Behind the Design

Before photography, lockets were decorated with miniature, handpainted portraits -- a luxury few could afford. The advent of affordable photographic...

This column is from the At the Bench column that appears every month in AJM. For this project, it is...

Considered to be one of the richest and most important archaeological finds in Great Britain, the Ship Burial known as...

Using a relatively inexpensive metal and casting it in an ingot mold, you can create a sophisticated design at the...

This research paper was presented at the Society of North American Goldsmiths Conference at Cranbrook Academy of Art in June,...

Jewelers are a restless and inquisitive group. Not content with producing sumptuous jewelry, they spray it with chemicals, dip it...

Box catches lend themselves to a wide range of shapes and are frequently used on chains, bracelets and cuff bracelets....

Hydraulic die forming is a process which hasn't received a lot of press. Perhaps its usefulness seems limited to mass...

Over the past forty years, jewelry making has become increasingly rich and diversified as the time-honored reliance on precious metals...

One of the most interesting things about the jewellery/metals field is that there are so many career options, so many...

Transforming a single sheet of metal into an undulating organic form using only a hammer and stake is the art...

"My birthstone is emerald," a potential customer recently told me. "But I don't like green," she continued, "so I never...

Master jeweler Charles Loloma was a Hopi spiritual leader -- a member of the Badger Clan and a Hopi snake...

First the stone's diameter is measured at the pavillion and a dent is made in the metal for the pilot...

This paper describes a simple process of forming jump rings. These jump rings were formed from 16 guage sterling silver...

Mokume gane translated from Japanese means "wood eye metal." This rare metal lamination process was developed and used by Japanese...

Sascha Brastoff was known for his talent and ability in many fields of art, both performing and visual, both fine...

Since the late 60s, Gijs Bakker (b. 1942) has been influential to both Dutch and international jewelry design. His work,...

Dusty cobblestone streets traversed by oxen and donkeys pulling hay carts, anvils ringing, woodsmoke, chickens pecking next to the wooden...

It is only within the past two decades that craft jewelry has become big business. From a marketing viewpoint, the...

In a promotional flyer from the early 1950s, Art Smith offered a "fanciful ring of space, silver and gold." The...

In this article Deborah Norton traces the rise and fall of this seminal 20th-century school. Although Bauhaus policy revolved around...

For this project, the No. 1 tip was used with the ABI Pulse Arc Welder. Five tips come with the...

My skills as an artist combined with my years of experience at the bench have given me a practical approach...

This segment from the 2017 MJSA Journal November issue is dedicated to metals, tools, software and more that aids jewelers...

Manfred Bischoff has a fascination with language. Like many Europeans of his generation, Bischoff is fluent in several languages, including...

When most people think of colored jewelry, their minds conjure visions of rubies, sapphires, and emeralds. After all, jewelry makers...

Ed Wiener exemplifies the studio jewelry artist of the late 1940s and 50s. The first time we met, this fascinating...

Recently, collectors have discovered a body of silver jewelry, eclectic in scope—by turns serious and whimsical—creative, original and quintessentially modern....

Not so many years ago Thomas Mann figured that 2002 would be his year to retire. But the projected date...

Starting in the early 1950s, Gerda Flöckinger worked to change the face of British jewelry. Others joined her fledgling crusade,...

Working on the most meticulous and precise scale, three contemporary wire artists, Barbara SilverStein, Nikki Feldbaum and Biba Schutz create...

The history of contemporary Canadian jewellery, like that of Canada itself, has struggled with the assimilation of foreign influences, economies...

For the past 60 years, tourists visiting Mexico have sought distinctive silver jewelry and holloware, crafted by native artisans. Although...

If you're designing jewelry using CAD, understanding how the piece will be cast and then set and finished at the...

It is sometimes useful to have criticism of one's work in order to develop it. While studying as an apprentice...

I came up with this system to solve some production and prioritizing problems at a small custom jewelry store. We...

No single item is more used yet more neglected than flatware. It is used in one form or another by...

In October of 1983 Angela Cummings announced that she would end a 16-year association with Tiffany & Company in order...

The accomplishments of Paul A. Lobel, industrial designer, metalsmith, sculptor and cartoonist/illustrator, may be viewed as the quintessential American success...

Harry Bertoia was not simply a metalsmith or a furniture designer, sculptor or printmaker, artist or craftsman. He was all...

Below are steps for an easy way to create equal divisions in setting stones that jewelers need to know. Dividing...

Possibly the most controversial jewelry artist now working in the United States, Keith Lewis Is undergoing a transition from propagandist...

Claire Falkenstein is a master of linear metal sculpture. Hers is not an art of solid form, as relating to...

The history of the School for American Craftsmen (SAC) can be seen as a microcosm of the history of the...

Looking down the long corridors of time, the ancient Etruscans emerge as a powerful people whose economic and social development...

Dutch jewelry designer Emmy van Leersum, who died November 2, 1984, had been internationally recognized for over 20 years. Her...

It is a rare and most welcome event when a technical innovation is accompanied by an esthetic revelation. This is...

The Helen Williams Drutt Collection offers a personal view of the development in fine art jewelry over the past 20...

Silver has been a part of American domestic ritual and tradition since the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, when bourgeois families...

What he wanted to be was a painter, although he was also thinking about being a graphic artist or book...

One function of art is to challenge the status quo-to persuade, shock, or seduce us into seeing the world, and...

Victoria Lansford on the art of filigree—Russian or otherwise BOX: The Art of Handcraft Every jewelry designer can pinpoint the...

The first American exhibition of Kayserzinn Pewter, the trademark for art pewter ware manufactured at the turn of the century...

A few years ago, Jewelers Circular Magazine reported that over 75% of all retail jewelers in America lose money on...

This is the second in a series of articles on the art and skill of rendering jewelry and small metal...

Mary Lee Mary Lee Hu has worked with wire - looping, wrapping, weaving and most notably twining—for the past 22...

Imagine walking into your studio and having the skill and confidence to create anything you desire. From the tiniest ladys...

The primary reason designer Amy Roper Lyons of Summit, New Jersey, began working in enamels is fairly black and white:...

