ECU symposium (long blog post)

So here goes, I am sure I will not do this justice. The ECU symposium this year was a wonderful, intimate, energy packed, good time. I applaud the ECU metals students for organizing such an event. I am sure it is not an easy task. 

I always have a blast and I always come back with a lot of ammunition to wage war in my studio. I meet new people, I see new techniques, I hear different perspectives and make future plans. Basically, I fill up my root cellar for the year and then slowly consume it. (hot sifting powder coat, "elasticizing the bezel" and public sculpture is what I am currently digesting)

This year I came back exhausted and over stimulated. I am not sure if there were too many people I wanted to touch base with or if there were too many things to do. I was constantly moving. I am pretty sure the schedule was the same this year. I just didn't get to do everything and it kind of bummed me out. 

I missed a few lectures, workshops and exhibitions. I wish I could have seen them all. So.... if I had a complaint it would probably be it was TOO MUCH. Maybe I am an old man and I can't hang. Maybe I need to go into symposium training! I am not sure. It just seemed crazy! I totally missed the sand file solder relay! Total bummer. 

 Overlapping exhibitions, workshops and panel discussions made it hard to choose. Also I had to leave early so I missed the last day of lectures and festivities. I had to teach at 8:00 on Monday morning and we checked out of the hotel on Sunday afternoon. Other than that, I was impressed with the work in the exhibitions and the lectures that I did go to blew me away. I hope to expand on these lecture on a future blog post. 

Jamie Bennett (Art and design in any form can be rather polemical; there are ideological arguments, defenses of taste, material hierarchies and moral codes of use. We are in bed with DIY and running after the next phase of CAD/CAM with the same determination. The practice of Metal/Jewelry could be perceived as either a discordant mixture or benevolent host to opposites. This lecture will explore this dichotomy and its consequence.), 

Beverly Penn (Obsession with nature and the environment has a long tradition in art.  “Second Nature” looks past the ingrained cultural mythology of redemption and beauty in nature as its sole aesthetic purpose, to explore deeper connections between ancient traditions and contemporary form.  The impulse to fill empty space with patterned versions of nature, from Islamic architectural embellishment, to 19th century Victorian ornamentation, to the self-replicating systems of Cellular Automaton, reveals the deep human obsession to categorize and control the unruly natural world which ultimately, and with great ingenuity, completely reinvents itself.)

, and Ana Lopez (The genre of jewelry is defined in its presumed relationship to human anatomy and is a highly mobile form of interactive art at once both personal and public in meaning and manifestation. It is dependent on the body for context and interpretation but at the same time brings meanings of its own to bear on the understanding of that body. The “places” of cultural geography are the embodiment of location, locale and sense of place. The social construction of “place” requires both meaning and materiality. This talk will consider examples of historic and contemporary works that exemplify the cultural construction of identity through personal adornment in relationship to the idea of place, including pilgrimage badges of the middle ages, cameos in the court of Napoleon Bonaparte, nineteenth century micro-mosaic jewelry and the work of a global selection of contemporary makers.)

The workshops that I ended up going to were both informative and interesting. I heard the workshops and lectures that I missed were equally amazing. I would have loved to see Rachel Shimpock, Kristin Beeler, Nicole Jacquard and Becky McDonah do their thing. 

I had a great time catching up with people. I wish that I could have stayed longer and I really wish that Liz could have made it. 

 It was all too much. After the crazy holiday, the Smitten residency and having visitors for a week Liz was totally spent and ended up getting a serious cold. The whole time I kept thinking: Liz would love this!! Next year I think I am going to do some pre-planning maybe rent an airstream or something. I am going to save up my strength and marathon it next year! 

 Naughty Narrative Exhibition

Naughty Narrative will be at the Art Ave gallery, brought to us by Danielle James and Andrew Kuebeck.

Kim Cridler workshop

The Descriptive Line: Soldering with Steel
Learn the basics of soldering steel including terminology, material properties, the variety of fluxes and solders. Kim will also briefly demonstrate her way of creating symmetrical forms.

Apply(ing): Public Art & Commissions
What I’ve learned about doing things you think you can’t do. Namely large-scale public art projects and commissions.

Jewelry Edition Exhibition

Jewelry Edition is a project co-founded by two ECU alumna, Kat Cole and Laura Wood, supporting the work of emerging and early career jewelry artists. Jewelry Edition seeks new ways to attract and educate clients on contemporary jewelry such as interactive web presence and pop-up gallery events. Each year features a new edition of artists, pop-up venues, and collaborative opportunities.  Don’t miss the ECU Pop-UP in the African Art Room in Jenkins Fine Art Building, which will feature work of the 2014 Jewelry Edition artists.

Material Matters: Process Product show

Material Matters: Process to Product is an exhibition that highlights the journey of a piece from start to finish. This juried exhibition will be held in conjunction with East Carolina University’s Material Topics Symposium. The exhibition will be housed at the Greenville Museum of Art, from January 16th- 22nd. There will be an opening reception held on Friday, January 16th, 2015.

Courtney Starrett workshop

Demitra Thomloudis workshop

Demitra Thmoloudis will be demonstrating how to create hollow objects in concrete.  Silicone mold making, powder coating, resin, and acrylic surface techniques will also be covered.

Smitten Forum Exhibition

The Smitten Forum is an opportunity for makers from the metalsmithing and jewelry field to come together in a creative environment away from the normal routine and obligations of everyday life.

The first forum was held at Arrowmont School of Crafts in Gatlinburg, TN, in January of 2014. Invitees ranged from emerging to well-established makers, as well as educators and professional jewelers. A variety of techniques and materials were represented, including traditional silversmithing, felt, enameling, computer aided design, wood, found object assemblage, tin construction, welding, casting, and many more. Attendees used the week to focus on their work as well as welcome insight from others in a social studio setting.

This exhibition, held at the Greenville Museum of Art, will feature recent work from the participants of Smitten Forum 2014:

Michael Dale Bernard, Nisa Blackmon, Sara Brown, Jim Charles, Kat Cole, Bob Ebendorf, Christopher A. Hentz, Mi-Sook Hur, Nicole Jacquard, Andrew Kuebeck, Zachery Lechtenberg, Barbara McFadyen, Barbara Minor, Mary Hallam Pearse, Marissa Saneholtz, Marlene True and Laura Wood.

 

Four Hands are Better Than Two

Exhibition