Artist Statement
2/17: My work follows the spirit of the Arts and Crafts Movement of the mid-nineteenth century whose artists protested the Industrial Revolution by making high quality handmade products. Though they often used machines in their work, they revered the creativity and skill of the craftsman over the machines which facilitated the process. I, in turn, protest the excesses of the Technological Revolution of this era by being an artisan, a skilled craftsman who lovingly produces my one-of-a-kind jewelry pieces by hand or with minimal use of machines. It is my personal statement against mass produced, machine made jewelry which dominates the today’s market.
This philosophy affects how my work looks. My jewelry is rustic yet contemporary. The word “rustic” connotes a hand-hewn object that shows the marks of the artist rather than appearing slick and machine made. Trained in painting and printmaking, I have always been concerned with surface texture... whether it is the brushstrokes and thickness of the paint on canvas or the inked printing plate ready for the press. This same interest translates to my jewelry. I prefer a surface that is manipulated through etching, folding, stamping, or hammering to one that is without texture.
Along with surface, another constant has been my search for ways to add dimension to flat metal. Besides etching and folding, I stack metal elements on top of another in collage fashion to make a piece more sculptural. I’ve used three Individual Artist Project Grants that I’ve received from the Indiana Arts Commission to further experiment with dimension. In my first project, I learned to make bracelets, a simple three-dimensional form. My second project consisted of rendering forms through silver casting and incorporating them into my jewelry pieces. By casting, I could render natural forms such as seed pods, twigs, or bark that would be impossible to make by fabricating flat sheets of metal. My latest project is chase repousse, two interrelated techniques that are used to add both dimension and texture. To chase, the artist uses a hammer and rounded punches to apply a design to the front of the metal. To repousse, which means “push from behind”, the artist uses the same tools to work the back. Repeated hammering from the front and back are necessary to define the design. For me, chase repousse represents the essence of hand-worked craftsmanship.
Nature is a dominant theme in my work. For example, I run leaves, corn husks, or other natural materials through a rolling mill along with silver or copper to create an impression of that material on metal. My etched designs are often drawn from natural elements such as leaves, shells, or waves, and I cast natural forms into silver. Finally, most of my pendants incorporate stone cabochons, which I cut and polish myself.
Though rustic or “hand-hewn” in appearance, my sense of design is modern and contemporary. I’m drawn to the simple, clean shapes found in graphic design, modern art, Asian pottery, furniture and textile design and especially the Arts and Crafts Movement. My forms are deliberately simple to contrast with the complexity of the manipulated metal. Often the stone dictates the choice of metal(s) and the shape of the final piece. Other times, I start with a rough sketch or have a shape in mind and then choose the metal, stone, and fabrication method that best suit my inspiration. My goal is to craft a unified work in which the surface of the metal, the stone, and the form all complement one another.
This philosophy affects how my work looks. My jewelry is rustic yet contemporary. The word “rustic” connotes a hand-hewn object that shows the marks of the artist rather than appearing slick and machine made. Trained in painting and printmaking, I have always been concerned with surface texture... whether it is the brushstrokes and thickness of the paint on canvas or the inked printing plate ready for the press. This same interest translates to my jewelry. I prefer a surface that is manipulated through etching, folding, stamping, or hammering to one that is without texture.
Along with surface, another constant has been my search for ways to add dimension to flat metal. Besides etching and folding, I stack metal elements on top of another in collage fashion to make a piece more sculptural. I’ve used three Individual Artist Project Grants that I’ve received from the Indiana Arts Commission to further experiment with dimension. In my first project, I learned to make bracelets, a simple three-dimensional form. My second project consisted of rendering forms through silver casting and incorporating them into my jewelry pieces. By casting, I could render natural forms such as seed pods, twigs, or bark that would be impossible to make by fabricating flat sheets of metal. My latest project is chase repousse, two interrelated techniques that are used to add both dimension and texture. To chase, the artist uses a hammer and rounded punches to apply a design to the front of the metal. To repousse, which means “push from behind”, the artist uses the same tools to work the back. Repeated hammering from the front and back are necessary to define the design. For me, chase repousse represents the essence of hand-worked craftsmanship.
Nature is a dominant theme in my work. For example, I run leaves, corn husks, or other natural materials through a rolling mill along with silver or copper to create an impression of that material on metal. My etched designs are often drawn from natural elements such as leaves, shells, or waves, and I cast natural forms into silver. Finally, most of my pendants incorporate stone cabochons, which I cut and polish myself.
Though rustic or “hand-hewn” in appearance, my sense of design is modern and contemporary. I’m drawn to the simple, clean shapes found in graphic design, modern art, Asian pottery, furniture and textile design and especially the Arts and Crafts Movement. My forms are deliberately simple to contrast with the complexity of the manipulated metal. Often the stone dictates the choice of metal(s) and the shape of the final piece. Other times, I start with a rough sketch or have a shape in mind and then choose the metal, stone, and fabrication method that best suit my inspiration. My goal is to craft a unified work in which the surface of the metal, the stone, and the form all complement one another.