Jewelry making is a big job. That is that there is a lot to know and a lot to learn....

Rome. Truly the eternal city, where every monument reflects simultaneously the past and the present. As Goethe so aptly states...

Jewelry artist Michael Boyd fills his cup with newfound forms and shapes. Well known for his contemporary roll-on cuff bracelets...

The strength of Computer Aided Design &  Manufacturing is similar to that of any other tool on the bench:it is...

Peru, Land of the Inca, the Sun Worshippers, Land of Gold (the "Sweat of the Sun"), Land of Silver (the...

It takes a powerful psyche to cope with and build on the kind of support and inspiration that has surrounded...

From 1988 to 1989, German goldsmith Hermann Jünger was celebrated in his native country with a major retrospective of his...

I first discovered Allan Adler's Silversmithing Shop about 23 years ago when I arrived in Southern California to begin my...

Visitors to craft shows may know Steven Ford and David Forlano by their company name, CityZenCane, the polymer clay guys,...

Line art, such as logos, family crests, text or numbers, cartoon characters, and even sketches can be quickly and easily...

From 1919-23 the Bauhaus also had a jewelry workshop run as a private enterprise by Naum Slutzky. He was on...

Earl Pardon's work has an elusive quality that is difficult to describe, yet this quality has motivated him throughout years...

In 1946 a small band of metal enthusiasts in Toronto, Canada, formed the Metal Arts Guild (MAG) "to promote and...

Richly detailed portrait sculptures of great American heroes—in solid pewter, solid brass and fine enamels. An heirloom chess set to...

It seems only just, when so many barriers are collapsing, that one of the more prophetic artists of the late...

The most intriguing characteristic of Arline Fisch's work, particularly the textile constructions, is their utter transformation when worn. What may...

From autodidact to prize-winning designer: 30 years ago, the Brazilian national Antonio bernardo founded his jewelry production firm in Rio...

A taboo was broken when the word ”feminist" was used in the review of "Form Beyond Function" in Metalsmith (Spring...

In the three years since her retirement from 31 years of teaching, Ramona Solberg has had three exhibitions of her...

"It is allowing machines to be our masters and not our servants that so insures the beauty of life nowadays."...

The following text is edited from two interviews taped in 1982 with Irena Brynner, one by Dorothy Van Arsdale in...

Christian Schmidt is infamous for his contribution to the 1964 "Fiber, Clay, Metal" exhibition at the St. Paul Art Center,...

Professions and professional skills change over the years. In this context, it is an undeniable fact that computers have revolutionized...

This is the second in a series of articles about production jewelers. This installment concentrates on design versus saleability, the...

The natural beauty of this white, bright and light palladium ring is enhanced with hand engraving of initials done in...

Once upon a time, all art was about nature, the simplification or elaboration of natural forms. Egyptians assembled leaves of...

Barney Jette and wife Nancy Ball have built a retail success story, solely focused on jewelry featuring Jettes design. The...

On January 7, 1921, a son was born to Rex of the Sand and Tobacco Clan and Rachael Loloma of...

Jewelers redefining what it means to source responsibly Martin Taber is happy. “I am living in a world where people...

When Venetian glassmakers sold out their state secrets to Czech glassmakers, Jablonec began its hegemony in glass beads. The region...

The most trusted way for Jewelers, Artists, Craftsmen ' Metalsmiths to discover state-of-the-art products and services has fundamentally changed. Word-of-mouth has become a Metalsmiths most efficient way of learning about new products...

People who think exclusively of geometric forms when they hear the name Alberto Zorzi only know half the story. His...

This is a HIDI, (How I Do It). It is not the only way to make a piece like this,...

The cry of the rejected: “Why?” is the loudest single continuing lament heard after every juried show. Even when juror’s...

A provocative dilemma evolves when one attempts to use the written word to describe things which are in essence ineffable....

Richard Reinhardt's best-known pieces today are silver bracelets, constructed in concave or convex forms that curve smoothly and logically in...

When Larry Bruno built his new store across from picturesque Springfield Falls in western Pennsylvania, he knew he had lucked...

Last fall, the National Ornamental Metal Museum in Memphis, Tennessee hosted a retrospective of the work of Helen Shirk. Nearly...

A woman's job evaluation included the observation that she showed unmistakable signs of penis envy. "The unmistakable signs were. ....

Those of us who have been following Wendy Ramshaw's work, for close to 20 years, hove come to anticipate the...

When enamelist Bill Helwig celebrated the half-century mark in July of 1988, his wife Lenore Davis, asked the celebrants to...

Platinum casting with gemstones in place has been the latest development before the end of the second millennium. It has...

On the second floor of a historic wooden building in an elegant shopping area of affluent Concord, Massachusetts, is found...

Orsolya Ráski Nagy and Daniel Nagy Splendor Jewellery Budakeszi, Hungary First Place, Professional Excellence (4 or More Years in Business)...

This past fall, the National Ornamental Metal Museum in Memphis, Tennessee mounted a retrospective exhibition of the work of master...

Fred Woell's spirit was born in and of the sixties. His molten slogans register, graffitt-ilike, upon the collective "wall" of...

This article features the manufacturing steps for a one-of-a-kind free-form pendant designed and created by Barney Jette. The center stone...

Early in 1984 Jack called to see if I'd be interested in creating an anniversary gift to celebrate twenty-five years...

It is refreshing to see a designer of Betty Helen Longhi's ability break away from the museum mentality and move...

It takes an interesting person to make interesting jewelry and Holly Lee fits the bill. Originally from a family that...

The delicious paradox of quantum physics is that matter exists simultaneously as particle and as wave. Much of Reiko Ishiyama's...

An article in the February 19, 1982 issues of the San Francisco Chronicle ironically suggests that "No body of water,...

When using CAD/CAM products like Gemvision's Matrix, there are a number of "virtual" techniques to achieve renderings that more closely...

Experimentelles Schmuck design (Experimental Jewelry Design) is the name of a project implemented by the Berlin-based painter and goldsmith Werner...

