Quinevere- Necklace

Quinevere Necklace made from dried plant material. Philadelphia Flower Show- by Mimi Favre 2013. 

Again this year I have made a piece of jewelry from dried plant material for the Philadelphia Flower Show. Keeping to the British show theme, "Brilliant", this Artistic Jewelry Class is called, “Quinevere”- Necklace. That is all the direction one is given. The challenge is to interpret the theme (points for that) as well as make a well-crafted piece that ‘looks’ as if it could be worn (lot's of points). Sounds easy, but every time I make one of these pieces I totally underestimate how much time it will take and work to the last possible minute. 

After reading a bit about the legendary Queen, I settled on a period piece that would reflect femininity and her Christian beliefs. A friend saw the components before I finished and said “it looks just like your jewelry!" I really love this piece and would welcome a chance to make it in real gold with a beautiful ruby!

The creative process is a combination of finding interesting organic plant material by shape or texture and thinking of ways it could be used. Collecting is an ongoing process and I do have several boxes of potential seed pods, nuts, leaves, stems, berries, etc. The spice cabinet or pantry aren't off limits either- I used mustard seeds and lentils on this necklace.

I was walking outside one windy day a few weeks ago and picked up a dried cluster of hydrangeas that had blown over from my neighbors house. I had been thinking of making a thick chain and cross and this was the inspiration I needed to flesh out the design. The petals as stations on the chain are a classic form in the decorative arts known as a quatrefoil which was used in the Medieval period. I added the holly berry 'pearls' to visually break the chain and make this a strong yet feminine piece, something a Queen might wear. 

Components. Birch twig links, hydrangea Quatrefoil.

I made the cross, a very linear component, from verbena bonariensis (thank you Wendy). The links are made from green birch twigs, twisted onto chopsticks, left to dry, then cut into jump rings. Each one has to be glued closed. 

Quinevere Necklace- Cross and Quatrefoil.

Quinevere Necklace- verbena stem (squares), birch twig (links), holly berry 'pearls'. Mimi Favre. 2013

I was cleaning up the inevitable mess that I had made, a pile of discarded pieces, trial painted seeds, 'stone' settings not used, extra 'pearls' and thought, well, this picture says it all! I do paint ideas out first even thought the piece evolves organically.

Dried plant materials for Jewelry.

Quinevere Necklace. Hydrangea, beautyberry, verbena stems, holly berry, lentils and coriander.
Not shown, coffe bean (ruby).

Description card. MFavre 2013.

Antique Marquis Rose Cut Diamond Ring

Antique Marquis Rose Cut Diamond. Mimi Favre©

The original owner of this antique rose cut diamond was married in 1921. It stayed in the family and passed to a new bride in the mid-eighties. At that time the head mounting was removed from the original platinum ring and attached to a new more contemporary shank. And, unbeknownst to the client, the jeweler had made it in rhodium plated 14 karat yellow gold. It wasn't long before the 'white' wore away. A new platinum shank would have been a better choice.

After nearly three decades of everyday wear next to narrow gold band the shank was very misshapen and the stone was loose. The only safe alternative was to completely remake the ring. The client requested that the stone be set low and for the side diamonds to be as narrow as possible, unlike the previous. 

I made a new setting in wax, identical to the original and made the shank so that the tiny old miner side stones be set closer to the top. 

The diamond is eye clean, very white though a bit flat, however relatively large and completely unique. It really is a beautiful stone that has been in one family  for nearly one hundred years.

Old Diamond Ring. Favre©

New Ring. Antique Marquis Rose cut Diamond.  Favre©

Color Block Earrings

AGTA 2013- Earrings entry by Mimi Favre ©.
  Uvarovite, Kyanite, Lapis- 22k

The American Gem Trade Association sponsors The Spectrum Awards contest to promote the use of colored gemstones in fine jewelry. This pair of Color Block Earrings is my entry in the 2013 AGTA Spectrum Competition. 

The purpose of this contest is to explore and feature the full range of exceptional color found in natural precious and semi-precious gemstones. In recent years many designers have been using less precious if not non-precious stones and minerals and winners have produced less traditional fine jewelry. New manufacturing methods like CAD and laser welding have made it possible to execute pieces that would have been impossible to make twenty years ago. This year there were more than 500 entries.

 I chose raw Lapis Lazuli and Uvarvoite (green garnet) squares for my AGTA Spectrum entry this year. Lapis has been used in jewelry for thousands of years and usually set in pure rich yellow gold. I also used deep cobalt blue Kyanite cabochons. Stones like Lapis go in and out of fashion. Blue and Green was a popular 70's combination that is trending again. 

I wanted to make a minimal design that is both modern and ancient. All settings are 22k yellow gold. I set the squares with a thin chasing tool by hand hammering around the bezel. High carat gold is very soft and maleable. 

