STUDIO SALE

I'm having a studio sale on Sat 21st November from 11am - 1pm. I'm selling lots of odds & ends namely jewellery (resin & silver), beads, moulds, jewellery & design mags, 2 jewellers benches, bar fridge & more...so if this sounds like something you might like to check out email me for directions to the studio... 

AND NO...I am not giving up jewellery...I am not sure that I could ever do that...just making a few changes...

Mags from $2

glass bead strands from $5 a strand

resin bangles from $15

jewellery from $30

have 2 workbenches like this one includes a lamp for $250 neg 

(pick up only)

HEAVEN SCENT

You might notice that I take a lot of photographs of native and exotic plants. Well mostly all that I have posted on my blog are taken from where I live...and now "heaven scent" is up for sale...so if you are thinking of a lifestyle change then check out here ...its all about the property. 

Change can happen so quickly in our lives...sometimes for the good, sometimes for the bad...but mostly to just shake things up a bit...and I'm ready for a bit of shakin'

A little something I wrote for my wonderful mama...

She takes her by the arm, leading her toward the back door,

It was time again for their ritual walk, come rain, hail or shine,

It was a walk she became fond of from the beginning.

The sun was high in the sky, a lovely breeze, a perfect day.

She always seemed to notice something different;

A new seed pod, a seedling struggling to be noticed by the sun, the glorious smell of the lavender.

As they head back to the house, she always seems to be clutching something in her hands,

A precious find, more inspiration...

One last chance

Photographs - me

Song Lyrics - James Morrison

One Last Chance

In my life I don't mean much to anyone
I've lost my way can't go back anymore
Once I had everything now it's gone
Don't tell me again coz I've heard it all before

Some people say that I'm not worth it
I've made mistakes but nobody's perfect
Guess I'll give it a try

I've got one last chance to get myself together
I can't lose no more time it's now or never and I try to remember who I used to be
I've got one more chance to get myself together

The time has come for me to change again
I can't carry on like this, I will lose my friends - don't say that you have given up on me
Just give me the time and space to heal my head

I don't wanna be misunderstood
I've got to take this chance and make it into something good

FRAKTUR...FOLK ART...FINDING TIME TO GET BACK ON TRACK...

As you well may know, I come from German stock...& maybe cause it is in my blood, I gravitate towards German artists & crafts people for inspiration. When I was a child I remember my mother spending a lot of time painting on small wooden boxes my uncle sent from Germany...folk art flowers, love hearts..things to remind her of home...the following paintings are decorative works of art that incorporate "fraktur" which means broken letters. European artists would take a mechanically or hand printed piece & add hand drawn decoration. Many Pennsylvania Germans used this method to record important life events. From birth certificates, marriage certificates, religious text, etc. What appeals to me about these works is that they are not only decorative naive drawings, but links to the past. 

Birth and baptismal certificate for Catharina Hohwerther. Christian Beschler. Northumberland County, Pa., dated 1814. Hand-drawn, lettered, and colored on laid paper. H. 13-1/4, W. 16-1/2 in. Private collection. Text in translation reads, "Catharina Hohwerther was born the 30th of December, in the year of the Lord 1813, and was baptized by Pastor Hempton [Hemping] the 9th of January, 1814. The sponsors were the esteemed Mister Adam Hohwerther and his much loved house wife Catharina. The parent's names are the same. The esteemed mister Peter Hohwerther and his wife Elisabetha, nee Diehl. Made by CB 1814." Text in heart Reads: "All your life keep God before your eyes and in your heart." Catharina Hohwerther lived on a 130-acre farm near Howerter's Church in Upper Mahanoy Township with her parents, Johann Peter Hohwerther (1772-1862) and Elisabeth (1778-1860).14 Her parents and grandparents are buried in the cemetery at Howerter's Church.

Birth and baptismal certificate for Johannes Kreniger, Christian Beschler. Northumberland County, Pa., dated 1798. Hand-drawn, lettered, and colored on laid paper. H. 13, W. 16-1/2 inches Winterthur Museum. Text in translation reads: "Johannes was born the 26th of June 1798 in the year of Christ and baptized by Pastor Moeller. The sponsors were Wilhelm Heim and his wife Barbara and the parents were Heinrich Kreniger and his wife Anna Maria." Johannes Kreniger was baptized at Himmel's church on August 12, 1798.