In the Ojibway language, Toronto means "meeting place." At this site on the northern shore of Lake Ontario 18th-century French...

This article was completed just weeks before Robert von Neumann's accidental fall and subsequent death on April 23, 1984. Books...

We are often drawn to the naïve sensibility of self-taught artists in any medium. The fresh, unassuming quality of their...

It's no wonder that as precious metals prices have risen to new heights over the past few years, jewelry castings...

Cool, glistening, and vaguely human, Jennifer Crupi's sculpture and jewelry arouse curiosity even as they evoke fear. While the power...

Daniel Pedersons planishing hammer came into the possession of William Frederick in a way that still provokes emotion. Pederson, a...

Known for his contemporary designs, Andrew Costen of Costen Catbalue in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, enjoys occasionally returning to his...

Chang's work is intentionally anthropomorphic, disturbingly so. She likens her technique to that of a plastic surgeon, shaping and sculpting...

Everyone has long seen gems wrapped in small wire cages with hanging devices, and more recently, the Dichroic glass pendants...

Lisa Gralnick makes jewelry of rare power from imagined artifacts of our own time. Its extraordinary impact derives from her...

Once more the realm of engineers and number-crunchers, CAD over the years has become more user-friendly and artisan-intuitive. Similarly, small-shop,...

Standing in her forming studio, surrounded by hammers, stakes, and photo equipment, metalsmith Cynthia Eid is experiencing a moment of...

Chunghi Choo captures her joyful creativity in sensuous forms and beguiling surfaces, but, despite this sumptuousness, simplicity harmony and tranquility...

As many and varied as the reasons may be to publicize a message or to make a very personal statement,...

This article showcases the various exhibitions in the form of collected exhibition reviews published in the 1986 Spring issue of...

Getting a superior fit on your next custom ring order could be just a few mouse clicks away. Superfit Inc.,...

Claus Bury's rejection of his immediate past, a long standing European tradition in goldsmithing, and his defection to the fine...

Due to a recent comprehensive exhibition at the San Francisco Craft & Folk Art Museum, we reintroduce to our readers...

Pat Pruitt of Paguate, New Mexico, has been working with stainless steel for over a decade. Three years ago, he...

Since earning a BFA at the Rhode Island School of Design in 1983, Enterline has narrowed her focus to a...

Jewelry artist Steff Korsage followed her own determined path to find her own distinct voice, making hollow forms from metal...

Ardagh now is scarcely more than a place-name; it is in County Limerick in Ireland. In 1868, while a peasant...

This is an excerpt from an interview with Stanley Lechtzin about the life of Olaf Skoogfors. Olaf Skoogfors and Stanley...

At mid-career, goldsmith Glenda Arentzen still produces jewelry with the freshness that has been her hallmark for a quarter of...

The term avant-garde is freighted with baggage from its source in military language. Consider the implications of applying the idea...

The brain child of a private art-craft dealer, Denise Renard-Honhon, this exhibition presented 22 of Belgium's contemporary jewelry designers. The...

In northern Greece, sometime after the death of Alexander the Great, a master goldsmith fashioned this unusual medallion with its...

Crushed tin foil, marred tintypes, rusted cans—some must have thought it looked like garbage. In 1967, this detritus of our...

Solveig Haukaas started to work in an enamel workshop in Bergen, Norway when she was near 17 years old. One...

T-splines, a plug-in for Rhinoceros CAD software and bundled with Matrix 7 and above, is a great modeling tool for...

It was about seven years ago, I was living in Paris, spending a typical Sunday afternoon scouring the flea markets...

When I asked him who Kenneth Bates is, he laughed and replied "a simple dirt farmer from New England." However,...

Jewelry maker and studio boss Barbara Heinrich keeps business strategies and artistic expression in harmony while creating jewelry designs that...

Someone once called Donald Stuart a Renaissance Man, an that doesnt seem too far from the truth. In a career...

Five German jewelers who chose not to follow the traditional vocational training of "master goldsmith," but rather opted to study...

Advanced Jewelry Technologies (owned by this author) and Rio Grande are introducing a new CAD CAM system designed to make...

Björn Weckström, a Finnish designer who has enjoyed a virtually unparalleled opportunity in his native country, was the keynote speaker...

In a speech recently delivered at the Platinum Day Symposium, entitled Evolution of a Design, Ms. Evans detailed her affinity...

Possibly of another time and almost certainly of another place, Hal or Harold Hasselschwert enamels entice the imagination with the...

The life and work of Mark Stanitz are a study in balances and contrasts. His physical life is lived in...

Jewelry was never on his mind—at least not while he was studying art and anthropology in college. It was filmmaking...

When I returned from Europe in 1951, my friend Margaret de Patta called and invited me to join a group...

The Flat Topped Solitaire Setting is a popular style setting that is slightly more complicated to set than the standard...

This is a continuing series on galleries that specialize in jewelry and metalwork. The Yaw Gallery is owned and operated...

"Culture of materials," an expression originating from the early 20th-century teaching of Russian Constructivist Vladimir Tatlin, defines the artist's deliberate...

Several disparate techniques and a clear personal philosophy came together over a period of years to produce these extraordinary pieces....

Deborah Norton interviewed Caroline Broadhead regarding her recent retrospective at the Crafts Council in London and her recent change from...

Archetypal images in sheet-constructed holloware, the vessels of Robly Glover give concrete form to the most ethereal and intuitive of...

I received this opal from a woman who had cut it years ago. Her customer was aware it had a...

This practical tool-in-a-book combines instruction on rendering techniques with unique guides that assist designers as they conceive jewelry and other...

On September 13, 1990, Adda Husted-Andersen, familiarly known as Andy, died in Copenhagen, Denmark, her native land. She was a...

For more than 20 years Judith Hoyt has parsed the human figure in metal and mixed media. Beginning with a...

This article showcases various exhibitions in the form of collected exhibition reviews published in the 1988 Summer issue of the...

Creativity is problem-solving, a skill based on the conscious and/or unconscious recombination and juxtaposition of information derived from diverse sources...

Some people keep written diaries, others carry a camera, while others use the latest in video technology to record their...

