Polly Wales and Jo Hayes Ward

Shibumi Gallery, Berkeley, California, USA 

Missy Graff for Art Jewelry Forum

Opulence was on display from February 4–24 at Shibumi Gallery, located in Berkeley, California, USA. This exhibition featured works by two British jewelry artists—Polly Wales and Jo Hayes Ward. In this interview, Polly and Jo provide us with insight about their process and the concept behind their pieces. 

Missy Graff: Please tell me about your background. How did you become interested in making jewelry? 

Polly Wales: I initially studied sculpture, but I couldn't really come to grips with the convoluted language of fine art. It felt so removed. After a few years, I wasn’t sure why I was trying to communicate in what felt like such an indirect form. A few years later, my passion for making drove me back to the university, where I studied jewelry. I loved making for making's sake and making decisions from an aesthetic viewpoint rather than a totally intellectualized one. That said, for the first few years of my jewelry career I was still in pursuit of marrying the two, and it was while I was studying at the Royal College of Art (alongside Jo Hayes Ward) that I began my investigation into casting materials together. I was making jewelry that never had a perfect moment; a moment of shiny newness that heralded, somehow, the beginning of the end; or jewelry that demanded to be kept pristine, polished, and safeguarded. So, I started casting stones inside the metal, creating pieces that always had unique outcomes, and if worn forever and a day, would always be changing and revealing something new, the gold wearing away to reveal the stones buried within. This process became the backbone of my work.

Jo Hayes Ward: I have been making since I was a child. I started making jewelry out of wire and beads using my dad's soldering iron when I was about twelve. Years later, I learned metalwork and silversmithing at art school. I didn't actually make any jewelry until I began working as an assistant with three different London jewelers. This was an invaluable experience that led me to do a masters in goldsmithing at the Royal College of Art in 2004. Upon graduating, I launched my first fine jewelry collection.

Can you please describe the work you are presenting at Shibumi Gallery? 

Polly Wales: The pieces that I am showing at Shibumi are a selection from my Classic Crystal Collection, which have stones cast throughout. I also included some of my newer diamond and bridal pieces.

Jo Hayes Ward: I am presenting large structural rings and pendants constructed from hundreds of minute cubic or hexagonal units. Due to the faceting and textures on the units, the pieces catch the light in quite an unusual way and really come alive when worn. Also on display are interlocking hex rings in three shades of gold, again built from a shimmering pattern of angled hexagonal units and set with diamonds.

Jo, your jewelry reflects a geometric and digital aesthetic. What drew you to this style? How does this distinguish you from other artists in the field? Who are your major influences?

Jo Hayes Ward I love to build things, which is essentially what I do when designing jewelry. Early in my career, I discovered Computer Aided Design (CAD). I used it simply because I was unable to achieve the intricate and complex pieces that I wanted to make by hand. I now use 3D computer modeling programs and 3D printing as tools to craft much of my work. My influences are the artists Donald Judd and Sol LeWitt, among others.

Polly, your pieces have an eroded look. What inspires your work?

Polly Wales: The look of the pieces was really an outcome of my experimental investigation into creating new materials. I wanted to create materials that change and evolve as you wear them. That process, in itself, became my sole pursuit. The aesthetic is very much defined by the process of casting the stones in place. It’s a pretty high risk and crazy way to work. I’m always trying to refine what I do and push what is possible at the same time.

Polly, who are your major influences? When I look at the images, I gather they are an eclectic mix of ancient and modern.

Polly Wales: I love Byzantine jewelry, Indian jewelry, and like every British jeweler, I am currently fascinated with the Cheapside Hoard. The women who wear my jewelry have also played a major role in how the collections have evolved. The work has been influenced by seeing how women wear it and live in it.

Were you familiar with each other’s jewelry before being chosen for this exhibition? Do you see any connections between your works? 

Polly Wales: Jo is one of my best friends! What we have is pretty unique. We have travelled parallel paths through our careers since we first met at the RCA. However, our work is so different that there has never been anything we haven't been able to share with each other. Jo's work is about meticulous thought and consideration. Everything in her work is exact. The outcomes are defined before leaving the computer screen. On the flipside, my work invites chaos at every step of the way, from making the waxes to the casting. I don't know what will come out until it's finished in front of me. All that said, I think we marry up pretty well. How well our jewelry sits together sums up our friendship nicely!

