed Jewelry in Clinton and Guilford this weekend!

Please come check us out on the First Church of Christ in Clinton on Friday and Saturday and the Guilford green Sunday - featuring a brand new paper bead line to benefit The Small Things. 

Clinton: Friday 11am - 9pm, Saturday 9am to 7pm

Guilford: Sunday 12am - 6pm

Rain or shine!