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Upper Glass….

As you know I’ve been madly working on my “Upper Glass” exhibition for SALA.  We set up on Thursday, and the exhibition opens on Friday August 2 at 5.00pm.  Local Images at Penola are hosting my exhibition, and I can’t wait to see it all hanging.

I have to show you my favourite piece.  I made this from a Tally wine bottle from the Balnaves of Coonawarra winery.  The colour is stunning, and I have etched alternate beads for contrast.  The little green beads in between add to the fantastic colour.

TallyNecklaceSmall

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How many beads can be made from a wine bottle?

As part of my SALA exhibition “Upper Glass” I set myself the challenge of making beads from a “Tally” wine bottle from the Balnaves of Coonawarra winery.  The challenge was to use ALL of the glass from the bottle, and make all sorts of beads.

Tally Wine Bottle

 

It took a few torch sessions to make all of the beads that I could possibly make and the end result was: 274 beads!

Tally Beads

 

Now to make the jewellery!

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Concentric Circles in Squares

I remember travelling to New York many years ago, visiting one of the art museums there, and seeing a Kandinsky “Concentric Circles in Squares” painting.  I was transfixed by the colours and movement in the painting.  I wanted to buy the painting!  I settled for a postcard.

Anyone who knows me, knows that I love dots and circles, so it’s probably no surprise that this painting became the inspiration behind a collection of jewellery that I started making.  My Kandinsky collection.  I’ve made assorted earrings, necklaces and bracelets for many years now.  Here are some pictures of bracelets that I’ve made in various colours (thanks to Urban Cow for the photo):

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

However this year I was challenged to do something a little bit different for the T’Arts SALA exhibition, so I started playing with the idea a bit more, and created these beads which I will make into pendants.  I’m excited about the colours in the beads, and the interactions with the background colours, and I can’t wait to see where these new pendants go in terms of experimenting with the design.

Kandinsky

 

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SALA 2013 “Upper Glass” Exhibition

“Upper Glass”

August 2-25

Opening August 2 at 5.00pm

Local Images Art Gallery Penola

An exhibition of jewellery by Julie Frahm featuring recycled glass made into beads, and other up-cycled components.

 I’ve been collecting, and also been given, a variety of glass over the past few years.  Ranging from beer and wine bottles, to Green Depression Glass, and all sorts of other glass objects, I am turning these old wares into beautiful glass beads to be incorporated into my jewellery pieces.  Along the way I have also found myself accumulating a selection of all sorts of other bits and pieces that I am also using in the jewellery…from vintage sequins to seed beads and old copper to biscuit tins!  Part of the fun of the exhibition will be discovering what “old” things have been used to create these beautiful new pieces.

 SALA2013a

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This time last year…

  • I was madly getting ready for my “10,000 Red Glass Beads” SALA exhibition (I think I’ve made another 10,000 red beads since then)!
  • I was very pregnant with my son, Finn (now 10 months old).
  • We were getting ready to have a short holiday in Robe (didn’t know it until we left, but that holiday made us seriously think about moving to the South East where we now live)!
  • My little girl was 3.5 and pretty amazing (now she’s 4.5 and an even more amazing kindy kid).
  • Planning a wedding (now we’ve been happily married over 6 months).

Wow, what a year it has been since then.

Right now I am:

  • madly getting ready for my “Upper Glass” SALA exhibition at Local Images Art Gallery in Penola
  • kept pretty busy with my 2 kids
  • living in Mount Gambier
  • looking forward to having my husband home for the next couple of weeks so I can get some work done!

JulieFrahmHero

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Contemporary Wearables 2013

JulieFrahmBeerGoldSmall

 

I am very excited to announce that my necklace, pictured above, has been selected for the Toowoomba Contemporary Wearables 2013 exhibition.

I made the beads from a Coopers Ale bottle, and embellished the flat beads with 22K Gold Leaf.

The Toowoomba Contemporary Wearables Award and Exhibition is an important event on the calendar for Australian  jewellery makers.  First prize is $5,000.

Seriously, I am just honoured to be part of it.  This is my artist statement for the piece:

I imagine there are many uses for an empty beer bottle.  Put it in the recycling bin, use it as a vase, maybe even put a candle in it.  Or, if you are like me, smash it then melt it down again into beautiful glass beads embellished with gold leaf.  It’s all about the Upper Glass.