Spring is Fantastic Plastic!

Hello Everyone!

I am back! Yes, after weeks full of preparations for two shows and production and creation, I can finally concentrate on blogging again.

I am excited to start a new project and work with a new material for the next weeks. I decided to focus on plastic. This material surrounds our daily life in a more wasteful way than paper. Plastic covers the things we buy, holds the products we use and makes our life very easy. But once we don’t need it anymore, we have to throw it away, otherwise we would drown in it.

As everyone knows, plastic is hard to recycle the usual way (dig it in the ground, and let it become soil again). No, we need machines and heat and other resources to get rid of plastic or recycle it.

Another high amount of this oil-based material waits in the ground for an until today undeveloped technique to be used again. The rest pollutes rivers, oceans and takes the life of too many animals who live in this area, thinking the red cola bottle cap might be something good to eat. Plastic Pollution is a hard word and the pictures that come up in search engines are devastating.

So, let’s do something about it… First of all of course, use less, take your own shopping bags, drink tap water and … make some jewelry from the rest. Easy right?

There are some amazing jewelry artists out there who make wonderful pieces and as usual I will introduce you to some of them.

Sam-Tho Duong Recycled Yogurt pots

Harriet Estel Berman – Jewelry from Plastic Containers

Val Hunt Recycling Artist

Małgorzata Kalińska

Apawan Kultawanich Body Piece Translucent 2012 Plastic Straws, Silver Silicone

Christina Sperotto

2013 Rainy Flower Kanzashi

I will also show you how to make Shrinky Dinks from plastic you buy frequently in grocery stores and many other exciting DIY projects that will inspire you and think differently about the plastic products we use daily.

Shrinky Dink Vintage Rose Print From Pinterest

Shrinky Dink White Cicada from Pinterest

Shrinky Dink Moth From Pinterest

Shrinky Dink Dinosaur from Pinterest

Shrinky Dink Bracelet From Pinterest

Shrinky Dink Blue Butterfly from Pinterest

Shrinky Dinks by Ana Tranholm on ETSY

So, keep the bottles, the plastic bags and the yogurt pots and meet me soon for a Shrinky Dink Tutorial and other exciting workshops during the next weeks!

I see you soon! All the best, Judith

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PS.: Somehow I am unable to link the photos of the artists in the galleries to the original source. I have no clue, why it doesn’t work. Until I figure it out, please find all the artists on my Pinterest wall: Plastic Jewelry. Thank you!

 

Elsa Mora

Let’s meet Elsa Mora today, a Cuban born artist who I discovered searching the internet for paper artists. She shares her passion for art and life in such a sensible and honest way, it makes me smile, makes my heart warm and shows me a side of the worldwideweb, where you are allowed to be yourself. Just read her cute Biography, and you might know what I mean.

Typing in Elsa Mora, you will find the most incredible Paper Art. Her fine cuttings are as dedicated to detail as they are colorful and thoughtful.

A Forest in the Mind – Paper sculpture by Elsa Mora

Elsa Mora – Cosmopolitan China

Elsa Mora – Paper Cut

Large Paper Bug – Sculpture by Elsa Mora

Elsa Mora – Miniature Bee – Paper Sculpture

Open Heart – Paper Cutting by Elsa Mora

Por Dentro – Paper Sculpture by Elsa Mora

The Search – Paper Cutting by Elsa Mora

The Tunnel – Paper Cutting by Elsa Mora

Elsa Mora is known for her paper cuttings. Like Hans Christian Anderson she creates these little detailed stories. In her pieces she is talking about family, friendship, love and life in its hard and its nice moments. Her style is a little bit vintage, girly and feminine and reminds me on Frida Kahlo, Anderson and Alice in Wonderland at the same time. Looking at her pieces, I can see her stories, her fragile and strong, thoughtful and life inspired mind.

