colombo jewellery is art too exhibition

My first display attempt was not really attractive because you could see the jewellery pinned to the sari,and did not want to draw attension to the pins. Therefore I used old jewellery boxes that belonged to my mum and one that belonged to Chris.I re-lined the inside with black veklvet and sewed my jewellery onto the velvet .

There were many changes that were made to get my exibit looking like this,many changes still could have been made like better stands with better patterns,better arrangements, but there was no extra time,but it was a learning experience that will be useful in the future.Some times we have the best of objects around us that can be used for good displays that we turn a bling eye to because we dont see it the way other people do, and its really important to view all the options and have people view your stuff and see what works and what doesnt. Tryind to display jewellery in its context can be abit difficult,people see things differently,nothing ever works out according to the way I planned, I realised things fall in place when you start moving things around and when you have lots to work with and lots to choose from as opposed to having a few things and forcing them to work.

 The exhibition was successful, the display area was never empty people were sociable.Me applying mehndi at the exhibition also drew lots of attension to my jewellery and to mehndi itself. Many people already know what it is and how its works.Viewers saw the connection between my jewellery and the patterns that were on their hands.

Colombo,jewellery is art too exhibition

My plan for my display for the Jewellery is art too exhibition that will be held at Colombo tea and coffee on Gale street,is to display my jewellery in a way so that it creates an indian atmosphere so that the viewers get some sort of understanding of the mehndi theme of my jewellery. My display needs to look atistic because its not just about the look of the jewellery its about its play of art. My jewellery needs to connect with  my display.I feel its needs to look like a dowry from the grooms family to the brides family.The tradition about the dowry is the gifts that the brides usually would wear on her wedding day, they would send the brides sari and blouse and underskirt,usually red and her jewellery,underwear,shoes,handbag. These are well displayed,the idea if the gift is to be visible so that everyone around her can see her status,how much she is worth because of the value of her dowry.This is wrapped in celophane plastic in clear or a very light transparent colour so it is see-through like the examples below

pictures from http://www.etawau.com/HTML/Culture/MalayWedding/MalayWedding.htm

Looking at the space we are displaying our jewellery,its quite dark. There are many windows which bring in natural light, however our exhibition will take place later parts of the evening on the 5th october 2011,so iI have to come up with some sort of plan for lighting.

For lighting im thinking of using clay lamps which does tie in with the eastern approach to the display,having many small oil lamps will brighten up the display area,using scented oil that has oriental fragrance may work to get rid of the smell of coffee being manufactured. I also need to fill the lamps with oil when they are burnt away and keep having to light the wicks when they blown off.