"George Washington"

Drawing done by Pennsylvania German artists in a style reminiscent of medieval illuminated manuscript art. The painter who created this portrait of Washington is not known by name; art historians refer to him as the "Washington-Sussel Artist" because his work was first studied by a collector of that name.

some images & information from here

Thats all for now

Sea take this feeling from me,

Let it float out beneath your bluest depths.

Sun replenish me with your rays; fill me with your warmth,

Let it flow through me, to the tips of my fingers and toes.

Breeze let me breathe you in and when I exhale, release all that holds me back.

Earth keep me steady and balanced,

Give me your strength to stay grounded.

Mother earth I call on you...

- Sylvia Nevistic October 2009

A pendant for Suzie & a poem from Sara

A recent commission I finished off the other day...was given the stones & asked to make something...so I made this...9ct gold, diamonds, emerald, citrine & tourmalines (apologies for the bad photograph)...

I Would Live in Your Love

I would live in your love as the sea-grasses live in the sea,
Borne up by each wave as it passes, 
drawn down by each wave that recedes;
I would empty my soul of the dreams that have gathered in me,
I would beat with your heart as it beats,
I would follow your soul as it leads.

- Sara Teasdale

NILS UDO - MY ADDICTION

I have posted some of Nils' work before. 

Heres some more...can't help myself...

MORE BLOSSFELDT

MAN RAY

Karl Blossfeldt

A sculptor & art teacher by profession, Karl Blossfeldt is best known for his beautiful photographs of plants forms. Originally, the photographs were intended to be used as teaching aids and sculpturing, but became popular when a a selection of his photographs were published in the book Urformen der Kunst (Archetypes of Art) in 1928. The book created a sensation in the photographic world & Blossfeldt was rushed to the fore in the German post World War I movement to abandon the soft focus, impressionistic style in favor of a direct lighting & sharp focus approach. He passed away in the year of 1932 at the age of 67, in that year he published a second book of plant photographs.

Birdy Birdy Birdy

A Minor Bird

I have wished a bird would fly away,
And not sing by my house all day;

Have clapped my hands at him from the door
When it seemed as if I could bear no more.

The fault must partly have been in me.
The bird was not to blame for his key.

And of course there must be something wrong
In wanting to silence any song

- Robert Frost

some self promotion

Some butterfly brooches made of sterling silver & resin 

There's more where that came from here... take a look & stay tuned for more changes to my website...if you are from the rat (Ballarat that is) or surrounds & are interested in giving resin jewellery making a go, drop me a line...there's a new class starting in October...visit the classes blog to see what we get up to in the class...

workin'

She reaches for her hammer, her trusted friend since she began this other life. This life which sustains her, keeps her heart beating. 

Intuitively she begins to strike the metal. Each rhythmic tap follows another until she is ready to soften it once more, to gently coerce it back to a point where she starts all over again. There are no distractions, this practice is meditative. There is only a dialogue between each hammer blow and the piece she works on. The pungent smell of metal, her weathered and blackened hands, her tools that sit on her bench, no glamour, just a sense of who she is, her lifeblood.

- Sylvia Nevistic September 2009

Salvador Dali

Study of the jewels - pencil & gouache on cardboard

1949

The eye of time - Platinum, ruby & diamonds 

1949

The royal heart, gold, rubies, sapphires, emeralds, aquamarines, peridots, garnets, amethysts, diamonds & pearl

1953

A prayer in Spring - well nearly

A prayer in Spring

OH, give us pleasure in the flowers today;
And give us not to think so far away
As the uncertain harvest; keep us here
All simply in the springing of the year.

Oh, give us pleasure in the orchard white,
Like nothing else by day, like ghosts by night;
And make us happy in the happy bees,
The swarm dilating round the perfect trees.

And make us happy in the darting bird
That suddenly above the bees is heard,
The meteor that thrusts in with needle bill,
And off a blossom in mid air stands still.

For this is love and nothing else is love,
To which it is reserved for God above
To sanctify to what far ends he will,
But which it only needs that we fulfill.

- Robert Frost

Surprise Ball

made by Gina Namkung via this blog 

A slit in the sky sealed with stones of five different colours

image from here

THE COLOUR WHEEL

tinyhaus 

myruby

swatch

green

its winter...pretty dull outside..am in need of some green

green

THE IVY GREEN

A dainty plant is the Ivy green,

That creepeth o'er ruins old! 




