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: Titanium & Shou Sugi Ban Oblong Hinge Cuff

“The urge to destroy is also a creative urge.” (Pablo Picasso)

When I use Shou Sugi Ban there is an element of burning away but also preserving what is underneath. It's a beautiful tension. 

NEW WORK: Shou Sugi Ban Two Piece Hickory Bracelet

Head to my post about SHOU SUGI BAN to learn more about this ancient Japanese wood burning/preservation process, and how I use it in the studio. 

NEW WORK: ARC + AD IDEM Pendant

ARC + AD IDEM 3-piece pendant on silver wire with magnetic closure.

Studio Visit: Dominique Bereiter

Last week, I had the great fortune of a visit from the jewelry artist Dominique Bereiter. Dominique has been following my work for some time, and invited me last spring to speak at the Society of North American Goldsmiths (SNAG), where I had a wonderful time.

Dominique and a friend visiting from Baltimore voraciously and joyfully descended upon the studio and wanted to see and know about everything in it. We had a great conversation about the genius of primitive man and my recent experiments with shou sugi ban, the Japanese wood burning technique I recently blogged about.

Dominique's lively eyes lit upon a newly finished piece: a necklace made with AD IDEM (Norm Sartorius) wood and a piece of cold bent hickory. I was able to get a couple of pictures before she and her friend waltzed off to continue their Chicago artist touring.

I'll be working on this iteration of the collection, and will share as I finish more pieces. I love the marriage of the rough, colorful, hand-worked chunks, to the sleek, cool hickory. 

And I'll look forward to seeing Dominique at the next Baltimore American Craft Council show! 

In the meantime, check out her beautiful work.