GZ Art+Design 2003 Spots

The Secret of Hammering Gold

Traditional crafts can disappear more quickly than one might think. To keep traditional gold hammering from sliding into obscurity; that is the aim of the Leipzig-based goldsmith Thomas Garcia. For over 10 years now, he has sold Eduard Fidel's collection of hand-hammered gold jewelry, "object line," alongside and as a complement to his own jewelry collections. Fidel first admired this age-old craft in the work of the American Jewelry artist Michael Good, later learning it himself and finally perfecting it through long years of developing ever newer methods. When age compelled Fidel to set aside his work, he found in the young Thomas Garcia not only a supporter fascinated by the art, but also an apt pupil and an eager successor. Since time immemorial fascinated by the masterly lines created by the interplay between the brightly gleaming and silken matte surfaces common to beaten jewelry, Garcia will now carry on and further develop Eduard Fidel's work and the art of hammering itself. www.garcia-gold.de • cete

Special Activities at Le Arti Orafe, Florence

Every year the "Le Arti Orafe Jewellery School" in Florence - also the only private training institute accredited by the Educational Authority for training courses in the jewelry sector offers various special activities. This year, the goldsmith and jewelry artist Giovanni Corvaja, born in 1971 in Padua, was persuaded to give a granulation course. In the two sections of the course (Nov. 3—8 and 10—13, 2003), participants will receive an overview of the principles of granulation and gradually learn the technique themselves, so that at the end of the course, each of them will be able to create and complete his or her own piece of jewelry. With approximately 80 students per year from all over the world, the school has been an important landmark on the international jewelry scene for over 20 years. Its initiatives are designed to promote new varieties of artistic craftsmanship, which start from the craft tradition and evolve in line with the trends and research of contemporary design. More information regarding courses of study or the granulation course held by Giovanni Corvaja is available at www.artiorafe.it • cete

Crystal Fabric

With his new material "Crystal Fabric," Swarovski, a worldwide leader in production of cut crystal, now melds fabric and crystal to create a second skin. Vivienne Westwood, one of the most creative designers internationally, found inspiration for new, fascinating creations for the debut of the extremely light material, which may be used across its whole surface or partly. The new foil, which stands at the crossroads between jewelry and textiles, has tiny cut crystals sewn all over its surface and can be ironed, sewn, or glued to materials such as lace, silk, denim, leather, or synthetics, thus offering a multitude of creative possibilities. Information: www.swarovski.com • kph

Lotus Earrings or Cat Vases

Now, seekers of individual pieces can search from home, round the clock. The Bundesverband Kunsthandwerk (Federal Association for Art san Crafts, or BK for short), a Germany wide umbrella organization for current artisans, designers, and applied artists, is offering as of now an online shop with individual and exclusive unique pieces and products from small series out of the realm of artisan crafts. All the prices listed there include shipping and handling costs. If you still don't find what you are looking for, you can naturally also surf to the websites of a large number of other makers' workshops and galleries. Alongside the online shop, the BK's website lists the addresses of around 1,500 artisans, artists, and designers throughout Germany. Information. www.bundesverband-kunsthandwerk.de/shop • kph

Casting System breaks the Mold

German company T -Research Gbr has introduced a new centrifugal casting device designed to make casting more efficient and versatile. The new device is for flame melting and can cast silver, gold, platinum and all other metals or alloys that are suitable for casting under atmospheric conditions. Up to 250 grams of gold can be cast in one cycle within its compact frame, which measures just 6.6 inches in diameter and 10 inches in height. In contrast to conventional centrifugal devices, the mold of the Ti- Research device does not rotate at the end of a revolving arm - by a force called the "broken arm principle" - along its own axis. The sprueing is done radially onto a wax disk to most effectively fill the mold during casting, which cuts metal waste by about 50 percent over traditional casting tree methods. www.ti-research.com • kph

Gemstones on the Net

A flaming heart made of stone, a wax bowl full of tears, and the sawed-off antlers of a once-proud buck make up the opening sequence of the new Internet presence of the Department of Gemstone and Jewelry Design of the University of Applied Sciences of ldar-Oberstein. The three unusual design objects, all by young creators, are proof of a new self-awareness at the school - much like the home page itself, which was programmed by students with the motto "creativity as universal power'" They were supervised by the professors Dr. Ulrich Kern and Theo Smeets, for whom the "learning of complimentary skills" is also part of educating jewelry designers. With this project, the two instructors aimed to give the marketing efforts of up-and-coming jewelry designers some professional polish, using examples from their own subject area. The criteria for the home page included clarity at a glance, simplicity of navigation, and illustrated information. The project is structured such that future generations of students at Idar- Oberstein will always continue to develop and update the home page Especially works by students should also receive more space and greater significance. www.fh-trier.de/fb/io • cete

