Apple Blossom

Apple trees are very hardy but once they start into growth in early spring, the new growth and blossom can be easily damaged by frost. Not only are plants in full flower vulnerable, but buds and even fertilised flowers can be damaged.

Frost occurs when temperatures fall below 0ºC (32ºF).  On clear nights warmth is radiated out and lost. So protection should be maintained for two weeks after flowering if severe frosts threaten.

Apple producers in my area use sprinklers to protect crops, which yields some fabulous pictures. The ice makes a protection layer, so the blossom itself doesn’t freeze.

With the sun shining it’s as if the whole field is covered in millions of diamonds. So beautiful!

Frozen Apple Blossom looks like big pink diamonds.

Apple blossom tree covered in ice.

A perfect little snail crawling over a cherry branch.

It wasn’t even more than one centimeter. I couldn’t resist taking pictures of her. As I get animals in front my macro-lens they always make me think. It’s as if they want to tell me something. I remembered that in September when I resurrected this blog I also had a snail pictured. At that time it was a snail without house. It struck me as symbolic that today I got the snail with house before my camera just on a moment I begin to feel at home on my blog.

It isn’t easy to start a blog as an untrained writer. Often it is a big struggle to find the words. But I do like the challenge. Writing even starts to help me to get more clear where to write about, a very unexpected bonus. So what needs to get clear?

I am a jeweler who is always inspired by the abundance in nature around me. This strange process from inspiration into a tangible piece of jewelry is what I would like to share with you.

So.. there’s another story connected to a snail house which led to a silver object.

Two years ago I found the empty shell of a snail. With two-component silicon material I made a mold of it. This mold I used to make part of a tiny whistle to call out my creativity and joy with sound. Sound does other things than visuals and that was something I needed at that time. I chose the snail house to be part in the whistle because I felt I was hidding inside and I needed to get out. So every now and then I carry the whistle with me, to call out the courage to go on, on my creative path. As you see what I have accomplished since those two years, you can see the whistle worked.

Althought my blog is still tiny, like the little snail,  I know now it’s perfect as it is and only has to start growing into a big snail. But remember, as a shy writer there will be times I just want to curl up inside my shell.

After telling this story I am curious which animal has inspired you to make a piece? Please, share your stories in the comments

The silver snail whistle on a rubber chain. Whistle was made in an online class with Donna Penoyer on Craftcast

On a clouded day Forget me not brings color.

The lecture has been printed and is available through the Neue Sammelungs website. I can recommend it to anyone interested in contemporary jewellery to give it a good read:
Freedom has its limitations. Jewellery now, seen from a Dutch perspective.  (link to the lecture is on the bottom of the page)

As the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam reopens in 2013, the Unger jewelry collection donated on obtaining her PhD, will be on permanent display.  The collection contains Dutch jewelry with an emphasis on 1930 to 1970. She used it for her book  ‘DutchJewellery in the 20th Century’, that served as the starting point for her doctoral research.

The complete review about my trip to Munich is published on Art Jewelry Forum.

Previous post about Schmuck: Jewellery in Munich

The jury of the Herbert Hofmann Award 2012

Cherryblossom in april. Fragile white and delicate stems.

Rhododendron is an early bloomer and the national flower of Nepal.

On a sunny day this Forsytsia makes it even more bright.

The catalog of the exhibition.

Every year in march are makers, wearers and onlookers of jewellery gathered in Munich, Germany, to see and talk about studio-jewellery in all its aspects. How did this happen?

It all started with the first special jewellery show “Schmuck” in 1959, initialized by Herbert Hoffmann. It was and still is, part of the Internationale Handwerksmesse (trade fair), an annual sales exhibition in Munich.  The fair in 2012 existed of 6 big halls where around 900 businesses representing more than 60 trades are displaying their innovative products.
Hal A1 is dedicated to Handcraft & Design, showing woodwork, bavarian clothing, glasswork and more beside independent jewellery designers. This hal A1 is also were the jewellery exhibition “Schmuck” is located.
Since 1973 the Herbert Hofmann Award is given to work in this exhibition.
The work that is awarded is weight on “innovativeness, originality of conception, outstanding execution, and ornamental effect”, according to the catalogue.
This year prizes where awarded to Alexander Blank, Despo Sophocleous and Tore Svensson.

In conjunction with “Schmuck” there is, since 1979, also Talente. Here young artists till 35 year can send in work to be juried into the exhibition. Quote from the Fair site: “TALENTE is an international competition for young craftsmen and women in design and technology. This special show reflects the ideas of young people in the context of an experimental approach to materials and craft techniques. The best entries are awarded the highly sought-after TALENTE prize”  This year Talente 2012 winner is Märta Mattsson.
Montserrat Lacomba from Mar de color rosa was also there and you can see some more pictures on her site.

Märta Mattsson. Broche from the "fossils" serie. Zikade, zerstossener Pyrit, Azurit und Kupfererz, Kunststoff, silver

Galleries in Munich town soon saw the opportunity of the people already gathered around this prestigeous prize and made sure they offered gallery openings with new work. So the Schmuck exhibition became the name giver of the whole event of showing and talking about contemporary jewellery in Munich. It is also know as “Jewellery in Munich”
It attracts many jewellery afficionados as I am one. This extensive jewellery gallery list gives you an idea of all that happens in town: Jewellery exhibition list.

As it was my first time going to Schmuck 2012 I joined the organized trip from Art Jewelry Forum to being led around in the city of Munich. This was an excellent choice because of the opportunities to visit for example studio’s of artists, the Academy of Fine Arts and several galleries with a tour.
In next posts I will focus more on what I actually have been doing and the galleries I was able to visit.

Next post:
A lecture from Marjan Unger during “Schmuck 2012″: Freedom has its limitations.

[Nomenclature according to Wikipedia about Schmuck]

Green is pushing its way through the brown, declaring that spring is there!

At the end of the winter these berries bring vivid red in the landscape.