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Exhibitions of silver art are held throughout the year at
zilvergalerie de Watertoren, Studio 925/ zilver en van Nouhuys and
the Silvermuseum. 11 – 18 april 2010 Zilvergalerie De
Watertoren takes part at The new Art-and Antique Fair
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The exhibition programme:
24 May 2010, National Silverday Schoonhoven, see for
information 21 – 28 nov. 2010 Pan Amsterdam Participants Studio 925 and
Galerie de Watertoren 27 april - 29 augustus 2010 "Van Kempen & Begeer"
Silvermuseum
12 september - 21 november 2010 "Als zilver spreken
kan"Verrassingen uit particuliere verzamelingen. Expositie van de
Nederlandse zilverclub. |
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The
Benchpeg Newsletter, Issue 169: 27th June - 3rd July 2010 [PDF] |
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[Welman]
In an article in Benchpeg you call your year in The Netherlands
different from anything you have done in England.
You mention differences such as buildings and the use of tools. Are
there also differences in the training itself?
[Elizabeth] The big difference between my
experiences at Bishopsland and Silver In Motion is the presence of
the teacher silversmiths. They are always there and working beside
you. You see them at work the whole day.
At Bishopsland your contact with a tutor, who
visits for the day, is only about 20 minutes.
Also the Dutch have a certain bluntness in their behavior towards
people and she emphasizes that she likes this bluntness because it
sometimes helped in the explaining of ideas.
The art fairs in Holland [part of the program
of excellence] are very different from the art fairs in England
because over there the silver is divided in categories like
traditional or modern but never all categories at once. |
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[W] Your inspiration is ‘the beauty found within
facial scaring and disfigurement’. Do you think that you can call
this theme typically feminine?
[E] No, not really, I feel
either sex can be affected by this theme. My reason for choosing
this particular theme/my inspiration for my work has been a slow
gathering of information from my subconscious. It has been what I
have been moved by as I have grown up. It was in Holland that I had
time to piece together all my encounters and realized what my work
was really about. I had time to listen to what I was really thinking
and feeling. One of my encounters has been with the father of a
close friend of mine. This man (James) had an accident when he was
only 18years old and has been badly disfigured since. Knowing him,
and his charity Changing Faces has made a huge impression on me.
When I came to Schoonhoven I had the time to develop my ideas around
this theme and explore what is important to me about my work and
about the beauty that can be found within disfigurement. I wanted to
give more meaning to the objects I was making, I wanted to make them
more than just meaningless objects of function.
[[W] Can you explain why James is shaped
like a vase?
[E] James is to me more like a sculpture then an object like
a vase.. During the designing stage I never once thought ‘I shall
make a vase, and it will be called James’. A piece develops over
time and certain things influence it. I did not necessarily want to
make a functional piece. Looking back now, I believe the necessity
for function has been ingrained in me throughout my education and
therefore it affected my subconscious and designs.
The expression of the idea is my priority and the fact that you can
use it is not very important. It took me roughly 3 months to make
James, partly because of the size and partly because I had never
created a piece of this ambition before. Of course, now if I were to
make a similar piece I would be able to work a little faster as my
technical skills have developed and I have a greater understanding
for the way the metal moves and is worked. – As they say ‘Practice
makes perfect”!! |
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[W]
Where you able, whilst working in the various different workshops,
to see any similarities and differences in the way the silversmiths
work?
[E] Yes, of course, both silversmiths are very different.
‘How could they not be?!’ - Both of them are very different people
with different responsibilities in their lives. They are both very
separate artists. Both work with great inspiration and have a very
explorative nature into their work and what they can and want to
achieve. I saw, and learnt from both of them; I had insight into
their different ideas of how they went about exploring them. |
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Jan van Nouhuys is an incredibly fast worker.
When he has an idea it seems to me as if nothing can hold him back.
He works as fast as I one day wish to – seemingly being able to
sketch straight into silver. He manages to design his pieces with
his tools and equipment in mind. This way the process of making is
built into this work and problems are anticipated and often thought
through before he physically reaches them. When problems are
reached, just as when Paul reaches a problem, they adapt – new tools
are made, or old ones altered. As artists in metal, we can not
always predict what it going to happen and therefore, occasionally
we must bend, change and mould to how the piece needs, letting it
change and grow on it’s own.
Paul de Vries is a very ambitious silversmith. His work has much
energy and playfulness. Being back in England I miss them both in
their different ways – Paul for his energetic, enthusiasm and
guidance. We had a very friendly bond in the workshop and working
with him great fun, (and a good sing-song!) And as for Jan I am
often reminded of his calm and insightful way of thinking and
teaching. ( of course, I also miss the elderflower cordial – LIFE
saving in those hot months!)
Both Paul and Jan carried out a number of restorations on clients
work whilst I was with them. This is not typical of silversmiths in
England and was very interesting to see.
In general Elizabeth still sees differences between English and
Dutch silver. Dutch silver tends to be much more high polished .
She has had a fantastic year in Schoonhoven. She did not have any
difficulty adjusting to living in a little village as she was
brought up in the countryside and finds the life very pleasing.
In Schoonhoven she had the opportunity to make much bigger objects
then she had made at home but most importantly she had the time to
develop a vision about the goals and work she wants to achieve and
pursue in the future.
Now in England Elizabeth is working for a number of different
Silversmiths including Hiroshi Suzuki,William Lee, and Richard Fox.
She has also been accepted onto the scheme AA2A, which offers
artists access to workshops within University buildings. Elizabeth
is currently making new work based at London Metropolitan, which is
where she completed her BA(Hons). |
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