radical jewelry makeover - midwest

RADICAL MAKERS

Exhibition of contemporary jewelry and metalsmithing

November 2 - November 30
PlySpace Gallery
304 S. Main Street, Muncie, Indiana

The Muncie Arts and Culture Council (MuncieArts.org) and PlySpace, an artist in residence program funded in part by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, offer a calendar of thought-provoking events this fall as part of the Radical Jewelry Makeover.

Radical Jewelry Makeover (RJM) has been traveling nationally and internationally to communities since 2007, educating the public and jewelers of all levels about mining and material sourcing issues involved in jewelry making. Currently, materials used in jewelry production are sourced from some of the poorest countries in the world, sacred lands and disputed territories. The EPA estimates that hard rock mining is the most toxic industry in the United States. Additionally, Earthworks (earthworks.org) reports that an estimated 80% of the gold mined each year is used for jewelry, and that a single gold ring leaves 20 tons of mine waste.

But what does that mean for all of the weird, leftover costume jewelry left in a drawer, tangled chains, unmatched earrings, or the ugly gold broach you inherited from your great grandma?

Rather than let these items go to waste, RJM draws attention to the creativity and skills of local jewelry designers by collecting old, unwanted jewelry and using the resources to make new jewelry objects. This year, MuncieArts and PlySpace will be offering a series of events, workshops, exhibitions, and sales in partnership with the Ethical Metalsmiths Society, Ball State University Metals Guild, IU Bloomington, Earlham College, Bowling Green University, Western Michigan University, Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville, and professional jewelers from Chicago’s Gallery 2052 Chicago. Throughout the 2023-2024 residency season, artist residents will join the Muncie community to lecture and teach about their work in metalsmithing and jewelry leading a radical jewelry makeover-focused workshop or lecture.

“This project has been a wonderful way to collaborate with the community and other art programs as we talk about sustainable art practices and mindful making,” said Jessica Calderwood, Associate Professor of Metals and Jewelry at Ball State University.

And it’s not just happening in Muncie! This series is part of RJM Midwest, the largest radical jewelry makeover collaboration to date! In September, the collaboration gathered over $40,000 in donated gold and silver jewelry to be used for this and subsequent iterations of the project! That is not to mention the costume jewelry and other objects that were collected.

“The generosity of donors was shocking! I can’t wait to see what becomes of these materials as we work with artists and the community to remake the old pieces into new jewelry items,” said Erin Williams, Executive Director of MuncieArts.

Schedule of Events:

Workshop led by PlySpace Resident Artist Maia Leppo

Friday, October 20th from 5-9 PM
Location: Ball State University Arts and Journalism Building, Metals + Jewelry Studio, AJ123
RJM Makers Party – Intermediate skill level (some experience with jewelry and metalsmithing). Use your skills to remake items from the collection of donated jewelry into new items that will be highlighted and sold during the RJM Exhibition in January in Bloomington, IN, and in May in Muncie, IN.
RSVP to jcalderwood@bsu.edu

Special Event: Workshop, Artist Lecture, and Mindful Yoga in collaboration with COMPANION

with artists Braydee Euliss, Ellery Diaz, and Maia Leppo
Sunday, October 29th from 11-4 PM
Location: PlySpace Gallery – 304 S. Walnut St, Muncie, IN

Register / RSVP

Join us for a full-day workshop event:

  • 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM Mindful yoga practice focused on the heart chakra with Ellery Diaz

  • 12:00 – 1:00 PM Potluck Lunch

  • 1:00 – 1:30 Artist Lecture with PlySpace Resident Maia Leppo

  • 1:30 – 5:00 RJM Maker Party for beginners (no experience necessary), ages 16+

    Participants will bring one or more items of old jewelry to donate to the stash of materials. They will then leave with one new piece of jewelry they make while at the workshop. All other jewelry items made during the workshop will be sold to support the Ethical Metalsmiths Society and MuncieArts on November 2nd. More details at munciearts.org/RJM.
    RSVP at munciearts.org/RJM– Pay as you can.

Jewelry and Metalsmithing Exhibition and Sale

Thursday, November 2nd (First Thursday) 5-8 PM
Location: PlySpace Gallery – 304 S. Walnut St. Muncie, IN
Be inspired by an exhibition of work from participating professional metalsmiths from around the region. A selection of jewelry will be for sale through the Ball State Metals Guild and WORN Jewelry.

Workshop led by Jessica Calderwood, Associate Professor, Ball State School of Art

Friday, November 17th from 5-9 PM
Location: Ball State University Arts and Journalism Building, Metals + Jewelry Studio, AJ123

RJM Makers Party – Beginning and Intermediate skill level (no experience necessary). Use your skills to remake items from the collection of donated jewelry into new items that will be highlighted and sold during the RJM Exhibition in January in Bloomington, IN, and in May in Muncie, IN.
RSVP to jcalderwood@bsu.edu- Free

Meet the artists!

Maia Leppo graduated from Tufts University in 2008 with a degree in Biology and Community Health. She received training in jewelry and metals from various craft schools, including Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, Pocosin Arts, Penland School of Crafts and Haystack Mountain School of Crafts and her Masters of Fine Art from SUNY New Paltz.  She has participated in artist residencies at Arrowmont and Fallingwater and has taught around the country including Penland, Arrowmont, Pocosin, and Touchstone.  She currently works out of her studio in the Brewhouse Association on the south side of Pittsburgh.

Ellery Diaz is an artist and educator in Indianapolis. She currently teaches at the International School of Indiana, the Indianapolis Art Center, and Butler University's Health and Recreation Complex. Ellery’s art practice has become a hybrid of all things she loves: moving, feeling, and breathing. Her work is centered around play and takes many forms from Leave Behinds, swishy pants dances, and ice cube necklaces focused on social engagement and experience.

Braydee Euliss is an artist and curator who works with objects, spaces, and structures to explore the often inconspicuous ways they hold us up and hold us back. Her curatorial work focuses on the interdependence of artists and institutions, through public, private, and nonprofit agencies. She is the Owner/Director of COMPANION, an exhibition, project, and gathering space guided by artist-centered mutualism. She serves as the Director of Curatorial Affairs for BUTTER Fine Art Fair by GANGGANG and as the Indiana Arts Commission Region 5 Arts Partner. Her studio practice embraces a slow approach to working with raw, industrial, and salvaged materials that document past and future histories of utility and abandonment. Braydee holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Sculpture from the School of Art at Ball State University. She lives in and works out of a long-passed-over home in Indianapolis, IN

Jessica Calderwood is an artist working primarily with the mediums of metal, enamel, and marginalized crafts.  She received her BFA from the Cleveland Institute of Art and her MFA from Arizona State University, with an emphasis Metalworking. Her work has been exhibited throughout the U.S. and internationally in curated and juried exhibitions. She has participated in artist residencies with the John Michael Kohler Arts/Industry Program, Mesa Arts Center, and  several self-designed residencies with local industry.  Her work has also been published in Metalsmith Magazine, American Craft, NICHE, Ornament, the Lark 500 series, and the Art of Enameling. She is currently an Associate Professor of Art at Ball State University in Indiana.