{"id":13525,"date":"2015-07-03T00:08:24","date_gmt":"2015-07-03T07:08:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/?p=13525"},"modified":"2015-07-03T09:24:06","modified_gmt":"2015-07-03T16:24:06","slug":"handmade-by-artists","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/2015\/07\/03\/handmade-by-artists\/","title":{"rendered":"Handmade by artists"},"content":{"rendered":"

Left to right are artists Robin Adams, Jan Smith and Julie Kemble. (photo by Olga Livshin)<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

In common perception, the word \u201cmanufacture\u201d is associated with industrial production and machinery, but it wasn\u2019t always so. The word\u2019s origins are found in manu factus<\/em>, Latin for \u201cmade by hand,\u201d and the new show at the Zack Gallery, Manufacture: From the Hand, takes visitors back to these roots.<\/p>\n

The show presents beautiful handmade jewelry and wall hangings by 33 artists and craftspeople, members of the Vancouver Metal Arts Association (VMAA). Crafts are not a regular sight at the Zack, but gallery director Linda Lando explained, \u201cThe Vancouver Metal Arts Association has been welcomed to the Zack Gallery, as they … approach metal in a unique way. They use metal as one would use paint and canvas, so their creations bridge the gap between art and craft.\u201d<\/p>\n

The exhibition is eclectic in both imagery and materials, with each piece reflecting its creator\u2019s personality. The entire show emphasizes the participants\u2019 diversity in cultural backgrounds and artistic interests. The only common factor is metal \u2013 gold, silver, copper, brass and others \u2013 as the basis for their art.<\/p>\n

The Independent<\/em> talked to several of the featured artists. One of them, Julie Kemble, is a recently retired communications teacher from a local university, although she always enjoyed various artistic hobbies. \u201cI started working with metal around year 2000,\u201d she said. \u201cI used to work with fibres. I guess I love body adornment, so it was a natural transition for me from fabrics to jewelry. They both adorn the body.\u201d A Kemble sculpture could be used as a desk decoration or worn as a pendant. In both incarnations, they are charming.<\/p>\n

Robin Adams has been a jeweler for more than 20 years. \u201cI owned a jewelry shop before,\u201d said the professional craftsman. \u201cI sold my own jewelry there, but for a shop, you produce several copies of the same pieces. Now, everything I make is one of a kind. I\u2019m an artist.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another jeweler in the show, Jana Kucera, currently manages a pub. \u201cArt, making jewelry, is a hobby for me, but I hope it could become more,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019ve always been an artist at heart. I graduated from the VCC [Vancouver Community College] Jewelry Art and Design program in 2005 and I enjoy making jewelry. I sell through shows like this one.\u201d Her original copper necklaces are delightfully graceful.<\/p>\n

\"photo<\/a>
One gallery wall is dedicated to Dana Reed\u2019s series of hanging disks, which combine copper etching, enamel and photography. (photo by Olga Livshin)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The exhibition showcases not only jewelry but other metal art, as well. One full gallery wall is dedicated to Dana Reed\u2019s series of hanging disks. Each about the size of a hand, the disks combine copper etching, enamel and photography.<\/p>\n

Reed has been working with metal for a few years. \u201cMy day job is in administration and tech support,\u201d she said, but \u201cI\u2019ve always made stuff; my whole family made beautiful things.\u201d Her brother is a metalworker, too, and although Reed doesn\u2019t have a formal artistic education, she has been taking classes in different artistic media. \u201cI find metal to be pleasing to work with. It stays in place,\u201d she joked before turning serious. \u201cI can achieve precision with metal, while enamel allows more of a free-fashion imagery.\u201d<\/p>\n

Among the other wall pieces in the show is a selection of life-sized garden tools, made of Damascene by Karin Jones \u2013 a decidedly unexpected item \u2013 and a small but picturesque installation called \u201cChanging Values,\u201d made of pennies by Peggy Logan.<\/p>\n

Logan has been a professional artist for 30 years. Currently, she is teaching jewelry art at Langara. \u201cI started collecting old pennies when they went out of circulation,\u201d she said. \u201cBefore 1993, all pennies were made of copper, and I used them for this piece.\u201d The pennies, strung together and covered with multicolored enamel, glint on the wall, defying the government\u2019s decision to stop producing them.<\/p>\n

Another professional artist in the show is Jan Smith, VMAA founder and past president. Her elegant enamel and silver jewelry is represented by galleries in Montreal, San Francisco and Seattle.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been an artist for over 20 years,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s not easy to make a living as an artist, especially not here in B.C. I\u2019ve often had to supplement my income by teaching art or working as an art therapist. I\u2019m a member of the International Enamel Association. It\u2019s a small world and we all know and talk to each other. I must tell you that other countries support their artists much better than Canada. Britain, even America, offers better conditions to artists. Their art donations are larger. I\u2019d love to have my art better known here but, so far, collectors in the U.S. know my art better. Even the East Coast is better for artists; I have representation in Montreal but not here. Maybe it is because Vancouver is such a young city.\u201d<\/p>\n

Three years ago, Smith founded VMAA to improve the situation. Current VMAA president Louise Perrone told the Independent <\/em>a little more about the association. \u201cThe VMAA was founded by Jan Smith in 2012. Before moving to Salt Spring Island, she lived in Seattle, where there is a thriving metal arts guild. Jan felt Vancouver needed something similar. Unlike Seattle, there are no specific jewelry galleries and no jewelry and metal BFA programs. There is no community of artistic jewelry collectors in Vancouver supporting us either. That is why we started VMAA \u2013 to give art jewelry a platform and educate the public, to build a community of jewelry and metal artists.\u201d<\/p>\n

Manufacture: From the Hand opened on June 25 and will continue until July 26. To see a selection of the jewelry on display, visit jccgv.com\/content\/metalart<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Olga Livshin<\/strong> is a Vancouver freelance writer. She can be reached at olgagodim@gmail.com<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Left to right are artists Robin Adams, Jan Smith and Julie Kemble. (photo by Olga Livshin) In common perception, the word \u201cmanufacture\u201d is associated with industrial production and machinery, but it wasn\u2019t always so. The word\u2019s origins are found in manu factus, Latin for \u201cmade by hand,\u201d and the new show at the Zack Gallery, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":13502,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[989],"tags":[4110,4105,4106,39,4104,4108,4107,4109,4103,40],"class_list":["post-13525","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-visual-arts","tag-dana-reed","tag-jan-smith","tag-jana-kucera","tag-linda-lando","tag-louise-perrone","tag-peggy-logan","tag-robin-adams","tag-vancouver-metal-arts-association","tag-vmaa","tag-zack-gallery"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13525","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13525"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13525\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13502"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13525"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13525"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13525"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}