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Posted on January 27, 2009 | Filed Under Studio News |A few weeks ago in my last “Studio News” post, I included mockups of a few pieces I was working on for the “Recycle: Recreate, Redefine, Re-imagine” show at Facere Gallery in Seattle. I promised to post images of the finished pieces. Here are the ones that I like best. They will be exhibited at Facere until mid-February. I had only two rules for this project: one, that in the spirit of the show I would use up materials I already had in the studio and two, that beadwork did not have to play a leading role, as it does in so much of my previous work.
To see what the other participating artists have created for this show, please visit Facere’s website: http://www.facerejewelryart.com/.
“Bamiyan 1″ Brooch of sterling silver, antique Czechoslovakian glass buddha pendants, antique German gilt plastic buddha pendants, 6 1/4″ tall by 2 1/8″ wide. This piece has to do with one of the many incomprehensible atrocities of our era, the destruction of two monumental 4th century Buddhist statues, located in Bamiyan in Afghanistan, by the Taliban in 2001. “All we are destroying are stones,” one Taliban leader is reported to have said. To learn more about the Buddhas of Bamiyan, visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhas_of_Bamyan.
“Jia de Mao” Brooch of sterling silver, Mao button, and glass beads, 6 3/4″ wide x 2 1/2″ high. “Jia de” means “fake” in Chinese. I suspect that the Mao button, which I picked up at Panjiayuan, the enormous outdoor flea market in Beijing last fall, is fake. To see how many different types of Mao buttons there are in the world, try a Google image search for “Mao button.”
If you’re interested in the history of the Mao button phenomenon, read Bill Bishop’s article “Badges of Chairman Mao Zedong” at http://museums.cnd.org/CR/old/maobadge/.
The “Hua Ping” Brooch is made of sterling silver, an antique Chinese hand-carved mother-of-pearl platelet in the shape of a flower pot which I harvested from an old silk tasseled lantern ornament, and sterling silver and synthetic resin beads. It measures 2 1/2″ wide x 4 1/2 high. In this piece I wanted to match the delicacy of the mother-of-pearl carving with an equally delicate set of beaded elements. “Hua ping” means “flower pot” in Chinese. A flower pot is an auspicious symbol that carries various meanings in Chinese culture, depending upon the context. For more information, see Therese Tse Bartholomew’s book Hidden Meanings in Chinese Art: http://www.amazon.com/Hidden-Meanings-Chinese-Terese-Bartholomew/dp/0939117363/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1233176457&sr=1-1 or C.A.S. Williams’ book Chinese Symbolism and Art Motifs: http://www.amazon.com/Chinese-Symbolism-Art-Motifs-Comprehensive/dp/080483704X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1233176577&sr=1-1.
”Fish / Bubble” Brooch, of antique sterling silver fish pendant from China, sterling silver armature and sterling silver beads, 3″ wide x 1 1/2″ high.
The fish is also an auspicious symbol in China, and the two books I just mentioned also cover fish symbolism.
(Text and images copyright Valerie Hector 2009. All rights reserved.)
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