Day Three (2/2): Deakin, Ishikawa and more Schmuck shows

Today we began with a visit to the studio of Laura Deakin and Mari Ishikawa. They work in a flat in an apartment building. Each room has become a studio for one of the three artists who inhabit it. It was interesting to see how each person has converted their space. Laura has incorporated a fume cabinet to continue her work with resins and plastics. Ishikawa’s space included many of her photographs, a stream of her practice which is intertwined with her jewellery making.

Laura Deakin had draws full of her previous projects, experiments, accidents, mistakes and finished pieces. She allowed us to carefully peer through them and ask questions after she had briefly introduced the way her practice has developed as she continues to explore her chosen materials. While Deakin has developed methods for researching and refining conceptual directions for her work, she, like Britton, feels it unnecessary to directly translate her ‘reasons’ or ‘messages’ to the wearer, instead allowing the wearer to find their own meanings when engaging with her pieces. Deakin also gave us insights into her time studying at Munich Academy. It was a great chance to ask questions about how classes worked, teaching methods and the unique experiences that could be found at the Academy.

Ishikawa discussed the way she uses photography to inform her jewellery making. She spoke of how both crafts can load the overlooked and everyday with new meaning and preciousness. The forms of her jewellery pieces, but particularly her colour palettes, are derived from the black & white, desaturated, and night-time photographs she takes in wilderness areas. I had the pleasure of wearing one of Ishikawa’s large and long necklaces. It boasted a large articulated mass of organic castings. The piece very much came alive in my hands and Ishikawa commented that she had made the necklace’s chain very long, so that the wearer, not just on-lookers, could appreciate the piece. I certainly appreciated this access to the work, as the wearer I was able to look down, cupping the pendant in my hands, playing with and admiring the movement of the work. This intimate focus on the experience of the wearer is also present in Deakin’s brooches, which reveal their material nature at the back- only to their wearer.

After the studio visit we went to see the group show that Laura Deakin was exhibiting in Conglomerate at Gescgaft. After that we saw another nine shows so this was another big day.

Porzellanschmuck by Silke Trekel at Galerie Artefakt; Aire Negro Alejandra Solar curated by Brigitte Betz at Guest At Vintage Design, Markus Muller; Trophies in the Reign of Coyote at Deutsches Jagd – und Fischereimuseum; The nature of Structure – Jacqueline Ryan at Galerie Isabella Hund; Diana Dudek at Wittenbrinkfuenfhoefe; Farbige Preziosen at Galerie P 13 bei Carl Weishaupt; Meet the artist Doerthe Fuchs – Schmuck – Handlung at BayerischerKunstgewerbe-Verein Galerie fur Angewandte Kunst; Lux Is The Dealer at Kunstpavillion; and From the Coolest Corner Nordic Jewellery at Galerie Handwerk.