Open!

Well, after nearly five months on the island, much hard work, lots of paint in my hair, sawdust in my shoes, cuts on my fingers and tears in my eyes, I am very happy to say that the Jewellery Gallery at Calgary arts is now open!

I am so proud to have my own gallery space, with its own individual style, two collections of my own work and a gorgeous selection of contemporary jewellery by some of my most talented friends.

Yesterday Calgary Arts had an official opening, with delicious food and lots of wine! Lots of locals came down to see the re-opening of the main gallery - showcasing new artworks by many local artists. It was great to see positive responses to the new addition to Calgary Arts and hear great feedback about the work on show. 

In the excitement of the opening we forgot to take photos of people looking around, but I took quite a few in a rush before we opened. Here's how the gallery looked for the opening yesterday.

The final selection of lighting includes four big metal shades which were originally heat lamps for farm animals. They came in a big box that said 'pig lights' and were covered in mud and tangled up in baler twine.

 Work by Heather McDermott on the left and my Sol collection on the right.

 The entrance to the shop, the packing station full of bubble wrap, brown paper and jewellery boxes.

 A close up of this beautiful re-purposed old cabinet currently showcasing a lovely collection of jewellery by Hannah Eccles. This cabinet used to hold old weighing scales and was saved from a science department by my mums partner!

 The Sol collection, displayed on birch ply plinths and paper-cuts.

 Sunlight streaming in through the windows this morning to cast shadows and light on the jewels - the closest work in this photo is by Edinburgh based Jeweller Kelly Munro.

This week i'll be posting blog features on each of the Jewellers exhibiting in the gallery, Hannah Eccles, Heather Mcdermott and Kelly Munro. So you'll be able to see close ups of the work on show here and find out a little bit of background info on each of the Jewellers.

Maike x

Lapis lazuli, aquamarine, sea blue.

The blues that have been occupying my hands and my mind over the past few days. 

Necklace. Aquamarine, 9ct gold, oxidised silver. I love making these delicate wire necklaces and setting the sparkling stone in little golden claws. Its so satisfying to oxidise the silver, suddenly bringing out the bright aquamrine colour and the sparkle of gold.

New Midnight ring. Lapis lazuli, 18ct gold and oxidised silver. Little golden flecks of pyrite in the deep dark blue stone remind me of a starry midnight sky.

Calgary bay, wooden airplane flying. One of the stillest days and the bluest skies we have had so far in our time on mull. 

Maike x

Let there be lighting!

Ever since Ross found an old enamel lampshade in a barn i have dreamt of having a series of them lighting up the display tables in my shop. After much ebay hunting and sourcing brightly coloured cables, they are now lighting up the space.

stripping wire, cutting cable and wiring up lights

lights in position

Spurred on by getting the lighting in and the birch ply for my table tops arriving, we got on with making some trestles for my display tables. We decided to go for a 3 legged trestle - meaning they'll be stable on even a slightly wonky floor. We planed and cut sycamore legs and elm tops for the trestles, carefully cut angles on the table saw, and then on the bandsaw. Ross's skills learned on house builds with timber frames came in handy here, I helped out with measuring angles and drilling holes, but Ross spent hours chiseling the holes (mortis) for the joints on the legs (tenons) to slot into. I would be lost without his help!

Ninja drilling

Drilling holes in the top piece of wood ready to chisel out into rectangular tenon joints. 

 Ross hammering wedges into the tenon joints of the legs, for a snug fit in the mortis.

We are really happy with the final look of the trestles, it was lots of work and angle measuring for a very simple finished look, but we love them.

                                      

  Finished trestles in the wood workshop

Our next job is to cut the birch ply table tops. Really looking forward to the opening of my gallery/shop at the end of march, along with the cafe and gallery at Calgary Arts. Hopefully visitors will slowly start to arrive and my little business will grow.

Maike x

A weekend of wedding rings. 

This weekend some friends from Edinburgh took the long drive and ferry journey over to Mull for an important weekend. The couple and their young son were here to spend the weekend in my workshop, learning to make their wedding rings. They brought with them a box of treasures, including two tiny silver bracelets, given to Meghan as a child. After a morning of designing and testing we came up with a simple ring design using the two bracelets, the silver band would wrap around the finger twice, overlapping and creating a symbol of unison.  

Testing designs and demonstrating techniques.

A tiny bracelet ready to be transformed.

I was especially pleased at the idea of helping to turn Meghans childhood bracelets into the wedding rings. Together we gave them a new lease of life and now they are now ready to be treasured once more. 

Hammering the bracelet out into a straight strip

Hammering the silver into shape around a ring mandrel

Although the two have very different professions - Tim a musician, artist and maker (who I used to work with running arts workshops) and Meghan a Medic and PHD student - their approach to the making process was remarkably similar, they were both very patient and picked up the skills with ease.

Filing the ring after forming and soldering 

A happy family with their finished rings.

A little word from them: 'It was really very special and amazing to come and make our rings with you and the memories will I think be with us for always. Maike I was so impressed with your teaching style, so calm and unintimidating and patient that I really felt that it was all possible...' 

It is always such a pleasure to be part of this special process, whether making wedding rings for a couple, or teaching them the skills to make the rings themselves. I hope that many more wedding rings will be made at my bench.

Maike x