ArtMetal Features

Volume II Issue I

(above) GyÃ¶rgy Seregi's detail from an anatomical study of a human head

Up to the nanosecond with your ArtMetal News

Hephaistos's "Schaufenster" - showcases artwork from around the globe
Court Injunction prevents artist from fulfilling dream

New Artist adds brilliance to the ArtMetal Exhibiting Artists Gallery

Farley creates small surprises in jewelry

Discourses of the Resources

A Journey for the Acanthus leaf
Mokume-Gane Workshop by James E. Binnion
BOOK REVIEW - The Artist-Blacksmith's Craft

SNAPSHOT views fetish fashion from Tel Aviv

Previous Features

Hephaistos, a great German metalworking magazine, continues to share with the cyberworld artistic metalworking news from abroad. This is their second web issue of "Schaufenster" - literally translated as show-window. A better translation in the context would be "showcase". It is Hephaistos's way of showing individual artists work.

A Brawny Individualist - Delicate Tracery in Steel

For nearly 17 years, Klaus-Ingo MÃ¼ller was forbidden by court injunction from pursuing any skilled trade. He could find release for his inner impulse to creative expression in metalwork only in his spare time, and as a "hobby". He recognizes one positive facet of those difficult years: "I had time to mature."

Keith Farley / Metalsmith

Keith strives to go beyond the obvious solutions in designing and executing his jewelry. He often makes use of challenging stones, both in terms of size and shape. Farley always enjoys creating small surprises--from an unexpected hinge mechanism to gemstones that are incorporated in places where they are not normally seen. This approach causes people to consider where the boundaries of their jewelry wearing experience might be. It makes people become aware of why they select particular types of jewelry and how the jewelry reflects to the world something of the nature of the wearer.

Ever wonder how the acanthus leaf is crafted in metal? Well I had that same question, and after some considerable research, found an answer. Follow me on this excursion and I will show you some of the resources which I found. This journey also includes QuickTimeÂ® movies and seven distinct steps which were required to make the almighty "Akanthos" leaf.

Mokume-Gane Workshop

by James E. Binnion

Here is an article which thoroughly explains the processes, tools, and techniques needed to manufacture your own Mokume-Gane. James has taught several workshops throughout the United States and used this material as handouts for his students. He explains with intricate detail just what it takes to make those beautiful patterns from non ferrous metals such as copper, brass, silver and gold.

BOOK REVIEW - The Artist-Blacksmith's Craft

by Julius Schramm
Have you ever wondered just how the blacksmithing craft survived the Industrial Revolution? How it was to live in a society which embraced the ideals of mass production and the mindless repetitious work of the assembly line? Well, you no longer need to wonder. Julius Schramm's two books, The Artist-Blacksmith's Craft and My life as Artist-Blacksmith packaged together in one consolidated book by SkipJack Press, is a good documentary of how one man was able to overcome the soulless movement of the Industrial Revolution.

SNAPSHOT

The SNAPSHOT feature highlights metalsmiths from around the world. This issue we go to Tel-Aviv, Israel where Sigal Katzav, an Israeli designer of Iraqi origin, creates jewelry which has become fetish fashion in a violent and holy land. You can also see more of her work on the web at I m p u l s i v a .

Ever since I was a child I was attracted to jewels. I always thought that jewelry is made for decorating the human body and to give one a better feeling about one's self.

One day I simply decided to make jewelry for my self. My first collection was inspired by a style of music (rave) which induced me to put lots of colours. I used polycarbonat as my main material. I chose it for its lightness and shine. I sold the jewelry in festivals, fairs and markets.

At that time I was a student. One of the projects was illustrating a text of my choosing. I chose a text of "rave" which I found on newsgroup alt.rave. In the illustration I made a collage with my jewelry and images inspired by this music.

My current collection took off to a light fetish direction. A more serious direction. This is my first experience with metal. The jewelry is heavier and with more presence. I suggest you experiment with the way you wear the pieces. If you put the "hanging" part of the jewel underneath your shirt, it looks as if you have a whole metal outfit hidden on your body. It works!!!

Making the jewelry means attaching the metal links, link by link, till I get the model and desire that I want. One of the models was featured in a local national newspaper, and the collection has been shown in a fetish fashion show in Tel Aviv. - Sigal Katzav

If you are interested in downloading previous SNAPSHOTs, go to the ArtMetal archives and FTP to the pic_mnth directory. There you will find previous text files by artists name and the accompanying gif/jpeg files. Each set of files will have the same name with a suffix of .txt, .gif or .jpg.

Want to be featured in "SNAPSHOT"? Send an email notice to Hank Kaminsky. There are several ways to get the information to him including snail mail.

If you liked this ArtMetal Features, then take a LOOK at previous features which have made ArtMetal one of the top 5% Web sites on the Inernet.