Arbor goes online

Arbor's new online shop is open!

The online shop now features selected works and will include more of Arbor's artists as the site grows over the coming months. 

Check out my new earrings, rings and pendants online now! 

Summer Colour at Arbor

I made some colourful new earrings for Arbor in December...You can read more about them here! 

Some pendants in a similar will be featured in Arbor's new online shop, coming soon!

photos by Arbor

Work in Progress: Tap and Die

Putting the finishing touches on a new piece with my new tap and die set! 

Without giving too much away, here's a little bit of a sneak peek... 

New Work for Deck the Walls

Deck the Walls opens at Studio 20/17 next Tuesday 4 December! Here's a quick look at some of what I've been up to for the exhibition.

Along with these I've sent several other neckpieces and earrings, including the Stained Glass Window earrings. These new works are part of my new Neighbourhood series, looking at the architectural details I pass by every day in my neighbourhood. I've recently become particularly interested in the juxtaposition of old and new architectural details - how the seemingly incongruous styles of innovative modern renovations and additions to classic historic homes come together to create something new and beautiful (...sometimes). With all the recent construction around here, there are lots of examples to look at!

Deck the Walls opens Tuesday 4 December and runs until Christmas Eve, with celebration drinks on Saturday 8 December from 4-6pm.

A Rainbow of New Earrings at Arbor

I dropped off these brand new earrings at Arbor yesterday! Similar to the stained glass window earrings I sent to Studio 20/17 recently for the upcoming Deck the Walls show,  the carved bouncy ball "gems" in these earrings have a beautiful luminosity when they catch the light.

They also match perfectly with the pendants that will soon be featured on Arbor's new online store, launching very soon!

Exhibition Photos: Paducah School of Art Jewelry & Metals Invitational

hotos of the Paducah School of Art Jewelry and Metals Invitational opening night are here!

 

Vessel by Sarah Perkins, one of my favourite enamelling artists (above).

 

  

There are my two landscape brooches in the cases above.

The exhibition is being held in celebration of a new Jewelry and Metals program at the school, launching in January 2013.  Registration begins October 15th!

More photos from the opening can be seen on the Paducah School of Art's Facebook page.

The exhibition runs until Thursday 12 October, so if you're in Kentucky, get in quick!

Deck the Walls

This year's annual Christmas Showcase at Studio 20/17 is called Deck the Walls, and will feature 20 local and international jewellery artists showcasing their newest work for the Christmas season. This 'takeaway' exhibition is a little different from usual shows - if a piece is sold, the buyer is able to take it away on the day, so if you want to see all of these fabulous works, come early!

The exhibition runs from 4 December until Christmas Eve, so it's a great opportunity to snap up some last minute gifts right up until the holidays. Celebration drinks will be held Saturday 8 December from 4-6pm.

Here's a sneak peek of some of my new work for the exhibition:

These earrings are made of hand-carved bouncy balls and blackened sterling silver. The back of the setting is open, and they really catch the light when worn.

Sneak Peek: New work at Arbor

I've been working on some new work for Arbor's upcoming online collection, launching soon in time for Christmas shopping. The new Arbor website is now up and running, with online sales coming soon. Here's a sneak peek at some of the brand new work I dropped off at Arbor this weekend! The gemstones are...(did you guess?) hand carved bouncy balls, set in sterling silver.

Photo by Jeremy Dillon

National Jewelry and Metals Invitational Exhibition opens Friday

The Jewelry and Metals Invitational Exhibition, celebrating the opening of the new gold and silversmithing program at the Paducah School of Art, opens this Friday, 21 September from 5-7pm. Two of my landscape brooches are featured in the exhibition. The exhibition features "a selection of works by leading artists employing a contemporary approach to the art of metalsmithing."  It will be held at the Clemens Gallery at West Kentucky Community and Technical College, 4810 Alben Barkley Drive in Paducah, Kentucky, and runs until 12 October.
 

Local Colour Catalogues

 Some belated images from the Local Colour catalogue...

Arbor Jewels is launching a new website!

Brunswick's Arbor Jewels is launching a new website! The basic site is now up and running - visit the website to see a selection of work by gallery artists in a slideshow on the home page.

Each artist also has an artist page with a sample of their work for Arbor and details about the work. And coming soon to the new Arbor website... online sales! I'm working on some new pieces which will be available online at Arbor with the launch of their online sales in time for the Christmas season. I'll post a sneak peek soon...