This article is an interview with jewelry designer Mark Loren. Read on to get his insights and genius behind his...

Greg Stopka and his wife Lee began JewelSmiths 18 years ago with a belief they could succeed by providing jewelry...

While Surrealism has had a major impact on how we look at 20th-century art, the same cannot be said for...

Born in Bredsjo, Sweden, June 27, 1930, Olaf Skoogfors initially came to the United States when he was four years...

This article showcases the various exhibitions in the form of collected exhibition reviews published in the 1986 Fall issue of...

It’s easy to name your favorite gemstone or metal to work in, but what if you had to name your...

This article showcases various exhibitions in the form of collected exhibition reviews published in the 1991 Summer issue of the...

Having turned 80 with the spring this year, Fridl Blumenthal qualifies as a grand old lady of metalwork. Like grande...

The renowned jewelry and watch manufacturer Bunz will celebrate its 30th anniversary in June 2005. Since the company was launched...

Design ideas often begin one way, then evolve into something different. Such was the case with Robin Waynee's two-sided palladium...

Dulla crochets niobium wire into airy beads and necklaces studded with Swarovski crystals. The result is jewelry that is bright,...

At a time marked by an international revival of the blacksmith's art, the Samuel Yellin exhibition at the Federal Reserve...

"Bright colors we can find only in nature, quality craftsmanship that will outlast the seasons, and a promise to do...

Cheuk Ying Kwan Hong Kong Design Institute Hong Kong First Place, Future of the Industry Cheuk Ying Kwan, a student...

Although Thomas Gentille has the distinction of having a black ceramic glaze named for him, it is his little-known recovery...

This article is one of a series of articles from Metalsmith Magazine “Art and Technics” talking about techniques in craftsmanship...

Over the last several years, a growing number of North Americans have been obtaining nontraditional pierces. Pierced penises, nipples, navels,...

Rebekah Laskin is an enamelist with a new subtlety and depth of purpose unique to the metalsmithing community. She has...

Carrie Adell is perhaps best known for her jewelry which transforms common, familiar, organic and geometric objects and forms into...

Missiles chase one another around Mark Rooker's Circular Reasoning. Beneath the smoke plumes, lustrous silver water ripples on the bracelet's...

Design is a perennial issue for all who produce objects meant for a specific use, utilitarian, in contrast to objects...

While living in Little Neck, NY, during the mid-sixties, I took an enameling class at the local YWHA. It took...

When Gary Griffith wrote this poetic meditation (see below) on the status of his work for an exhibition at the...

This is the third in a series of articles from Metalsmith about production jewelers. This installment concentrates on marketing production...

A year before the first appearance of the Memphis collection at the Milan Furniture Fair in 1981, Leslie Leupp was...

Before moving his studio operation to a ground-floor space in Soho, just last year, Ted Muehling lived and worked in...

In this article, renowned enamelist Leila Tai discusses her many motivations and inspirations as well as her creative process in...

"Form Beyond Function" was organized by Kington and David Prince of the Mitchell Museum, Mt. Vernon, Illinois, in conjunction with...

This article showcases various exhibitions in the form of collected exhibition reviews published in the 1990 Summer issue of the...

The jewelry of Lilly Fitzgerald is washed in serenity. There is a soothing balance, peacefulness, and grace to her timeless...

Megan Thorne, owner of Megan Thorne Fine Jewels in Fort Worth, Texas, loves antique jewelry. In fact, she shares that...

Coveted for their beauty and rarity, fancy color diamonds remain the hottest category in the diamond market. At gem and...

This appreciation by Robert McDonald, former chief curator of the La Jolla Museum of Contemporary Art in California, was written...

Inhorgenta europe (2005) - 20 young designers and newcomers to the trade fair have the opportunity to present their work...

For Alex and Ani, booming success points back to manufacturing locally, with love Pharmaceutical salesperson Kelly Oliver logs thousands of...

This article showcases various exhibitions in the form of collected exhibition reviews published in the 1988 Spring issue of the...

This article showcases various exhibitions in the form of collected exhibition reviews published in the 1987 Summer issue of the...

On British Jewellery and German Jewellery, contrary to what one might infer about this exhibition, mounted at the Crafts Council...

I have always thought that if no other lesson had begun to seep through peoples' inertia and greed, that at...

Fascinated by the way things work, Connie Verrusio creates radical new jewelry forms from leftover functions. Connie Verrusio has double...

Welcome to the Mystery Box Challenge! You are among the select designers who have received this box of materials, Your...

om Dailing works in metal and Richard Homer in stone, but otherwise they are very much in sync. Dailings jewelry...

Eighteen months ago, New York City-based designer Lisa Jenks began a partnership with Origins, the well-known skin care products store....

John Marshalls position in American art is an awkward one. His sculptures of fine silver with acrylic, Corian, wood, and...

This exhibit, which originated at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London in 1982, will be traveling for two years...

Like many jewelers, Jacob Albee of Jacob Albee Goldsmith in Burlington, Vermont, buys stones without always knowing what he’s going...

In April of 1983, a simple and relatively unpretentious store joined the ranks of the illustrious "boutiques" and other high-priced...

Fred Fenster is a compact man whose quiet friendliness and diffidence belies the intensity that lies just beneath the surface...

Always preferring a combination of metals in her jewelry, Sydney Lynch of Sydney Lynch Jewelry Inc. in Lincoln, Nebraska, discovered...

A few years ago, Randy Polk of Randy Polk Designs in Fountain Hills, Arizona, knew he needed to make some...

The assembly of this three stone pendant pendant appears simple but when using traditional methods to position and join the...

I have worked in cloisonné on large-scale wall hangings and site-specific installations for public spaces. My work ranges from 8"...

This article is a step by step procedure in Laser Welding Solid Back on Opal Ring. The customer wanted a...

This article is one of a series of articles from Metalsmith Magazine “Art and Technics” talking about techniques in craftsmanship...

This article showcases the various exhibitions in the form of collected exhibition reviews published in the 1986 Winter issue of...

This article showcases various exhibitions in the form of collected exhibition reviews published in the 1987 Spring issue of the...