Jo Hayes Ward: Yes! We met 10 years ago on the first day of college at the RCA, and we have been best mates ever since! At face value, the aesthetics of our works are very different, but I think we tackle similar themes, and we both work with intricate detail and strive to make unique wearable treasures. I love what Polly does. We offer great support to each other.

Can you please tell me about the British jewelry community? Would you describe it as active? 

Polly Wales: We have a unique jewelry culture, and it is reflected in our jewelry community. It’s much smaller than elsewhere, and British women do not buy much fine jewelry for themselves. Stepping outside of the UK has been very liberating. It has given me so much freedom. I have found an amazing amount of support and friendship in the US, and that is where I feel like part of a community.

Jo Hayes Ward: There are a lot of very interesting and fantastic designers involved, but the market in the UK is very small and fairly conservative. Over the past couple of years, I have been part of a group called the Rock Vault. We show new work twice a year at London’s Fashion Week. The work is curated by the jewelry designer Stephen Webster and The British Fashion Council. The idea is to make fine jewelry from London more visible in the fashion industry. The venture has given me and the 10 or so other designers a great deal of international exposure. Last summer, we all exhibited at the Couture show in Las Vegas, something I am planning to do again this year. 

What are you reading that you can recommend? 

Polly Wales: It's been three years since I have read anything of substance. I will start again soon!

Jo Hayes Ward: Nothing right now. There is no time between running the business and family life. I have a two-and-a-half-year old plus a three-month old who keep me busy day and night!

Thank you.

Original article from the AJF blog can be found at:

http://www.artjewelryforum.org/ajf-blog/missy-graff/polly-wales-and-jo-hayes-ward 

Karen Gilbert: Shift

Karen Gilbert is a designer, jeweler, mother, wife, partner in a glass business, and gallery owner. I don’t think she can fit one more thing on her plate. She is having a show with Shibumi Gallery, where owner April Higashi is pretty much in the same boat. How do these women do it…and do it so well? In this show called Shift, Karen has shifted the look of her jewelry to a simpler, more colorful style.

Susan Cummins: What is the story of your journey to becoming a jeweler?

Karen Gilbert: I became a jeweler by accident. I was a student at California College of Arts and Crafts in the painting department when I took an elective in the metals department and became mesmerized by the material of metal. I loved drilling it, sculpting it, torching it—all the tactile qualities appealed to me. I switched my major, and at the same time, became involved in the glass department. The two materials had the immediacy that I needed. I love to work quickly and to respond to my materials as I am working. After school, I worked for numerous jewelers, and that led me into creating wearable pieces. I loved that people actually wanted to buy and wear what I created, and that the relationship of maker and collector really gives meaning to art.

And what is the story of your journey to becoming a gallery owner in the town of Healdsburg, California?

Karen Gilbert: Healdsburg was chosen for the physical beauty of the location for our family and a real sense of possibility, along with its potential built-in clientele for a gallery. With luck, I met Katrina Schjerbeck, who also had passion for art as well as seeing the potential for a Healdsburg gallery, and we really needed each other to make a gallery work. I had the contacts and information on curating for the artists, and Katrina had the ability to manage and oversee the vision.

And what is the story of the collaborative design studio SkLO you started with Pavel Hanousek and Paul Pavlak?

Karen Gilbert: Through the gallery, I met our SkLO business partner Pavel Hanousek, who imports Czech glass from master glass artists in the Czech Republic. The aesthetics of his business were in desperate need of updating. My husband and I joined him, re-branded the business, and now are owners and designers of a glass-based design company. It has been a fascinating challenge to approach work as a designer instead of as the maker. What I love about SkLO is being able to work within one of the world’s great craft traditions—Czech glassblowers—yet having the freedom to make work that does not put technical skill before overall concept and design. Along with my husband Paul Pavlak, I have the opportunity to sculpt the entire vision of the company. It is a huge challenge that involves business savvy as well as creativity. SkLO is successfully growing and is finding a receptive market and critical acclaim.