Of right choice food are his meals,

I ween, In his cell so lone and cold. 




The wall must be crumbled, the stone decayed,

To pleasure his dainty whim: 




And the mouldering dust that years have made

Is a merry meal for him.

Creeping where no life is seen, 


A rare old plant is the Ivy green.

Fast he stealeth on, though he wears no wings,

And a staunch old heart has he.

How closely he twineth, how tight he clings

To his friend the huge Oak Tree!

And slyly he traileth along the ground,

And his leaves he gently waves, 




As he joyously hugs and crawleth round

The rich mould of dead men's graves.

Creeping where grim death hath been, 


A rare old plant is the Ivy green. 




  


Whole ages have fled and their works decayed,

And nations have scattered been; 




But the stout old Ivy shall never fade,

From its hale and hearty green. 




The brave old plant, in its lonely days,

Shall fatten upon the past: 




For the stateliest building man can raise

Is the Ivy's food at last.

Creeping on where time has been,

A rare old plant is the Ivy green.

- Charles Dickens (1812-1870)

To a poet a thousand years hence

To a Poet a thousand years hence

I who am dead a thousand years,

And wrote this sweet archaic song,

Send you my words for messengers

The way I shall not pass along.

I care not if you bridge the seas,

Or ride secure the cruel sky,

Or build consummate palaces

Of metal or of masonry.

But have you wine the music still,

And statues and a bright-eyed love,

And foolish thoughts of good and ill,

And prayers to them who sit above?

How shall we conquer? Like a wind

That falls at eve our fancies blow,

And old Moeonides the blind

Said it three thousand years ago.

O friend unseen, unborn, unknown,

Student of our sweet English tongue,

Read out my words at night, alone:

I was a poet, I was young.

Since I can never see your face,

And never shake you by the hand,

I send my soul through time and space

To greet you. You will understand.

- James Elroy Flecker

Tree - Sylvia Nevistic

Tree - Myoung Jo Lee

Myoung Ho Lee an artist from South Korea "makes us look at a tree in its natural surroundings, but separates the tree artificially from nature by presenting it on an immense white background". images from here

A winters afternoon at home

Loves Philosophy

Photographs taken by Ansel Adams

Loves Philosophy

The fountains mingle with the river

And the rivers with the ocean,

The winds of heaven mix for ever

With a sweet emotion;

Nothing in the world is single,

All things by a law divine

In one another's being mingle -

Why not I with thine?

See the mountains kiss high heaven,

And the waves clasp one another;

No sister flower would be forgiven

If it disdain'd its brother;

And the sunlight clasps the earth,

And the moonbeams kiss the sea;

What are all these kissings worth,

If thou kiss not me?

- Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792 - 1822)

Julia Fullerton-Batten

I have been checking out many photography sites lately...came across the work of Julia Fullerton-Batten...a German born photographer...this work Teenage Stories...inspired by childhood memories..."drifting through life I realise that the older we get, the harder it is to spend time this way, everyday seems to have an agenda, a set of objectives that must be achieved"...check out more of her work here

August Sander

My Mum checked out an exhibition of photographs from August Sander over a year ago. She gave me a small book of his images, I had the book packed up for ages and just found it...so thought I'd share a bit about the man and some of his work. All images and information are from here..

I love that he travelled the countryside on a bicycle to find subjects...and that he spent a lifetime documenting the people of his "native Westerwald"...Later on in his photography career his work turned to nature and architectural studies (so I have more images to seek out, looking forward to finding some of these photographs)....I'll post more in the future...

"We know that people are formed by the light and air, by their inherited traits, and their actions. We can tell from appearance the work someone does or does not do; we can read in his face whether he is happy or troubled.." 

- August Sander

Portrait of August Sander after his nap 1936

Child, Westerwald 1926 - 1927

Farm children, Westerwald 1920

Young Girl in a Circus Caravan 1929

Circus Artist, Duren 1930 - 1932

Beggar couple, Neuwied 1928

Country Girls 1925

Blacksmiths 1926

Dancers 1929

Onkel Hans' wanderung - Schwarzenberg

My unkle (Hans) lives in Germany and is an avid photographer and film maker...when we were young he would come to visit us on his many travels around the world and never be without his favourite Super 8 camera...His passion for peering through the lens of a camera certainly rubbed off on me...A few snaps he just sent me from a wander he took on Sunday...Above...the man himself...in his glory days...