And Yes, Elsa Mora does create jewelry from paper. Here are some pictures I found on her blog:

Elsa Mora – Rings

Elsa Mora – Necklace

Please: Visit Elsa Moras blogs and get inspired:

http://www.allaboutpapercutting.com/work/

http://www.artisaway.com/

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Other artists you might be interested in:

Michihiro Sato – Paper Jewelry

Ana Hagopian – Paper Jewelry

Jeremy May – Paper Jewelry

Michihiro Sato

I would like to talk today about the Japanese paper artist Michihiro Sato. Born in 1961 and based in Takasaki he creates delicate, finely crafted jewelry from recycled paper. In his work he explores the aspects of fragility and the worry and pleasure of change.

He lives and works in a traditional Japanese house and says about it: “I think this place is so beautiful that I feel materials and myself at every step. In other words, here is the place where I feel environment including myself fragile.”

Michihiro Sato – Brooch 2008

Michihiro Sato – Brooch 2009

Michihiro Sato – I don’t have an evil heart – Brooch 2014

Michihiro Sato – Necklace 2002

Michihiro Sato – Necklace 2008

Michihiro Sato – Oh My Buddha – Necklace 2014

Michihiro Sato – Ring 2011

Michihiro Sato – Tom and Jerry – Necklace 2010

Michihiro Sato – Yearning – Necklace 2011

Each piece has layers of carefully carved out and colored paper. The shapes of his brooches, rings and pendants remind on seeds or buds just before they open and blossom. Sato finds a way to create a momentary look into the most fragile and most beautiful creations of nature which are part of constant change.

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Other Artist you might be interested in:

Ana Hagopian – Paper Jewelry

Jeremy May – Paper Jewelry

 

Ana Hagopian

The artist I would like to introduce this week is Ana Hagopian. Her delicate, soft and warm colored jewelry is made from paper and absolutely stunning. Some pieces literally look like a warm breeze in the late spring.

Satelite Necklace By Ana Hagopian

Snake Necklace By Ana Hagopian

Wisteria Necklace By Ana Hagopian

Raspberry Necklace By Ana Hagopian

Ana Hagopian – Anemone Necklace

Rush Necklace By Ana Hagopian

Amarilis Necklace By Ana Hagopian

Necklace By Ana Hagopian

Hagopian was born in Buenos Aires and moved after long worldwide travels to Spain. Here she started her inspirational career as an internationally known paper jewelry artist. She says: “My source of inspiration is nature and its infinite creations, its limitless colours, its surprising textures. paper is contradictory, provocative and humble because it is ephemeral.”

Check out her webpage. She has worldwide exhibitions and if you ever get to Barcelona, it is a must to visit her shop!

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Other artists, which might interest you:

Jeremy May – Literary Jewels

 

Jeremy May – Jewelry made from old books

The career of London-based Jewelry Designer Jeremy May started after designing a ring as a gift for his first wedding anniversary. Of course, it needed to be something special for a day like this so he made a ring out of an old book.

May creates about 100 pieces a year. Here are some of his creations from his webpage:

Jeremy May – Literary Jewels – ‘Collection of Poems’

Jeremy May – Literary Jewels – ‘Hans Andersen’s Fairy Tales’

Jeremy May – Literary Jewels’The Coming of the King’

Jeremy May – Literary Jewels – ‘Jane Eyre’

Jeremy May – Literary Jewels – ‘Littlefly’

Jeremy May – Literary Jewels – ‘Oliver Twist & Great Expectations’

He begins every jewelry piece with a pattern and cuts page by page with a knife until the thickness he desires. After laminating all pieces (unfortunately but understandable he keeps that a secret) and drying, he files the object into shape and polishes it several times. He says, the final product feels like wood. With his rings he creates a new material value for a very personal and often forgotten or unwanted object.

Jeremy May – Literary Jewels -‘Littlefly’

Jeremy May – Literary Jewels – ‘Many Inventions’

Jeremy May – Literary Jewels – ‘The Cloister and the Hearth’

I am fascinated by this process and love the idea of connecting personal jewelry with a book. His customers can what book they like and he will find it in an antique store and starts creating a unique piece of jewelry inspired what he reads. The book itself becomes the jewelry box.

