Tootsievalentine

The sunniest day of the year so far in the UK. It’s 28 degrees C, way too hot for my liking because I feel like I’m about to burst into flames. But the plants in my garden love it.

I’m not religious but I’m starting to think that God is a jazz musician….

Jewellery bench. Where I am spending around 16 hours a day at the moment. Yesterday at Collect was a nice breather but today I’m back to work. Really looking forward to posting photos of my collection. Am waiting until it’s completely finished and decent photos have been taken. It won’t be long now……

Hammers, my current BFF’s despite causing some kind of tennis elbow. I’m in the workshop frantically trying to finish my collection ready for our end of year exhibition in June. I have three weeks to make *a lot* and a slight feeling of panic is now descending.

Silver on porcelain. Ivan Jelinek at Collect, London.

Silver on porcelain. Ivan Jelinek at Collect, London.

Sculpture by Mariette van der Ven, at Collect, London.

There have been some really great exhibitions in London this past month (if you like fine and applied art and craft). Today I visited Collect at the Saatchi Gallery which is billed as ‘the international art fair for contemporary objects’. Different galleries from
around the world exhibited the best of their artists’ work under one roof, either to buy (or in my case just stare in amazement at the skill and talent). One of my tutors, Elizabeth Callinicos, was selected for an installation in the project space too which was inspiring to see.

Again, couldn’t resist pimping it up a little! The music is actually playing from my gramophone, I just put the original video through some editing software to give it a 1920s ‘look’!
So this is Harry James and His Orchestra playing some super swing music to the tune of Sweet Georgia Brown.

Close-up of the gramophone mechanism through the glass panel. It’s really great to be able to see all the parts move after it’s been wound up and starts playing.

It has such a beautiful profile.