Paducah School of Art Jewelry and Metals Invitational

I've been invited to participate in an exhibition of American jewellers and metalsmiths in Kentucky this September, in celebration of the opening of a new gold and silversmithing course at the Paducah School  of Art in January 2013. With all the difficulties we're facing with jewellery education in Victorian TAFEs, I'm excited to be involved in a celebration of a new jewellery department at the American equivalent of TAFE.

The Paducah School of Art Jewelry and Metals Invitational is a survey of contemporary jewellery and small-scale sculptural and utilitarian works by leading artists from across the United States working primarily with metals. The exhibition will be held at the Clemens Gallery at West Kentucky Community and Technical College, 4810 Alben Barkley Drive in Paducah, Kentucky. It runs from 20 September - 12 October, with an opening reception at 5pm on 21 September.

**Correction: The opening reception will be held Friday 21 September from 5-7pm, not 20 September as original posted.**

If you're in Kentucky, stop by and support the opening of a new jewellery department!

RMIT Gold & Silversmithing Jewellery Auction 2012

It's almost that time again - the RMIT Gold and Silversmithing jewellery auction is coming up on Tuesday 14th August at the Order of Melbourne, 2/401 Swanston Street, Melbourne. The auction is a fundraiser for the students' graduate exhibition at the end of the year. I'm donating one of my Bounce! rings in blue, size N.

Works can be viewed in advance at the auction blog or previewed on the night from 5:30 - 6:15pm, with the auction beginning at 6:30.  (**The above links have been updated to direct to www.rmit-g-and-s-auction2012.blogspot.com.au. The previous Tumblr link is no longer active. )

See you there!

New Neckpieces at Arbor

New neckpieces and earrings at Arbor!

 

Work in Progress: Cut to the Chase

Work in progress: Today this means a lot of chasing bouncy balls around the studio!

Some new Bounce neckpieces in progress today... soon to be seen in a more finished state at Arbor.

Exhibition Photos - Local Colour

Thanks to Studio 20/17 and everyone who came to the opening of Local Colour on Saturday! The exhibition is on until next Saturday 14 July, so stop by and check it out if you're in town. For those of you who can't make it, here are some photos of the exhibition.

 

  

 

Tomorrow's Artist Talks in Sydney

 photo by Jeremy Dillon

Tomorrow's the big day... well, not that big day - I'm talking about the opening of my solo exhibition, Local Colour. Hope to see you Sydneysiders at Studio 20/17 at 3:30 for my artist talk and from 4-6 for celebration drinks!

image of Psychomanteum from Gaffa Gallery

Nicole Polentas and Christopher Earl Milbourne are also giving an artist talk on their exhibition Psychomanteum at Gaffa Gallery in Sydney at 2pm. Perfect timing so you can make it to both! Here are directions for efficient travel between the two galleries.

Bin Dixon Ward's Morphed Habitat, from Gaffa Gallery

And while you're at Gaffa, check out featured artist Bin Dixon-Ward at Gaffa's The Curio Collector's Cabinet. Bin is in her final year of a BFA (Honours) at RMIT, and has some exciting rapid prototyped work at Gaffa.

Local Colour opens today

image from Studio 20/17

Local Colour opens today at Studio 20/17! Here's a sneak peek at the exhibition. See you there on Saturday for the opening and artist talk!

An Invitation to Local Colour

‘Local Colour’

A solo exhibition by jewellery artist Mel Miller

3^rd – 14^th July 2012

CELEBRATION DRINKS Saturday 7^th July 2012 – 4-6pm

ARTIST TALK 3:30pm Saturday 7^th July 2012

Most people travel at the same time and the same route to and from work everyday. If you’re like Melbourne based jeweller Mel Miller, you might start to notice how places along your journey, maybe a church, a house or a park, start to look different not only in the changing light of the day but also through the changing seasons.

Local Colour, Miller’s first solo show at Studio 20/17 in Sydney, and will showcase brooches, neckpieces, rings and objects depicting abstracted interpretations of streetscapes, parks, buildings and details of the urban landscape that she passes in her daily commute.

Miller says ‘…knowing these familiar places in different lights reveals their picturesque peculiarities.’

1 week until showtime!

Local Colour opens next Tuesday! My first solo exhibition in Sydney will be held at Studio 20/17 from 3-14 July 2012. I will be in Sydney for the opening on Saturday 7th July from 4-6pm and will be giving an artist talk at the gallery from 3:30 - 4pm the same day. Here's a sneak peak at the catalogue cover. If you're in Sydney, do come and check it out! And if you're stuck in rainy Melbourne or on the other side of the world, I'll post pictures of the exhibition here.