Here is a small documentary about the designer and his way of working:

*** Eine kleine Dokumentation über den Designer und seine Arbeit auf deutsch. ***

Find out more about this amazing artist and his work on his webpage: http://littlefly.co.uk/

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Other artists which might interest you:

Ana Hagopian

February – It’s All About Paper

 

Welcome back everyone.

It is February and that means, I will finally start my journey through “monthly material projects”. I decided to begin with PAPER. A very versatile and fragile material which is exciting to use in jewelry and art.

Paper is a material of our daily life. It surrounds us in an amazingly high amount and is used by most of us everyday. It is part of our cultural development, it was and can be extremely precious and became one of the biggest waste products worldwide.

It is also a material everyone is connected to and knows how to work with. And I am sure, everyone throws it away more often than wanted. So, why not keeping this material to create something new, surprising and wearable!

Have a look at these fabulous paper artists:

Ana Hagopian – Contemporary Paper Jewelry

Sivan Alon – Newsprint And Silver Bracelet

The Carrotbox – Cardboard Ring

Jeremy May – Paper Necklace

Kiwon Wang – Paper Necklace

Claire Altomari – Paper Jewelry

Elsa Mora – Paper Ring

What can you expect from this first month?

First of all I made a plan on what I will publish. Every month consists of the “Art and History – Mondays”, the “Technical Wednesdays” and the “DIY – Fridays” and sometimes a miscellaneous post on something I find interesting.

On the “Art and History – Mondays” I will introduce different contemporary and international artists. I will also have a look back into the beginnings of the material and what importance it has for us. This interest comes from my Material Culture Science background and I love going deeper into the meaning of what surrounds us in daily life.

When you visit my “Technical – Tuesdays” you will find different methods of jewelry making especially connected to the material of the month, for example how to make paper beads or special glue for paper.

The “DIY – Fridays” are self-explainable. We will make something together. A piece of jewelry of course.

And now, enough talking!

I will see you on Wednesday for our first Workshop!

                                                                  Judith

 

Momo Glassworks

I wanted to find a reason to write something about Momo Glassworks since years. We were basically retail neighbors on a Christmas market in New York. Long and cold 13 hour days at least. It was always great to chat with Edo and hear about the fascinating story how the two (he and his wife Rosario) met, got married and decided to do this wonderful and pretty glass jewelry. And thank you! After all these weeks I got a pair as a Christmas gift and it’s until today one of the most precious pair of earrings I have.

Momo Glassworks – Solid Emerald Sm. Drops

Momo Glassworks

Mesmer Medium Bars – Inkblot

Momo Glassworks – Wall Cufflings

– Momo Glassworks –

For the jewelry Rosario and Edo are up-cycling old window glass. In between two layers of glass they fuse an enamel painted layer and a mixed metal collage. After years of experimenting they perfected the 1000 year old way of fusing glass, metal and color to an amazing end product.

Their work reflects a life of travels and experiences in different countries all around the world. The summerfresh softness of Greece, the craziness of New York City and the Calmness of their home in Massachusetts.

And now stop by their online shop for fairs or events or nice little gifts for yourself or your friends.

 

Sonia Boyajian

Sonia Boyajian – Spring/Summer 2015

Sonia Boyajian – Spring/Summer 2015

Sonia Boyajian – Spring/Summer 2015

Sonia Boyajian – Spring/Summer 2015

– Sonia Boyajian – Spring/Summer 2015 –

The bohemian, strong colored, mixed media style of Sonia Boyajian is one of my most precious inspirational finds since a while. She learned and worked in Europe, Belgium before she started her Hollywood career and is now one of the inside-tips for all those stars. But, who cares about that. Her work is a little bit crazy, but beautifully assembled, loud ad colorful, girly and full of stories about life and adventures.

Sonia Boyajian – Spring/Summer 2014

Sonia Boyajian – Spring/Summer 2014

Sonia Boyajian – Spring/Summer 2014

Sonia Boyajian – Spring/Summer 2014

– Sonia Boyajian – Spring/Summer 2014 –

Her journeys around the world are the key element to her work. Not just did she find little accessories and antique objects wherever she went, it also inspired her to learn different crafting techniques from other parts of the world.