When the ice starts to melt

Sir Henry Wellcome - an interesting chap

Sir Henry Wellcome co-founded a drug firm and from profits made, he collected a massive amount of items and objects. It's said that by the time he died the collection reached approximately 1 million items. He had experts to travel all over the world to satisfy his habit. He was very secretive and would use pseudonyms to try and create false trails so that auction houses or dealers wouldn't know he was bidding and mark prices up.

He opened the Historical Medical Museum in 1913 which was designed for serious research and placed a lot of restrictions on access for those wanting to view collections. This made numbers low and the museum closed. Many of his collections lay in storage by the time Wellcome died. After he died many pieces of his collection were dispersed across the world. All images come from here and information about Wellcome come from here.

The Persian miniature paintings from late 17th early 18th century below are a couple of pieces from his collection I fancy quite a lot..

 

Some new pieces and a bit of hope...

Some earrings I've made for the Contemporary Australian Silver & Metalwork Exhibition at Buda Historical House & Garden in Castlemaine, Victoria. The exhibition will be in June sometime... 

Hope is the Thing with Feathers

"Hope" is the thing with feathers

That perches in the soul

And sings the tune without words

And never stops, at all

And sweetest, in the Gale, is heard

And sore must be the storm

That could abash the little Bird

That kept so many warm

I've heard it in the chillest land

And on the strangest Sea

Yet, never, in Extremity,

It asked a crumb, of me.

- Emily Dickinson (1830 - 1886)

The Dreamer

The Dreamer

Over the crest of the Hill of Sleep,

Over the plain where the mists lie deep,

Into a country of wondrous things,

Enter we dreaming, and know we're kings.

Murmur or roar as it may, the stream

Laughs to the youngster who dreams his dream.

Leave him alone till his fool's heart breaks;

Dreams all are real till the dreamer wakes!

- Dorothea Mackellar

new blog for my jewellery classes

I have been conducting more and more classes at the studio lately, so have decided to dedicate a blog purely for all information, happy snaps, class times, etc.. related to what I am teaching. Teaching jewellery and object making for me is...well THE BEST...I'm in love with passing on my skills to others...finding ways to inspire people to create with their hands...This teaching gig has stuck and I intend to get as many people as I can excited about making and wearing a piece of art...so get your hammers at the ready...and lets make some noise...check it out here

P.S. I will still be blogging here...still so much more to explore out there in this great big world of ours

Schmookie

I love lamb chops too!!

Dylan Thomas

My birthday began with the water 

Birds and the birds of the winged trees flying my name

Above the farms and the white horses

And I rose
    

In rainy autumn


And walked abroad in a shower of all my days

'Poem in October' from Dylan Thomas' Collected Poems  ( London: Phoenix, 2003)

"My religion is kindness. Thank you, see you in the future"

Paola Pivi

Oh and this....

"Jewellery should: confer dignity, bestow beauty, arouse an erotic response, signal intent, protect the wearer, evoke anger, insult the intelligence, say something, lack ambition, offer certainty, fulfill desire, confront apathy, convey spirituality, make the wearer look foolish, reflect the spirit of the age, provide status, provoke annoyance, communicate willingness, emancipate the wearer, make a stand, show a zest for life, be indifferent to what others think, claim national significance, encourage daring, be geometric, be floppy…"

Warwick Freeman, 2003

You said it brother!!!! These images c/o deux poissons

A bit more to get excited about!!!

Tomorrow I head off to the studio...teaching a class in the morning & one in the evening...so I have some time in-between to start on some playing with metals on the bench...Really looking forward to it...In the meantime another of my favourite jewellers/artists (I have a few)...Julie Blyfield...The work above is from a show held at gallery funaki recently called "natural selection"...photos taken by Grant Hancock...

Where does all the time go?...

Lately I have not had a lot of time to really sit at my workbench and create...kind of missing it a bit...I'm working too much...and not playing enough...so I thought I'd post some jewellery from a couple of my all time favourite jewellers...cruising blogs and sites of fellow jewellers has to get me excited to create...I have decided to make a pact with myself to set some time aside for (work) well play - jewellery that I just want to create for no reason...just to express how I'm feeling about IT all...

The pieces above are made by Jacqueline Ryan a jeweller of great skill and someone who grabs her inspiration (like me) from mother nature...

