Jane Dodd (born 1962) is a New Zealand musician and contemporary

jeweller A bench jeweler is an artisan who uses a combination of skills to make and repair jewelry. Some of the more common skills that a bench jeweler might employ include antique restoration, silversmith, Goldsmith, stone setting, engraving, fabricat ...

. From 1982 to 1984 she studied for a Bachelor of Arts at the

University of Otago , image_name = University of Otago Registry Building2.jpg , image_size = , caption = University clock tower , motto = la, Sapere aude , mottoeng = Dare to be wise , established = 1869; 152 years ago , type = Public research collegiate ...

, majoring in Phenomenology of Religion with additional papers in Anthropology, History, Art History, Maori Language and Philosophy. She is well known for her role as a bass player in early

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; mi, Ōtepoti) is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from , the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Th ...

-based

Flying Nun Records Flying Nun Records is a New Zealand independent record label formed in Christchurch in 1981 by music store manager Roger Shepherd. Described by ''The Guardian'' as "one of the world's great independent labels", Flying Nun is notable for bringin ...

groups

The Chills The Chills are a New Zealand rock band that formed in Dunedin in 1980. The band is essentially the continuing project of singer/songwriter Martin Phillipps, who is the group's sole constant member. For a time in the 1990s, the act was billed a ...

and

The Verlaines The Verlaines are a New Zealand rock band from Dunedin. Formed in 1981 by Graeme Downes, Craig Easton, Anita Pillai, Phillip Higham and Greg Kerr, the band went through multiple line-ups. History The band was named after French poet Paul Ve ...

, was a long-standing member of

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about ...

group Able Tasmans, and occasionally played with side-project The Lure of Shoes. Dodd is also responsible for the design or cover artwork for

7" single ''Death and the Maiden'', their EP ''10 O'Clock in the Afternoon'' (1984), The Verlaines 12" single ''Doomsday b/w New Kinda Hero'' and LP & CD, '' Juvenilia'' (both 1986), Able Tasmans LP & CD ''Hey Spinner!'' (1990), and Able Tasman CD ''Shape of Dolls'' (1993). She contributes backing vocals to the songs "Anchor Me" and "Queen's English" on

The Mutton Birds The Mutton Birds were a New Zealand rock music group formed in Auckland in 1991 by Ross Burge, David Long and Don McGlashan, with Alan Gregg joining a year later. Four of their albums reached the top 10 on the New Zealand Albums Char ...

album '' Salty'' (1993).

The Chills

Dodd was a founding member of Martin Phillips' group

, alongside his sister Rachel Phillips (keyboards),

Peter Gutteridge Peter Gutteridge (19 May 1961 – 15 September 2014) was a New Zealand musician, credited with pioneering the "Dunedin sound" with The Clean and The Chills.Joyce, Colin"New Zealand Indie Rock Icon Peter Gutteridge Dies"''SPIN''. 15 September 20 ...

(guitar) and Alan Haig (drums). Dodd had also been a member of Phillips' earlier group, The Same, which had also included future

co-founder Craig Easton. She left to travel in Europe and was replaced by Terry Moore, who recorded with The Chills for the '' Dunedin Double'' EP. Dodd and fellow original members performed in 2010 in Dunedin for

' 30th anniversary.

The Verlaines

Although not a founding member, Dodd returned from London in time to join

for their first recordings on the '' Dunedin Double'' EP, which also debuted several other key groups for

–

Sneaky Feelings Sneaky Feelings are a New Zealand pop rock band which releases on the Flying Nun Records music label. The band formed in 1980 with the line-up of Matthew Bannister (guitar & vocals), David Pine (guitar & vocals), Kat Tyrie (bass guitar & vocal ...

and The Stones. One of the songs contributed to this release, "You Cheat Yourself of Everything that Moves", was later covered by American group Superchunk. The ''Ten O'Clock in the Afternoon'' EP followed, featuring their best-known song, " Death and the Maiden", securing a fanbase that includes Sonic Youth,

Yo La Tengo Yo La Tengo (YLT; Spanish for "I have her") is an American indie rock band formed in Hoboken, New Jersey, in 1984. Since 1992, the lineup has consisted of Ira Kaplan (guitars, piano, vocals), Georgia Hubley (drums, piano, vocals), and James M ...

and Pavement. ("Death and the Maiden" was covered by

Stephen Malkmus Stephen Joseph Malkmus (born May 30, 1966) is an American musician best known as the primary songwriter, lead singer and guitarist of the indie rock band Pavement. He currently performs with Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks and as a solo artist. ...

for the

compilation, '' Under the Influence – 21 Years of Flying Nun Records'', and also by

Elemeno P Elemeno P is a New Zealand rock band. The band's first album, '' Love & Disrespect'' was released on 4 July 2003, and reached number one on the RIANZ albums chart. Their second album, '' Trouble in Paradise'' was released on 24 November 2005 ...

and Prickly.) Dodd also appears on the albums '' Hallelujah All the Way Home'' (1985) and ''

Bird Dog Pointing dogs, sometimes called bird dogs, are a type of gundog typically used in finding game. Gundogs are traditionally divided into three classes: retrievers, flushing dogs, and pointing breeds. The name ''pointer'' comes from the dog's i ...

