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:
La Notte /The Night: Love, Longing and Loneliness in the Age of Isolation.
Recent workshops with Estella have been challenging , but opened up so many new avenues for work and thinking; being asked to create moving image is new (to us all i think!) but the opportunity to develop refinements and multiple iterations resulted in surprising...
Drawing the threads together – Place, Space and Time
contemporary jewellery practice represented through time based media in a virtual landscape
Words with Iris July 2021 It had been months since Iris and I connected, both of us have had a busy year. It is always so grounding to hear her voice carefully analyse the photos I have sent her. We stray into other topics then work our way back to my work. She set me...
August Progress
Coloured skin, What does it go through, what does it endure? How does it feel? It's the end of August. Im in level 4 lockdown being diligent. MB
Gleanings (part 1)
To glean: ‘to gather information or material bit by bit’ (Meriam-webster) I thought it would be good to put together a list of some of the recent things I’ve been learning, reading, watching and listening to; some artists whose work I’ve been looking at and...
Drawing the threads together – Focus
Empty promises will now be fulfilled in a gush of blog posts to catch up on past busy months! We have been a collective hive of activity, exhibition planning, fundraising doings, online exhibition masterclasses plus personal research, playing, exploring and making....
Thank you…
Thank you to Judy for lending me 'Fetish' ! A wondrous collection of essays...! x
Conversation no. 2
A while back I posted a blog about a conversation I had with one of my pieces which was the result of a performative exercise that Peter Deckers asked us to do. (The conversation, Aug 4, 2020) Here is a conversation I had with another piece, picking up from where we...
How to chain an elephant?
In parts of the world, elephants are exploited for transportation, construction, logging, ceremonial use and as a tourist attraction. The elephant must obey his owner and cannot run rampant. Elephants are large animals, built to uproot trees using only their trunk, so...
June delights
Now we are six. Looking back at the month of June. Big month. The magic cortisone injection into the shoulder took place early June. It took a couple of weeks to settle down, but it enabled me to get some sleep, and reduce my painkiller intake. Estela Saez...
Slim Pickings
Looking back through my diary to see what I’ve been doing...here goes...now May. I had nothing to show Attai this month. The debilitating shoulder is ongoing. Deeply frustrating and a much more social month as a consequence, catching up with fellow HS6’s and family....
Cremation of a Pearl
Looking back through my diary to see what I’ve been doing...here goes...back in April. I tripped up the stairs and hurt my shoulder. The aching was so bad and it was finally diagnosed as a frozen shoulder through ultrasound and have been getting treatment twice a week...
veni vidi vici video ( well sort of)
I do not consider myself a video artist. Clips of a large ship cruising up the harbour, my adult kids clowning about, the cat monstering a small dog, or a snow day constitute my video ‘library’. It has therefore, been a revelation participating in Estela Saez’s video...
“Silence isn’t empty; it’s full of answers”…Anonymous
Mouth Stone 2021 I intended to post more of past work from the “Under the bed“ series, however, I got waylaid with some fantastic mentoring sessions and discussions with Iris. These interactions have resulted in my work turning a corner into something I never thought...
The next step. A meeting with Renee Bevan.
What lies beneath the beauty of the work needs to be revealed, I realise. That the exhibition conditions might not facilitate this and that is OK. The topic is too big to unpack all at once. Because what lies beneath the beauty of the work will not go away, it's still...