Couture Trophy

On the occasion of this year's "Couture Jewelry Collection & Conference" in Phoenix, Arizona, Schoeffel was awarded the prize for best design for the second year in a row. The Couture Design Prize rewards innovative jewelry design in the categories of gold, platinum, diamonds, pearls, and colored stones, as well as bridal jewelry and haute couture jewels. The necklace "Guirlande," from the new collection, earned a prize this year. In this piece, naturally colored cultured pearls of immaculate beauty are surrounded by fine tendrils set with brilliant-cut diamonds. Information: www.schoeffel-pearl.com • kph

Metaring Project

The same process used by the Degree Zero Team, made up of the architects and designers Philipp Mohr, of Pforzheim; Elena Fernandez, of Madrid; and David Serero, of Paris, to conceive and create architectural models may be used at one and the same time for furnishings and for jewelry. The most far-reaching project that has been initiated lo date is Metaring. A jewelry collection that was designed by a computer and produced with machines in the Rapid Proto Type process. The special thing about it: the consumer is not subject to the dictates of the designer, but can manipulate the jewelry by inputting data according to his or her own wishes. This leads to an infinite series of various objects, each of them selected and produced according to taste. But that is the final goal. At this time, selected pieces from the wide variety of imaginable models may be produced in any size desired and in unusual materials such as magnesium and palladium. By means of the Internet, the process is meant to be available to any participant in any place in the world. Produced at a small factory that is closest to each client. Meta Ring jewelry pieces are currently produced for the American market in New York and for Europe in Dresden and Pforzheim. Information: www.metaring.com • kph

See, Feel, Hear: Porcelain at One's Neck

The new porcelain jewelry by Niessing is a first-class tactile experience Large and gray, the individual elements are strung together to make complete necklaces that slip into ever newer formations when worn. At the same time, each individual tube, the designs for all of which come from the creative pen of the Belgian designer Piet Stockman, is unpretentious and strikingly simple. When strung together, however, the result is an opulent necklace striking not only for its unusual size and (lack of) color, but also for the soft sounds it makes, which make both the viewer and the wearer prick up their ears. Despite the fragility of the material itself, the jewelry piece is surprisingly sturdy. The powdery, rough feel of the surface also calls to mind heavier materials. www.niessing.com • cete

Jewelry and Lyric Poetry

For some years now, the jewelry designer Petra Georg-Achenbach has been designing her jewelry pieces after poems by the Walldorf-based lyric poet Renate Odenkirchen- Büchner. The creations are entitled "Thoughts of Fall," "A Home for Two," and "Late Summer." Various materials and forms are a ways brought together. During her travels in France and Switzerland, Petra Georg-Achenbach collects various stones from natural settings, and then uses them to create jewelry pieces at her studio near Siegen, in Westphalia. The lyric poet Renate Odenkirchen-Büchner also takes up the theme of experiencing nature, both that of feelings and passions, and that of the human species. It is the desire of both artists that people enter into a dialogue with their work and learn more about themselves through the process. Kph

Making Intentions for Jewelry Design Transparent

The broad spectrum of widely varied jewelry developments is enormous. Nonetheless, the number of people interested in individual design is relatively small. Often, it is criteria for judgement that are lacking. The Pforzheim, based jewelry designer Piet van den Boom has found an entirely personal answer "Show the individual artistic background that stands for the idea of the jewelry." When viewers are presented with the connection between development and results, their respect for the product grows, and with it the product's desirability. This perspective led to a current series of pictures of van den Boom's work. Kph

Jewelry by Emporio Armani

At the Basel trade fair, jewelry pieces by Emporio Armani were presented for the first time. Giorgio Armani, who developed the difficult concept "Less is more" into his ideal rules and way of life, has combined this basic maxim with the experience of light and movement. Large and small jewelry pieces, striking design in silver and gold, the natural qualities of wood, and the stones' own luminosity are combined here. Archaic seeming forms give the rings a particular intensity. While the earrings are a sign, a distinguishing feature that emphasizes the facial features with the slight movement of the light. Armani the minimalist, Armani the essential, who answers the quest on of how he came to the idea of jewelry. "In an almost physiological way. I began with clothing, and then gradually widened my interest to shoes, bags, belts, the entire morphology of the human body. I slowly came closer to jewelry as light and decor and first made an exclusive series of art objects for the boutiques." * kph