This is the third of a series on galleries that specialize in jewelry and metalwork. The Quadrum Gallery is owned...

Zoe Zong ZoeZong LLC McKinley, Texas First Place, Professional Design Excellence (1-3 Years in Business) "We're born, but we make...

While at the Atlanta Bench Jewelers Conference, my friend Elesa Dillon (the national sales manager for Southern Jewelry News and...

An experienced bench jeweler will often be able to create almost any design that doesn't actually violate the laws of...

This article showcases various exhibitions in the form of collected exhibition reviews published in the 1988 Fall issue of the...

"How to Wrap Five Eggs" was a dilemma posed by a cult book of Japanese packaging design in the mid-1960s....

Jennifer Trask sometimes seems to approach jewelry like a natural historian, filling locket-sized, glass topped silver and gold cases with...

Ivy Solomon combining resin, metal clay, and traditional fabrication techniques, her award-winning pendants are structured around textures and colors in...

David Paul Bacharach is a part of the growing contingent of American metalsmiths who are challenging the Modernist tradition of...

This article showcases various exhibitions in the form of collected exhibition reviews published in the 1987 Fall issue of the...

The third week of October was, ostensibly, a week like any other. But in the art world, it was a...

Check out this list of 19 jewelry making tips and tricks for preparation, cleaning, setting, how-to's and more.

"I'm not a secretive person," Song observes, 'but my work tells me I have many layers. I have a secret...

This article showcases the various exhibitions in the form of collected exhibition reviews published in the 1985 Summer issue of...

The work of Sofia Calderwood seems to be asking, Why do we wear jewelry? Is it to gain the attention...

Sometimes you get a job like this one. Your customer has a platinum and 18k yellow gold wedding band that...

Olaf Skooglors died at the age of 45 on December 20, 1975. In memory of Olaf Skoogfors these excerpts were...

It all began in 1978. Gretchen Klunder-Raber issued an open invitation to all persons interested in metalsmithing in the Washington,...

Growing up in the house of a silversmith is an unusual experience, the more so if the place where one...

To commit oneself in the jungle of jewelry classifications, categories and specification; to express an absolutely clear definition is an...

Steve Satow describes the procedure on creating a 14KW Rubellite Tourmaline Pendant. Creating a 14KW Rubellite Tourmaline Pendant Beginning components...

While this was not the first time that Ivy Ross and Robert Ebendorf have exhibited together, this exhibition showed clearly...

Rezac Gallery, a space devoted to avant-garde jewelry and decorative arts, opened in May, 1988 on West Superior Street in...

My recollection of the first piece of metalwork I owned is of a pin consisting of two poodles connected by...

Artist Darcy Mire takes the term 'precious jewelry' and turns it on its head. Her careworn cuffs, rings, and neckpieces,...

This article is an interview with jewelry designer Gregore Morin. Read on to get his insights and genius behind his...

In October 1986, Amsterdam's Galeria RA will mark its tenth anniversary in the forefront of Europe's experimental jewelry movement. To...

With the exception of "New Departures in Jewellery," held at the American Craft Museum last summer as part of the...

Custom designer Jim Dailing of Bend, Oregon, has been making jewelry for 30 years. For a brief stint during the...

Sculptural Jewelry ‘82 Contemporary Artisans Gallery, San Francisco October 27-November 20, 1982 Under the theme "Sculptural Jewelry '82" Contemporary Artisans...

A goldsmith, not only a jeweler, Charles Lewton-Brain exhibits the competence and traditional skills accumulated through studies at the Nova...

This article showcases the various exhibitions in the form of collected exhibition reviews published in the 1985 Spring issue of...

In early 1983 a call for entry was sent out across Canada for submissions to a multimedia, nonprecious jewellery exhibition...

When Chinese freshwater pearls began flooding the market several years ago, craft artists took notice. It is not that pearls...

Although it can do two things at once - combine form and function - cufflinks disappeared from the world of...

This past year, we were treated to a major retrospective of the work of John Prip in an exhibition that...

Paul Robilotti of Robilotti Fine Jewelers in Binghamton, New York, doesn’t like to let inspiration pass him by. He always...

McCreary is no stranger to traditional jewelry making. She took her first job with a jewelry manufacturer in the early...

Threadgills keen interest in ornament undoubtedly arises from her longstanding practice of etching motifs into the surfaces of her works,...

Mention German craftsmanship, and we think of diligent Black Forest elves making precision cameras and automobiles. Ordinarily, "precision" connotes accuracy,...

This article covers routine repair and assembly projects accomplished using Mini Pulse Arc III. Tack-, fusion- and pulse-arc equipment settings...

Belle Brooke Barer of Belle Brooke Designs in Los Angeles created a successful union when she brought together 18k yellow...

The overarching theme in major presentations for the diamond and jewelry industry during the JCK Las Vegas Show in June...

Editor’s Note: If we are what we eat, then are we whom we wear? While wearing your own jewelry designs...

When setting gemstones into castings that started life as CAD files, jewelers often complain that they don't have quite enough...

Welcome to Stacey Rhodes Jewelry Designs, where we will detail all of the steps involved in adding a new piece...

Twenty first-century artists consider how best to relate to our changing world in a meaningful way. Pittsburgh artist ROY has...

  Leo Fried and Nanz Aalund Blue Heron Jewelry Co. Poulsbo, Washington Responsible Practices Distinction Nanz Aalund was looking for...

This article showcases various exhibitions in the form of collected exhibition reviews published in the 1991 Fall issue of the...

Vada Clark Beetler, designer craftsman in metal, passed away December 7, 1984. A native of Columbus, Ohio, Vada Beetler received...

Like many decorative accessories, tie tacks exist because they have a practical function. The fabric, structure, and cut of the...

It’s easy to name your favorite gemstone or metal to work in, but what if you had to name your...

You never know how visiting the doctor could change your life. While Tony Snodgrass of Kent Jewelry in Rolla ,Missouri,...

Bruce Metcalf's recent exhibition Between Darkness and Light thematically embraces and continues his ongoing concern with an anguished sensibility wedged...

