...With a Little Help

Sarah Loertscher and me in my second Seattle studio working on pieces 

for an LA trunk show, 2007

I just started working with a new intern a few days ago, Samie Todd. Samie and I met at the VCU Handcrafted Entrepreneurship Symposium and she emailed me a few weeks later asking about a possible internship. Between starting with her and contemplating my ten years at work, I began to think about all the assistants, interns, and friends I've worked with over the years. All of these individuals' help proved to be invaluable, some working with me for months, others as semester interns, and others just helping me for a few days to get me through a tough spot. It's a challenge to manage and delegate simply because it's another way of thinking and hard to do when under pressure, which was often the case when I sought help. But, it's a good challenge and gave me an opportunity to work alongside some great 'smiths and people. I really enjoyed working with each of them and I still can't thank them enough. 

Emily Breyer

Seth Papac 
Heidi Thompson

Caitlyn Davey

Holly Lendosky

Sarah Loertscher

Emily Breyer

Caitie Sellers

Hannah Ferrara

Ian Henderson

Samie Todd

Caitlyn Davey

Hannah Ferrara

Samie Todd

I hope you will take a few moments to visit their websites. Most of them are full-time working metalsmiths and artists. (And, I hope I didn't forget anyone!)

Thanks for reading.

the lucy pendant

my friend and fellow jeweler, sarah loertscher, just announced that she has been accepted to the altcraft section of the ACC baltimore show coming up in february. (altcraft features "emerging independent crafters in a shared market-style space".) to help cover her expenses for the show, sarah is now offering this lovely little pendant called the lucy. all proceeds from its sale will fund her trip and show participation. it's a lovely piece and at $75-$85 will make a fantastic gift.



here are links to sarah's website and etsy shop.

thanks for reading.

object fetish holiday show

my gold and oxidized sterling silver necklace is part of the holiday show at object fetish...i recently spent some time looking at the work of each participating artist - minimal to more elaborate aesthetics, inexpensive to high-end, plastic to high karat gold. we were all asked to include an image of the inspiration for the piece as well as some text about the work. (mine is an image of the ingots i poured when i melted down my scraps.) my favorites include nils schmalenbach, sarah loertscher, and karolo torkos.
thanks for reading.

news and updates

i recently had my klimt02 page updated with some new images and information. i changed my portrait, too. the last one was embarrassingly large. i think the new one is much better. you can view the page here. i am also a new jewelry artist on object fetish, an online jewelry gallery. when i was invited to be on the site i spent some time getting to know the other artists and site features. i was happy to find lots familiar names and several friends including sarah loertscher, aran galligan, geoff giles, and arthur hash. i know i will spend more time there over the next couple if weeks getting to know the artists that are new to me. (i see a great resource for guest star friday...) you can view that page here.

i also added some new studio shots to my flickr page. these pictures were taken when i first started painting the space. this week i will be painting the windows and the entryway door. i will be adding more pictures soon once the project is complete.

finally, i started adding model pictures to my website shop. you'll find them in the preface collection. more coming...
thanks for reading.

sarah loertscher...faceted steel earrings and structure earrings in oxidized sterling silver.

guest star friday

i was thinking the other day that i want to write about another jeweler's work maybe once a week and then thought maybe friday would be a good day for that. it's friday today so...it's guest star friday with sarah loertscher. sarah is an amazing jeweler. she makes these light, airy wire structures that are both expertly and thoughtfully made. Most of her current work is based on her "interest/obsession with rocks and crystalline structure and how a few straight lines can rapidly turn into a chaotic mass. when constructing a piece of jewelry, [she tries] to either repeat a basic line into a tangled structure or distill forms down into their structural supports."

the above image is titled "structure necklace" and it's made of sterling silver. sarah emailed me after she finished this piece, excited that it had more than 300 solder joints. over 300.

i met sarah at the penland school of crafts a few years ago while i was assisting in a summer class and sarah was a core student. since then we have become very good friends. i admire her aesthetic and her craftsmanship very much.

sarah is part of a group show that opens today at velvet da vinci gallery in san francisco. if you live in the bay area you should go to the opening and/or gallery talk or stop by during the show's run. (or stop by whenever, really. this gallery has incredible studio jewelry. definitely one of my favorite galleries.) here's some info:

new west coast design - jewelry and metalwork
january 16 - february 17
artists' reception: friday, january 18, 6-8pm
gallery talk: saturday, january 19, 6:30pm
velvet da vinci - www.velvetdavinci.com
2015 polk st, san francisco, ca 94109

besides the velvet da vinci show, you can also find sarah's work on etsy, (her shop is "lucy machine"), at the penland gallery in penland, nc and at quirk gallery in richmond, va.

thanks for reading.