40/52 Japan - Part 1

 Time to catch up on my blog and my annual challenge! 

I have several pieces nearly finished - but first I want to tell you about my amazing trip to Japan!. This is part one - yes there will be a part two very soon! I decided that it was all so wonderful it warranted two entries in my challenge! I hope you agree :)

The flight to Japan is around 12 hours from the UK so by the time I arrived I was already feeling a little weary having not slept on the plane. I had a couple of hours to wait for the bus transfer and I have to say Haneda airport in Tokyo is an excellent place to plane watch! I arrived at my hotel before noon, left my luggage ready to check in later and headed straight out to see some of the surrounding area. The hotel staff told me the easiest way to where I wanted to go was through Ikebukuro railway station - um... it is the second busiest station in the world!  Actually navigating it wasn't too bad, I found my way without getting lost! On returning to the hotel I found they had upgraded me for free - how nice!!! I was on the 22nd floor of the hotel and had a lovely view out across Tokyo - day and night!

 

Then I headed out again to find the exhibition of all the work from the Silver Accessories Contest 2015. The first surprise was when I saw the poster for the exhibition! Wow - how good is this - very me with all those lovely colours!!!
 

The venue for the exhibition was stunning, and looked great in the dark....

...and  all the entries were wonderful to see. The quality of the work was just amazing and very inspiring!! I really did feel a bit stunned and very honoured that all four judges had chosen my piece for the Grand Prix Award!!

Next day I met up with Dice Minagawa from Aida for a day of sightseeing and shopping! We started off back at the exhibition for another look and a few photos (photography was not allowed in the exhibition so I was very pleased to have these taken for me!). That poster again (of course!) at the entrance to the gallery...

 ...and inside the exhibition by my piece!!! :D

Then we headed off out across Tokyo to go to the jewellery area first. It wasn't long before I had purchased quite a few lovely jewellery tools and supplies (wonderful mini hammers!) and some beautiful turquoise and amethyst beads. 

The fish markets were so colourful. I really didn't fancy the red snapper eyes though which are apparently a delicacy!!!!

After seeing all that fish we had to have a fishy lunch!

Lots of beautiful fresh raw and cooked fish, pickles and rice...and we even cooked our own giant clam on the grill on our table! 

It was a very colourful place and I thought it was quite old, turned out it is a modern chain based on the old fishing village eateries! Oh well :) It looked the part and was very atmospheric!

I found it really interesting how the shops are grouped in areas in Tokyo. After the jewellery supplies  we went to the kitchen supplies area (loads of interesting things there!) and then the road where all the shops sell every kind of food dish you can imagine all made out of wax that all the restaurants use in their windows (it's all incredibly realistic!). We saw shops full of pottery and others selling masks! (Oh yes, more on masks in another post! ;) )

 

 So much to see...

This restaurant specialised in Fugu (puffer fish). Parts of the fish are highly toxic and they must be prepared by licenced chefs only - we didn't try it!

 

Finally we arrived at Asakusa - a large temple complex in Tokyo. My plan was to revisit that area on the Monday to explore further.

When I arrived back at my hotel this coach was parked outside - it seemed to sum up the day perfectly! :D

 

Day 3 was the main reason for my visit to Japan - the Silver Accessories Contest 2015Award Ceremony!

It started off with the official ceremony at 1pm that lasted about an hour. Lots of the award winners were there and it was wonderful as each person went on stage to receive their prize. I was last on and the only one giving a short speech, and I have to say as it drew nearer I started to feel a little bit nervous! When it came to it I think it was all fine though :)

I received my certificate, award and prize...here is Mr Aida reading my certificate before presenting it to me...

...and then I did my speech which Dice translated (no, I didn't have to do it in Japanese!).

 

Next we had the official photos taken, these photos were all taken for me on my camera (thank you Mark!).

 

After that it was time for everyone to enjoy themselves at the reception with a lovely buffet meal. I met lots of delightful people, so many excellent metal clay artists and everyone wearing their fantastic creations as well!

To be continued...!!!

Meanwhile..

Have fun!

