Ulrika, a Swedish artist, performs random acts of “public embroidery” - small images or short words that she cross-stitches on seats in public transport. What a great way to make a long journey just a little bit brighter. Embroidery kits can be sent for free, or download patterns at the website. Send photos of your own public embroidery for the public embroidery blog. [via wooster]

Denyse Schmidt’s solo exhibition opens tomorrow (3/16/2007) at the P Design Gallery in Denver, Colorado USA. If you’re lucky enough to be in town, you can meet her in person at the opening. The five new quilts are made from wool and vintage cottons. The show runs through May 19.

Image: Renee So, The Merchant and The Villain, 2005, knitted lambswool, in Echoes of Home: Memory and Mobility in recent Austral-Asian art.

Currently at the Fremantle Arts Centre, WA until 15 April then will be at Geraldton Regional Art Gallery.

Presents the work of 14 Australian artists, craftspeople and designers who have an Asian background, and reveals these artists’ contribution to contemporary understandings of cross-cultural experience, and includes historical and experimental approaches to media.

Asian cultures have always played a role in Australia’s cultural history and in recent years these cultures have been an important influence on Australian visual culture – particularly in contemporary craft. … Many of these contemporary works utilise traditional techniques to tell their stories. … the exhibition reveals a diverse range of work across various media, with ceramics, textiles, fibre works, fashion, work on paper, jewellery, sculpture and painting.

[extract from state of the arts]

read a review of this travelling exhbition at ::Artlink and read more about ::Renee So.

Musee du Luxembourg, Paris

Having just returned home from a week in Paris - I thought I would share with you all a wonderful exhibition I saw whilst there…’René Lalique - Bijoux d’exception’ on show at the Musee du Luxembourg until the end of July this year.
I went on the first day and it was just stunning! René Lalique is perhaps best known now for his glass but his jewellery is every bit as beautiful and striking…and to me {as a jeweller}, much more interesting ;)

Haircomb - Bone, Gold, Diamonds - paint-up

What was most fascinating for me was to see such a great number of Laliques’ own sketches, designs and paint-ups [a traditional technique for depicting jewellery where you paint the item to scale in perfect detail, so it looks like you could pick it up...mostly executed in ink, watercolour and gouache]…when in the modern world, jewellers and designers are increasingly using the crude and personality-less method of computer rendering rather than drawing by hand and keeping this tradition alive. Seeing this work - which looks as fresh and invigorating as the day it was painted, really is a breath of fresh air.

Haircomb - Bone, Gold, Diamonds

Paint-up … watercolour, ink, crayon

What I couldn’t get over was the stunning and absolute level of extreme skill involved in creating these pieces - and also the scale. Many of the pieces are tiny, and often in catalogues or books, you never really can appreciate how intricate and amazing the pieces are. It is hands down one of the best ‘historical’ exhibitions I have ever seen - and as I write this I am wishing I could nip back for another look!! I would urge anyone who could possibly see this to do so - the collection of work has been brought together from all over the world {many of the pieces being in private collections} and really does make for the most splendid group!

10 Euros to enter, and the exhibition runs from the 7th of March - 29th July 2007. Catalogue, available only in French, is 39 Euros.