Out and About | Sherry Cordova Jewelry

20 January 201031 August 2017

Chi ha paura…? and droog

Chi ha paura...? statement by co-founder Gijs Bakker — Chi ha paura…? statement by co-founder Gijs Bakker

“Chi ha paura…?“ means “Who’s afraid…?” in Italian, and is a message about the fear artists have of creating non-traditional contemporary jewelry.

Looking in the window of the San Francisco Museum of Craft + Design at the Chi ha paura...? exhibit — Looking in the window of the San Francisco Museum of Craft + Design at the Chi ha paura…? exhibit

If you have a chance to hear Gijs Bakker speak, you’ll enjoy it. He discusses his start in design, the beginnings of droog and Chi ha paura…? and shows pictures from his early life all the way to the present.

Gijs Bakker at the San Francisco Museum of Craft + Design — Gijs Bakker (seated) at the San Francisco Museum of Craft + Design

To see more images of the jewelry on exhibit, visit the Chi ha paura…? website

Photos of Fabergé boxes were used in these display stands for part of the exhibit. Notice the music stand like bases.

Faberge images Jewelry display cases — Fabergé box images used for jewelry display cases

A line of text around one of the museum’s rooms shows a quote by Bakker:

“…the piece of jewelry must be designed as a means of communication. We want to bring about wonder surprise or amusement in a field, the jewelry field, which is still very classical and traditional.”

the Sense of Wonder:

sense of wonder; chi ha paura...? — Sense of Wonder

As Gijs Bakker signed a book for me, I spoke to him about a light fixture I’ve been oogling for years, 85 Lamps by Rody Graumans (sold by droog), which he told us is coming out soon with LED bulbs. The power required by the award winning 85 lamps design is high, and will be much lower with the LED version. Unfortunately at this time the price of LED bulbs is much higher than traditional bulbs, a constant trade-off faced by those adopting new technologies. The lifetime of LED bulbs is much higher than incandescent bulbs, so changing out one of the 85 bulbs will be required much less often. And, that’s always a plus in a chandelier.

16 January 201013 January 2010

Sea Glass at the Beach, Part 2

Rare find: beach full of sea glass still being worked on by the ocean in large quantities — A rare location: sea glass still being ocean tumbled in large quantities

At the beach in all these photos, the sea glass is protected and it’s illegal to collect any. The beach is amazing, sea glass has replaced the sand normally seen on beaches. The tinkling sound of the glass being tumbled is wonderful to hear. The beach is such a treasure that it’s been designated an official state park.

Beaches after a storm, and beaches after high tide are great places to look for sea glass. Sometimes there’s sea glass in the water still being tumbled. Many beaches with such a high concentration of glass such as this one are often full of glass because they are near a closed dump of some kind. Or, as seen in yesterday’s post, Sea Glass at the Beach Part 1, the dump is still active.

Protected sea glass glistening in the sun

Some were a public dump and some are, or were, a private dumping ground for a glass artist or community of glass artists.

14 January 20108 January 2010

Sea Glass Festival

The Seymour Center at Santa Cruz’s Long Marine Lab was the home of the 2009 Santa Cruz Sea Glass Festival

Classic shape of a rusty old anchor at the Seymour Center

I was happy to come across this deck of Sea Glass cards that helps me understand what types of bottles, bowls and other containers some of the sea glass I find probably came from.

A nice way to learn more about sea glass

You can find more information about the cards, and the “Pure Sea Glass” book at SeaGlassPublishing.com

More about the cards can be found at seaglasspublishing.com

On this beach I found a lot of very dark green glass that seems black

And, on this beach I found present day beer bottle glass remnants

10 January 201031 August 2017

Volcanic Reds, Oranges & Blacks

Kilaueas Kalapani lava flow at night — Kilauea’s Kalapani lava flow at night

Kilauea sends lava down to the sea near Kalapana

Traversing the lava fields at night is a downhill hike with flashlights

And, on the way, the sky is lit up in oranges and reds and bright yellows

30 November 200931 August 2017

Art or Craft, or Both?

Gold shark pendants on display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art

Lately I’ve become aware of two community galleries that deal mostly in wall hung art that would like to start actively representing other types of artists because they feel smaller art sells more often. They have come to realize that people change their wearable art more often than their wall hangings and thus wearable art is more likely to sell.

Unfortunately, at these galleries there is a need to call some art “fine” and some art “craft”, and to treat the art and the artists differently. At these venues, the predominate opinion is that if an art object can’t be hung on the wall (art on a canvas, watercolors, or photographs), or if the object isn’t a bronze sculpture, then that art object is “only craft.”

Should how an object is displayed determine what we call it? Should we categorize based on technique? Creation of bronze sculptures is often done utilizing the same lost wax techniques as some smaller wearable art. So, should size be a determining factor? Difficulty? Market value? Materials? Should we even be labeling one person’s creations as art and another person’s creations as craft? Is craftspersonship not involved in all art?

Interestingly, and refreshingly, museums don’t delineate or discriminate. The Metropolitan Museum of Art displayed Akan and South American wearable art when I visited a few years ago. In their permanent collection is metal art from past centuries. Visibly missing were signs labeling these art objects as “crafts.” Ornate and simpler objects were all treated with equal respect.

Museums around the world show furniture, often wood or metal based, as art. Ancient and modern wearable objects are also acknowledged by museums to be art. Last year’s Palace of the Legion of Honor jewelry show was very well attended and there was not one reference to the art being “less” art than a wall piece. And, another jewelry based show: “Cartier and America” is opening mid December at the same museum.

A friend just reminded me that even among wall art there seems to be discrimination in galleries, yet not in museums. The “Amish Abstractions: Quilts from the Collection of Faith and Stephen Brown” show which opened at the deYoung Museum this month is a great example.

Until all galleries catch up to museums in labeling, logic, and reasoning, this is one more area to investigate before trusting a gallery to represent and sell your art.

1 November 200924 October 2009

A Day at the Races

As the motorcycle racing season ends, here’s a look back at the US Grand Prix event at Laguna Seca, California this past July. First up are a couple of pictures of a scorpion sculpture made from parts