Contemporary fine craft curated by Susan Lomuto

jill herman explores shibuichi

Posted on April 26, 2013 by Susan Lomuto • 3 Comments

Shibuichi is an alloy made up of copper and silver. Australia’s Jill Hermans applies a thick oxide layer on the surface of the metal and heats it up. The resulting colors and textures are wonderful. Her use of repetitive shapes combined with vivid surface treatments makes for a lovely body of work.

“Sometimes I find that a simple pattern can be like an extremely catchy song. The pattern or configuration screams loudly in my head until all possibilities are explored and exhausted; one idea leading on from the other in a chain of possibilities.” Jill Hermans

Jill Hermans’ website

Filed Under: Featured, Metal

mikyoung jung explores the spaces we all share

Posted on April 23, 2013 by Susan Lomuto • 0 Comments

A world traveler and lifelong student, Mikyoung Jung migrated from South Korea to Canada, England and Australia to pursue an education in art. Currently working on a PhD in visual arts at Sydney College of the Art, she also maintains a growing body of work that is interesting and thought provoking.

[click on images to enlarge. . .so lovely]

Jung combines kiln-formed glass with metal and other materials. The sandblasted glass shapes often frame a scene made from cut out metal pieces – birds, buildings, trees, people. Clever storytelling. . .

“Metal and glass on the surface seem to be incongruous and in opposition, which is similar to our mental construct of eastern and western culture. However, the fusion of these two elements creates new spaces for discourse and allows me to catalogue and articulate my emotions and encountered visual experiences acquired while traveling, which for me is a continual migration.”

“In my artwork, I explore the spaces with which we all share and this fusion of distinct elements is a metaphor for my own life – the old world and the new, east and west, citizen versus outsider.”

Mikyoung Jung’s website

Filed Under: Featured, Glass, Metal

mook! recycled toys for adults?

Posted on April 22, 2013 by Susan Lomuto • 2 Comments

After a misdiagnosis and a minor setback things are on the upswing and I’m feeling better. I’ve been working hard catching up on things that had to wait while I was ill. More on that soon. DAM posts will gradually return to daily. . .and that’s a good thing. Glad to be on the mend. So happy to be posting again.

mook_armando_rocking_hedgehog

Armando, Rocking Hedgehog

Today take a look at Mook, a project by Rome’s Carlo Nanetti and Francesca Crisafulli. The European Design Institute teachers have a wide range of skills and interests, including creating objects with recycled materials.

mook_penguins

Penguins!

If they were in the USA I would have tapped them to be part of Peace by Piece. My guess is that they would have brought a bit of whimsy to the project.

mook_berta

Berta

mook3

mook2

mook_glenda_rocking_gosling

Glenda, Rocking Gosling

“Sea worn debris, objects forgotten by cities, parts of old doors and furniture, and metallic elements of mechanisms that no one wanted anymore, are reassembled according to the rules of artistic recycling until they become sculptures or fully function objects once more.”

mook_ingrid

Ingrid

mook_sasa

Sasa

mook_leo_senior

Leo Senior

“. . .these objects are designed to create an emotional bond with the viewer, full of references to a children’s universe, to the dimension of play and to a present revisited in an ironic and shifted way. The real and the imaginary, the present and the past intermingle and overlap.”

Starting the week on a light note. Have a great Monday!

Mook’s website

Filed Under: Featured, Recycled

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