A tangent, or a new series...

This month I was fortunate to attended for the third time the ECU (East Carolina University) Metals Symposium. The school has a fantastic Metal Design program, which I became acquainted with while working as program director for Pocosin Arts Folk School. Some of the instructors come to teach weekend workshops at Pocosin, which is how I became interested in working in metals and jewelry. The graduate students at ECU developed and coordinate the symposium which includes short workshops and lectures by some really inspiring artists who have found success in the field. It has been a great opportunity for me to sit in on this event. I leave with my head full of ideas, encouragement, and enthusiasm. I created a photo album of some of the things I saw in the workshops and and work featured in the ECU Gray Gallery exhibit Off the Wall = Structural Adornment.

A speaker this year was Alison Baxtor, jeweller and Head of Short Courses at West Dean College in Southeast England. As a guest speaker she introduced the symposium attendees to the really interesting history of the college and fantastic arts opportunities available there, then she dropped by Pocosin to offer a short impromptu creativity workshop. Alison incorporates fiber in her jewellery (that's how they spell it in the UK ;) and she led us in an exercise exploring expression with line using thread. Then I went home and made this:

Cotton puffs, cotton fabric strips and poly thread wrapped around copper wire.

I posted an image of it on Facebook and a friend suggested I do another series of chains made with found fibers. I think I will do another series, incorporating locally found objects. I keep finding bits of colorful plastic and all sorts of things which would be fun to put in jewelry. So I think this is Chain #1 of Series Two.