Saturday, March 28, 2009

Hannah Zakari

I just shipped off a new batch of goodies to Hannah Zakari in Scotland… necklaces, pins, earrings in vibrant hues:

Friday, March 27, 2009

March Magazines

Japanese Fashion Magazine SOEN
March 2009
I'm featured in the "Who's Next What's Next New York" section on page 21
Many thanks to writer Yasuko Soma!


Boss Magazine, a full color insert in the Australian Financial Review Newspaper
did a piece on my work in their March 2009 issue:


page 10
click on images to enlarge

(too bad this one features my necklace that was stolen.)


Thursday, March 26, 2009

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

barbie art from back in the day!

At the top of the stairs in my parents house…

…hangs the collection of Barbies I transformed back in high school art class.
I thought it would be fun to share some pics! It's interesting to look back and see a path from where it all started.

man-barbie

zebra-barbie

carrot-barbie (this ones my favorite)

trippy-hippy-barbie

solid-silver-barbie


Monday, March 23, 2009

A day at the Met with my sister

Incredible Egyptian gold fingers and toes (very Gerd Rothmann no?)

Friday, March 20, 2009

random press siting!

Link
A fellow jewelry artist from Belgium, Lotte de Mey, sent me the above image of a page from a Humo magazine, from back in november 2008. Apparently it's a very popular magazine in Belgium. I had no idea they were featuring my work, so this was a nice little surprise! They have a weekly column about noticeable websites, and that's where they featured my work. Many thanks to Lotte for passing it on to me! Check out some of Lotte's beautiful art jewelry below, and much more on her website.

Thursday, March 19, 2009

Mode Opératoire

French fashion and culture web magazine Mode Opératoire featured
my "Right Hand Choker" necklace:


see more here

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

AJF Award

The AJF Emerging Artist Award deadline is June 14, 2009. Click here for the flier… good luck to everyone who is applying!

Brooches from last year's winner Masumi Kataoka:


Monday, March 16, 2009

Get It In Writing



Since my fraud incident, I've gotten quite a few requests for copies of my Borrower's Contract, the one I use for my jewelry loan-outs for press shoots, etc. so I've uploaded a sample anyone is welcome to adapt for themselves and their work. (click the link below and the contract will automatically download to your computer.)


My hope is that you will find it useful as a starting point from which to create your own contract for loan-outs to press contacts, etc. Just a small disclaimer here however: I am NOT a lawyer and this contract may not protect you in all circumstances, so please seek professional legal guidance when necessary.

Writing contracts and having them signed is an additional step, yes. And I know how rushed it often is when asked to submit materials to the press (they always seem to need it yesterday!) but it is SO worth having everything in writing in the event that something goes wrong. It's not rude to ask someone to sign a contract because it's not personal, it's business. And this should be standard practice for your business every time. Protect yourself and your work because no one else will. If anyone can think of anything else I should add in to the contract, please let me know.

For those who may not be aware, a great resource for sample artist contracts can also be found on the Society of North American Goldsmiths website: The Professional Guidelines were created by artist Harriete Estel Berman and serve as important tools to help artists improve their business practices.

Friday, March 13, 2009

creativity







In this TED talk, Elizabeth Gilbert, the author of the amazing book Eat Pray Love, discusses creativity and what it feels like to face the possibility of having one's greatest creative achievement behind you, and how you move forward.

I found this particularly interesting as I often fear I'll never have another jewelry collection with the amount of appeal and interest I've had with my plastic body series. I wonder sometimes if it keeps me frozen in place, making the same type of work over and again. It's a hard thing to honestly consider - not to mention admit out loud to the public at large - but it's where my head has been for a while now. This blog started out as a place to explore my creative joys AND fears, so I've decided to put aside my hesitations about sharing these thoughts and talk about it.

Do I want to make jewelry out of Barbie dolls for the rest of my career?

I've been giving serious consideration to the idea of putting the collection to rest after this year. It feels like a good year to go out on being that it's Barbie's 50th and my 30th. I have lots of ideas for other works that always get pushed aside because there's never enough time to explore. Perhaps it's a matter of continuing the plastic body series only in some smaller capacity; maybe just the production work, freeing up time for a whole new, very different collection of one-of-a-kinds.

Anyway… if you have a few minutes, I really recommend checking out this wonderfully insightful video, which I discovered via Lauren Braun's blog: Paper Tiger. Enjoy and please feel free to share your thoughts!

Thursday, March 12, 2009

Paper Tiger Interview

My interview with artist and blogger Lauren Braun is now up on her blog Paper Tiger:


Lauren asked me a lot of really interesting, unusual questions (beyond the typical "why Barbie?" that I'm asked so often) so it was a challenge and a pleasure answering them! Many thanks to Lauren for the wonderful feature. Be sure to check out her lovely collage artworks on her website.

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Seattle Bound Earrings

I just sent off a batch of new earrings to Facéré Jewelry Art Gallery in Seattle for my Featured Artist Exhibition this month so I thought I'd share some pics! I'm really digging these new cast silver Barbie shoe posts:

Silver Shoe Posts © Margaux Lange

Blue Eye Teardrop Earrings © Margaux Lange

Rectangle Eye Earrings - black polka © Margaux Lange

Smile & Eye pull through Earrings - hazel eye, red lips © Margaux Lange

Smile & Eye pull through Earrings - green eye, pink lips © Margaux Lange

Oh boy.

Still getting it wrong, after 50 years.

No we don't.

I don't have a problem with tattoos, or kids wanting to wear fake ones for that matter. (They get them at the dentist now-a-days for good behavior!) but this image circulating the internet really hit me. I think it's the placement on the Barbie's body in combination with Ken's name, like some messed up branding, or claim to ownership. Perhaps if it was a flower or a butterfly, like the first tattoo Barbie Mattel released in 1999 it would be a bit easier for me to swallow.

What's not clear is if this particular sticker is actually a part of the new Tattoo Barbie kit or not? From the pics I found online, it didn't appear to be, but I'm not sure. Regardless, the new Barbie is causing quite the stir among "concerned parents." But then, Mattel was about due for another controversy.