The Walter's and Me...

Part of my motivation to take this year off from teaching was to be able to focus more on my metals and art jewelry education. I have been taking course through MICA's Jewelry program off and on for about 3 years now. The problem was that many of the courses were offered during the day, and I sort of hit a wall where I either continued on and really went for it- taking as many courses as I could and focusing on them, or continued on taking a course here and there and not really having the time for them. I was set to register for "Perfecting Basic Skills and Metal Forming 2, when imagine my surprise when I received word from the program director that I was being "invited" to participate in a special collaborative project and class with the Walters Art Museum! I had seen the listing in the course catalog, it was very mysterious in it's description, and I figured it was only being offered to the very advanced students. It seems that some of the museum board members are fans of Project Runway (as they should be!) and were intrigued by last years episode where the designers went to the MET and created garments inspired by the collection. They figured, why can't we do something similar in conjunction with the new exhibit Bedazzled: 5,000 Years of Jewelry and Art Blooms, which is a juried fine art jewelry fair. So students from the jewelry program as well as several selected from the fibers program, have been challenged with creating work that is inspired by the Walter's Ancient collection. And get this- the work will be displayed runway style during the preview party for Art Blooms, and then will be on display in the museum for a brief amount of time afterwards! April Wood, our fabulous instructor, is also challenging us with creating work that pushes the boundary of wearable art. I am so excited I can hardly wait to get started! Last night we had a slide lecture on contemporary jewelry and fashion and then brain stormed as group. I'll be sure to update you all as it progresses!