Here are a few pieces from the show BIJOUX COMMEMORATIVE

Médaille en Chocolate by Fabrice Ballay

Géométrie Variable, quartz blanc, pierre volcanic, chrome de fer, inox, laiton, bronze
by AKA

Lamp Number One by Franck ChanSan
Aude Wetterwald

Priére d'une addiction by Anne Laure Lagabrielle

Vinyl revisited by Anne Afendikov

Bijou de Famille by Nhu Machu

This piece is for Henry by Shelley Cavanaugh

Sensory Souvenir Brooches by Lydie Gardet

Adolescence by Laurence Lagabrielle

The Twins by Angelique Nicol

The False Path To Yellow Gold by Kris Bourcier

Opening night - La vernissage

The opening of the show was a huge success. There were at least a million people and everyone loved it. Smiles everywhere!

Gallery 11 and 1/2

Here are two views of the show. I think it looks really great and very fresh and inovative for Nouméa. The table was made just for the show, and if fills the entire space. Everyone came through with thoughtful, touching, interesting, and well made pieces. A huge thanks to Franck for his beautiful work on the table.

Bravo and thanks to all the participating artists

Kristine Bourcier, Franck Chan San, Laurence Lagabrielle, Lydie Gardet, Dominique Berton, Aka, Anne Afendikov, Anne Laure Lagabrielle, Angelique Nicol, Fabrice Ballay, Nhu Machu, Aude Wetterwald, Shelley Cavanaugh, Jo D'hage

Commemorative Jewelery Group Exhibition

The exhibition is finally coming together! We will install the show this weekend, and I will finally see everyones work completed.

I'm back, after a very long break. Won't go into the details of what I've been doing for the past 4 months, but I will show just a few pics.

My husband and I have started on a huge reforestation project on our land on the central, west coast of New Caledonia.

When I first saw the farm, I wasn't moved by it's beauty, but by it's desolation. (I am now completly in love with the dry forest and mangroves) We have recently found out that the trees had been cleared at least 50 or more years before, for cattlle grazing. But because the area is so dry to begin with, and because the wild deer population has gotten completly out of control, the area had turned into a dessert. The deer eat all the grass, down to it's roots, and they eat anything that grows, including any new trees.

So the first part of the project is to get rid of the deer. Not an easy task, and not done yet. Basically, they will be captured and sold to deer farmers, to eventually be butchered for meat.

The second part of the project is putting up the fences around a few bits of Ironwood forests that do exist, to see what will happen when they are left in peace, then to start plowing up the dry grass and weeds to start planting trees adapted to our soil and climate.

This is just the begining of years of planting and caring for the trees, and keeping the deer out.

Here are a few little reminders I made,

to remember that nature needs a helping hand, not a destructive one, and to eat more deer meat!

Bijoux Commémorative

Much time has passed since my last big jewelery happening. Lots of things going on, and lots of ideas running in many directions.
Since the start of 2009, I've been thinking of how to bring more great jewelery to my part of the Pacific. So this is it...
a group exposition on the theme of....
COMMEMORATIVE JEWELERY
Now this title or theme is to be taken in a very large sense. Commemorate anything, personal, impersonal, local, international, a historical event, real or imaginary, the past or the future.
And jewelery is a big word also to be taken in any way imaginable.
Play with these words, and create. In any material imaginable. I will probably be the only jeweler-metal smith involved, but many talented, creative people have already confirmed their spot in this event.
New Caledonia is a great place for artists. There is a lot of freedom to organize whatever you want. So, since my odd-ball addiction to amazing jewelery, wearable or not, commercial-more or less, or not at all, has not gone away after all these years, I'm trying to spread the word and the joy of jewelery.
The date for all this is April 2010. The place is a wonderful open minded and progressive gallery in downtown Nouméa called 11 et demi. (eleven and one half)
There is still space open for any person who feels inspired by this call. Please contact me.

workshop at the Festival des Femmes Funk

The Festival is over. My stand and jewelery put away until the next sale, which will be in the end of November. I'm glad it's all over because I have to put in very long hours, and everyone is asleep when I get home, but, that also means that my jewels are all packed up and no one can ooh and ah over them. I love the four days of talking about jewelery, about what inspires me, how I learned, and discovering what inspires other people. I did a lot of talking about how silver jewelery is made and how I hope to share this information with others. It looks like I've got a few serious students lined up. I tried to explain to people that learning to work in silver demands a certain amount of commitment and a lot of frustration. I don't think most people understand what goes into the creative process, and the number of years involved in perfecting and developing new techniques, in silversmithing or any craft.

I did run two small workshops during the festival. My girls were making so much noise, luckily the music stages were far away. I got a lot of laughs from boys when they saw the world's smallest anvil and hammer. There was some frustration, some starting over but most of the girls walked out of my stand with their new earrings dangling from their ears and the others were packed away in little boxes to offer as gifts to their daughters. Thank you to La Petite Chouet for her help, company, and creativity. It was great fun!
here are some pixs from the stand and the workshop.