Mindful of Silver

I love living in London, especially on a day like yesterday.


Goldsmith's front door



After meeting friends for lunch at sunny Southbank, I walked over to Holborn to the Assay Office at Hatton Gardens to have some Hallmarking done: then I headed to the Assay Office at Goldsmith's, Foster Lane, to speed up the hallmarking process so my work is ready - for next week's show in the Waterfront in Belfast.



So of course I had to go back for a second visit to the 'Mindful of Silver' exhibition and spend more time looking at Theresa Nguyen's ethereal silver sculptures. It is fascinating to see the drawings and models, getting an insight into the thinking behind the finished piece. I'd like to see that more often in shows.

Theresa Ngyuen

 I stopped by the Goldsmith collection, recognising more of Suzuki's Aqua Poesy vases, having sketched one at the Ulster Museum in December.



My Suzuki sketch with some Irish pots!

 

It was wonderful to see, for the first time, the work of  Adi Toch. Her sublime spherical containers seem to float on the glass surface. They are incredibly tactile and the titles such as Red Sand and Oil Drizzler evoke associations with desert travellers in the Middle East. Beautiful. 

As I headed for Baker Street to meet a friend, I just had to (!) stop in at Selfridges to check their wonderful array of contemporary jewellery. I spent quite some time at Shaun Leane's display, trying on gorgeous pearl rings and chatting to the very helpful assistant. His jewellery is as smooth as silk next to the skin -  refined, poetic sculptures. I can see how he is an award winning designer. Wonderful to at last try on his jewellery after reading about him in association with Alexander McQueen and seeing his work from pictures.

I met my friend at 'Croque Monsieur' on Baker Street and we headed to the grand Daiwa Foundation next to Regent's Park to hear a talk on Sino-Japanese relations (my friend is a fluent Japanese speaker and so he hears about these things.....!).  The speaker, Dr Yoichi Funabashi, is a well known and respected Japanese journalist, author and academic who has also lived for many years in China. The talk was informative and gave a balanced overview: it makes me want to find out more about how countries are getting along in the Far East in the light of China's 'Peaceful Development Strategy', especially as China is becoming so economically powerful. How might it change in the future?

I enjoyed hearing stories such as this little snapshot of the history of relations between Japan and China. In the early 7th Century, in connection with the tobacco trade with China, the Japanese Emperor addressed the Chinese Emperor using these words:

'The Emperor of the Land where the Sun rises sends greetings to 

the Emperor of the Land where the Sun sets'.

Needless to say, this greeting was not at all well received in China - and so the struggle over protocol and status continued on for centuries.

So, after yesterday's action-packed day, I can truly say I now have more than enough to reflect on as I head back to my studio in Camberwell this morning..........