Toronto Outdoor Art Fair 60 years

It’s certainly been an interesting time of late. I was just sort of getting my jewellery practice off the ground, and the pandemic hit. I had some big plans for shows and development in 2020 that, well, mostly didn’t happen. Certainly, even in 2021, alot of the shows are not really occurring, although alot of virtual events have popped up. I haven’t been participating in them, but I did apply to the Toronto Outdoor Art Fair, which is a juried show.

You may or may not know about these things, but as a relatively junior goldsmith (in terms of length of career so far!), it’s a pretty big deal for me to get into a juried show.  Honestly, I think even when I’m old and grey(er), I’ll still get a big charge out of it, that’s just kind of the way I am!

Me, looking excited, you just can’t tell, because I’m wearing a mask :). Actually, it’s from a while ago, as I found out in April, but I was very excited the day I found out!

What’s a juried show? you say.  Well, a juried show means that the show/sale/exhibition is curated, and there is a competitive process involved in being accepted to participate.  You have to tell them who you are and what you’re about, you need to submit professional looking images of your work and say what you will be exhibiting/selling.  Then a panel of people looks at all the applicants and judges you (eek!). I find it a bit nerve wracking, even though it’s not (usually) an in-person process.  You just have to wait for the answer about whether you’ve been accepted or not to eventually pop up in your email. (To be honest, this is shorter than in science—I’ve written research grants that take up to a year to get an answer about, art/craft shows are usually a couple or a few months—thankfully for my finger nails!!)

The show takes place July 2nd-11th, with lots of great programming. And…..all the artists profiles are up now, so you can browse already, you just can’t buy until the show goes live! I’m pretty happy with my profile- you can see it here. I am featuring a couple of things that you can see on my shop page, but it does mostly have new work, or work that you might not have see before, so I think it’s worth checking out!

I hope you’ll join us for this legacy event! Engage with artists, browse curated collections, enjoy art talks, studio tours, and buy art from 400+ juried artists at TOAF.ca

I will be doing some special videos and social media during the show, so I hope that you will check out my instagram and facebook pages! Drop me a line if there is anything you’d specifically like to know about!

Hope to hear and/or see you soon! Stay safe!

-Robin

The Earring Show 2020

As some of you may know, I haven’t been in “business” for long yet. So, as you might imagine, Covid-19 is not really helping me! I’ve already had to forgo participating in one show (which hopefully will still happen in the Autumn-so more info on that in the future!), and I was due to start teaching workshops at the Jewel Envy studio, where I am a resident goldsmith, both of which have somewhat derailed the progress I was hoping to make this year. However, in the midst of all my doom and gloom, back in late March, I had a glimmer of excitement!

Part of my professional development this year is to apply to exhibitions (where and when I can!). I had put in an application in early March to the Craft Council BC to participate in their annual Earring Show exhibition. To my delight, I was accepted! Of course, it was supposed to be a physical exhibit, which is not now happening. But the Council was very proactive, and they’ve managed to organise an exciting virtual event on Zoom and Facebook ths Satuday, May 9th, 2020.

It’s a tough time for all of us, but attending (and telling your friends about it!) the event is a good way to support artists and local business-and who knows, you might find something you love in the exhibition (everything will be available for sale from the day of the exhibition).

These are my earrings that are featured in the exhibition-They’re my Asymmetric M form earrings. Made out of sterling silver and needle felt (I love the pop of colour and the contrasting texture the felt pad gives these pieces!), they’re one of a kind (although I do small production of this design), and because of the construction, they’re very light to wear, but still make a statement.

This is another version of my earrings. These are inspired by the macrophage/monocyte cell of the immune system (yes, I am a science geek!). When they are stained, they have cool nucleus shapes, which inspire the cutouts I make in my pieces. Although I reproduce this design, each pair of earrings are one-of-a-kind, as I handcut the domes using one-use hand-drawn templates, the elements are placed slightly differently on the curved wires, the felt inserts are available indifferent colours, and the earrings are available in different finishes. They retail for $180 (CAD) + HST. Fancy a pair? Email me to order

Hope to “see” you this Saturday!

-Robin