 A LETTER FROM THE AJF BOARD
Welcome to 2010 from the AJF board!
In January the board had a retreat in California and we adopted some big goals this year. After reviewing our activities of the past few years, we have made the decision to become an international organization. This means we will be broadening our focus beyond America, and connecting with the very best of contemporary jewelry from around the world. We are going to be increasing our web presence with a more active blog, keeping up to date with events, information, gossip and informed commentary about what's going on in the field. And we will be working more strategically with our grant schemes for emerging jewelers and institutions, as well as introducing a new grant for critical writing about contemporary jewelry, making sure these important activities of AJF reach a wide audience.
Another one of our goals for 2010 is to grow the number of our members to above 150. We are at 112 right now. The increase will financially support our existing programs and our aspirations for AJF, as well as making sure our activities have an impact in the contemporary jewelry world. We believe these changes will make AJF an even more valuable resource for all our members, as well as continuing to support the field we all care about.
The AJF board has grown to include Mike Holmes, a partner in Velvet Da Vinci Gallery located in San Francisco, Ron Porter, a vocal and active collector of contemporary jewelry, and Sienna Patti, the energetic gallerist from Lenox, Massachusetts. In addition we have asked Damian Skinner, an art historian from New Zealand to edit our website blog and newsletter, and we are going to hire a part time assistant to help with the financial chores and membership data that Sally von Bargen has been handling for the past couple of years.
And finally we have had to say good-bye to Trish Rodimer who left the board at the beginning of the year. She served for many years as the chair of the board and then became an invaluable board member at large for the past three years. Thanks so much Trish for all your years of service.
Susan Cummins
Chair, AJF Board
PHOTO
The AJF board hard at work at the retreat on January 11, 2010, in San Francisco. From left to right: Sally von Bargen, Mike Holmes, Trish Rodimer (standing), Susan Cummins (standing) and Susan Kempin |
 SO YOU WANNA GIVE SOMETHING AWAY?
Individuals have as many reasons to buy and/or collect objects as there are objects available. Jewelry is one of the more personal passions in collecting due to its connection to our bodies. Click to continue reading online. |
 AJF INTERVIEWS BRUCE PEPICH
We invited Rachel Carren to interview Bruce Pepich who has bee the director of the Racine Art Museum for more than thirty years. Pepich is an ardent supporter of craft as well as the artists who create it. Click here to read Rachel's interview. |
 BOOK REVIEW: Werkverzeichnis: Catalog Raisonné - Gerd Rothmann
by Jennifer Cross Gans
It's not often you see an art book whose text is more interesting than the photographs. But such is the case with this retrospective catalog of the work of Gerd Rothmann. Click here to read the review.
|
 EXHIBITION REVIEW: Finnish Jewellery 1600-2009by Damian Skinner
It's clear from the title of this exhibition that it has large ambitions, stretching from the Renaissance to the present day. As the introductory wall text puts it, 'Over the centuries, Finnish craftsmen were able to learn... Click to continue. |