Joy x

 

31/52 Joyful Torii - Part 1

OK, this next piece is going to be in split into 2 parts for the challenge! No, I'm not cheating, really! There is quite a lot to it all, and I have used two different things on my challenge list so all is good! :)

Having recently won the Silver Accessories Contest in Japan (yay!) my mind is now turning to all things Japanese. I have booked my flights and will be going to the award ceremony at the end of October! It's all super exciting!!

I decided to make a piece inspired by some of the wonderful images I've been looking at online while trying to organise my trip. I particularly like the shape of all the Torii I keep seeing! (A torii is a traditional Japanese gate which marks the entrance to a sacred space.)

My first challenge was to use a heap of pieces of Art Clay Silver that have been sitting beside my kiln for over 5 years now! You can see them in the top photo. There are a lot of little extruded square profile rods and a little roof shape. The clay has discoloured a lot in places, but dried silver clay seems to keep just fine.

This was a rough idea of what I had in mind. (I keep my designing on the simple side! ;) )

I started out making a square tile of silver clay textured on one side only.

A bit more googling images of Torii and I soon realised the roof need to be much shallower - and the other way up with the wider part at the top! I joined the square rods into pairs to make the various beams and added them to plain side of the flat tile of clay to make a framed area. Then I added the roof at a sloping angle to the top.

Whilst I hadn't done any drawings I knew in my mind that I wanted to extend the beams out each side to give a bit more interest to the piece, so I added the four small pieces onto the edges.

Finally I added a couple of hanging loops and my logo to the back. You can see in the photo below I used up most of the rods. These were the only bits left at the end!

Now the piece was ready for firing. This photo gives you an idea of the scale before firing.

Once it was fired I polished up the silver and added a patina to the piece. Then I photographed it ready to do this blog post...

...and then something interesting happened!

As soon as I uploaded all the photos ready to start blogging and looked at them all I realised that I had gone OTT!!! I looked at the photo higher up this post, the one showing the piece before I added the four small extra bits on the side and thought...actually less is more!!!

So it was off for a quick bit of work in Photoshop to check this out! Here are the three options I have. The piece as it is at the moment on the left, with the bottom two edge pieces removed in the middle and with all four edge pieces removed on the right. Isn't modern technology wonderful!

I can immediately see that it has to be option two or three. In my attempt to add more interest I have lost the look of the gate! The question now is do I go with the middle or right hand side one. I'm quite torn between the two different looks, but I think I will most likely go with the middle one :)

Now you have probably read all this (assuming you have made it this far!) thinking...

 'what about that boring plain bit in the middle?? You've called it a Joyful Torii but there is nothing very Joyful about it!!' 

That will be Part 2 in this saga!!

Next I plan (to try) to add a micro mosaic into the the frame!!! It's on my challenge list! I bought a whole load of smalti filato (now you'll have to google that!! :) ) years ago in Murano, Venice, and have never used them. I have no idea whether I can do this as I haven't tried at all before. I realise already I've made the frame a bit too shallow so that will add extra fun, and I'm not even going to tell you what design I have in mind, it might all change once I get started! lol

So...watch this space for the next instalment - finishing this piece off :)

Meanwhile...

Have fun!

Joy x

26/52 Precious

I am absolutely delighted that my necklace 'Precious' has won the Grand Prix Award in the Silver Accessories Contest 2015 in Japan!!! You can see all the award winning work on the website :)

 

The full title of the award is

Award of Minister's encouragement at the Japan Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (Grand Prix)

How wonderful is that!!! :)

I really was speechless when I was told I had won (and that doesn't often happen!! :) ) - not least because the piece so nearly didn't even get entered. It took me longer to create than any other piece I've made and I encountered an assortment of problems in the process and very nearly gave up on it. 

But I have a song that I love with very special wording...

'When you're doing what you love

And loving what you do

You won't start nothing

That you don't see through.

You've gotta have patience

And a whole lot of faith...'

...and I am so glad I did have patience and faith, and got there. I learnt new skills and overcame the problems and in the end I managed to get it posted on the very last day for the deadline! Phew!!

The necklace is made using Art Clay Silver and the textures are my own designs. The idea was to make two very contrasting sides to the necklace. I pierced out areas on one side and all around the edges of the piece.

