Sunday, January 31, 2010

"Swell Joolery"

Webster Definition: tom·fool·ery : playful or foolish behavior
Pronunciation: \ˌtäm-ˈfül-rē, -ˈfü-lə-\
Function: noun
Date: 1812
When I was at the Seattle Museum of Art checking out the Alexander Calder exhibit, I couldn't help but notice the display of his jewelry. In the written description of his wearable artwork there was a mention of how he called these pieces "Swell Joolery". Calder had such a fun sense of humor, this made me smile. His "Swell Joolery" is not recognized or seen as often as his large installations.
I make a lot of little earrings out of the little pieces of glass left over from the larger mobiles. Glass is precious and recyclable like this. If I have little pieces left over I can melt them down onto these tiny wires and bend little kinetic works of art. Very little, very happy, very wear-able. Indeed they are examples of playful or foolish behavior.
If you are interested in owning a pair of my tom foolery - Swell Jewelry - I just listed a small collection of them in my Etsy shop!




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