Reviving the virtually dead enameling technique plique-à-jour, which means "the light of day as seen through a membrane," has been...

For the "Jewelry Design" show at the Johnson Museum of Art, Louise Porter, Coordinator of Crafts, selected both jewelry and...

This article showcases the various exhibitions in the form of collected exhibition reviews published in the 1985 Fall issue of...

I have long suspected that I have a great deal of "dyslexic" company in the arts. As more and more...

Stuart Devlin's exhibition offered the viewer a feast, a visit to an Aladdin's cave. The exhibition celebrated 25 years of...

Sometimes a design becomes more than the sum of its parts. Designer Cristopher Olson and master jeweler Paul Schaaf of...

This article is an overview  and contain details for Ornamenta 1:  International Exhibition of Contemporary Jewelry held on September 30...

At Novell Design Studio, efficiency, quality, and service get a jolt of passion You can hear the passion in Bruce...

This is the fourth in a series of articles from Metalsmith about production jewelers: design, marketing and business. ************************* Business...

One of the heralded events in this year's ebb and flow of jewelry fashion was the arrival of the Cleto...

We live in an age of rapid technological progress where the unthinkable becomes possible and the impossible becomes routine. Even...

This article is a continuing dialogue on the State of Metalsmithing and Jewelry by Donald Friedlich and Judith Mitchell with ...

This crocheted necklace is created by weaving interlocking loops of 18k gold wire into a chain, using a needle. Because...

John Marshall was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1936. After serving in the Armed Forces and doing construction work, Marshall...

In Objects: USA, the chapter on jewelry bears witness to the hallowed names of modern history. The collective effort of...

This article showcases various exhibitions in the form of collected exhibition reviews published in the 1990 Fall issue of the...

We’re all nostalgic for something. Usually, it’s reminiscence from our childhood, as in Adel Chefridi’s case. Chefridi, owner of Adel...

In this article, Marjan Unger describes what Ornamenta 1 means and is all about. It contains information when and how...

Al Pine has been a fixture at Cal State Long Beach for over 25 years, where he teaches with Dieter...

It is possible to practice medicine and do it very successfully and happily without much familiarity with or interest in...

It's harder than steel, more durable than enamel, can be worn for years without scratching, and costs less than half...

With the quartz as the central focal point of the "Reflecting Pond Necklace," Sturlin had to design a chain that...

Difficult times are often good times for the unusual. The higher the hurdle that must be overcome to make clients...

This gemstone-encrusted shield is named in honor of Athena, the Greek goddess of wisdom and warfare who was worshiped as...

Noel Yovovich discovered titanium in her first year as a jewelry artist. "A friend of mine was working with it...

The confidential exploits of self-deception is the title of one of Louis Mueller's recent six-foot-high wall pieces. This paradoxical attitude...

This illustration is of a 14-karat white gold ring for three cultured freshwater pearls and two small accent diamonds. After...

Mounted in Paul McClure's silver pendant, Alveoli, are two pearls taken from a necklace his mother left him when she...

My affair with precious metals began while working with my father a talented jeweler who worked with spring movement. He...

As art critic Lucy Lippard has observed: “The ‘ugly’ turning ‘beautiful’ in the public eye through a process of familiarity...

This article showcases various exhibitions in the form of collected exhibition reviews published in the 1991 Spring issue of the...

The following is an excerpt from the text of the catalog of "The Founding Masters Exhibit", held at the Schick...

This article showcases various exhibitions in the form of collected exhibition reviews published in the 1989 Spring issue of the...

CAD/CAM (Computer Aided Design and Manufacturing) is bringing a new efficiency and profitability to the jewelry workplace. Who is better...

Naive, primitive, anonymous, magical are characteristics that often accompany our image of the folk artist. In reality, he is an...

It may surprise some, judging from Tom Markusen studio output, that the production objects are handmade, without the use of...

An object in space is exactly what the name implies, namely one which by design has left the company of...

Marcia Budet didn’t set out to be a jewelry designer. Although she grew up collecting rocks, crystals, and hematites, she...

Often the paramount achievement of technical mastery is the ability to “remain invisible.” The virtuoso violinist is heralded less for...

Susan Kingsley's work has involved a long, determined struggle with the role of a woman artist in the field of...

Joseph Albers, a colorist par excellence, always said that in visual perception a color is almost never seen as it...

Ben Caldwell is a painter, copper and silver smith, musical instrument builder, and inventor. He trained at the Studio School...

Jewelry artist Leila Tai is renowned for her extraordinary one-of-a-kind pieces celebrating perfection in nature and for her masterful use...

This article series from Metalsmith Magazine is named "Recent Sightings" and here Bruce Metcalf talks about art, craftmanship, design, the...

The very word PRECIOUS, the concept of PRECIOUSNESS is anathema to most contemporary artists, especially painters and sculptors, and perhaps...

Entering the enameling studio, one is struck by its openness. Light fills the space. Shelves are lined with organic vessel...

Robert Montgomery surrounds himself in a silent optimism that does not simply ignore adversity, but rises above it. His generous...

An Assessment of a Lecture Series and Panel Discussion at the Program in Artisanry of the Swain School of Design....

"I make jewelry the way I draw," says Vivienne Jones. "That's one of the great thins about metal, you can...

This is the second in a series of projects for students, created to provide a forum in Metalsmith for provocative...

More and more jewelers are designing unique jewelry pieces for their clientele. One reason is the custom jewelry market is...

This article showcases the selected works from the enamelist John Smith exhibition at Kaskaskia college. The exhibition took place March...

Adam Neeley Adam Neeley Fine Art Jewelry Laguna Beach, California First Place, Laser Distinction Look back over the list of...

Vessel and vesselmaking come the closet to establishing a universal language form; encompassing ceramic pots, holloware, fiber baskets, glass and...

Of the various schools of thought about design, "less is more" has been one of the most enduring of the...

This article showcases various exhibitions in the form of collected exhibition reviews published in the 1989 Summer issue of the...

This is the first in a series on galleries that specialize in jewelry and metalwork. The Vo Galerie is a...