On the side for enamelling I carved textures into the cells. On the other side I added 2mm lab rubies.

Then I added 3mm lab garnets on the reverse of the side to be enamelled.

Here is the piece nearly ready to go into the kiln. 

 Of course I meant to carry on taking photos all the way through making the piece, but with time getting short I was concentrating on finishing - and totally forgot to take any more photos until I had completed it!! :)

The entry forms asks for a description of the piece. These are my thoughts and the concept of it...

PRECIOUS

A reversible pendant showing two different sides of human characteristics.

A joyful, happy front faces outwards. The rigid lines are softened by the muted warm colours and the brighter crisper cool colours. The gold highlights sparkle and are partially worn away as if aged with time. A relaxed and comfortable feeling.

Facing inwards is a steely grey semi-organic cage surrounding a heart of gold. Bright gemstones show passion. A strong will with kindness and determination.  

Life changes daily. Sometimes the joyfulness is hidden inwards and then the heart of gold shines out brightly to the world. 

Once the piece was fired I added 24k gold and enamelled it. Finally I made some enamelled chain links interspersed with twisted chain links, and an enamelled clasp.

Making this piece did turn into a labour of determination mixed with a passion to finish it! :)

In October this year there will be an exhibition in Tokyo of all the entries and an awards ceremony, and I think I just might be there!!! ;)

Have fun!

Joy x

Challenging Times!

 

Just in the nick of time here are my challenge pieces for August! My Four A Month pieces are called Enamelling Fun (for obvious reasons!!). Bright and colourful, I have enjoyed making these.

 

The first one is called Japanese Sunset. This is a piece I have had in the back of my mind for a long time and I was pleased with the result when I finally made it! OK, so here is a bit of cheating as this is also my Bird A Month for August. Apologises, I have tried not to be sneaky like this but this month got a bit busy!

 

The next piece is called Rainbow Sprite's Flower. A while ago someone called me a Rainbow Sprite, (thank you Terry Kovalcik!) and, well I do like my colours and I was wearing my rainbow waistcoat! I kind of liked the name so I thought I would use it for this piece.

 

The next one I called Serenity. It is a simple pendant with peaceful green and blue songbirds.

 

Finally I have called this one Summer Blackbird. This is the third piece I have made with a blackbird on, each one different. This time I thought I would add a few bright colourful flowers and a bright shining sun to the pendant.

 

I do realise that with everyone I have had going on my blog has been a bit neglected this past month. Sorry for that.

 

I have lots of things to tell you and pieces to post so blogging is about to become a lot more frequent!!

 

This weekend I shall be at the RAFA Shoreham Airshow in the Craft Marquee. Do come along and say hello. It is always a great show :)

 

Have fun!

 

Joy

Super Duper Bloggy Giveaway

It here at long last! My Super Duper Bloggy Giveaway. I know - silly name, but whatever.

The prize consists of a two items that I brought back from Japan with me plus a pendant. There is a lovely postcard of cherry blossom to give you a bit of design inspiration, a set of Japanese stickers which can be used on a mobile phone or anywhere you fancy sticking them (so to speak!) and a solid silver pendant made by me with a nice contasting textured effect. I chose this pendant especially as I think it is quite unisex.

Here are a couple of close ups.

This is the pendant - it measures approx 20mm x 20mm ...

and these are the stickers. I expect you are going to ask me what does it say? The answer - no idea!

So if I have any Japanese speaking readers PLEASE leave me the answer below in the comments section (preferably in English!). It would be much appreciated :) I really hope it says something nice!

To enter all you have to do is leave me a comment below this article in my blog and if you do not already follow my blog it would be really nice if you added yourself in to the followers on the right hand side.

In case you are stuck for something to say I would like you to suggest a name for my hamster. I think of my hamster as a boy by the way.

The winner will be drawn totally at random so if you want to say something else in your comment that is fine too, but if I decide I really like one of the hamster names I will give that person a little surprise gift so there is an incentive.

Only one comment per person please and I will post this prize to the winner no matter where is the world you are.

The giveaway will close on 7pm on Monday May 3rd which is a holiday here in the UK and I will draw one lucky winner.  Please feel free to tell anyone you want about it.