Jillian Moore demo at the ECU Making Marks Symposium

I'm going to kick off my blogging of the ECU Metals Symposium: Making Marks with a bang of color and dive right into the best part or shall I say one of my favorite demos of the weekend, was Jillian Moore's demonstration of how she makes her awesome freaky sea creature (in my opinion) jewelry!

Before I delve into Jillian's demonstration, I'll start off by saying that she is one of the most approachable, open, patient and self-effacing artist I've met.  When you attend conferences and symposiums like SNAG or Yuma, it can be intimidating and scary to talk to your artist crushes, but Jillian is authentic and very true to herself and I really enjoyed that about her.

Okay, so here goes...she makes her sculptural jewelry out of foam and then coats it in several layers of resin! And she paints along the way.   there are certain brands and specific types of materials she uses but that is not for me to reveal.  

Like many other jewelers and metalsmiths fresh out of schooling and training, Jillian didn't have all the resources and tools she had in school which led her to be very inventive in how she started making her creatures.  With lots of experimenting and trial and error she landed on her current pieces and method of constructing them.  Something else that I found refreshing about Jillian was how open she was about her process; it can be very difficult in our industry to share knowledge because it is often abused.  But in the end I think if you are confident in yourself and those that support your work; the public will see and know which is authentic and which isn't. 

Jillian Moore specimen

Close up of a Jillian Moore piece

Several of Jillian's done pieces.

Foam, carved and ready for dressing (aka resin)

Attendees enjoying Jillian's demonstration.

Jillian is speeding up the process of the foam pieces

Jillian and Nick Mullins working at the foam station.

Jillian, coating her foam in resin.

I will be posting more about the ECU symposium - so come back and visit my lil' blog in the future, kthxbai!

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Featured Artist/Jeweler: Amir Friedman

When you're at Penland you meet so many talented artists and people and it's so stimulating and invigorating to the artistic soul.  In my class was one such artist and jeweler, Amir Friedman, he was one of the scholarship students from Israel.  Amir was also in Jana Brevick's Melt class and we got along so great.  I learned alot from him.  

Amir is one of those artists that never rests!  And you can see it in the work he makes, meticulous and very detailed.  Amir brought along his display case of his rings; I was so enamored with them, specifically the one below that I'm wearing...we are currently working on a deal for me to get it.  I couldn't stop trying it on.    

Amir loves to cast and play with tools, and he's innovative in how he casts.  He actually casted a ring embedded black crystal quartz!  Visit his website to see it and more of his pieces.  

Oh and psst...we may be teaching a class together at Penland next year...I'll be his studio assistant if all works out.  

Detail view of Amir's ring.  He specifically left the imprint of the CAD design. 

Amir's beautiful ring collection.  I want a case like that!

Craftophilia Show book. 

Continuation of the cover design, very clever.

My ring! I don't have it yet but he plans on sending me one.

Here it is again, I'm a bit obsessed with it...

Close up of a ring in resin.

His rings in resin orbs.  LOVE this concept.  Kinda reminds me of the orbs David Bowie twirls in Labryinth.

And watch this very cool video of Amir's 'Can it' machine: 


Thanks for visiting and reading!

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Captured - Orthoceras brooch

Just added one of my favorite brooches to my Eilisain Etsy site.

This is definitely one of those show pieces that I love.

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New in The Hunted jewelry series

The Hunted - purple resin with crushed

green quartz and brass owl talon.

Love the aggressive quality of these.

Some more fun experimentation with resin and the owl talons. New in my Eilisain Etsy shop!

It's gettin' cray-cray (crazy) up in the studio, but I guess that's a good thing.
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The Hunted - Buried brooch

Sterling silver claws from my talon mold.

Fossilized stone embedded in resin,with my secret ingredient.

Another addition to my Hunted series, though this brooch is not for sale yet. I love how you can see through the back. Resin and acrylic are fun to play with!

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Hairy Brooch

Hairy Brooch
Originally uploaded by Nick Mullins

This brooch is so interesting and somewhat deceiving at the same time.

The aquamarine 'stones' truly look like stones but are resin! Nick Mullins has a fascinating breadth of pieces, working in wood, metal and other found objects.

You can read more about Nick and view his portfolio on his website ... oh and I highly recommend viewing his other brooches on flickr.

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