Lalique - the art, the artist and ....the moon

Brooch by Rene Lalique

 It is often said that a picture is worth a thousand words.
And in the case of Rene Lalique's work - no words can really describe the exquisite beauty of his art pieces.
However,
this is also one of the cases where it is worth going beyond admiring the art and realize the greatness of the artist.

Rene Lalique was a rare individual: he possessed the ability to pursue and excel in two distinct careers, initially as an exclusive jewelry designer and later as the creator of stunning commercial glassware. - this is how Eric Knowles starts his review of Lalique.

Cicadas

Even more remarkable, is the fact that Lalique's career spanned two artistic periods - the Art Nouveau and the Art Deco - and while he remained loyal to his famous 3 'F' inspiration sources (fauna, flora and female) - his designs evolved and were at the leading edge of both artistic styles.

A gold enamel and opal wooded landscape plaque
inset with diamonds

Above and beyond these facts, there are two things which make Lalique a very unique artist.

The first one is his ability to innovate and reinvent the fundamental assumptions of both jewelry and glass arts.

Just think about it for a moment:

Would it occur to you to value a painting based on the price of the paint and canvass used to create it? Sounds silly, right?

But in the jewelry domain, what is more obvious than to price the piece based on the material it's made of?

Lillies of the valley,
horn, gold, opaque enamel on gold hair comb. 

Lalique challenged this concept.
While he used gold and diamonds in his creations, he loved semiprecious stones, in particular Opals.

He used enamel, glass and bronze in his jewelry pieces - and created a new standard for judging a piece's worth -
the artistic merit rather than the materials used.

Jewelry becomes Art, not just decorative art.

His innovations in the jewelry field included the use of non-traditional materials, for example horn, as well as technical innovations such as its transparent enamel technique - 'plique-a-jour'.

Which brings me to the second reason I admire Lalique's genius.

The kiss. Brooch in silver and pressed glass.

Swans vase. Blown glass in silver mount.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             Lalique mastered two distinct mediums. To most of us, there is very little in common between metal and glass, but let's take a closer look.
Enamel is a vitreous material, basically glass powder.
Lalique's work with glass, started when he perfected his Enamel technique. At some point he started incorporating sculpted glass pieces in his jewelry.
But his innovative mind did not stop there.
He mastered the lost wax technique used in jewelry from antiquity, and applied it to glass - producing vases with unbelievable detail - not really achievable in any other way.
Remember the Opals he loved? - He experimented until he achieved the same type of opalescent effect in glass making use of the interplay between light and the glass transparency

Peacock bodice front. Gold, enamel, opal and brilliants

While there are quite a few artists that mastered more than one medium - take geniuses like Michelangelo as an example - few were able to blend them in such an innovative and creative way.  

Bacchantes. Lalique's famous sculpted glass vase

Two peacocks table lamp. Glass.

Hunt centerpiece, glass

One of Lalique's famous perfume bottles. Another innovation
as until his time, you would buy perfume in plain bottles and
pour it into your decorative bottle.

Are you familiar with the saying:

"Shoot for the moon and if you miss, you will still be among the stars" ?

Well, if there was even an artist I would set as "my" moon - this would be Lalique.

And the stars in this case, are still very far away - but definitely a worthy target.

This post was inspired by a long weekend my husband and I spent in France recently.
While the official reason for this trip was a family wedding, some of its highlights were seeing Lalique's work.

If you are in France, go see the 'Museum des Art Decoratifs' in Paris as well as Lalique's Museum in Wingen-sur-Moder.

Here are the relevant links:
This is the museum in Paris: http://www.lesartsdecoratifs.fr/english-439/
This is Lalique museum in Alsace region: http://www.musee-lalique.com/en

Suzanne. An opalescent statuette, fitted for illumination

Hope you enjoyed the read,

bye for now

Amy

Through the bead hole - A peek at the fascinating world of beads

A necklace of hand-blown seed beads made beginning
of 20th century I purchased in Venice. Saved for special events :-) 

Venice is the place where I fell in love with beads.
I was taking a beading class at the time, still working full time as a senior manager of an international company. I was so busy learning beading techniques, that I did not really paid much attention to the beads.
A short vacation in Venice and continuous immersion in its colors, history and Murano glass art - and I was hooked, addicted to these little glass beauties named beads.





And when I am hooked - I start reading and collecting (yes, I did come back with a small collection of Murano beads - the necklace below is a result of this trip :-))

Murano beads with dark blue Swarovsky - some of the beads I collected in Venice
turned into a beautiful necklace I named 'Midnight Blue'
you can see it in my Etsy store now

When it comes to beads, the more I read and learn, the more amazed I am at the universe of beauty and symbolism called 'beads'.

A string of rare beads on eBay, priced at over 600$!

This post is just a peek, into a tremendously rich and fascinating world of beads.
I have asked Sheila McLaughin and her daughter Shannon - owners of BeadyEyedBird on Etsy and bead collectors for many years to share with us some of the magic this world holds for them.







Question: Sheila, what attracted you to beads in the first place?
Sheila: Years ago, Shannon my daughter gave me a necklace she made, using a carved bead of a sweet-faced squirrel monkey (an animal I had as a beloved pet for many years). This has been a treasured necklace for all years since then.
Watching Shannon collect beads and natural stones, I have come to love the universe of beauty reflected in objects of adornment.

