Caz Guiney

I was finally successful in bidding at the NMIT Jewellery fundraising Auction last night (small review of proceedings on Melbourne Jeweller). With a bubbles in one hand and pizza in the other I still managed to steadily hold up my bidding number…impressive.  The above little beauty is by jeweller Tae Schmeisser renowned for her ‘Wheelie Bin’ jewels.  The photo doesn’t do it justice so I will try and take another shot tomorrow during daylight hours.  It is baby blue powdercoated sterling silver and the black holes are actually rubies.  I also put in a few strong bids for a Blanche Tilden ring but no luck.  The ring I donated sold for a bomb so pleased all round.  I am currently teaching the students that organised the event and was so impressed by the seamless organisation…the venue was a winner.  Well done.

A local friend ‘Bootsie’ alerted me to the fact that the suburban  ‘Soft Rubbish’ intervention I created a couple of months ago has been souveniered and used as a sign on a gate inbetween 2 of the commission flats near where the original piece was installed…couldn’t ask for a better outcome.

A little battered and a few bits of added wire but still holding together.  I am familiar with leaving jewellery/artwork in public and it being souveniered but this claim is by far the most satisfying!  Might be time for another ‘Soft Rubbish’ intervention…and yes gotta love the phrase ‘thanking you’!

Why…I don’t know but Bright Op Shop (where we holidayed over Easter) bucked the Easter trend and put on a hilarious Harry Potter window for all the holiday punters.  The note on the window clearly stated that nothing was for sale…bum!

Harry himself…I don’t recall such heavy eyebrows

Ron…all dolled up to catch Harry’s attention

Hermoine…who knows… a roll in the hay perhaps?

Dobbie the house elf…I thought it was Yoda…scary nonetheless.

Oh…also whilst we were away actually within 10 minutes of arriving little miss fell down a flight of wooden stairs and miraculously survived without a break but she did suffer some severe bruising.

see, proof that she is fine!

mmmmmm……a warning…look what those hipster glasses can do!

This photo has been up on the wall of my studio for quite some time…taken back in the analogue days.  So I snapped a shot of it with my iphone and voila not too bad!  It is taken on the roof of the Nicholas Building duing the installation of the 14 rings for the City Ring Project.  I am installing a ring on the wire of a stink pipe…man the loos were pretty stinky back then so you can imagine the stench.  St Pauls Cathedral in the background glows in the arvo sun…what fun!

Brooch back…bike nerd reckons it looks like a John Davies fish or a caravan.

Final brooch in progress…this one’s looking amoebic.

These 3 just need a final clean a dip in the lime sulphur for oxidising and then to set the plastic compositions.

Done! A sneak preview of the back of one of the completed brooches…I actually finished the work yesterday and installed the 5 brooches and 3 photographs today.  I will post more images of the works once the exhibition is underway…don’t just read about it…get along and see the real thang! Level 17 Artspace, 300 Flinders St. Opening Tues April 19th 6-8pm.

This one is for Maria G and annadee…another Heidelberg West gem.

I am currently working on a series of 5 brooches for an exhibition titled 5 Miles from the Sea previously posted about here.  My work is titled Public Space-Plastic Marks.

Crap photos but late nights in the studio documenting with the iphone-far from ideal conditions.  I am getting some professional photos done tomorrow so will upload those when complete.  The photos will also form part of the exhibition.  Essentially the brooches are made from plastic gleaned from 5 public spaces 5 miles from the sea.

Whilst configuring the compositions of plastic and planning the brooch backings the visual and formal connections with maps has been evident.  (I once wanted to be a cartographer). I have threatened to rename the exhibition 500 miles as I have travelled extensively to collect the loot.  The loot that I am drawn to has a particular quality – that of being driven over numerous times causing a rough texture and inground dirt.  At times the compositions of plastic conjure up thoughts of thick oil paint-perhaps this is the result of exhibiting with a group of artists including painters.  More to come….

5 Miles from the Sea – at Level 17 Artspace curated by Geoff Tolchard opens Tuesday 19th April6-8pm.

A particularly active member of the Contemporary Jewellery scene in Melbourne – Natalia Milosz-Piekarska has initiated an online auction of donated contemporary jewellery to raise money for the Red Cross Disaster Relief and Recovery Fund. It was inspired by recent events in Australia, New Zealand and Japan and the obvious pressure that the Red Cross resources are under. Follow the link below and dig deep!
Lucky Charm. Making Good Fortune Happen

If you have ever questioned the amount of time you have spent on one project then please chk this out.  I was trained by a couple of unforgiving metalsmiths but this goes beyond anything I have ever witnessed.  It is a beautifully edited mini doco featuring the incredible hand crafting of a Tsuba-a round or occasionally squarish guard at the end of the grip of bladed Japanese weapons.  My partner is a Kendo sensei and came across this via his interweb networks.

It is in 2 parts each goes for 13 mins. Jewellers will be most interested but I am certain it has general appeal.

Recently I was involved in an exhibition in New Zealand, ‘Touch, Pause, Engage’, original post here for project details. I promised images of the final piece once the exhibition was up and running it is actually now closed. Below are some of the installation and the final piece titled ‘Soft Rubbish’. It was installed in West Heidelberg, postcode 3081. Due to the projects site specific nature 6 photographs were exhibited.

…I get by with a little help from the tree climbing monkey.

TThis above image was not exhibited but shows the location in West Heidi.

Installation shot; not exhibited.  I saved the cutouts and tagged the tree…this is all that remains.