A GIRL'S BEST FRIEND

Though the great majority of the work at Atelier Ivaan involves slavishly producing Ivaan's metal art with painstaking attention to detail, every so often, I'll be asked to make a more classic or traditional engagement ring. Sometimes it's because the ring will  include a gemstone that is being passed from one generation to another.  Always, when a stone carries great sentimental value, it's essential to ensure the jewel is well protected in its new setting, because if it becomes damaged, or falls out and is lost, no amount of money will replace it. 

This part of being a jeweller is really rewarding.  Often, I'm helping a bridegroom-to-be choose a setting for his future wife, and as I work with him to decide what is going to best suit the two of them, I learn little details about things she likes, her quirky side, the back story of the inherited gemstone, how they met, what kind of husband he hopes to be....for those few hours, I'm almost like a member of the family.  I've learned to be very, very discreet, because if I happen to pass the young couple on the street, he definitely doesn't want to have to make any awkward introductions.

Choosing a setting for an inherited stone also means paying close attention to the way the stone is cut.  Too low a setting means the pointed end of a diamond will be poking through the setting and touching the finger.  Too high, and that ring is going to spend more time in the soap dish than on Mama's finger, once their first baby comes along.

But always, when I make a classic ring to mark an engagement or marriage, I like to ensure that there is an element that distinguishes their ring from any other.  Here's a good example of a modern classic engagement ring with an inherited centre stone.  Note the prongs are actually a continuation of the band, not an attachment.  They're substantial, so the stone is well protected.   But what sets this ring apart are the six fiery gypsy-set diamonds on the shoulders of the ring.  They're not all crammed together. The "real estate" between those stones gives the ring a lot of distinction, and they enhance the centre stone, rather than competing with it.  The groom thought so, too.  And the bride?  Well, she said yes.

CRUSHED!

PUNCHING THROUGH (C) 2012 Bart Synowiec

This evening, one of my dreams was fulfilled.

There.  I think I'll let that sentence just hang in the air for a minute.  

A few months ago, I was introduced by a mutual friend to a young fine art photographer, Bart Synowiec.  After meeting Bart, I had a look at his website, and was really struck by the images.  They were all unsettling, but never for the same reason.   The composition was striking, but each photograph evoked a powerful sense:  a feeling of vertigo, the vestigial memory of a  long-ago place, profound aloneness, incredible stillness, deep longing, sometimes that heightened awareness that you feel at the edge of the high diving board.  Even looking at the images on Bart's website (synowiec.ca) I lost the sense that I was looking at a photograph, and I knew how that place smelled, because I was present, just at the edge of the scene.  I know Ivaan would have shared this sense: a combination of feeling present and having to remind yourself to breathe at the same time.

Bart was soon represented by the Mark Christopher Gallery, on Queen Street West.  I found myself occasionally visiting Bart's website, wondering which I'd choose if I could manage to have only one photograph.  At first, I fixed my covetous eye on a photograph entitled Curvy - I'll let you look it up on his website - and then it was Cooling Tower, and then, during a period wherein I was thinking about the Atlantic, and about ocean liners, I suddenly found myself hardly able to catch my breath while looking at Punching Through.  I was bowled over by the power of the picture, the motion, the enormity.

I made an appointment to go down to the Mark Christopher Gallery, where I met the proprietor, Mark Zadorozny, and spent some time with him and Bart. At this point, I'd never seen any of the photographs in person. They showed me a print of Curvy and it was very tempting just to put it under my arm, hand them my chequebook, and walk out the door.

In the end, I decided I could be impulsive and restrained at the same time: I'd buy Punching Through, but I wouldn't let myself see it until it was mounted and delivered several weeks hence.

Today was the day.  Every time I turn and look at it, I feel like someone turned on the oxygen.  Now, you've got some options. You can go to Bart's website or the gallery website and see it for yourself, or (and I recommend this option) you can come to Atelier Ivaan and see it on the wall.

Just remember to breathe.

www.synowiec.ca

www.markchristophergallery.com

V IS FOR VINNY, VEGAN, AND VICTORY.

