I made a thing-- with a friend!

I was sad to miss the Living Room Show and Sale (I ended up having the dreaded Covid and couldn’t attend).  My friend and colleague Carolina and I unveiled an art collaboration that weekend that we have been working on for a number of months, and I’m sharing a bit about it here .

I first met Carolina over a year ago, and one of the things that I noticed about her work, and our conversations was an interest in networks and I thought, hey!  immunology is all about networks.  I'd been wanting to do a collaboration for a while. Carolina’s sensibilities appealed to me, and I really admire what she does with thread.  A lot of my work is based on the systems, cells and concepts of the immune system, and with the pandemic, it seemed rather timely to work out some ideas about the pandemic through a nice collaborative project.  So we did. The final result came out of conversations, and some experimentation with some ideas about some new jewellery work I wanted to undertake.  So, I present to you ImmUnity.  I hope that if you haven't seen it in person yet, at some point you will be able to!

My contributions explore three different elements: some of the major player cells of the immune system,  how some processes within the immune system work, and some explorations of the way in which people behaved during the pandemic in various situations, and how that relates to our perceptions of public health in general. Overall, we are all interconnected, whether we wish to be or not, despite our differences.

Carolina created crocheted cellular shapes that representf the concept of herd immunity from an intuitive approach. We're constantly in contact with invisible-to-the-eye organisms and our bodies work relentlessly to neutralise them, to keep us healthy. The dynamics of cell populations in the body mirrors what happens at a large scale in human populations. Each unit neutralises the pathogen and with the knowledge of this process, works towards protecting the community whether they are made of cells or humans.
 
Binding the shapes into a cohesive whole simultaneously shows the strength and the fragility of coming together.

I feel tremendously privileged to have been able to work with Carolina on this project, and it really fed something creative in me this year, as well as helping to process some of my thoughts and feelings about what happened with the pandemic over the last few years.

I made the fabric discs using different quilting and embroidery techniques, and it needs to be seen in person to really appreciate the 3-dimensional nature of the panels and the crocheted elements!

Macrophage/monocyte infected with fluorescent bacteria, B cells and their antibodies (which can be secreted from the cell, T cells with their unique receptors, Blood cells(Left bottom, left top, right top, right bottom).  The brooches are 5cm in diameter.

In parallel with the art collaboration, I had started working on a new series of work, which I am calling the Portholes on Immunity.  They follow a similar theme, in that they are all about cells and systems in the immune system, but in a smaller, wearable format.  I've started with four brooches.  They're 5 cm in diameter, with sterling silver frames and a handmade brooch back, with quilted, embroidered, and trapunto'd aspects (trapunto is a quilting technique where you stuff extra layers of batting in small areas to create a more raised effect-- it's quite fun!). I used plain oakshott cotton for the base, quite deliberately. Shot cottons are formed of two colours- 1 in the warp, and 1 in the weft, giving them a characteristic sheen, and appearing, sometimes quite startlingly, different colours depending on how the light hits them.  This really is congruous for me with the way that the immune system has many different facets, and you get different results depending on the situation.

I love a good story!

I love doing custom work with a good story behind it. It’s indescribable the joy I can get from helping someone realize a vision (even one they didn’t have), while salvaging sentimental bits. The client for this project came in with a broken engagement ring, that had been sitting in a drawer for many years (it had cracked down the sizing join). She decided it was high time to have it re-done. She also had a number of different rings from her parents and grandparents, including a number of other diamonds, in addition to the lovely trillion garnet in the original ring. After some back and forth, we settled on a spectacular statement ring, incorporating all the diamonds and the trillion garnet, as well as bits of gold from all the rings that were very sentimental for her (including the original engagement ring!). The rest of the gold was refined from broken bits that she had rolling around her jewellery box.

All the rings that contributed old gold to the new ring! It was a bit of a mishmash of different karat weights!

We settled eventually on a design of a Faerie Leaf Crown, of oak and ivy leaves— this totally suits the client’s pagan sensibitilites!

Once the carving was done, I cast the ring in two pieces - the base ring and the crown.

Here they are, fresh out of the casting flask!

Then it was just clean up, joining the two, and getting the stones set. The final ring was amazing, and the client loved it!

