Archive for the '1994' Category

Flora or Fauna?

By the mid 1990’s Michael and Ruth Anne Grove had become masters of what was then called the “step blend”.  They used the technique not just to add shading within their cane but to create intricate texture and pattern as seen in this brooch. 

More Nonpareils

Coining new words is not my specialty, but the last three posts on this site seemed to demand a descriptive term for the tiny, hand formed polymer balls used by Lori, Amy, Cynthia, Pier and others. For the purpose of uniform terminology, let’s call them “nonpareils.”                         
When I asked Amy Zinman about the technical inspiration […]

A Riff on Beads

After returning from a trip to Japan in 1994, I felt inspired by much of the textile design I had seen there.
Steve (Ford) and I were looking for new cane ideas as well as new jewelry forms to work with. After looking closely at much of the ikat patterns we found in books and Japanese […]

What I saw in Julie

In 1994, Julie: Artisans’ Gallery was just about the only places you could see work by accomplished polymer jewelry artists.  When Julie Shafler Dale opened her gallery in 1973, it was the very first boutique dedicated to wearable art in America.  Ten years later, she wrote the first book on Art-to-Wear. And by 1994 her […]

Imitation, Interpretation, Inspiration

Some people pick up comic books to discover a superhero. I simply stepped into Julie Artisans’ Gallery on Madison Avenue in New York City. There, in 1994, I discovered Pier Voulkos, who has been a creative idol for me ever since. Having just discovered polymer clay, I made a mecca to Julie’s where I was […]