Vinny, my neighbour, knows I love rapini.  My "desert island" meal of choice would be some new potatoes with olive oil and a plate of rapini.   Yesterday, my nephew Angus did a fly-past, on his way from London to Kingston, and he stopped in next door to Vinny's Panini to order a breaded eggplant panino, which he brought back to Atelier Ivaan to enjoy.  He so much reminded me of Ivaan, because there was no point in talking to him while he was enjoying his food.  All his concentration was on his meal.  And that's exactly how Ivaan was.  The only difference is that Angus eats quietly, while Ivaan would moan softly as he chewed, his eyes half closed, when he was particularly enjoying his meal.
Angus couldn't stay for long, but just after I hugged him goodbye, the door to the store opened and in came Vinny, with a surprise he'd made especially for me.
Now, Vinny's Panini isn't vegan.  Not by a long shot.  The closest they get is the breaded eggplant, which Angus absolutely loved.  But Vinny knows I'm vegan and that I love rapini, so here's half of what he made me:

VINNY'S VEGAN VICTORY PANINO

Why half, you ask?  Because by the time I remembered to get my camera out, the first half of the panino had mysteriously vanished, and I was wiping the evidence off my chin. Okay, in all its glory, here it is:  a very fresh bun, tomato sauce, red peppers, rapini in garlic and olive oil, sauteed onions, mushrooms.  It was heavenly. I suppose I could have saved the other half for dinner, but somehow I just felt like moaning softly with my eyes half closed.

Ivaan, if you read our blog, this panino is truly worth coming back to earth for, because in your immortal words, it contains ingredients.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, IVAAN

Today, I felt a surge of brilliance coming on, and I just know it's a memo from Ivaan.  He has a way of letting me know when he wants me to get to work and produce something spectacular.  He even manages to let me know from which decade he'd like the brilliance to materialize.  Today, when I walked into the store, I had an urge to look at large, flat gemstones.  What caught my eye was a large, luminous oval Madagascar Labradorite:

And then I started reminiscing about the beautiful work Ivaan did in the 1990s.  Looking through the waxes, I found a beautiful ring he made in 1993 - exactly 20 years ago.  Something about the cool simplicity of the stone seemed to call out to the intricate gorgeousness of the ring. Here's what the stone looks like, nestled into the ring like a toe in a slipper:

Pantoufle Ring, 1993 (c) Estate of Ivaan Kotulsky

My mission, should I choose to accept it, will be to decide what metal to cast the ring in - although I do love it in blue wax.  I remember 1993 so well.  It was the year Ivaan suffered his first heart attack, on January 6th, in church.  So when he made this ring, he was in the throes of an incredibly creative surge which always followed a period of forced inactivity.  When I finish the ring and set the stone, I will post photos of it.

Ivaan, today is your birthday.  It's the last year of the decade you were in when you left the planet.  I miss you beyond all measure.  I know you are shining down on me; otherwise, where would I be getting surges of brilliance from?   After I finish up here in the Atelier Ivaan Slave Shop, I'll come to visit you, with some birthday cake for the birds and squirrels.

Я люблю тебе, мій коханий чоловік.

A BASKET OF APPLES

A GIFT OF APPLES, FROM VINNY AND JENNY

One of the things I love best about the location of Atelier Ivaan is the fact that we are next door to Vinny's.  Vinny and his wonderful mother, Mena, are the proprietors of Vinny's Panini, perhaps the most noteworthy Italian sandwich shop in Toronto. Ivaan loved Vinny's hot meatball sandwiches, though as his illness progressed he could no longer feed himself, nor could he eat sandwiches.  If he wanted a Vinny's meatball sandwich, it had to be deconstructed:  the meatball over here, the sauce in a little dish, and the bun over there.  He ate them in teaspoon size mouthfuls, one bite at a time. Feeding Ivaan half a Vinny's sandwich took forever, but it was worth it to see him enjoy his meal.

When I first bought this building, I went over to re-introduce myself to Vinny, and he remembered his former customer who preferred the deconstructed hot meatball panini.

I love being next door to Vinny.  He's the best neighbour.  When I need to describe to someone where I'm located, I can just say I'm "next door to Vinny's Panini".   Everybody knows Vinny's.   If I'm expecting a shipment, Vinny will watch out for the delivery truck.   When I have contractors working here, Vinny feeds them.  If I'm in the store late at night, Vinny keeps an eye on me. The customers at Vinny's are from the widest spectrum of society, all united by the love of a good Italian sandwich. Sometimes they'll stop in for a chat while they're waiting for their sandwich, and everyone has a good word to say about Vinny. Sometimes people even stop by accidentally: so eager are they to reach Vinny's door, they come in here by mistake,  blurt out "I'll have a steak sandwich to go, with rapini on the side" and they will suddenly look around, realize they're not in Vinny's, and start to laugh.