The work above is lovingly created by Bettina Speckner...A German jeweller whose work I have loved since jewellery school...

Now hear this...

via ffffound

merc and me

Another photo which was given to me recently...Me and my dream car...Well I can live vicariously through my friend Brigitte...It's her car...

A blast from the past!!!

I was given these photos not long ago...My jewellery class from NMIT, Melbourne over 12 years ago...This is where we had our end of year show...been thinking about how time just slips away so quickly...I'm so glad I had the chance to learn with these people...and be taught by one of the best teachers I've had the pleasure knowing (Roberto), who has since passed away...Someone I will always look up to...I only hope that I can be half the teacher that he was...Thanks Lorelei for sending the photos...and thanks Linda (a fav teacher of mine also) for giving them to Lorelei...Jewellery school rocked!!

From left to right: Michelle, Bianca, Vashti, Lisa, Sarah, Maya, Seamus, Roberto (the best teacher ever), Arni, Chris & (mystery woman - can't remember who, I'm sorry) Front row: Wendy, Bronte, me & Lorelei

Poetry...

Trees

Trees

I think that I shall never see 

A poem lovely as a tree.

A tree whose hungry mouth is pressed 

Against the earth's sweet flowing breast;

A tree that looks at God all day,

And lifts her leafy arms to pray;

A tree that may in Summer wear, 

A nest of robins in her hair;

Upon whose bosom snow has lain;

Who intimately lives with rain.

Poems are made by fools like me,

But only God can make a tree.

- Joyce Kilmer (1886 - 1918)

Petra's Official Exhibition Invitation

The official invite to my sister's exhibition...it's getting close...so don't forget to check it out if you are in Ballarat between april 10th and may 24th... 

Both Sides Now

Bows and flows of angel hair and ice cream castles in the air

And feather canyons everywhere, I've looked at clouds that way.

But now they only block the sun, they rain and snow on everyone.

So many things I could have done, but clouds got in the way.

I've looked at clouds from both sides now,

From up and down, and still somehow

It's clouds illusions I recall,

I really don't know clouds at all.

Moons and junes and ferris wheels, the dizzy dancing way you feel

As every fairy tale comes real; I've looked at love that way.

But now it's just another show, you leave 'em laughing when you go

And if you care, don't let them know, don't give yourself away.

I've looked at love from both sides now,

From give and take, and still somehow

It's love's illusions I recall,

I really don't know love at all.

Tears and fears and feeling proud, to say "I love you" right out loud,

Dreams and schemes and circus crowds, I've looked at life that way.

But now old friends are acting strange, they shake their heads, they say I've changed.

Something's lost but something's gained in living every day.

I've looked at life from both sides now,

From win and lose, and still somehow

It's life illusions I recall,

I really don't know life at all.

- Joni Mitchell

The Road Not Taken

The Road Not Taken

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveler, long I stood

And looked down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,

And having perhaps the better claim,

Because it was grassy and wanted wear;

Though as for that the passing there

Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay

In leaves not step had trodden black!

Yet knowing how way leads on to way,

I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence;

Two roads diverged in a wood, 

And I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.

- Robert Frost

Neerim Visit

Spent Saturday at a friends place in Neerim South...I went to jewellery school with her...her and her husband built this weekender...It sits on the top of a hill overlooking the valley below...It was well worth the 4 hour drive...Even the Alpacas seemed happy to see me... 

Apparitions

One of my very talented siblings (I have have 3) is having a solo exhibition at the Art Gallery of Ballarat...her name is Petra Nevistic...they are...works on paper...the show runs from April 10th to May 24th and the opening is on April 18th at 2.00pm...so if you are in Ballarat town come and see what sort of Apparitions she's been having lately...

Resilience

Over the last little while life here in country Victoria has been a bit of a strain...when you talk to people in the street the conversation will inevitably turn to either the fires or the weather..."will it rain"..."when will this drought break"..."when will there be water in the lake" (our lake is made up of dirt and grass...plenty of it...and not one ounce of water)...Today we have had a lovely drop of rain...and it feels like mother nature has been given a chance to take a breath...When I look at nature and how it deals with what is thrown at it I know that we (human kind) have the ability to be resilient (given the right conditions), to not break in two when we are pushed beyond what we believe we can handle...we too can be given the chance to take that breath...