Here it is on her finger :)

Here’s a closer view, there are some small diamonds nestled into the leaves at the sides!

Got stuff rolling around the bottom of your jewellery box that you can’t part with, but wish you wanted to wear more? Send me an email and let’s talk about what can be done! this ring was almost entirely paid for with the sale of old metal that the client had hanging around.

Focus on Stem Cells - Collaboration piece

Stem cells. What do you know about them? With the rise of the concept of stem cells, you’ve probably heard them both exalted and vilified in the media. There’s a lot of hype. What you may not know is that the original identified stem cell was actually the blood cell stem cell or hematopoietic stem cell (see what I did there? It all comes back to immunology!). In fact, HSCs have been in use for therapy for a long time, particularly for cancer treatment. You can read in more detail about this on the Canadian Cancer Society website, which has a nice, accessible description about it.

While most stem cell therapies remain more science fiction than science fact, there is a lot of research happening around stem cells, and understanding their development, as well as how they can be used to intervene in health and other areas of biology. One researcher focusing on this area is my colleague and friend, Prof. Jennifer Mitchell, based at the Cell and Systems Design Department of University of Toronto. So, when she approached me about designing some special pieces for her, I was excited about the opportunity to work with her again. I had made a one-off piece for her previously: a representational ball of stem cells, in my early days of designing. This time, the brief was to revisit that piece, evoking her focus of using embryonic stem cells models to understand how the develop into other cell types.

A hint of the first piece I made in 2019, alongside the microscopic image of a stained ball of ES cells. The blue staining is a nuclear (DNA) stain that fluoresces blue under the right wavelength of light!

I fabricated this one, and it had alot of features that I liked, but it had some aspects that I wanted to fine tune more, so it was great to have a chance to reconsider this design for something that I could produce again in the future. This time, I went the casting route, and carved something in wax.

Wax model of stem cell ball

This allowed me to make something flatter, but still with a lot of dimension. I then added a back plate to close it, a simple, hidden bail, and added the felt, and voila! A new sophisticated cousin was born.

Finished pendant, sterling silver with needled blue felt

I’m loving the way it turned out (and Jen was pretty pleased too!). You can see one of these on display in Cell Systems and Biology, if you’re passing that way, along with more explanation about Prof. Mitchell’s research. Want one of your very own, or know someone who would? You can visit my Shop Page to get one!

Sketchbook challenge!

It’s a new year, and I feel like I should be motivated to get things done. It’s a new start, but somehow things haven’t quite worked out that way. I used to use sewing as my go-to happy place (I’m sure you know what I mean!), but since it now really is part of my “job”, while I still enjoy it and love to do it, it doesn’t “recharge” me the way it used to. Which has left me feeling a bit…..lost, I guess.

Random assortment of stuff!

So, I decided to try something a bit different. A local artstore (Articulations Art Supply) runs a Fill’er up Sketchbook content in March. Now, I’m not really a sketcher, and I’m not a painter, or any of that kind of thing. I’ve dabbled in various things occasionally, but I’m definitely not good. But…..I do find it fun, and the idea of accomplishing something definitely appealed to me, so I decided to take the plunge.

I like rules, so I set myself a couple. I decided I’d have no limits on what I did in my sketchbook, but I am only giving myself 15 minutes/day (‘cause, frankly, that’s probably my practical limit to devote to a specific activity that isn’t “work”).

So, I’ve collected a sketchbook, and some (slightly) random materials, and I’ve made a start!

This is what I did the first day—just trying out some fun with different tools

Today’s attempt with some watercolours. I’ve been enamored of the effects of watercolours for years, but I definitely have a ways to go before I really understand how to work them. Kind of like the sky, but we just won’t talk about the rest.

The important thing for me is to stick with it! So, check back with me in April, to find out if I did, and what I managed to produce!

How about you? What’s your go-to happy/fun activity that you like to do when life is getting you down? I’d love to hear about it!

Slow sewing- Creating a quilted vest

I think it’s no secret that I love to sew! Although these days I often don’t get as much time to do any “fun” sewing (All sewing is fun, of course, some is just more fun than others!) as I might like. I FINALLY finished something recently, that I STARTED in the summer of 2021. Frankly, it’s not the longest standing project I’ve worked on, but it definitely took longer than I wanted!

