Last Friday, March 4, we celebrated the release of the Artist Odyssey's new film "Anne Wolf: The Ancient Art of Mokume Gane." We started off with mokume gane demonstrations in the courtyard right next to the film premiere. A pretty good crowd gathered to watch the hammering and torching of metal. I enjoyed answering audience questions that ranged from geeky mokume speak about layer stacks and solid-state vs. liquid state diffusion bonding, to where I buy my materials and what kinds of gold I used.
As dusk gathered, we all moved inside to watch the film premiere, a 12-minute documentary by The Artist Odyssey. This film is part of a larger project of artist documentaries; five are up on their website now, with many more on the way.
I think the folks at Artist Odyssey did a fabulous job of telling my story and bringing to light the fascinating technique of mokume gane. Great music and graphics too! I loved how they emphasized why I only use recycled metals, and also how meaningful it is for me as part of the LGBT community to be creating wedding bands for straight and gay couples alike.
If you missed the premiere, you can see it on their website here.
After the film, we all headed up to my studio. I wanted to show some fun new equipment I have that makes the bonding and forging of my mokume gane much easier - and plus I thought folks would enjoy watching glowing hot metal be squeezed flat in a 20-ton hydraulic press! We have some video of that coming soon - need to sit down with my tech guru (aka Ame) to get that edited and uploaded.
By the end of the evening I was pretty tired, but so grateful for the love and support of friends and family. Big thanks to my assistant Francesca for working a very long day and enlisting the help of her boyfriend Marc. Thanks also to Alan Ziter and everyone at NTC for their support. And of course thanks to my sweetheart Ame for taking such great pics and video of the event, even though she was still recovering from an impressive bout of bronchitis!

I’m very excited to introduce my first intern, Francesca Urciuoli. Francesca is a talented jewelry artist from Perugia, Italy who will be assisting me and advancing her jewelry/metals studies here at Anneville for the next few months. Francesca will be helping out with my classes at Anneville Studio and volunteering at WCCPL, sharing with us her unique skills and outlook.
Francesca is fresh from finishing her MFA at the top-ranked metals program at SUNY New Paltz in New York. Before that, she received her BFA in metals from Alchimia in Florence, Italy. Francesca's approach to jewelry focuses on exploring the properties of unconventional jewelry materials such as metals, silicon and fabric.
We invite you to a special Friday Night Liberty to help welcome Francesca. Friday, February 5th, 5-9pm. She will be showing her work, and would love to answer your questions about her schools, her work, the difference between American and European jewelry, what it was like to drive across the U.S. from New York to San Diego, and anything else you might have always wanted to ask an Italian jeweler. Word has it she cooks, too! And that she's bringing homemade Italian goodies for us to share. Wow!
See some of Francesca's work below, and more on her website.

We had a great turn-out for this year's holiday open studio. Folks of all ages enjoyed the fun of making their own copper pendant with pre-cut discs or rectangles. With all the prep work done, folks were free to focus on their designs. And the low cost of $5 made it an easy decision for some holiday creativity. The event worked out so well I did again the next weekend for the Holiday Walkabout. I was so busy handing out pendant blanks that night I didn't even get to take photos!

Visiting Artist Dennis Turner and his students
Next Open Studio - This Friday, October 2nd, 5-9pm
 
Anneville Studio will be hosting visiting artist Dennis Turner and his jewelry students from the San Diego Mineral & Gem Society in Balboa Park. Dennis Turner is joined by students Sheryl Haupt, Jackie Leverone, Julia Monroe and Irene Wetsman. The award-winning silver jewelry on display will include the techniques of chasing and repoussé, enamel, reticulation, mokume gane, stone-setting and more. Stop by and be dazzled!

Anneville will be just one of over 80 artist studios, galleries, museums and other art destinations open. With a dozen fabulous restaurants within walking distance, it makes a great evening out. Don't miss it!
When: Friday, October 2, 5-9pm
What: Handcrafted art jewelry, live jewelry-making demos
Where: Anneville Studio, barracks 15 at Liberty Station
Cost?: Free, open to the public, part of
NTC at Liberty Station's Monthly Open Studio

top: Sheryl Haupt
middle: Irene Wetsman
bottom: Dennis Turner