moving forward through making

One - lovely - gold ring...for C & M. 14k yellow gold.
Commission. Christine Pedersen.

   December 2020: the last month of a very strange year, a year full of deep reflections. I’ve been working away designing and building new work, even though shows were so limited, because it takes a lot of time to create complex pieces and I want to be ready for 2021! The garden was fantastic this year due to the gardener’s spending a lot of time in it: a stay-cation reflecting on life and the universe, grateful to be able to walk and run in our neighbourhood. I’ve also started to share my studio life on instagram—it’s been a really useful way to stay in touch with friends and see fantastic hand-made original work by fellow makers. OK…it’s actually been hard to stay focused, there is just so much beautiful hand-made work out there! It’s been such a joy to make some new friends on the way, especially while we are all dealing with such reduced contact with each other.
   You can find a huge number of Canadian fine craft artists and galleries on the Citizens of Craft web-site, and they've collated lots of provincial fine craft organisations and galleries who have online markets this year. Here’s a link to my profile too. Alberta Craft Council has started the huge task of getting member work uploaded for on-line shopping, with fine craft from all over Alberta.
   Sending you every best wish for a safe and restful season, and fingers crossed that we’ll be back to sharing much more in real life again soon. Visit me @metalisclay on instagram to stay in touch and see more from my studio. I hope you get something hand-made this Christmas, cheers!

obsessing in public

obsessive chasing desire: the process in which the metal artist yields to their need to strike one piece of metal with carefully shaped tools for a very, very , long time. I will be doing a chasing metalwork demonstration at Bluerock Gallery in Black Diamond, Alberta, on Saturday December 5, 2015. I will have loads of samples - flat chased pictures, works in progress - and a very special holly sprig that I have been working on for over 90 hours… Look forward to seeing you there. “Run”. Brass portrait study. Chasing and repoussé. 14.5 x 9 x 3 cms. Christine Pedersen. 2014. ‘ Chasing ’ is the use of tools to create lines or texture marks on the surface of metal, it can be just like drawing. But the artwork can also be made into a three dimensional form by hitting and stretching the metal surface from behind—‘ repoussé ’—to sculpt relief, or volume, into the metal surface. The Statue of Liberty is probably the most famous repousséd object in the world - it’s also an awful l...

hello you...

I always keep a piece from a new body of work: I need to spend time getting to know it. #15 “Don’t Eat The Yellow Snow: Orange and Red Slurpee” pinched porcelain vase form. Height: 8 inches. Christine Pedersen. 2015. And so #15 stayed with us, and I schemed up a delightful challenge for myself: in the name of art—and pictures for my blog—I would fill it with flowers for every opportunity I could make up for a whole year. Sweet. First up: a lovely (and very modestly priced) bouquet from the supermarket for Christmas 2015. #15 “Don’t Eat The Yellow Snow: Orange and Red Slurpee” pinched porcelain vase form. Seasonal flowers. Christine Pedersen. 2015. I always approach a vase thinking about the overall shape, as something to contemplate in my home, because most of the time it will probably stand empty. But as I make the piece, I end up imagining flowers and how they will fill it: how the stalks reach down to the bottom and push off at an angle; how wide a...

my brand: I am a nerd

His & Hers Nerd Pendants. Sterling silver. 2011. There is no point in denying it: I am a nerd. I designed these pendants for the "Branded" exhibition at the fabulous Influx Gallery in Calgary this summer. I like to bring my background in science and natural history into my art work, and in this case, I also brought some political advocacy. In an era in which some cultures still deny females equal access to education, I used the loaded motif of the apple to create a context to present the writing to the viewer. Here's the full artist statement: His and her “ nerd ” pendants confidently declare affiliation with a tribe that delights in knowledge, education and technology. Nerdism nourishes the world around us, and we are proud of that contribution. His “ nerd ” pendant is about strength in identity. Styled after a traditional branding iron, the pendant is a rugged and substantial piece of silver, designed to perpetuate this important meme beyond one life...

metal is clay

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