Participants (see their HS progress)
- Antonia Boyle
- Aphra Cheesman
- Nina van Duijnhoven
- Jack Hadley
- Fran Leitch
- Nikki Perry
- Amelia Rothwell
- Mia Straka
- Simon Swale
- Susan Videler
- Michelle Wilkinson
- Macarena Bernal
HS6 collaboration video work
WELCOME TO HANDSHAKE 6 (HS6), 2020 – 2021/22
The HS6 two-year programme offered emerging jewellery artists a unique opportunity to develop skills through masterclasses, mentoring, and work development involving experimentation and exhibiting. Iris Eichenberg (US) selected twelve talented artists and paired them with recommended mentors who provided regular feedback and support throughout the two-year program. In 2019, Iris Eichenberg came to Auckland and conducted a masterclass with HS6 artists, igniting various conceptual and design approaches and opportunities. Her public lecture at Objectspace in Auckland drew a full house of enthusiasts.
Despite the challenges posed by COVID-19, each HS6 artist was able to continue their research, experimentation, and development online with the assistance of their assigned mentors. The first exhibition opportunity was pre-Covid and curated by Weasel Gallery in Hamilton (now rebranded as Laree Payne Gallery). During Covid, the HS6 artists showcased their work at various exhibitions, including “Signing-In” at Te Auaha, Wellington, and a large, curated exhibition called “CHAINreaction” at the Refinery as part of the first Nelson Jewellery Week.
Throughout the programme, the artists benefited from a series of lectures and workshops on professional ethics, fundraising, communication, and design. They also received valuable training on presenting and promoting their work online through the ON-E masterclass workshop led by Estella Saez (ES).
Despite the obstacles presented by COVID-19, the HS6 artists remained resilient, supporting each other and working together as a team. Their successful funding campaign and the production of a video and catalogue for the final exhibition MORPH at NorthArt in Auckland showcased their extraordinary qualities and demonstrated the power of effective teamwork. Overall, the HS6 program provided a valuable opportunity for emerging artists to develop their skill set and showcase their refined work to a wider audience.
Iris Eichenberg’s masterclass in 2020
HS6 focused primarily on the individual development of each mentee’s art practice, with feedback and assistance from their selected mentor. Their exploration package included research, experimentation, various design processes, and material explorations. The year kicked off with a JEWELcamp, covering expectations, obligations, and professional ethics.
Renowned artist and educator Renee Bevan conducted her influential PUSH-PULL workshop, providing a series of methods for exploring and expanding ideas and designs.
Following the JEWELcamp, a masterclass from Iris Eichenberg equipped HS6 artists with various toolsets of new approaches and opportunities.
HS6 artists at their MORPH opening, Northart, Auckland, August 2022
- (top row:) Maca Bernal, Simon Swale, Susan Videler, Antonia Boyle, Nikki Perry, Jack Hadley, Michelle Wilkinson
- (bottom row:) Fran Leitch, Mia Straka, Nina van Duijnhoven, Aphra Cheesman, Amelia Rothwell
HS6 NEWS & BLOGs:
Through the looking glass, and what Alice found there
This new world is different. Just like Lewis Carroll’s Alice in 1872, we are now submerged in a backwards place. Busy roads are quiet, concert halls silent, and galleries are closed. Time is not quite running backwards, but it is going at a slower pace.
Quick Objects – PUSH
These are strange times. The change of routine and having to stay at home can’t help but affect how we work as artists and what we make. For me, the past month has been full of experiments and different ways of working. Thinking about Renee Bevans PUSH/PULL workshop,...
Schmuck 2020 and Corona
Dear Nina, We are very pleased to invite you to “Schmuck 2020” the special jewellery show during the 72nd International trade fair Munich. Chequita Nahar, dean of Academy of Fine Arts and Design Maastricht selected 63 artists from 29 countries out of 802...
Gatherings and interferences
We HS6’ers gathered in one place for our masterclass with Iris Eichenberg on 25 January 2020. The day before, we had met each other for the first time at Jewel Camp and shown our presentations to the room. Renee Bevan did her Push/Pull supercharged workshop with us...
Knots in the stomach
It was a little daunting presenting to a largely unknown group in Auckland that first day, however the benefits far outweighed any initial concerns. Renee Bevan grounded us all with a quick introduction to the Push /Pull theory. I feel fortunate to be with a group of...
IMPOSTER
Turning up on the first day of JEWELcamp I felt like a total impostor. I’m not a ‘real jeweller’ but a gleeful hobbyist. I haven’t gone to jewellery school. I’m impatient and I don’t know how to do things properly. Instead I go to jewellery night classes and watch...
A Manifesto Mashup
I begin with research around an idea. I obsess over it. It fills my head, completely, overwhelmingly. Everything revolves around this idea. Then I need to take time to give it space. Try not to rush it. To unfocus for a while. My themes tend towards the dark side, so I have to escape them for a bit. For my own sanity.
Then, when all the madness dissipates, I begin.
Intentional or by default?
Exhausting and at times an emotional roller-coaster, but what an amazing experience the Masterclass with Iris Eichenberg was. I am so grateful and happy to be part of this project and wonderful bunch of Handshakers! Fellow artists becoming friends to learn from, share...
INSIGHTS WITH IRIS
‘What makes the body present in this world is the doorway that is too small to fit through without having to make a shift’. Iris Eichenberg Over four days at the end of January 2020, we 12 Handshake6 participants came together for the first time to take part in a...
MY EXPERIENCE BEGINNING HS6
Meeting Iris was fabulous. The masterclass weekend was exhausting, by Sunday I had been working for 6 days straight in the same building not having much contact with the non-jewellery world. I was jewellery-ed out. During those eternal sessions with Iris I carefully...
MEETINGS OF MINDS
January and February have been a whirlwind starting with the kick-off of Handshake 6 and ending in the beginnings of studio experiments. Jewelcamp started with sweaty hands and a pounding heart. Upon meeting the other handshakers I found myself among friends, with...
LET’S BEGIN AT THE BEGINNING…
LET’S BEGIN AT THE BEGINNING… by Michelle Wilkinson | Mar 2, 2020 | Handshake6, Michelle Wilkinson In the last few days I have felt an almost overwhelming desire to stand in the ocean. Not to swim, or float or splash, just to stand. Waist deep, not moving, focused on...
NUGGETS
Iris Eichenberg masterclass – Jan 2020 “It’s about the final outcome being not just jewellery.” The thing that struck me most about Iris, aside from her warmth and generosity, was her use of language. The way she uses words is poetic and insightful. She has the...
IT’S MORE THAN A “WOO WOO TABLE”!
‘All art is magic’, Alistair Crowley The HS6 workshop in Auckland back in January with Iris Eichenberg was sublime (11 fantastic people to be in this journey with too). Through Iris’s exquisitely crafted turn of phrase regarding our work and projects, she challenged...
CONVERSATIONS WITH IRIS EICHENBERG
A reflection on the masterclass & our first collaboration as HANDSHAKE 6 I have a feeling that the masterclass with Iris Eichenberg was one of those critical moments in my practice as a contemporary jeweller. I left with a greater understanding of what is...