Behind the Scenes - Preparing for the Debut of the RJM film

Take a guess. How long does it take to produce a 10 minute film if you are working on it a minimum of 10 hours per day?


In the case of "Radical Jewelry Makeover: a traveling community mining and recycling project," months is the correct answer and after all that hard work we are happy to announce the first two screenings of the film with this electronic postcard.



Working along with the directors and producers of the film, Sarah Zentz and Dana Richardson, has been a real treat. They have been filming, interviewing, editing, re-filming, critiquing, and working diligently. Useful to the project has been simple internet communication software like Skype and Audacity. The following photo is a great example of sharing a screening and critique moment with co-director of RJM, Susie Ganch via Skype.


We look forward to seeing you at Binn's Park in Lancaster, PA from 8:00 - 9:30 PM on Friday September 4th for the debut screening and/or in New York at the Museum of Arts and Design on September, 12th. The special screening will take place as part of the museum's "jewelry study day" from 11:30 - 12:30 PM.

Feel free to contact Ethical Metalsmiths at mail@ethicalmetalsmiths.org with any questions.

Reflection on the Past and Keeping RJM moving!

Radical Jewelry Makeover IV - Penland, NC, specifically designed as a 2-week workshop for the renowned Penland School of Crafts, was a success! How do we know? Well, how could such a hard working and smart group of students, spell bound by the Penland mystique and handed beautiful jewelry donations from a community "mine" to create with come up with anything less than success?

Have a look at a few photos of students studying and sorting the donations, hard at work in the studio, and later, the final exhibition.



































The images below of the final exhibition in Penland's new letterpress studio are actually from Amy Tavern's blog (thanks Amy!). It is a good thing so many people are collaborating on each RJM, together we don't miss a beat! Enjoy these exhibition shots. We are waiting to unveil photos of the finished work until Ethical Metalsmiths launches its new website (getting closer to launch date!). Www.ethicalmetalsmiths.org will feature each edition of RJM with its own gallery.

Ethical Metalsmiths and RJM Directors Susie Ganch and Christina Miller would like to thank Penland School of Crafts for generously supporting the project beyond the traditional scope of the workshops and especially Adam Whitney and Amy Tavern. Our teaching assistants, Kaitlyn Evans and Gabriel Graig, did a fabulous job as our extra eyes, ears and brains, additionally, they made beautiful, responsible work. To all of the jewelry donors, we really can't do this project without generous support like yours. We hope that you feel confident that your jewelry is getting put to good use! And most of all we'd like to thank the participating artists. You brought real vitality, creativity and generosity to the 4th edition and it was an honor to work with all of YOU!

Thank you to:
Nina Dinoff
Peyton Kinnaird
Soyeon Kim
Erica Bissette
Betsy Rowland
Stella Schloss
Debbie Chapman
Perry Craven
Gabriel Graig
Allison Dahle
Renee Mendola
Nathalie Siman
Mary Tevington
Greg Owen
Pamola Powell
Nancy Kerr
Joshua Kuensting
Pat Nevin
Kaitlyn Evans
Elaine Butcher
Stephanie Voegele

Independent Jewelers
Amy Tavern
Adam Whitney
Matt Willig
Cynthia Rohrer

Finally, a special thanks to Florence Hardymon who through the simple act of donating some old jewelry catapulted Radical Jewelry Makeover over the wall and off on a brand new adventure.

Stay tuned for information about the new Radical Jewelry Makeover promotional film produced and directed by collaborators Dana Richardson and Sarah Zentz.