Maggie Bergman: Muse Personality

Date started working in metal clay:
2003
Certified: (what clay, year and with whom)
I got in at the deep end! My very first experience with metal clay was my Senior Teacher Certification training with Silverlab in Melbourne working with Artclay Silver. ACS had only just arrived in Australia and they needed teachers in every state. My previous experience as a potter made the transition to metal clay much easier, but it’s not the way I’d recommend anyone just getting started. 

My excitement about working with metal clay was overwhelming, I hardly slept for the first 2-3 weeks, to find a material that allowed me to work 3d in silver, quickly and without the need for casting equipment, or a time consuming process, was totally liberating.

One year later PMC arrived in Australia, I did a cross-over course with Maryann Devos and became a Senior Teacher with PMC Connection. PMC is still my favourite clay and the one I use for all my work.

Accomplished at what media in addition to metal clay:
My jewelry making started in the 70s, when I took an enameling course, very basic, opaque enamels on copper, without any metalworking skills I was restricted to store bought enameling blanks. 

I have worked with many different materials over the years, I love playing with new materials and techniques. Some of them are: sculpture in bronze, mixed media and ceramics as a side interest. Ceramics took over and I spent the next 20 years working as a studio potter, making one of sculptural pots.

My art education started in 1985 at the Brisbane Institute of Art where sculpture, printmaking and drawing were my main focus. It was here, while learning all kinds of printmaking techniques, that I first learned to work with photopolymer plates, which I was very happy to introduce to the metal clay community many years later.

The BIA is a fabulous, private art college, students can set their own pace and select modules to suit their interest, it was a very creative environment, and my love for making jewellery was rekindled when I was working with copper for etching plates. I decided then to make a start learning more about working with metal. I was fortunate to be able to train privately with Frances Pavlu Wildt, a great Brisbane based goldsmith.

In 2004 I did a 2 week intensive enamelling workshop with world class enamelist Carolyn Delzoppo, which marked a turning point in my work, adding colour in the form of enamel was a magic experience. I love the interplay of enamels and silver, how the colour and transparency interact is fascinating. When it all comes together after many hours of work, the beauty of the materials working in one piece is still like magic to me. I continue to work with enamels on metal clay, as well as on sheet metal.

Website and short bio:
http://silverclayart.com and http://makefingerprintjewelry.com
 
I was born in The Netherlands, immigrated with my husband to Australia in 1970 and we have lived here ever since. Everything I’ve ever done, over my lifetime as an artist, has come together in making jewelry. 
From drawing to sculpting, pottery, printmaking, design, computer graphics, and photography, it all came into ficus when I discovered the infinite possibilities of jewelry. 

In 2006 I was invited to join 14 other artists from around the globe and become a Masters Registry adviser. This exciting program has now been going since 2008 and is setting new benchmarks for metal clay artists. I have exhibited in group exhibitions and my work has been included in many books and publications.

In 2006 I established a very successful teaching studio in Melbourne Vic. – 2000 km away from home, a city with a cultural ‘smorgasbord’ I love, and great friends and students to share it with.

In 2010, after leaving Melbourne, I opened my studio on Australia’s Gold Coast, where I currently teach private metal clay workshops and ongoing metalwork classes.

What is your inspiration now?
My main inspiration comes from nature, I love going to the beach and finding little treasures that might have floated in on the tides. I come back home with shell fragments, sticks and pebbles, lots of photos and a few drawings done on location.
Do you have a muse?
I have my Inner Muse, and it gets excited by many different things. Anything to do with design & color is of great interest to me, no matter where it is found, or to what area it is applied.
What is currently on your bench/workspace?
I am finishing of my ‘Mum & Me’ bracelet, it is a very personal project from a time when my Mum & me collaborated on an embroidery project that was very dear to her heart. This bracelet includes Mum’s fingerprint on the clasp, symbolic of how she put her mark on all of us children and how she held the family together.
What project/direction are you working on now?
I have recently finished an ebook on Fingerprint Jewelry, it took a large chunk of my time and I’m catching up slowly with my own work. Next will be a project that will bring together my favorite techniques in jewelry making, it is still on the drawing board and is slowly finding its way into the studio.
How much time do you average at the bench per week?
Not enough! Too much time is spend on business related activities, I’m working toward a better time management system, one where my time for jewelry will be set in concrete!
What’s the average time you spend on a piece?
This varies enormously, from a quick PMC or fold forming project to an elaborate enamel, it can take from ½ an hour to several weeks. In addition I am still working my way through an extensive collection of UFOs (unfinished objects) A legacy of traveling and work flows being constantly interrupted.
Do you sell your work?  and where?
I sell my work privately and in exhibitions.
Where do you get your new ideas?
I love drawing, doodling and brainstorming ideas. I have countless visual journals, some dating back to when I was 18 years old! The older ones keep triggering new ideas, things I would have forgotten if I didn’t have my collection of sketchbooks.
Do you keep a sketchbook and how do you organize it?
Hmmm, organised… not so much:) I usually have several around the house and studio, in my handbag and in the car, I feel a loose leaf system might work better, but I also love my little sketchbooks. I have recently decided that things can be left a little bit more to chance, I seem to find the one I need, just when I need it, without spending too much time organizing!
Are there places or things you avoid that zap your creativity?
I avoid watching too much TV, especially the news. For the same reason I don’t read newspapers and only a few selected magazines.
Do you have a ritual before you begin to create?
No, I dive straight in, usually straight out of bed, no food, no shower, I just get into it! (until I’m starving and find it’s nearly midday already!)
What do you collect?
Pebbles – Driftwood – Shells and assorted flotsam. Oh and I can resist rusty metal, beautiful books and journals and I love beautiful little boxes too!
How do you rejuvenate your creativity?
When I was commuting between Melbourne and home, I worked out a system that works very well for me to this day. I leave one or two things half-finished on my bench, then when I get time to work, I don’t have to think about anything, I can just get to work on what is there and finish what was started earlier, in a more creative period, the actual fabrication process allows my brain to kick into creative gear again. 

I tend to work very intuitively, I love to let the materials I’m using have a say in the outcome, this leads to new directions, variations on a theme, cross-pollination of ideas and materials. I take notes & photos, and do some simple sketches as reminders, to be used at a later date.

What would your perfect creative day be like?
I get up bright and early for a walk on the beach, just soaking up some sun and checking out what the tide brought in, collecting a few bits & pieces. A nice breakfast on the deck, with my husband, followed by some drawing, reading while listening to my favorite music. 

Mid-morning gets me into the studio where I work on new ideas, play with a new technique or finish something I’ve been working on. I love working with other artists, my dream has always been to be part of an art community, I love the bouncing of ideas that happens when creative people get excited about new possibilities.

Then I would take an hour or so in the early afternoon for a meditation, some reading or working on new ideas. Catching up with a friend, or two, for a visit to a gallery, and/or book shop:) followed by afternoon tea at a favorite coffee shop to catch up on the latest news!

A relaxed evening, at home with my lovely husband, would complete a perfect day.

2 Responses to Maggie Bergman: Muse Personality

  1. Karin,

    The metal that is colored in the photo is actually anodized niobium, I believe. It is not enameled.

    Cheers,

    Tonya

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