A few days ago, some broken glass at Vinny's gave me a chance to help out by doing what I love to do best:  sweeping.   And yesterday morning, Vinny arrived with a thank you gift, put together very artistically by his wife Jenny, following their apple-picking Sunday drive in the country.

Ivaan's favourite short story is entitled A Basket of Apples, by Shirley Faessler. It's a  beautifully written story about family, hardships and love, but most of all it's about neighbourhood.  Vinny's gift of apples reminded me immediately of this story. And once again, as I very often am, I was reminded how glad I am to be Vinny's neighbour.

TREASURES FROM THE DEEP

Seashore Bangle (c) Estate of Ivaan Kotulsky

It's probably a natural instinct among people who own retail operations, the ability to predict an emerging trend.  I do not have that natural instinct.    So it was a complete surprise to me to realize that there were almost no bracelets left in the showcases.   Little by little, all the bracelets had been sold, while I remained seemingly oblivious.

The wax injector was set up in the store, so I brought up some rubber bracelet moulds from the basement and started making waxes, just to see what I came up with.  Wax injecting requires a strong, steady pair of hands and an even temperament, because even if you inject a perfect wax, you might break it getting it out of the rubber mould.

The stars were aligned last week, because Angus and Sara spent a few days here.  You remember the story about Tom Sawyer whitewashing the fence and convincing his friend Huckleberry Finn how much fun it was?  Well, something like that occurred around here and Angus, watching me  inject waxes, asked, "Would it be okay if I tried one?" And before you know it, Angus and Sara were having fun injecting waxes and I was making myself look busy with other things.

Angus and Sara seemed to have a natural ability to inject waxes, and quite soon I had quite a few perfect waxes of bracelets.  So it has been a busy week casting and finishing new bracelets.  I've never even seen the Seashore Bangle, above, but it's absolutely beautiful.  Then, there's the double calla lily bracelet - in bronze, it's Sara's favourite - which is a happy coincidence, as it fits her perfectly.

Double Calla Lily Bangle (c) 1999 Estate of Ivaan Kotulsky

I definitely won't be posting a photo of my hands any time soon.  They are a sorry sight from all the grinding and polishing that has occurred this week. But here's the tips of my fingers holding one final bracelet, a sterling silver cuff bracelet with two bead-set amethysts, the original of which Ivaan made as a commission for the Art Gallery of Ontario back in 1980.

Sterling Cuff With Amethysts (c) 1980 Estate of Ivaan Kotulsky

Angus and Sara:  if you're reading this, merci mille fois!  You totally made my week.  Come back for a visit as soon as you're back in town.  I'll put the kettle - and the wax injector - on.

"LA VEDETTE"

"A STAR IS BORN", thanks to endless-films.com

A couple of months ago, Atelier Ivaan was selected as one of the subjects for a Globe and Mail feature called "How I Started".  The series reveals the "back story" of interesting small businesses, with the owner being filmed explaining the idea behind the business, how they launched it, what obstacles they faced, and finally, offering advice to other prospective entrepreneurs, based on their experience.

It was exciting to be chosen, and when I learned that I'd be the subject of a short video, I decided that I'd better call in the big guns.  At times like these, I consider myself extra lucky to know some big guns in the film production industry, and naturally I went straight to the top.

Endless Films is a small but very busy film company based in Toronto.  It's owned by three close friends of Ivaan's and mine, and their work is extraordinarily good.  I was ecstatic when they said two of them, Iain and Alex,  had a few free hours the following week.  I figured, if these guys couldn't make me look attractive and articulate, no one could.

They arrived on schedule, set up their equipment, wired me for sound, and we got to work.  I had wondered if it was going to be a nervewracking experience, but it wasn't in the least.  Although I normally see them in a personal context - they're longtime best friends, wonderful young husbands, and devoted new dads - it seemed perfectly natural to see them in their professional capacity.  It's incredible how they work together, speaking in a kind of quiet shorthand, instinctively trusting each other, with great confidence and skill.

Exactly one hour later, it was "a wrap".  They let me see "the rushes" and immediately I knew this was going to be a success.  The next day, Alex sent me the film, already edited, already perfect.  I have no idea what filters they used on the camera, but they made me look amazing. I should buy ten of them.  (I asked Alex, actually, and he said "No filters; that's just the way you look". What a smooth operator - no wonder he swept Erin off her feet!)

I've just learned that we're likely going to be in the Globe and Mail this coming Tuesday. Don't miss it!  Full credit for this superb little production goes to Endless Films.  Thanks, guys.  Ivaan would be thrilled.  You made me a star!

endless-films.com