The beginning of the Second Year of the MFA

Its hard to believe that my summer holidays are over already! Already I am wondering how 4 months have disappeared so quickly, but when I think back to what I have achieved it makes sense. 

I received a scholarship to attend the SNAG conference in Boston in May.

I also received a scholarship to study traditional jewellery in Florence during July. 

And I was also selected to participate in Ruudt Peter's workshop Ground Now in the Netherlands at the end of July.

No wonder time has passed so quickly.

And now it is my first week back at NSCAD for the second year of my MFA (Master in Fine Arts). Due to the interdisciplinary nature of my work I have been graciously provided with a studio space at the historic Fountain campus and one down at the Port.

The Fountain studio is full of charm and character. Tucked away in the attic of an historic building, which must be over 200 years old, I am nestled in amongst old large giant wooden beams, large thick brick walls that look out over the Halifax harbour. I delight in watching the ferry go past and thinking about the history of the building.

View from my attic window

I feel a little like Rapunzel sitting up so high and watching the world go by. It is a great place to read and think. This semester I am participating in a class which discusses the philosophy and theory of Things, and I am sure you will find me tucked away in here contemplating Heidegger's Thing theory or the fundamentals of phenomenology and metaphysics.

My attic studio looking very clean and organised

My studio at the Port campus is in ceramics and allows for the messy making of larger scaled objects, particularly in ceramics but can lend itself to other forms of sculpture as well. This campus is newly built and has wonderful floor to ceiling windows with great views of the harbour (when there isn't a cruise ship in the way) and natural light.

View from Port Studio
And yes, that is a cruise ship you can see blocking the view!

My summer adventures have led me to realise that I the direction of my thesis will be changing this year. Last year I focused on the pioneer and post colonial feminist theory. My travels provided the space to critically asses my project and with my new experiences I came to the realisation that I was would like to explore the themes of place, travel, loss and regeneration - which essentially does include pioneering (so thankfully my previous research can be incorporated). However I wish to move away from the pictorial and towards a subjective, and perhaps ephemeral or atmospheric artwork.

To give you an idea of my current thinking, check out Olafur Eliasson's phenomenological art work.

SNAG Boston

I was awarded a scholarship to attend the 44th annual SNAG (Society of North American Goldsmiths) conference, Looking Back, Forging Forward, held in Boston from 20 - 23 May.

Hanging out with Ruudt

The highlight of the conference was listening to Ruudt Peters keynote presentation 2mm Squared. Ruudt's practice continually challenges peoples perceptions of conventional jewellery and he alternates between jewellery and sculpture.

It was interesting to hear him talk about jewellery as craft, and how many makers get lost in the material and forget about the concept behind the work. He believes that this is the downfall of craft, which lacks the critical thinking and theories of art.

working sketch of an idea in process

It was fascinating to see his process from sketches which make their way to a family (series) of pieces. Ruudt is always challenging himself to create new pieces by placing himself in unfamiliar environments (such as a trip to China) and working with materials he doesn't like until you learn to love them. 

He was spoke about giving space to the unconscious and he often will create 'blind drawings' to start his creative process. He will intensely research and draw relating to a particular project, and then burn them all to allow the subconscious to create. The results are always fresh and spectacular. 

One of the finished pieces

 The conference also offered professional development workshops and I had the opportunity to meet with UK artist Helen Carnac, and discuss my work. Helen provided many great insights, and suggested a number of artists to research, that would assist to progress my work. This was incredibly exciting as she approaches jewellery making with a UK perspective, which is completely different to that of North America. Interestingly, she suggested that I work with metal to make it look more fluid like textiles - which relates back to my BVA in textiles. I look forward to trying out some of these ideas in the studio.

Two artists Helen suggested I research are:

June Schwarcz - who creates soft textile looking objects using metal and enamel
Martin Puryear - a sculpture who often incorporates textile techniques to construct large objects

The Heidi Lowe gallery held a pop up exhibition in one of the hotel rooms, which was welcomed with great excitement by the conference participants. Lots of great earrings were on display and I couldn't help but buy a pair - as a souvenir of course! 

I loved the simplicity of this design by Laura Hutchcraft

There were many satellite exhibitions (and way too many to see) which also provided the opportunity to explore Boston by foot.

Boston Streets

One of the exhibition highlights was held at the Laconia Gallery. The Homework Project, invited eight metalsmith, who have a studio in their homes to create a piece per month using their homes and the space within as a source of inspiration. The results were amazing.

dryer 'felt' or 'fluff'

Old hair curlers

Bracelts made from an old sewer pipe. Brilliant!

Looking at lines in the walls 

Back at the conference the vendor room was full of rocks, minerals and gems to admire, and purchase!  There were so many to choose from it was almost overwhelming.

A selection of gems I couldn't resist buying.

When the conference finished we continued our love of gems and minerals and visited the Natural History Museum at Harvard University.

Grounds at Harvard University, Cambridge

Fabulous displays of minerals

The collection was inspirational.