 

Sifting through loose stones. Designing earrings. Mimi Favre©2012

Design for AGTA 2013. Mimi Favre ©2012.

Even though I know in my mind how a piece will look, a painted rendering to scale is an important step.

AGTA 2013- Earrings entry by Mimi Favre ©. Lapis, Uvarovite, Kyanite- 22k

Visiting the Studio of Andrew Wyeth

I have lived near Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania, home to the Wyeth Family for most of my life. To me, Andrew Wyeth was always a local artist. I am very familiar with his work from many visits to the Brandywine River Museum. Since June 2012, the family has graciously allowed his studio to be open to the public on a limited reservation system. Sadly, no interior photos are permitted.

Andrew Wyeth painted for most of his life near his childhood home in an old nineteenth century schoolhouse that was originally purchased by his father, illustrator and painter NC Wyeth. Andrew’s older sister Henriette and her husband, painter Peter Hurd, lived there for a time when they were first married. Later the schoolhouse was remodeled by Andrew and his wife Betsy for their growing family by adding a kitchen and bedrooms. They lived there as newlyweds in 1940 and later with their two sons Nicholas and Jamie  until 1961 when the family moved to a nearby farm. Andrew reclaimed the schoolhouse as his studio and continued to paint there until his death in 2009. 

Andrew Wyeth was a fiercely independent painter in that he isn't associated with a particular school or movement and yet achieved notoriety outside of the NY Gallery system. He was taught by his father, NC Wyeth who had made his living from book illustrations, a form of commercial art, but had yearned for the freedom to be a fine painter. As a child, Andrew was encouraged and given the instruction to develop his talent and to paint with his own voice. His body of work is comprised of the natural landscape of the Brandywine River region in southeastern, PA as well as his summer home on the Maine coast along with a small group of local folks who appear again and again. One can see that the work is deeply personal and meaningful to him-- the viewer is left to discern the significance of the moment. 

Studio of Andrew Wyeth, Chadds Ford, PA ©Mimi Favre

The docent brought me (yes me--I was the only visitor) into the newer section of the building. She pointed out the kitchen (circa 1940's Colonial) filled with Betsy Wyeth’s cookbooks and noted a space above the large fireplace where he would hang newly finished work. The walls are filled with family photo's with a few celebrities, like silent film stars, mixed in. The original schoolroom was divided long ago by NC. On one side bookcases are filled with art books on Albrect Durer, Old Masters, Edward Hopper, Curtis photographs and catalogues of past exhibitions. The other side which was the family’s living room is set up as Jamie Wyeth's studio. It is here that he painted Draft Age. On a set of shelves is Andrew's armies of small soldiers and military figures which he began to collect as a child and continued throughout his life. German military helmets line the top of a large wooden Kas. 

Studio of Andrew Wyeth, Chadds Ford, PA ©Mimi Favre

The studio is locked. It felt a bit strange to step inside. No longer a living artist’s space, I felt nonetheless that I was entering as an uninvited guest. Afterall, he worked in this space for more than 60 years.

The images of all of the Wyeth paintings I have seen, knowing as only an outsider could of some of the controversial nude paintings and other work that was done in such secrecy, I felt like an intruder. The docent assured me that Mr. Wyeth agreed to open his studio. Sketches (facsimilles) are strewn about but I know that it is in private moments, over time, in thought, that compositions are worked out. A large freestanding mirror is positioned so that the work can be viewed in full or rotated in the reflection. This was a method to critique the lights and darks and overall compostion.

Studio of Andrew Wyeth, Chadds Ford, PA ©Mimi Favre

The studio space has huge windows that face North, paint is peeling off the walls and the ceiling has been plastered and restored to look as it did before necessary restoration and repairs. Jars of pigment line the window sill. Empty pans and egg cartons remind us that Andrew Wyeth was a master of egg tempera. Uncut gessoed mason board lines the walls. A few old military coats hang about. This once personal private workspace is now a museum. The artist has left the room.

Recycle that gold!

In case you haven't noticed, gold prices are at an all time high. If you are lucky enough to have some old gold jewelry that you never wear or never liked it can be very tempting to cash out. But it can tug at ones heart strings to sell your mother's favorite bracelet or worse, something that you received as a gift! So, instead you decide to hang on to this valuable stash, well, just because.


Or.... recycle it and make something new. Just melt it!

Ingots from old jewelry. 

Gold has been passed through a rolling mill to form square wire.

In the past the Gold Council ran ads with a tag line that said "nothing else feels like gold". So true. The beauty of gold beyond it's intrinsic value is that it can be reshaped and remade. Much jewelry has been created through the ages by melting down old gold to make something new.

A client came to me with this very dilemma. There was enough gold to yield several Mother and Daughter bracelets. Each bracelet is infused with sentiment and the jewelry stays in the family (sort of).

