For those that missed the chance to pack their suitcases so tight until the zippers puckered, for those that wished to collect new pieces from talented artists at the trunk show and tools from the vendor room, for those that couldn't make it up to Toronto, this blog's for you.

 

The Pin Swap:

After checking in, settling in, and diving in on Wednesday, the first round of pins and business cards were exchanged during the annual pin swap. Toronto being my first SNAG conference, I realized this type of activity is way more fun in the role of participant than observer, a mistake I am determined not to repeat after finding myself pining for pins.

 

Reactive Metal's magenta/cobalt blended diamonds, Michael Dale Bernard's powder coated and laser cut resin pins in hues of teal/pacific blue, and fellow crafthaus member Linda Savinaeu's RP diamonds -where only the outlined angles were printed, strategically leaving visible the negative space inside- provided SNAG guests with a bounty of brooches. 

 A shot of assorted SNAG artists’ pins, as swapped by attendee Laura Stanger.

 

The Gallery Hop:

Thursday night's exhibition crawl gave SNAG guests an unlimited day pass for streetcar jaunts and subway trains to explore the 18 location Gallery Hop. I met up with fellow crafthaus member John Lunn and friends, and started at Toronto's Textile Museum for their show SHINE. The standout piece being the 20 foot long tapestry pictured below, not made from textiles, but rather aluminum.

Carmelo Arnoldin, The Last Supper, 2013, tapestry constructed with strips of aluminum from 3,363 recycled soft drink and beer cans, 6.6 ft x 20.2 ft / 203 x 616 cm

A Bit of Clay on the Skin: New Ceramic Jewelry, in it's encore exhibition held at The Gardiner Museum was a true delight. The ceramic-centric institution is of course a perfect setting for the show, and the SNAG Conference and Toronto International Jewelry Festival is of course perfect timing for the show. Enjoy this PBS video below of the exhibition before its journey to The Gardiner Museum.

Watch A Bit of Clay on the Skin via PBS, filmed at the Museum of Art and Design.

 

18 Karat Gallery offered up a second public viewing of [Fe]rrous, the well known show traveling from San Francisco's Velvet Da Vinci Gallery. If you have yet to see the steel, iron, and alloyed pieces selected for [Fe]rrous, view the digital exhibition in house on crafthaus here.

 

Two treats at the Design ExchangeDesign Sans Frontiers included larger sculptural works & A Table! explored artistic interpretations of table settings in any vast expanse of the word.

 

At the Harbourfront Centre, Quintet: A Conversation in Design, brings together Shona Kearney, Paul McClure, Wing-Ki Chan, Martha Glenny, & Katharina Moller -5 professors from Toronto's esteemed George Brown College- in the fifth installment of their traveling exhibition that has already touched ground in Montreal, Halifax, and Ottawa. Shona Kearney's Direction and Movement series especially caught my eye because of an understood dialogue the work had with the display. The spotlight created shadows off the figures, prolonging her motive of reminding us we are not alone, and the grounded connectedness we all have but forget during our daily grind. Read about Kearney's inspiration and the other Quintet artists in their online catalogue here

 

Shona Kearney, Direction and Movement, Steel and Silver, 5 cm x 5 cm x 0.5 cm.

 

The methods Jules Verne used in his literary classic to circumnavigate the globe -railroad, horse drawn carriage- are obviously slower than today's standards. Similarly, SNAG representatives mentioned this year for the first time, audio recordings synced with powerpoint slides of speaker presentations will be available online, expeditiously increasing your ability to circumnavigate the conference, heading straight to the topics of your choosing. In fact, to get an additional quick and complete overview of shows and pieces featured during the SNAG/TIJF Gallery Hop, check out the 80 page Toronto International Jewelry Festival guide online.

 

From the time available for check in Wednesday afternoon, to the last deejayed song on the dance floor Saturday night, the 80 hour Meta Mosaic conference schedule was filled to capacity, so stay tuned for more SNAG conference coverage as the days progress!

 

-Rebecca Rose
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Replies to This Discussion

Rebecca, thanks for noticing my 3D printed diamond pin!

You're welcome Linda!

For future SNAG Conference attendees here are a few tips for your pins.

  • Hallmark/sign your pins, add year and provide a card/tag with your pins. It is helpful is putting a name with a face with a pin after the frenzy of the pin swap.

  • Make pins in your "signature artistic voice" so that people will remember your work.

  • Creating a fewer number of  quality pins is better than 50 or 100 pieces of junk that people throw away before they leave the hotel. It doesn't have to be expensive.
  • A great idea trumps materials every time.
  • If people like your pin they will wear it throughout the Conference.


Harriete

One of my past SNAG pins on the left.

 

So true Harriete. A clever idea is better than the material it is made of. I regularly wear pins that I got over the years and it always reminds me of good moments and good friends. I have several white pins and I put them altogether and they look great worn like that.

Linda

I agree, each piece should represent the artist's body of work, not only in style, but craftsmanship, ethos and manifesto. Quality trumps quantity every time. Speaking of memorable pins, here's a snapshot of your name tag during the conference: http://instagram.com/p/ZdcDmhP27t/ 

It was great meeting you in person!

Thanks Rebecca. Meeting people at the Conference is always one of the best parts  for me. Glad we had the opportunity.

I make my own Name Tags so that I don't have to wear stick on generic name Tags.

It is a great way to meet people too. "Everyone knows your name" and it is a great conversation starter. use your signature materials, and artistic voice so that this pin can represent you and your work.

Everyone can do this regardless of media.

Paper, cardboard, ceramic.wood, can be a name tag.

Harriete

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