I.H.M. 2004 Shines with Jewels

The Munich Internationale Handwerksmesse (International Craft Trade Fair, I.H.M.) 2004 (03/04 - 10/2004) is traditionally a piece that is closely watched internationally in order to discover new trends and different conceptual directions in jewelrymaking. This skill is built by an additional exhibitors' group (jewels of origin). The twenty selected designers share the drive to connect artisan and artistic quality in their wearable art. High-value small series and individual, well-designed pieces made of classically precious metals and/or experimental materials are shown. An important aspect of their work lent the group its name: the criterion of originality. Most of the exhibitors are members of the Society for the Art of Goldwork, which has its own presentation as well. Its business director, Dr. Christianne Weber-Stöber, offers a special advising service: people who inherit jewelry often do not know about the history, origin, and context of their works in gold, and thus can hardly assess the artistic value of an item. Weber-Stöber, an art historian, is prepared to make a binding statement regarding the pieces presented to her. This is of particular interest because the jewelry avant-garde broke new ground as early as the 1920s in presenting works whose value lay not in the material they were made of, but in their artistic quality and originality. Information: www.ghm.de * kph

Jewelry and Sculpture from the Far North

"A chain is only as strong as its weakest ink": this philosophical motto epitomizes the jewelry design of the Norwegian artist Tone Vigeland. The recently published monograph "Tone Vigeland - Jewellery + Sculpture, Movements in Silver," offers an overview of the nearly fifty years of creation by the artist from the far North, ranging from her commitment to the artists' cooperative Plus, with its orientation toward industrial product design, to the impressive sculptures of the past few years. Typical of the sculptor are her love of precision in her craft, the steel-gray-to-black palette of the materials she uses, and the clear echoes of the Norwegian Viking tradition. Most recently, Tone Vigeland has added jewelry sculptures and large-format objects to her oeuvre. In them, she combines stone and lead into a single exciting un t that symbolizes the interweaving of nature and culture. * cete

New Polishers

The new "Starlight" polishers from the German company Busch & Co. KG give a high sheen to platinum and gold, paving the way for new, innovative shaping options for designers, goldsmiths, and jewelers alike. Thanks to the four differently shaped tools, the new polishers achieve a remarkable, straightforward high-lustre finish on surfaces and edges as well as on raised areas and depressions and enable creative jewelers to bring their shaping ideas to the design stage. Additional information is available upon request from the manufacturer. * cefe

Display Dreams in Acrylic Glass

Thanks to a new kind of technology, colored LED diodes set in a slender aluminum socket are now being used by Kling, Birkenfeld as a light source instead of neon tubes. One advantage of diodes is their longer life span and lower energy costs. The light from the LEDs is directed to the engraved lettering within the acrylic plate. There, the spectrum is divided, creating light effects that are visible even in window lighting and daylight. Thanks to the most modern CNC milling machines, the imagination is allowed free rein in the design of the acrylic glass surface. Information: www.kling.de * kph

Tarnish Protection for Silver

Plasmaprotect is the name of the new, patented procedure to protect silver from tarnish. It was developed in collaboration with the Fraunhofer Institut fur angewandte Materialforschung (Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Materials Research, IFAM) in Bremen. Plasmaprotect is a dry chemical procedure. It creates an invisible layer of protection so thin that a speck of dust appears enormous in comparison. The glass-like layer is gentle to skin and foods and resistant to cutaneous oils and cleaning products. It can be removed easily and without a trace for repairs. Naturally, mechanical stresses can also damage this layer. But the procedure protects silver jewelry especially well on the way to the end customer, while it is being transported, stored, and presented. One comparison makes this clear: 3 days in a climate-controlled chamber simulate at least 3 months of normal atmosphere. Laboratory tests were conducted by Professor Böhm of the Technologischen Institut at the FH (University of Applied Sciences) of Pforzheim. The results show a clear distinction between jewelry with Plasmaprotect and other coated jewelry pieces. Says Böhm, "This newly developed plasma polymer procedure means a marked improvement in contrast to all the known procedures for tarnish protection." Information: www.heimerle-meule.com * kph

The Cellini Project

Devised by Le Arti Orafe and financed by the European Community, the initiative has given rise to the first international comprehensive dictionary of goldsmithing terms. The online interactive dictionary also available on CD-ROM and in book form, presented to the press in June 2001, is the outcome of the Cellini Project financed by the European Community. The project has been coordinated by Le Arti Orafe and developed in collaboration with nine other European schools. The idea was devised by Gio Carbone, head of the school, who during meetings of the P.L.E-European Parliament of Art Schools for Jewellery and Crafts, the organization that unites the various European goldsmithing schools, found that they were faced with serious communication problems and realized the need for a practical linguistic instrument that was both easy to consult and had an acceptable scientific value. Soon it will be possible to consult the dictionary, which includes a bibliography of over 500 publications, at www.cellinidictionarv.net * kph

An Unmistakable Duo

Each of the designers Tanja Zessel and Bianca Kazor-Eberlein, of Memmingen, has a signature all her own. Unfortunately, a technical error at Art + Design led to an incorrect attribution of the pictures shown. For that reason, we are once again running photos of pieces by the two designers, this time attributed correctly. * kph