Recycled gold made into bangles. ©Favre

Hammered 14K gold bangles from re-cycled gold.

A new stack of hefty 14k bangle bracelets- each one unique. Hammer marks convey the artistry of genuine handmade. Nothing feels like real gold--for sure. This was a fun project!

The New Barnes

The extraordinary Barnes Foundation has officially been relocated to its new home on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania after a prolonged dispute in Orphans Court by certain parties that sought to move the priceless private art collection of Dr. Barnes from Merion, Pa. Volumes have been written about how Dr. Barnes made his money, acquired the art and the legal battles that have plagued the Foundation in the past decades. This post is only about the new home of this extraordinary collection.

I visited the original Barnes Foundation in Merion, Pa many times over the past few decades; first, as an art student and later for pure enjoyment. What made the Barnes special was the intimate viewing experience created by tight spacing on the walls filled with mostly Post-impressionist, Modern and Impressionist art displayed in human scale rooms. Paintings are arranged alongside antique fabricated ironwork, early American decorative arts, Navajo jewelry, pots and rugs, African art and sculpture and early European religious paintings. It is evident that the visual placement of every object in each room is intentional. This is how Dr. Barnes chose to display his collection. It made sense to him and if you go room by room it's not hard to see why he placed the paintings and objects this way. No matter what opinion of the 'correct' way to display art whether by chronology or by artist or whatever, I respect his intention as the owner and collector. 

Sculpture by Ellsworth Kelly

Barnes Foundation, Philadelphia, Pa.

I viewed the collection during the opening week in its new Philadelphia location near the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Rodin Museum. The new Barnes architects, Tod Williams and Billie Tsien, have essentially designed a limestone paneled shroud around a replica of the Merion Barnes. On the exterior I detected iron plates beneath the limestone as if this priceless collection is encased  within a huge vault. The building is spare although interior details in the textured limestone, tile floor and unpainted wooden divided light windows provide a welcome reference to the Merion home.

Mosaic tile floor. Entry of Barnes Foundation, Philadelphia, Pa.

Barnes Foundation, Philadelphia, Pa.

View to an interior room. Renoir's Sailor Boy is visible in the center.

Barnes Foundation, Philadelphia, Pa.

Once inside the new modern building, one enters the collection through a massive iron gate that is positioned where the original front door would have been. Every room has been carefully copied and the collection is displayed exactly as it had been. The walls are again covered in a linen burlap textured fabric. Overall, the experience is mostly the same. Visitor entry is carefully spaced so that one has ample room to take in the amazing art. One noticeable change for the better is the improved lighting.

Despite the controversy, more people will get to see this collection than previously when it was housed in Merion.  An impressive landscaping plan by Olin is incorporated within the site in  homage to the original Barnes which is known also for it's Horticulture program and extensive gardens. The interior windows now provide a view to the new garden on the site. I feel that the new Barnes is welcoming facility and I look forward to repeated visits and time spent enjoying a meal out doors on the terrace overlooking the garden.

Photographs have never been and are still not permitted. However, a new publication Masterworks, the Barnes Foundation has been published by Rizzoli. 

Of Interest about The Barnes Foundation

Art of The Steal Documentary about the Barnes Controversy. 

Tales From The Art Crypt, By Richard Feigen. Alfred A.Knoph, New York, 2000.- There is a chapter on the Barnes in this book.

Sentiment- A Love Story

Again, I am reminded of the deeply personal nature of jewelry and the sentiment it represents.  And, like many artists through the ages, a wonder of nature is the inspiration. This time it’s a Seahorse that inspired a very special pair of earrings.

I met with a couple that asked me to create a pair of Seahorse earrings in 18k gold. They showed me a dried seahorse that was lovingly kept in a clear plastic box filled with cotton that had yellowed with age. Now married more that fifty years, they told me the story how it had come into their possession.

 Both were young Americans living in Italy when they met. She was a recent college graduate, daughter of a Naval officer stationed in Italy, who traveled to be with her family. He was young man in the US Navy, also stationed in Italy, who had interrupted his career to serve his country. They met and fell in love. On a beautiful day of boating in The Bay of Naples they came upon a fisherman who asked for a cigarette and in return he gave them a seahorse- this seahorse. 

Seahorse from The Bay of Naples 

Hand carved wax protoypes. ©Mimi Favre 2012 

I carved a stylized version of the actual seahorse in wax. The tail and body had to be shortened yet the curve had to be prominent. Also, I compressed the nose slightly so that they would be wearable and more attractive as earrings.

18k Seahorse Earrings. ©Mimi Favre 2012

Jewelry, in this instance a pair of golden seahorses, becomes the tangible representation of sentiment and a symbol of a moment in time. I thank the client for bringing this wonderful project to me- it was hardly work at all.