You are super busy. How do you find time to make jewelry? How do you organize your life?

Karen Gilbert: My time is very tight. I have gone from a relaxed artist lifestyle to being a mother and owner of three businesses. I need a lot more structure in my life. I get up early, and I stick to a routine to get it all done. I think this is changing my work and the visual language that I see in my head, so it is an interesting new path. Jewelry has a much smaller part in my week, but when I am in the studio, it is still a really important time.

Does working with SkLO influence your jewelry designs? How?

Karen Gilbert: I am sure it does. Like I mentioned, it creates more structure, but it also needs to be thought about in terms of being a cohesive body of work. We talk a lot about branding and the language and look of SkLO being something someone knows when they see it. We are aware of this language but also conscious of keeping the audience on their toes. We don’t want to follow the trends, but to pay homage to them and to reflect on our modern society. With my jewelry, it is the same, yet a bit more of a personal commentary. I think of more personal issues with my own work, and with SkLO, I consider more universal issues of design.

This body of work you are showing at Shibumi seems to be a step away from work you have done in the past. There is less glass and more enamel, for example, and the designs are simpler. What is going on here?

Karen Gilbert: I think my influences are shifting. It sort of goes back to the question of time and structure. I personally love very minimalist artwork, but find that my mind does not work in those terms. I am trying to refine and make myself simplify without taking the depth away from the work. Sometimes the pieces want more, sometimes they want less. I am trying to create both dialogues. Also, enamel is just another form of glass that simply alters my technique. I love the endless colors that enamel allows. In the past, I have found it frustrating to use enamel because I don’t have as much control or ability to create my desired effect. I have chosen to really push and experiment with torch enameling, and I enjoy the process, seeing how far I can push it. I feel as though I am just getting started with these new techniques.

What do you think your jewelry does best?

Karen Gilbert: I really like the way my jewelry looks on people. It moves and is wearable in a way that can compliment an individual’s style. I like the tactile quality, that it is very three dimensional, and that almost every piece is different.

April Higashi, who owns Shibumi Gallery, and you are both jewelers who own galleries. What are the advantages and disadvantages of being a maker and a dealer?

Karen Gilbert: It is nice having April to talk to about our shared experiences. I think having a gallery is an additional creative outlet that allows me to not feel like I always have to be producing in the studio. I love to see new work come in and fit it into our aesthetic. It is adding another stroke of paint to the painting, moving it around, and tweaking it to tell our story. I also can get excited about selling other people’s work. I enjoy seeing someone fall for another artist’s work as much as my own. It is a business that takes a ton of time and work. It may seem like galleries just get the work and sell it, but every artist, every piece, takes a lot of time and attention to get it ready to sell and to find the right buyer. At Gallery Lulo, I am fortunate to have a great partner in Katrina Schjerbeck.

Thank you.

Special thanks to AJF (Art Jewelry Forum) for writing and publishing this article.  Click here to visit their blog.  

SkLO: Object, Vessel, Light, Intention

Catch, by SkLO

Sklo, the Czech word for glass, is also the name of a collaborative multi-disciplinary design studio headquartered in Healdsburg, CA, specializing in glass objects and lighting. The decision to name the business SkLO may seem clear, especially given that SkLO works directly with Czech Republic-based glassmasters. However, like every other aspect of this design studio, founded by Pavel Hanousek, Karen Gilbert, and Paul Pavlak, an underlying deliberation of intention distinguishes its work — right down to the very name under which it operates. 
 

Hold Sconce, by SkLO

“When were brainstorming about what name to give to our new venture, all three of us were immediately taken by the word [sklo],” explains Paul Pavlak. "It has great visual appeal, too. Karen and I did all the branding and logo design ourselves. Designing the logo, we felt that since we were basically naming our company glass we wanted to find a few subtle moves to make it unique."
 

Float, by SkLO

Paul, an architect, had fun playing around with the graphic look and capitalization possibilities of the name. "The small k worked really well graphically, and then we added the plus-sign as a sort of symbolic reminder, that we are more than just glass, that the concept of SkLO is to go beyond the traditions and techniques of glassblowing and re-present what czech crystal can mean," Paul explains.
 

