I wish I was back in Munich

Hello everyone,

2 weeks ago I was in Munich to see the Schmuck exhibit at the  Handwerk fair located in the old airport of Munich. It was an amazing trip with jewelry filled days from start to finish. Not only did I get to see important works of contemporary jewelry up close and in person, I got to meet several of the artists. I met Bettina Speckner who is one of my all time favorites. Click here for a link to her website to see her beautiful works. One of the best moments of the trip was meeting Karl Fritsch. Fritsch is a real rock star of the jewelry world and his work was all over the galleries in Munich. The other girls in my group and I bought his book, got his signature (and an original sketch of a ring), and a photograph to document the moment. I can honestly say I was completely star struck. Here it is!

left to right: Kelly, Tessa, Karl, Laura, Me, Barbara and Melissa

Until next time,

Brigitta

Goodbye Syracuse, Hallo München

Guten Tag jeder,

Sorry for the lack of posts this week, its been pretty hectic here. I am heading to Germany on Monday with my professors, our grads and some of our undergrads. We will be there for a week checking out the jewelry scene in Munich. I don't think that I will have Internet so I'm going to have to put a halt to the blogging so don't expect any posts next week. When I get back though, I'm sure that I'll have plenty to share.

auf Wiedersehen!
Brigitta

Visit: Set in Style

Hello Everyone,

There's a beautiful jewelry exhibition at the Smithsonian Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum in NYC. A selection of designs of Van Cleef and Arpels will be on display along with their renderings. The display is running from February 8th to June 5th. I haven't gotten to NYC to see it yet but hopefully I will be able to take a trip there before it moves. If you are in the New York area I recommend you take a few hours to take a look-I'm sure it won't disappoint!

The website can be found here. I really love the video "Set in Style: The Process". Seeing jewelry like this made by hand is amazing.

Until next time,

Brigitta

Memories into Metal

Hi Everyone!

I know, I know- two posts in one day can you believe it? But I had some exciting news I wanted to share with you. A few weeks ago I was interviewed by the lovely Rose Picon from the Connective Corridor online news letter. The news letter features artists in the Syracuse area and this month I was chosen! Here's a link to the article:
http://connectivecorridor.syr.edu/2011/02/21/turning-memories-into-metal/

Its a sweet article about one of my series of jewelry and has a few pictures of some of my work. I hope that you all enjoy it!

Until next time,
Brigitta

500 Rings

Howdy Everyone,

I hope that you have all seen the Lark Books 500 series. They are beautiful books of contemporary jewelry. Each book is arranged by theme-there's 500 brooches, 500 vessels, 500 boxes and lockets, and so many more! For more info about the 500 Series visit the Lark website here:
http://www.larkcrafts.com/500-series/

Lark Books is publishing a second 500 Rings book with submissions due March 30. I have been working on a ring that I plan on submitting. Its not complete yet but it will be soon. Here is a photo of it in its current state.

I carved all of the details out of wax and then cast it into sterling silver. It hinges open to reveal a compartment. The dome of the ring is comprised of flowers based on the Victorian language of flowers. Lovers and friends used to send secret messages in flower bouquets with each flower having a different meaning. I used daisy, forget me not, helenium, cypress, willow, flowering reed, and yew. The band is made up of files and a stylized crow. Can anyone guess what the message is?

If anyone else is interested in submitting to 500 Rings here is the link to their submission page:
http://www.larkcrafts.com/submit/calls-for-submissions/#500rings

Until next time,
Brigitta