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AJF NEWSLETTER
OCTOBER
2010
The October AJF newsletter includes Rock Hushka's fascinating talk on the psychology of making and wearing contemporary jewelry. Hushka is a Curator of Northwest and Contemporary Art at the Tacoma Art Museum in Washington State. The talk was first presented as an AJF sponsored lecture at SOFA New York earlier this year. If you were not able to see it there, check it out in this month's newsletter. We also have Belinda Hager's report from The Association for Contemporary Jewellery  (ACJ) conference held in the United Kingdom at the end of July. AJF Board member Ron Porter writes a review of the exhibition catalog, GlassWear: Glass in Contemporary Jewelry. Ron also provides a report from the recent Penland Auction where some terrific jewelry was sold to benefit the Jewelry and Metals Studio. And lastly, we continue with our survey of recent jewelry graduates with work from schools in the United States, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. It has been a strong year for new talent.  Take a look.
 
Wear something good today.
Mike Holmes
A LETTER FROM THE AJF BOARD CHAIR
 
Greetings!
 
Following last month's announcement that AJF received a $50,000 grant towards the publishing of a book on Contemporary Jewelry we are again delighted to announce that the Rotasa Foundation has also granted $25,000 towards this project. Five international writers - Kevin Murray, Monica Gaspar, Benjamin Lignel, Namita Wiggers and Damian Skinner - have agreed to participate in writing texts for the book. Damian, who is the editor of AJF, will also be the editor of the book. We will keep you posted on the progress of the book as it happens but we plan to bring all these writers together at the SNAG conference in Seattle in May 2011. If you attend the conference you will have a chance to meet them for yourself.
 
SOFA Chicago is taking place on 5 - 7 November this year. As a member of AJF you are entitled to a VIP pass which grants you access to opening night, a complimentary catalog, every day attendance and admission to the VIP Lounge. Sign up at www.sofaexpo.com/ajfvip/. You will also find special side events listed at www.sofaexpo.com/salon/ and lectures of all sorts at www.sofaexpo.com/chicago/2010/lectures.htm. On Friday at 2 pm in room 327, Susan Kempin and I will give a talk entitled 'And Viewers Like You', which will explore the role of the collector, curator and writer to the object and maker and the way that AJF promotes viewing, buying, wearing and displaying contemporary jewelry. Susan and I will also be stationed at a booth for AJF in the part of the fair reserved for non-profits. Please stop by and say hello. We will have a special treat for you if you do.
 
Agnes Larsson the AJF Emerging Artists winner will be at SOFA for a brief talk following our lecture on Friday. Her work will be displayed at Ornamentum Gallery on the floor of the show.
 
On Sunday the Friends of Fiber Arts is organizing a trip to the Racine Museum of Art and all AJF members are invited to go as well. The museum is featuring the exhibition of Bruce Metcalf's work called The Miniature World of Bruce Metcalf and if you haven't seen the show yet this is your last chance. Please contact Karen Ziemba at karenziemba@hotmail.com for more specifics and to sign up for the trip. There may be a limit to the number of participants so be in touch now.
 
I hope to see some of you in Chicago.
 
Susan Cummins
AJF Chair
JUST PUBLISHED ON OUR WEBSITE 
 
Brennand WoodHolding Objects: The psychoanalytic mechanisms of wearing jewelry
Rock Hushka
This essay was developed from the lecture 'Holding Objects: What It Means to Wear Jewelry: The Psychoanalytic Mechanisms' presented at the Facets of Meaning symposium at Tacoma Art Museum, to commemorate the opening of the exhibitions ...  Click to read more
Brennand WoodAt the Crossroads of Trends and Traditions: Emerging American Jewelry Artists Today
by Cindi Strauss
A talk delivered at the Going to Extremes SNAG 2010 conference in Houston, Texas, on 13 March 2010.
 Click  to read.
Glass JewelryALL THAT GLISTERS
by Ron Porter 
The catalogue for GlassWear: Glass in Contemporary Jewelry accomplishes what all exhibition catalogues should. It makes one want to see the exhibition, increases understanding of the subject and supports the intent of the curator. In addition it broadens the reader's knowledge of the subject and provokes further interest and discussion. Click  to read more.
Penland AuctionBLUE RIDGE BIJOUX
by Ron Porter
Over six hundred people descended on the Penland School of Crafts last weekend for the Twenty-fifth Annual Benefit Auction. Nestled in a bucolic setting at the Blue Ridge foothills, North Carolina, United States, Penland has been training artists in all media for many decades. Click  to read more
Brennand WoodTHE CONFERENCE ZONE
by  Belinda Hager
The Association for Contemporary Jewellery (ACJ) is, in its own words, 'devoted to the promotion, representation, understanding and development of contemporary jewellery in the United Kingdom and abroad. The association was founded in 1997. This year ACJ held their fifth conference... Click to read more.
LINKS TO OUR MANY NEW BLOG POSTS
AJF is very pleased to bring you the fourth in a series of posts showcasing the work of graduate contemporary jewelry students from leading schools around the world.

Aimee RietherSCHOOL'S OUT X
In the Metals/Jewelry program at Tyler School of Art, established in 1962 by Area Head Stanley Lechtzin, students learn to design jewelry and objects of great beauty and utility using state-of-the-art tools and materials, and they learn how to make a living doing it.  Click to read more.
 

Holly Wilcox DuncanSCHOOL'S OUT XI
AJF is very pleased to bring you the eleventh in a series of posts showcasing the work of graduate contemporary jewelry students from leading schools around the world. Our eleventh entry in the AJF honor roll for 2010 is Whitireia New Zealand, located in Porirua, New Zealand.  Click to read more.
 

Yu-Ping LinSCHOOL'S OUT XII
MA Jewellery, Silversmithing and Related Product is the overall title of the course at Birmingham City University, which the designer-makers featured in this catalog have successfully completed.  Click to read more. 
 
 

Alissa LamarreSCHOOL'S OUT XIII
The Metals/Jewelry program in the Frostic School of Art at Western Michigan University provides the undergraduate art student an exploration of materials and technical processes necessary to produce jewelry and other forms of adornment, functional objects, or larger sculptural works in metal. Click to read more.
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