Mon Cheerie By Ion Ionescu. Winner. First Place, Evening Wear. 2012 AGTA Spectrum Awards. You could argue that a little...

This article showcases various exhibitions in the form of collected exhibition reviews published in the 1990 Winter issue of the...

This article showcases various exhibitions in the form of collected exhibition reviews published in the 1987 Winter issue of the...

Celebrating its move to a new location, Creative Metalsmiths featured the slick art jewelry of Joan Michlin. Her futuristic style...

From time to time, Metalsmith will locus a series of articles on a particular aspect of jewelers. Beginning in this...

For a long time now in artisan jewelry work, all that glitters is not gold. Precious metals, diamonds, and pearls...

Jonathan Bonner is a pleasant young man with a quick smile and an easygoing manner. If you saw him in...

They say inspiration strikes when you least expect it. For designer Genevieve Yang of Santa Rosa, California, the inspiration for...

Our "notice" calling all metalsmiths guilty of western influences to turn in photographs of their work may have led some...

Leila Tai of New York City will be the first person to tell you that in order to take on...

This is the fourth in a series of projects for students, created to provide a forum in Metalsmith for provocative...

This article showcases various international exhibitions and competitions in the form of collected exhibition reports published in the 1987 Summer ...

Translated into English, Korea means "chosen." Komelia Hongja Okim, a native of Korea, has faced a great many consequential choices...

This article showcases various exhibitions in the form of collected exhibition reviews published in the 1988 Winter issue of the...

If you have never manufactured with platinum and you think that you are ready, if you manufacture with platinum, but...

This article showcases various exhibitions in the form of collected exhibition reviews published in the 1989 Winter issue of the...

All five artists in this 5 Austrian Jewelers show were trained at the Hochschüle für angewandte Kunst in Vienna. While...

Art school is in some ways a difficult place to learn to be a metalsmith. Traditionally, it took industry from...

This short paper offers a set of names to describe how the jewellery metals field is made up in terms...

Ricardo Basta Ricardo Basta Fine Jewelry Los Angeles First Place, CAD/CAM Distinction Ricardo Basta believes in melding traditional jewelry-making techniques...

Mac McCall is a Western shaman, or, as Elizabeth Sasser claims, a wizard of ambiguity. In this focus, she offers...

Strictly speaking, the metalworker's contribution to the Japanese tea ceremony is confined primarily to the teakettle. This accoutrement traditionally has...

Expanding the boundaries of conventional jewelry design through the use of unusual materials -- Titanium, Niobium, Copper, Metal clay, Acrylic,...

'I show you an opal. You show me a design.' That was the deal I struck with the three willing...

The statement below could well have been made by many individuals upon reflection on their friends and colleagues. But in...

This article is a  Cross-Sectional Critique of applying clipping planes to model manufacturability written by Darla Alvarez of GIA Jewelry...

Janice Kluge's exhibition of metalwork and sculpture at the Birmingham Museum of Art was small in scale but rich in...

To create a new ring to showcase the beauty of a customer's sentimental diamonds, Knoxville, Tennesseebased jeweler Ron Litolff of...

What fun for me to reminisce about our early friendship: Tamara Sergijenko from Tallin, Estonia and I from middle America!...

This show provided an overview of some of the new directions and esthetic concerns of metalsmiths in the 1980s. Curated...

Welcome to Stacey Rhodes Jewelry Designs, where we will detail all of the steps involved in adding a new piece...

This article showcases various exhibitions in the form of collected exhibition reviews published in the 1989 Fall issue of the...

From the very cover of the announcement brochure, one sensed the struggles and conflicts represented in the work in this...

"American jewelry has come into its own," says Concepts Gallery owner Doug Steakley. "lt has really matured. . . My...

Stone, metal and space compose the careful balance in Deborah Aguado's work. Her first geometric formalisms constructed in metal were...

MADE IN THE USA: Where We Stand is an update on the jewelry industry’s efforts to promote homegrown products. It...

This article is an interview with jewelry designer Mark Schneider. Read on to get his insights and genius behind his...

"All That Glitters," the first national competitive exhibition of fine art glass and jewelry in Arizona, featured the work of...

When all sides of a dangle earring are beautiful, choosing the side to face front can be problematic. Ryan Roberts...

The term fashion does not immediately bring to mind knives. But wait! The 1895 Montgomery Ward & Co. catalog offered...

The textured surfaces of Barbara Heinrich's gold jewelry deceive with their simplicity. At first glance, they clearly appear to be...

This article is one of a series of articles from Metalsmith Magazine “Art and Technics” talking about techniques in craftsmanship...

Phillip Voetsch is an accomplished designer and master level bench jeweler, he began using 3D CAD/CAM technology 3 1/2 years...

The focus of Lin Stanionis' work for the last three years has been in exploring the implications inherent in the...

One of the more difficult challenges Chihiro Makio of 314 Studio in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts, faced when creating her Orange...

This is the third in a series of projects for students, created to provide a forum in Metalsmith for provocative...

The Transparency Theory has long maintained an indomitable position at the core of any philosophy of art. Simply expressed, the...

When Lewis Carroll wrote Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, he modeled his narrative on fairy tales and used nonsense as a...

This project features a stock pair of earrings that are customized for cultured pearls. The request was to design earrings...

As a moviegoer in the 1950s and 60s. I watched intently as insects and crustaceans were transformed into gargantuan monsters...

This article showcases various exhibitions in the form of collected exhibition reviews published in the 1990 Winter issue of the...

Although a Philadelphia native, designer Jenny Reeves loves her adopted city of San Francisco. When a local jewelry organization held...

"Body Art Exhibition," an exhibition sponsored by Security Pacific Corporation, on view from September 8 to October 21, 1990, was...

Andy Cooperman's Sargasso Server, a contemporary sterling silver fish slice, evokes life in the sea. The blade resembles a squid's...

In times of increased price competition and global producers, cooperation with designers is also an important factor for large jewelry...

A mesmerizing flame melting spectacularly colored glass into a perfect bead. The possibilities of infinite shapes and sizes. The beautiful...

"What's in it for me?" is probably the thought of each SNAG member when the information on the annual conference...