Old Russian beads from www.beadsky.com

Question: Can you share with us some little known facts about beads?
Sheila: I don't think people realize how highly prized beads have been historically, and even in the present day. Used for trade for many centuries, even today there are beads valued at hundred of thousands of dollars. One story goes that Manhattan was bought by the Dutch for ...24$ worth of beads. Whether true or not, this is an interesting anecdote showing the importance of beads, and well worth reading at 'Manhattan-sold-for-24$' 

Trade beads 1800 till mid 1900 from www.timestreams.com

Being used for trade, the location where beads were found, provides valuable information about ancient trade and trade routes.
But the story that beads tell us, goes way beyond trade routs.






Quoting Lois Sherr Doubin, author of 'The history of beads' -

"Beads so often mirror the culture of which they are part that they tell us a great deal about the social, political, economic and religious life of the people who have made and worn them."

Ritual specialist in Madagascar, photo by Kus Susan

To me, one of the most fascinating aspects of the bead world is their use in rituals, as well as the magic and curative power associated with them.
All across the world, thousands of miles apart, beads were (and are) used in rituals - whether wedding ceremonies in the Philippines or insuring the future of newly built houses in Colombia.
Believe it or not, beads were sometimes used as fees for passage to afterlife!






When I asked Sheila to share a 'bead story' that touched her heart, the one she mentioned was about Kate Diprose, a 3 year old girl who diagnosed with cancer - fought her way to health - encouraged by people all over the world who sent her beads to congratulate her for her struggle and survival through this terrible disease. Read more about it at ' beads of courage'.

Ancient beads, Indus Valley civilization, 2600 - 1900 BC

I do not know about you, but from now on, whenever I will see a beaded necklace, I will always look for the story behind it.
What is the story it tells about the person who made the beads?
The one who made the necklace?
About its wearer?
Was it meant to help someone heal? A memoir from an unforgettable vacation?
I think that if we will look deep enough, we may find unexpected stories in deceptively simple 'string of beads'

I would like to close this post, by thanking Sheila and her daughter Shannon for the information they shared with me, and if you became a bit more interested in beads now - here is where you can 'meet' them:
Web page
Etsy store
Facebook page

Until next post,
bye
Amy

Florence inspirations - Painting with (semiprecious) stones

We all know what painting is, and many of us own jewelry pieces with semiprecious stones.
But have you ever heard of paintings created with semiprecious stones?

A few years ago, I took a few painting lessons.
Mainly learning to use charcoal and watercolors.
When you start drawing a picture, you select the subject, take a piece of charcoal and...start to draw.
Obvious, right?

Take a look at this picture.

Girlandaio, who was Michelangelo teacher, coined the term 'painting with stone'.
Actually, it is painting with semiprecious stones.

Imagine you are the artist. Probably live in Florence - as this is the center of this craft.

In order to create this picture - you first need to select the stones.
Selecting the right pieces of stone, is of uttermost importance. It can take months to find the right colors and shades.

Some of the stones would be from Italy - Onyx, Calcedony, Verde Arno. Others would be imported from faraway lands: Blue Lapis lazuli, green Malachite, Jade.

Then you would draw the picture full scale, divide it into sections. Each section with need to be cut out from a slice of stone, exactly in the right shape. Just look at the flower petals in this picture - doesn't look easy - does it?

Work in process in the workshop of Renzo Scarpelli.
The plan is ready, the stone selected, now it is time to cut the stone.

   
The paper template is glued onto the slices of stone - and now the sawing starts.
As sometimes there are thousands of pieces required to make a single picture or tabletop - it can take month and even years to complete sawing all pieces.

Master Scarpelli at work, using the traditional bow and iron wire for cutting the stone.

Take a look at the stone selection in the drawers behind the bench!

Notice the grey paste behind the stone that is being cut?
It contains an abrasive powder that enables to cut through the stone.

How do you cut the pieces exactly in the needed shape to fit the picture perfectly?

The only answer I got was "maybe it is the 52 years of experience ...".

Pieces of stone all cut?

Now glue them together with beeswax and resin, placed on slate backing, polished and ...voila!

An art piece I now proudly own - The cat looking at the moon, by R. Scarpelli.

Florence was for centuries famous for the art of 'painting with stones'.

The institute of 'Pietre Dure', created by the Medici as a workshop - turned into a gem of a museum today, well worth a visit in order to see the wonderful art pieces and learn a bit about the process.

Here is a sneak preview:

Tabletop with parrot, flowers and military trophies - photographed by us at the museum

Just look at the incredible details, the parrot in the center

The parrot

...and one of the vases

Some of the old work benches are displayed on the first floor of the museum as well:

Yep, this is me looking at the beautiful wooden benches.
Notice the stone collection on the wall?

If you happen to be in Florence, and want to experience the art of painting with stones - here are a few places for you to visit:

Opificio delle Pietre Dure

Via degli Alfani, 78, Florence, Italy

The Medici Capella in Basilica de San Lorenzo - a marvel of Pietra Dure art.

Truly unbelievable.

If you want to see one of the very few artists in action in his workshop in Florence - 

stop by Scarpelli workshop and galleria at 

Via Ricasoli 59/r - 50122 Firenze  

Looking at this beautiful and demanding work, I realize how much I came to appreciate craftsmanship.
After all, art is something very subjective, and beauty is in the eyes of the beholder - but it is impossible not to appreciate the type of craftsmanship, honed by decades of experience that creates these unique one of a kind art pieces.

A very interesting counterpoint to our ready made / replicated / immediate results oriented world.

What do you think?

Bursting full of experiences from my 2 week stay in Florence, probably some of them will end up in the next posts.

Bye until then,
Amy