Throughout history, people’s collecting of objects has served the same sentiment – an inherent and existential need to freeze time and authenticate experience.

However, the significance of the memento is rarely fixed as its meaning changes with the shifting recollection of its possessor. The souvenir’s value lies in sentimentality, not material worth, serving the impulse to recall, capture, and re-live.

In support of Hearts + Flowers, exhibiting artist Brice Garrett will be hosting ‘Workshop (2016–Ongoing)’ a participatory jewelry project made collectively with the public. Through the act of mold making, stamping, and plaster participants are invited to recreate pendants influenced by their own jewelry memories. Over the course of the exhibition, the installation of pendants grows with each participant’s contribution. Please join us.

Hearts + Flowers was recently reviewed by Steven KP for Art Jewelry Forum. Read the review here.

Hearts + Flowers Participating Artists:
Alejandra Carrillo-Estrada, Alison Layton, Amelia Toelke, Andy Lowrie, Beiya Yang, Brice Garrett, Caitlin Albritton, Charlotte Vanhoubroeck, Corrina Goutos, Danni Xu, Eighteen Yuan, Elliot Keeley, Emily Culver, Francine Grenci, Funlola Coker, Hannah Oatman, Iris Lo, Jennifer Moore, Jess Dare, Jolynn Marie Santiago, Kelly Ann Temple, Laila Marie Costa, Mallory Weston, Margo Csipo, Masumi Kataoka, Misaki Sano, MJ Tyson, Nana YaaSerwaah Akuou, Nancy Rodríguez Rojas, Nikki Couppee, Rachel M Ness, Rita Bamidele Hampton, Sharon Massey, Shaunia Grant, Tova Lund, Valerie James, Vershali Jain, and Violet Weiner.

This exhibition was brought to BKMW via our call for Guest Curators by Leslie Shershow and Jessica Andersen.

Leslie and Jessica are both artists and transplants living and working in San Diego, California. They met through the jewelry community, as they found themselves in the same social circles but at different times.

Leslie Shershow grew up in the state of Maine and has lived all over the country; participating in residencies, exhibitions, and working as an educator of art and jewelry. She received her BFA from the Massachusetts College of Art and Design and has since been an active participant in many facets of the jewelry field – contributing to, and working in fine jewelry, production jewelry and contemporary jewelry. Within the past few years, she earned her MFA from San Diego State University, and acted as Visiting Assistant Professor at New Mexico State University. Her work was recently selected for the cancelled Schmuck 2021 Exhibition.

Jessica Andersen was born in the small farming community of Audubon, Iowa. She received a B.F.A. in Jewelry & Metal Arts in 2009 from the University of Iowa. In 2011, Jessica began graduate school at San Diego State University where she received her M.F.A. in Jewelry and Metalwork. Jessica has completed residencies at Craft Alliance in St. Louis, MO and at the Houston Center for Contemporary Craft where she had time to experiment and develop her work as a studio artist.

Our love of gemstones continues to grow and we are so pleased to have lapidarist Loren Gurche visiting Brooklyn Metal Works on November 3rd at 11am to share his deep knowledge about opals.  

You may be familiar with Loren on Instagram as @ancients17 where he showcases his opal cutting practice and sells beautifully finished opals to some of the most noteworthy jewelry designers working today. During this special conversation Loren will take us through the process of receiving parcels of rough opals, what he looks for in the material to pull the best color and shape, and how he approaches cutting with a visual demonstration on our lapidary equipment. This is an artist talk and demo that you won’t want to miss. Examples of various types of opals and the stages of production from raw to finished will be on view. Loren will also have a selection of his inventory available for sale for those who would like to make a purchase.

• Please join us In the Gallery at Brooklyn Metal Works at 11am Wednesday, November 3rd.

• The event is free and open to the public.

• All attendees must show proof of Covid-19 vaccination.

• Please RSVP to info@bkmetalworks.com

• Space is limited!

• This is an in-person event without a video component, no recordings will be available afterwards.

Learn more about opals here!

Loren Gurche, whose business name is Ancients Natural History, is a Paleontology and Geology student at the University of Kansas. “I developed my love for natural history at a very young age. While visiting my dad at his work at a natural history museum I would spend countless hours exploring the exhibits. My family nurtured my love for nature by taking me to look for fossils, minerals, insects or whatever I happened to be fascinated by at the time. This eventually led me pursuing a career in the natural sciences studying paleontology.” Says Gurche. Today, Gurche continues to go on digs at paleontological sites, something he’s been doing for almost 10 years. In 2013 Gurche started his own business cleaning and preserving minerals and fossils and working on replicas of dinosaur skulls. It was a barter offer to exchange minerals for raw opals that led Gurche to teach himself lapidary cutting and polishing techniques and he’s been creating unique opals ever since.

Please join us for Site Non- Specific, a special event this July by Artist in Residence Naama Levit. The exhibition will take place On the Rooftop at BKMW July 10 & 11 and 17 & 18. The opening reception is July 10 from 6 – 9pm in conjunction with a performance of the works from 7-8pm. This performance is an ongoing activation of works by both Naama Levit and Hilla Shapira, and performed by Æirrinn Ricks.

An artist talk will be In the Gallery at BKMW on July 18 at 2pm. This lecture will also be aired via Zoom and registration is required. Masks are required for all in-person events.

A closer look into techniques of historic and contemporary metalsmithing with Brooklyn Metal Works

Tue, July 13, 2021

6:00 PM – 7:15 PM EDT

Online via the American Folk Art Museum

Join us behind the scenes to discover techniques and traditions of historic and contemporary metalsmithing with Brooklyn Metal Works. Artists, metalsmiths, and studio co-founders Erin S. Daily and Brian Weissman will discuss metalworking methods, share demos, and reflect on historic vanes featured in the museum’s current exhibition American Weathervanes: The Art of the Winds.

Space is limited and advance registration is required. Please consider making a donation when you register to support ongoing virtual programming.

Instructions for joining with a Zoom link and password will be provided by email upon registration confirmation under “Additional Information.” Closed captioning will be provided in English. For questions or to request accessibility accommodations, please email publicprograms@folkartmuseum.org.

Click here to register!