Tuesday 24 March 2015

Spring Jewellery Launch...the Silver Rings

I'm really hoping for warmer weather, and bare summer shoulders.  I can't wait for long, lazy days, sangria on the patio and road trips.  But for now, I've been dreaming of Spring, and wanted to share my Spring launch with you.

I'll be rolling out the new work over the next few weeks, and I don't know about you, but one of the sure signs of Spring for me is when I can leave my gloves at home.  And those bare hands need some bold statement rings....Enjoy!

All are available in my Etsy shop: https://www.etsy.com/shop/touchthedutch

Sterling Silver Shield Ring. Custom made to order






Sterling Silver Three Sisters Summit Ring






Set of Three Custom Sterling Silver Stacking Rings










Wednesday 18 March 2015

The Artwork of Talwst. Miniature scale. Massive Impact.

My friend, Swati posted an amazing photo and link to my facebook page to which I immediately responded..."WHAT SORCERY IS THIS?!!!!!"....initially drawn to the scale of the work, and the fact that the artwork is housed in beautiful, turn of the century jewellery boxes, the content then began to reveal itself.


This imaginative and fantastical body of work that provoked an all caps response, is by Toronto based, Trinidadian born, Canadian artist, Talwst


Talwst exploits and explores themes of marginalization, humour, human history and art history in his work.  His work explores these themes both whimsically and imaginatively, without sacrificing the gravity of the content.  In fact, the humour of the work is what really drew me in and had me both laughing out loud and moved to tears by the interiors of these miniature worlds.


Like a stage production, set at the point of the climax in the drama: the curtain lifts, as each jewellery box illustrates a tale of intrigue, romance, hilarity and heartbreak.


Many of the political pieces become precious Memento mori objects that honour and illuminate tragic moments in recent history that while reference art history, will also, I feel become a part of art history.  I am so inspired and excited that he is making this very important work.


Take a look at his work below, check out his website, and if you're in the GTA,
check out his exhibition at The Mississauga Art Gallery, which opens soon, and this statement by the curator of his "Minimized Histories: Marginalization and Unrest".


Check out this article in The Guardian, where Talwst describes the stories behind many of his most popular pieces.  And check out this curatorial statement of the artist's most recent exhibition, which opens next week, at the Art Gallery of Mississauga.


"Inspired by the unflinching scenes of Goya’s Disasters of War etchings, TALWST turns his meta-referential, pop-culture and art-history laden Infinity series into a searing indictment of the elision of narratives of people of colour and marginalized communities, particularly of those raised in protest or activism. Where previously his miniature dioramas in antique ring boxes featured pop-culture icons Kanye West and Kim Kardashian’s cavorting in front of Pontormo’s Deposition from the Cross, this new body of work sees Frida Kahlo meet Missing 43 protesters in Mexico as TALWST subverts the bright street scenes of Enser’s Christ’s Entry into Brussels. Through his work, TALWST forces us to direct intense focus and consideration on the stories of Michael Brown, Eric Garner, missing and murdered indigenous women, among others, and the implications of these narratives in our purportedly post-racial, post-colonial world." 

Kendra Ainsworth



After Tom, After Kim, After Acid. 2014.




Shunga. 2014



Places We Can Go. 2014


Frolic. 2014


 
El Torero. 2014



Olympia Are you Ready? 2009


antique-ring-box-mini-diorama-talwst-17

Execution of Michael Brown.


Kirk and the money shot. 2010


Por que? 2015.



Space Family Rothschild. 2014.



All photos belong to Talwst.





Wednesday 4 March 2015

Heavy lifting. A love story.

In the fall, a friend came to me with a curious request.

To design a statement neckpiece in the shape of a building crane, with a lot of symbolism and meaning for her and her partner.  With all big projects there is that initial challenge of solving the puzzle and designing the piece.

I let the request kick around in my head for a while, and there is certainly no shortage of inspiration in Toronto, when cranes clutter the skyline....going about their daily business.

After the chaos of the holidays, I had some time to commit to thinking more seriously about the project, and spent a week in the studio figuring out how to materialize the piece.  I wanted to make a piece that could be hung from a pin, or reside in a shadow box, while not being worn, and function as wall art, as well as a scale that was wearable but pushing the boundaries of wearable scale.

After much consideration...the piece has been finished and was presented to the recipient a couple of weeks ago