Gustav in Barcelona: LA JOYA BARCELONA ART JEWELLERY FAIR, 10/9/14 - 10/11/14

I'm so happy to be travelling to Barcelona at the end of this week to participate in the La Joya Barcelona international art jewellery fair. I've been hard at work these past few weeks, finishing show pieces and anticipating with great excitement the great embarrassment of  beautiful sights and fascinating people I'll encounter there.

I've been working on a handful of new pieces. As a sneak-peek, I'll share a couple of pictures of one that will be particularly surprising to those who follow my work...

COLOR! Here's one of my classic forms (The Knot) with a red wash that turned out a vibrant pink:

Time to get packing! Stay tuned -- I'll be live-posting from the event!

NEW WORK: ARC SERIES Hickory & Walnut Pendant

"Who knows when first/aortic arches/registered/an ocean’s surge,/or slipped awake/or stirred asleep;/how many tides/had ebbed until/the tiny seahorse/heart could leap?"

from "Physics" by Richard Kenney

This pendant is part of my ARC series: using bent wood segments as forms on their own terms. 

Shou Sugi Ban: Japanese Wood Burning Technique

Shou Sugi Ban is a simple, beautiful wood burning technique designed to naturally preserved wood and historically used in Japan for wood siding. 

Wood begins raw, as with the in-progress rings below:

Then you apply flame with a torch, clean and sand the wood as desired, and treat it with linseed oil. I like to use lacquer, sometimes, too, to seal the ring and reduce the lovely but agressive burnt-wood smell. 

Here's a before-and-after:

And the final product:

I like using Shou Sugi Ban because it's a natural finish, and one that mimics the self-preservation of a tree in a forest fire: it's the last line of defense, and the particular way the wood burns creates a barrier between the flames and green, live wood. 

It's this kind of natural strength I like to honor in my work, through my materials and processing, whenever I can. 

This particular ring is part of the AD IDEM series. 

Want to translate this technique into a home project? Check out this Apartment Therapy tutorial!