I had the pleasure of taking a workshop (virtually of course!) with the lovely Sandra Johnson, who lead a day of making a quilted jacket. Well, I made it a vest, I didn’t like it. And I didn’t manage to do my homework, so I didn’t spend the day sewing a garment so much as trying to make my fabric!

I improv pieced the base for the back and two side fronts, and then appliqued a bunch of my signature cell shapes on the back!

Eventually I managed to get the base all put together, and then it was time to quilt! I can never manage to keep it simple, so I did a combination of machine matchstick quilting and then the back got some free motion quilting and big stitch hand quilting.

So, sometime last summer, I managed to cut pattern pieces, fit them to myself and get them sewn together. I embroidered a two inch shawl collar, added some cap sleeves, and voila! A finished vest.

I loved making my own fabric, although it was time consuming, and it was great to make a really one-of-a-kind garment (I hate it when I see my clothes on other poeple!). It really re-invigorated me, and I was so inspired to see what others on the workshop made, as well.

What do you do when you want to be inspired? Drop me a line and share one with me!

St. Andrew's Society, and discount

Starting a business is always challenging, particularly when you return from away and are trying to get things up and running from a stand still. Four years ago, I returned to Toronto from the UK with the intention of establishing my artist practice in jewellery, and kiltmaking. I had a plan (because I can only split my attention so many ways at once!): I’d concentrate on getting one side set up, and then work on the other. Serendipity ended up dictating that jewellery got the lionshare of my attention first!

Fast forward to 2020, and the new year, which included plans to start trying to develop the kiltmaking aspect of my business more. Well, we all know what happened then…..and, like alot of people, I fell into abit of a covid black hole. Fast forward again, and here we are moving toward the end of 2022. Amongst the activities I’ve done this year, is to joing the St. Andrew’s Society of Toronto. Apart from conncecting with people of Scottish descent, they have a charitable aspect that I admire, and hope to become more involved with in the future.

In the meantime, I’m happy to announce that I am partnering with the St. Andrew’s Society of Toronto to offer it’s members a 10% discount off my products and services. Keep your ears up for exciting news about this in the next few weeks!

And….if you love all things Scottish, I recommend visiting the society’s website, as they have a pretty exciting calendar of social events! Hope to see you at some of them:).

-Robin

The Hand Medal Project

Well, hard to believe, but yesterday there was snow in Toronto!  I can’t believe that winter is coming already.

There’s been a lot happening in the world recently, and sometimes it’s difficult to know what to do, and it’s easy to feel like you need to find some way to contribute.  This is a bit about one of the things I’ve elected to participate in. (I have been making a lot of cloth masks!!)

One of my colleagues sent me a link to something called the Hand Medal Project. You can see lots of photos on their dedicated instagram account. It recently wrapped up the maker phase, so it seemed like a good time to talk about it a little.

Some finished medals

What’s that you say?  You can read some nice things about it at the link, but it’s essentially about community recognising the amazing and vital efforts that health care workers have made to all of us during the Covid-19 outbreak. 

The idea is that jewellers around the world volunteer to make little metal medals in the shape of a hand, with a little ribbon, which will then be distributed to health care workers.  All the makers have a registered number, so that the recipients can find out who made their hand, if they want to.

Cutting out in copper

There are a lot of things that appealed to me about the project.  The hands are a tangible recognition from the community of contribution, as well as a memory of this period of time.  I also like the idea that they will be given out to workers by their peers and own community. Of course, my secret hope is that so many people participate, and that we make soooooo many medals, that everyone who “should” get one, can have one. I’m not sure how realistic that is, but it’s good to have goals! Especially since I didn’t quite manage to do as many as I aimed to (those little fingers were definitely challenging to get between to finish!!)

Working on finishing

My hope is that you are all staying healthy, listening to the government and healthcare experts, and following the guidance that they are recommending in this time, by being mindful of physical distancing from others and wearing face masks.  Let’s all do our part to keep each other safe and healthy and keep from spreading infection.  The more we do this, the sooner we will all be able to get back to some semblance of the life we’d rather have.

Have a great week!

-Robin