The Aussie and Swiss combo

Helen Britton, Galerie Louise Smit

It was a real treat yesterday to visit the studio of couple Helen Britton (Aussie) and David Beilander (Swiss). Both have very different and valid approaches to contemporary jewellery making that were born out of their respective training. For David his background started with a traditional goldsmiths apprenticeship and then later time at the Academy in Munich to concentrate on a more contemporary style of making. His work is based on the idea of transformation in that he transforms the mundane and ordinary for example such as sausages and rats, into jewellery. But instead of coming across a material and then coming up with an idea, he first has the idea and then searches out for the material that will best fit the object he wishes to create i.e the sausages are made from the back of Thonet bentwood chairs.
Where as Helen's style of work is more like a collage of ideas and elements. Her background is in the fine arts so for her things such as drawing are as integral to her competed work. She showed us the plan for an exhibition that is about to take place in Western Australia that included not just the finished pieces but a number drawings that related to this as well.
They were a nice contrast to Wendy Ramshaw and David Watkins from the day before as their respective careers have a great deal more dynamic movement and freshness of ideas. Though both couples have a definite sense of humour that is refreshing to hear in the contemporary art jewellery scene.
Clare

Wendy Ramshaw and David Watkins talk

We went to Wendy Ramshaw and David Watkins lecture talk AND it was in ENGLISH! It was very very very nice to listen in english away from Australia in Munich. The talk was fun and humorous which I wasn't expected and I couldn't believe they both worked for more than 50years and I wander how they have managed to work together for so long time. I was also interested that they began to make jewellery out of paper when they first started their collaboration work. What I think of paper jewellery, is that it has temporary and fragile quality of material and I was amazed by their creative idea to use its material to attempted to break the traditional concept of jewellery, especially during 60s and 70s where people were very much in used to wear precious matal. Last year I worked with paper as I was thinking of only temporal effect on meterials that they are not carrying the notion of 'duralbility' and un-wearbale pieces to wear on body. The difference is that the aim was 'to make' wearable jewellery pieces whereas I was aim to make 'unwearable' pieces, only thinking of unattainable ideal its material to work with in jewellery. It was very useful lecture and I took curage from its talk in any conception.

After the lecture, I went to another gallery called 'Garden'. The pieces of work by Helena Lehtinen was interesting the way she collaborated with beads, silver and natural branches where it was beautifully wrap around by colourful threads and silver was attached which I could not guess how it was done, and the beads were delicately thread on silver. The colours somehow reminded me of my childhood, where I used to play with colourful toys and doll and houses which were all made out of colourful colours to attract people especially to babies and children. The beads were also one of my favourit things to play with, make necklace out of beads with my mum that was on the inside of kids plays package. The colour mediated on my childhood and I question to myself  'why'? How does it make me to recall memories of my past and why? What did they do to my brain?? It was strange..
Outside of the gallery, there was another exhibition going on which was displayed on show window. The first thing I saw was.. a dead spider legs made into a pendant, then a horse poo, and then, a cow poo, and the last, I can't remember., I didn't want to look closely because it nearly made me sick beginning from the spider legs. I am sorry... It was my first time to feel unpleasent to look at jewellery.

At 4oclock, we went to 'Baby Bling Bling' closing party with jewellery performance. I can not say anything about the performance because it was in German and obviously did not understand what they were performing and the story about it. The performance was very unfamiliar and strange but, it was very new  scene.