This re-presentation of work is certainly making others sit up and take notice. In the past few months, SkLO has shown its work at the NY NOW-Accent on Design in August Paris trade show Maison & Objet, one of the biggest trade shows in Europe. In July, in July, SkLO’s Fold Vessel made the long list for the World Interior News Awards. 
 

Fold, by SkLO

SkLO’s growth continues on a steady pace, thanks in part to the company having recently established distribution in the Czech Republic. This means that work can ship from either California or the Czech Republic, extending the company’s ability to serve clients worldwide and to allow SkLO to grow into the global brand it’s clearly destined to become. 
 

Grow, by SkLO

“The critical acclaim SkLO is receiving, as well as the amazing demand for the product, are both very exciting to us,” Paul notes. “Karen and I are very confident as designers and put a great deal of ourselves into SkLO, and to see it succeeding is rewarding.
 

Lasso, by SkLO

SkLO’s objects and lighting, along with Karen Gilbert’s jewelry, can be seen at Shibumi Gallery through October 27, 2013.

Artist and Studio Jeweler Niki Ulehla at Shibumi Gallery

Opening Satuday, June 8 5pm-8pm

Shibumi Gallery is pleased to present a solo exhibition by San Francisco artist Niki Ulehla entitled One. Two. featuring jewelry made using hand-painted silk, gilded plastics and pearls. The opening will be held Saturday June 8th with a reception from 5-8pm and artist talk beginning at 5:30pm. The exhibition runs through July 28, 2013 at Shibumi Gallery. 

In this work Ulehla explores copies and multiples while embracing subtle differences that occur during the production process. Working in several series, Ulehla creates jewelry that explores concepts rooted in natural science. Species classification, reproduction, and hybridization, while not over-obvious, inform her pieces. The jewelry is composed of autonomous visual units of varying sizes such as hand painted silk framed in darkened silver or plastic tubing lined with gold. These units are either used to make a piece of pure repetition or are merged to make a variety of hybrid compositions. The effect is a logical yet unusually beautiful body of jewelry.

Since earning her BA in drawing and painting from Stanford University, Ulehla has mastered the arts of marionette making, puppeteering and fine art jewelry. Her focus on studio jewelry in recent years has earned her an invitation to the prestigious Philadelphia Museum of Art Craft Show in, Philadelphia, PA and The Smithsonian Craft Show in Washington D.C.

                                                  *opening is sponsored by Trumer Beer

CHAIN REACTION Opening Reception Saturday, April 20th 5-8pm

Studio Jewelers Erica Schlueter and Elliot Gaskin Explore the Tradition of Chain Making

Shibumi Gallery is pleased to present an exhibition by contemporary art jewelers Elliot Gaskin and Erica Schlueter entitled Chain Reaction. This exhibition highlights the artists’ approach to the chain, featuring jewelry made using traditional chain making and knitting techniques. The opening will be held Saturday April 20th with a reception from 5-8pm and artist talk beginning at 5:30pm. Chain Reaction runs through May 26, 2013 at Shibumi Gallery.

Elliot Gaskin combines darkened steel with yellow brass to forge large somewhat exaggerated chains that are both industrial and ornate. The necklaces fabricated for this show where inspired by the gates of the Chateau de Versailles and embrace an aesthetic of extravagance paired with a tradition of craftsmanship. Gaskin earned his Bachelors in Fine Arts from the Academy of Art University in San Francisco, CA in 2009. He currently lives and works as a studio jeweler in Seattle, Washington. His work has been featured in recent notable group shows including FERROUS at Velvet da Vinci in San Francisco, CA.

With an extensive background in textiles, Erica Schlueter has combined her skill sets to create jewelry by knitting delicate silver and gold chain. By using fiber processes to make fine jewelry, Schlueter elevates the humble act of knitting and highlights the simple beauty of repetition. Schlueter’s background is in fiber and textiles. She brings this training into her jewelry, which she has been making for over 10 years. Her work can be found in galleries across the United States.