Katherine Bowman ‘My Assemblages’ @ Milly Sleeping

Katherine Bowman is showing a small collection of works ‘My Assemblages‘ at Milly Sleeping (a lovely little boutique in Carlton).

It’s a gorgeous group.

photograph taken with permission

The above photograph doesn’t do it justice at all. The colours are wonderful, the display is beautifully balanced, and there’s a sense of delight that’s palpable.

I was especially taken with the pendant second-from-the-left … I even tried it on … I’m still thinking about taking it home. If you’re like me and regularly read Katherine’s blog, you’ll also have seen some images of these as I did; even so, when I saw them in person their scale surprised and pleased me.

I also tried on the rings, and they’re completely amazing (especially Ring #3).

Make sure you check out Katherine’s blog for much more beautiful photographs of these works, as well as the accompanying watercolours.

This is a perfectly compact and coherent collection, and offering this kind of showing space to a maker is pretty special. Most importantly because of the small-ish scale : my feeling is that it may permit a little more adventure, perhaps it would encourage a maker to take a little more risk to follow a new line of enquiry when the group is relatively intimate.

As a maker (though relapsed?!) I’d find this kind of presentation forum and scale much more approachable and achievable, as opposed to a blockbuster solo show (well at least that’s how I’d imagine it). And the fewer objects there are, the more each one can be seen in better focus and appreciated for its uniqueness.

Go along; be inspired.

Katherine Bowman’s ‘My Assemblages‘ is at Milly Sleeping until 24th May 2015.

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See also:

• 29May14: Conversation with a worn object
• 28Sep12: Katherine Bowman ‘a found thing (consolation of consolations)‘ @ e.g.etal
• 28Sep11: Katherine Bowman ‘locutions (the loved one)‘ @ Craft Vic
• 23Jul11: My jewellery collection #21
• 21Mar11: Makers mark: Katherine Bowman
• 05Nov10: My jewellery collection #18
• 06Sep10: Vikki Kassioras & Katherine Bowman ‘Black‘
• 22Mar10: ‘Figment‘ @ e.g.etal
• and in so very many of my Blog Roudup posts

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‘Conversation with Worn Object’

The lovely Katherine Bowman has today published a post in her series ‘Conversations with Worn Objects‘ about the sapphire ring I commissioned from her.

Do pop on over to and read it… the questions were fabulous though surprisingly difficult to answer.

as worn now

Katherine Bowman ‘a found thing’ @ e.g.etal

Oh no, oh no, oh no! I didn’t realise that Katherine’s exhibition ‘a found thing (consolation of consolations)‘ was only open for two weeks … oh no!!!

As regular readers know, Katherine Bowman is one of my favourite jewellers. As such, I’m really very sad that I didn’t pay attention to the timing earlier, as now I know I won’t be able to see her beautiful exhibition in its collected glory in person.

exhibition media; click on image for original source

Exhibition media: “We form relationships with the objects we collect. These relationships define and add meaning to our lives. Over time, the jewellery that we collect comes to define who we are and our life’s experiences: its milestones and its fleeting moments, our thoughts and our feelings and our tastes. The rings, earrings, pendants and works on paper in this exhibition express an honesty of process, form and material. They are carefully brought into being to carry meanings both expressed and inexpressible. It is in seeing and in touching these works that we are taken in by them. A tactile relationship is formed and in this the role of the maker becomes immediately but also subtly evident.”

I relate to the way Katherine thinks and makes, especially with this group.

exhibition media; click on image for original source

Exhibition media: “a found thing (the consolation of consolations) is made up of seven different bodies of work. Each body explores a slightly different aesthetic, creating the impression of having been collected at different times and from different places; colour, texture and form drawing them all together even as they stand apart.
For Katherine this work is the culmination of years of research and experience. It is about a deep love of making. This work is the work of a collector and a maker and it is about the relationship between these two elements of Katherine’s art.”

exhibition media; click on image for original source

The e.g.etal website has images of all of the pieces in this exhibition.
On her blog, Katherine generously shares stories behind all of the seven bodies of work.
I’m so thankful to her, otherwise I would miss out altogether.

Honestly, Katherine’s work is beautiful, so beautiful. I wish I could have organised myself better to be able to see these many pieces together in exhibition.

Katherine Bowman’s ‘a found thing (consolation of consolations)‘ is at e.g.etal until 29th September 2012.

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Update (28th September): I’ve been thinking more about this collection today, since writing the above.  Specifically, what I’ve been wondering, is how the ‘Interior‘ group (especially) would translate into small objects… I think they’d be outstanding as ‘sculptures’… just my thoughts …

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I don’t draw much

I’ve been reading blogs for years now, and that experience combined with my degree, has highlighted even futher to me just how different everyone works.

I don’t draw much.
I admire those jewellers who do – draw, doodle, collage, paint…

Uber-famous examples of course include Hermann Junger, who (it seems) would make almost exactly what he drew.

from Ganoksin; please click on image for original source

My-world-famous examples include:

• Lucy Hearn [blog, artist profile]
  

  from Lucy's blog; with permission; click on image for original

• Katherine Wheeler [blog, artist profile]
  

  from Katherine's blog; with permission; click on image for original

• Katherine Bowman [blog]

Sometimes I wish I worked this way too … though I just don’t.
So I do what I do, and that’s okay too.
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