Lost and Found Exhibition May 5 - June 15

I am very excited to announce a gallery show that I will be participating in together with my fellow CCA jewelry students at D&H Sustainable Jewelers in San Francisco. The show will feature works made in the Lost and Found class that focuses on recycling, repurposing and reusing materials. There will be an opening reception this Saturday, May 5th from 5-8pm (there is a wine bar in the gallery so fun times for all). Work will be on view through June 15.

Here is the card for our show as well as the official press release (that I wrote - yay for business skills coming in handy).

 The students of the “Lost and Found” Jewelry/Metal Arts class at the California College of the Arts will be presenting works created throughout the Spring 2012 semester in an exhibition at D&H Sustainable Jewelers in San Francisco, on view from to May 5^th to June 15^th  2012. There will be an opening reception on Saturday May 5^th 5pm-8pm.

Through discussion and experimentation, the class explored the formats of jewelry, functional object, and sculpture to change perception about found materials. A primary challenge was to transform waste materials into objects that have purpose, thus allowing potential landfill to have a second life.

Using a wide array of materials including discarded jewelry, hard drives, phone books, antique trade beads, found wire, and recycled metal, students created reimagined pieces with new layers of meaning.

For more information on the “Lost and Found” exhibition or the Jewelry/Metal Arts program at California College of the Arts, please contact Curtis Arima at curtis@curtisharima.com  or visit www.cca.edu. D&H Sustainable Jewelers is a fine jewelry design house that works only with reclaimed precious metals and ethically sourced diamonds and gemstones, located at 2323 Market St., San Francisco, CA, (415)500-2550,  www.dnhjewelers.wordpress.com.

It's All Downhill from Here

Every time I write that phrase I am unsure if it refers to things getting better/easier or things getting pretty shitty. I'm sort of convinced it can refer to both, which is strangely apt for how I feel about the rest of the semester at CCA.

This has been the hardest run yet in terms of studio work, but it's been a really emotional semester as well. Lots of family stuff, we've had a ton of house guests, I moved into a new workspace at home, I had my junior review.

Last week in particular was really tough. It started with 32 family members and friends coming into town for my grandmother's 90th birthday (fun and nice, but draining), then I had to prepare and install my junior review (a one-day gallery exposition on campus that shows my work thus far), then I went through the review itself (mixed feelings on this one, and definitely a post for another day), then on the heels of taking down the installation I had to whip two additional projects out of thin air for my jewelry classes.

Now I feel like I'm on the other side of the hardest part of this semester. I am relieved and feel less stressed and like the f-it button is on in a good way. But I am also mindful that I still have four final projects to design and make, and that I always underestimate how challenging and fast-paced the tail end of the semester can be.

Downhill, here I come.