'' (1987), the latter which also features her brother Tim Dodd playing piano and bassoon.

Able Tasmans

Dodd joined Able Tasmans before the recording of their second album '' Hey Spinner'' (1990). She remained with them until they split up in 1996, having released a further two albums and an EP, collected on the compilation '' Songs from the Departure Lounge'' (1998). For the

10th anniversary compilation, ''Roger Sings the Hits'' (1991), Able Tasmans contributed the song "Getting Older" by

The Clean The Clean was a New Zealand indie rock band that formed in Dunedin in 1978. They have been described as the most influential band to come from the Flying Nun label, which recorded many artists associated with the "Dunedin sound".Schmidt, Andr ...

, who

(with Dodd) supported at their first concert.

Jewellery

Dodd is also a well-known New Zealand contemporary jeweller. Her transition from music to jewellery took place after a 1989 trip to Mexico. In a 2015 interview Dodd recalled

There I was exposed to and excited by that culture’s ubiquitous interaction with craft and aesthetics—an approach I realized was largely lacking in New Zealand. I returned determined to engage in the arts and applied to go to craft school. Originally I intended to study ceramics, but the very lively and productive jewelry department soon won me over.

In 1994 Dodd completed a four-year diploma in 3D Design majoring in Jewellery at Unitec, where she studied with Pauline Bern and other tutors. She then joined the all-female jewellery collective Workshop 6, which coincided with the break-up of Able Tasmans. She remained in Auckland with Workshop 6 for 15 years before moving back to Dunedin in 2009. In Dunedin she shares studio space with fellow New Zealand jeweller

Octavia Cook Octavia Cook (born 1978) is a New Zealand jeweller. Education Cook graduated in 1999 with a Bachelor of Design in jewellery from Unitec Auckland where among other tutors she studied with Pauline Bern. Work Cook's work examines the concept of id ...

. She is well known for her miniaturised depictions in silver of New Zealand landscapes, which have occasionally been produced on commission to recreate a client's favourite scenery. Fairy tales are another source of inspiration. A recent body of work titled 'Rococo Revolution' features realistic and abstracted representations of animals made from wood, bone and precious stone, inspired by visiting European museums and palaces. Dodd writes:

“Rococo Revolution''… illustrates my discomfort with the way we hoover up wildlife and environment for our own frivolous ends. With these pendants I want to honor the simple, elegant forms of the animal world. The subject of the brooches is the battle between nature and culture. The collection of works pays homage to the crazy and rich craft traditions of the Rococo Age.

These works have also been inspired by ''Leuchterweibchens'', Gothic German candelabra that often incorporate animal shapes and antlers. She has exhibited throughout New Zealand and internationally, and is featured in the book ''21st Century Jewellery: the best of the 500 series''. In 2007, she participated in

Objectspace Objectspace is a public art gallery in Auckland, New Zealand. It opened in 2004 and is dedicated to the fields of craft, applied arts and design. Organisation Objectspace's founding chair was jeweller Warwick Freeman. The gallery's founding dir ...

gallery's series of workshops and exhibition, ''Small Wonders''. Her collection of work 'Rococo Revolution' was shown at Objectspace in 2014 and at Velvet da Vinci gallery in San Francisco in 2015. Dodd's work was featured in the television series

Tales from Te Papa ''Tales From Te Papa'' is a television series of mini-documentaries about objects from the collection of the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa (Te Papa) and the activities of the Museum staff. The series is a partnership between Television N ...

and is held in the collections of Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa,

Auckland War Memorial Museum The Auckland War Memorial Museum Tāmaki Paenga Hira (or simply the Auckland Museum) is one of New Zealand's most important museums and war memorials. Its collections concentrate on New Zealand history (and especially the history of the Auckl ...

, The Dowse, and the Hawkes Bay Museum, as well as many private collections. In 2007 and 2009 she won the Contemporary section of the Regal Castings Awards at the National Jewellery Showcase.

References

External links