This article showcases various exhibitions in the form of collected exhibition reviews published in the 1991 Winter issue of the...

Undeniably, American crafts of the 20th century have been influenced by Japanese esthetics. From raku to mokumé, American crafts would...

It was his first time in New York City. Surrounded by the skyscrapers and bright lights of the Big Apple,...

The success of John Marshall's art, as a practicing metalsmith, was evident in this impressive exhibition. Held in conjunction with...

Putting a spin on tradition, Alexandra Hart of Alexandra Hart in San Diego crafted Broollopskronan, or Bridal Crown, a regal...

Although jewelry design by goldsmiths and designers is characterized by unique pieces, unlike the industrial production of jewelry, ever greater...

New Jewelry Ideas from Other Realms of Experience “Meaning brings form with it; form is never without meaning” Johann Wolfgang...

This column is about fashion. I have been writing it for a couple of years now, still with some trepidation....

In September of 1988, the CDK Galleries opened their doors. Partners Garth Clark, Mark Del Vecchio and Wayne Kuwada presented...

This article is one of a series of articles from Metalsmith Magazine "Fads and Fallacies".  For this 1987 Winter, A....

One of the newest earring findings to hit the market is showing a little earlobe midriffand it could turn the...

One February at the Tucson gem shows, inspiration took flight for Katy Briscoe of Katy Briscoe Inc. in Houston. "I...

As a traditional symbol of good luck, this piece is inspired by the horseshoe. It is dedicated to the power...

Children and adults alike enjoy the spectacle of the circus. For jewelry designer Pierre-Yves Paquette of Pierre-Yves in Saint-Sauveur, Quebec,...

Coming to terms with the work of Kai Chan is not so much a matter of definition as of communication....

With textures that echo the Patagonian mountains of Chile, the Torres del Paine Ring by Cynthia Rene Zava of Cynthia...

This is the fifth in a series of projects for students. These projects were created to provide a forum in...

This article is a review by Betsy Douglas of the 1990 SNAG Conference held in San Francisco, CA on March...

This article series from Metalsmith Magazine is named "Recent Sightings" and here Bruce Metcalf talks about art, craftmanship, design, the...

Alishan Halebian’s sphere is a metaphor for light and life. Beginning with the concept of a sphere, Alishan Halebian of...

What is the purpose of a SNAG conference? Why do people come? What are their expectations? Why do some cease...

In 1959, Victor Papanek gave the third-year students in his creative engineering seminar at Ontario College of Art this problem:...

Dan Feldman uses the utensil as both object and idea. Consequently, his work reveals both personal history and associations with...

American crafts are under-going self-examination. Expressed in countless ways, varying from anxiety to optimism, the observation that the field is...

Welcometo Stacey Rhodes Jewelry Designs, where we will detail all of the steps involved in adding a new piece ofjewelry...

The practice of American craft is set against the larger phenomenon of industrialization: every aspect of craft compares to and...

This article is one of a series of articles from Metalsmith Magazine “Art and Technics” talking about techniques in craftsmanship...

As trite as it might sound, we still form our opinions about people as a result of "first impressions." In...

Welcome to Stacey Rhodes Jewelry Designs, where we will detail all of the steps involved in adding a new piece...

This article series from Metalsmith Magazine is named “Recent Sightings” and here Bruce Metcalf talks about art, craftmanship, design, the...

On the second day of the 1984 Society of North American Goldsmith's conference held in June in New York City,...

Not until the last century did the malicious and false concept arise that artists—painters, sculptors, printmakers—were anti-intellectuals. During the Renaissance...

I stood on Kawaramachi Street in downtown Kyoto. Kyoto, capital of Japan, home of the emperor from 794 to 1868,...

This article is one of a series of articles from Metalsmith Magazine “Art and Technics” talking about techniques in craftsmanship...

This article is one of a series of articles from Metalsmith Magazine "Fads and Fallacies".  For this 1987 Fall, A....

The Grace Pendant was designed specially for the Heart Gala, a benefit for the American Heart Association that Stacey and...

Sisterhood, however you define it, is the strongest bond. Best friends, mothers and daughters, your own sisters, or anyone very...

It's hard to think of a comparison. While I can haphazardly categorize today's non jewelry metalsmithing as either traditional holloware...

This article series from Metalsmith Magazine is named "Recent Sightings" where Bruce Metcalf talks about art, craftmanship, design, the artists,...

This article is one of a series of articles from Metalsmith Magazine “Art and Technics” talking about techniques in craftsmanship...

M. Avigail Upin's carefully constructed work displays a cool and impeccable cleanness of style, with silver the dominant material. Her...

These step-by-step instruction manual guides the process (see procedure for making the class ring). With a core product to produce,...

Our second conference was a success! The conference started promptly at 9 a.m., August 18 - a beautiful sunny day....

Unless you've been living in a cave for the past five years, you are aware of the current interest in...

This article series from Metalsmith Magazine is named “Recent Sightings” where Bruce Metcalf talks about art, craftmanship, design, the artists,...

I thought this was a dazzling exhibition, even before I had a glass of wine. It was definitely a step...

Welcome to Stacey Rhodes Jewelry Designs, where we will detail all of the steps involved in adding a new piece...

This article is one of a series of articles from Metalsmith Magazine “Art and Technics” talking about techniques in craftsmanship...

This exhibition of two sculptors at the Merritt Gallery constituted the first major showing of work by either artist. An...

Conversations on Technology happened during a couple of cold winter evenings, Stanley Lechtzin and Michael Dunas examined ideas raised at...

The Economics of Ornamenta 1 is a letter by Dr. Joachim Becker, Mayor of the City of Pforzheim, stating what...

Amid the holiday craziness that will be descending on the industry this month, it’s important to take time and give...

18K tri gold/sterling rod from Reactive Metals Studio. Photo used with permission. Based in Cottonwood, Arizona, Reactive Metals has been...

Photo by Stachura Wholesale Gemstones. Used with permission. The Joseph P. Stachura Company Inc. is a family-run wholesale jewelry business...

Many people I know romanticize an afternoon in a cage in a cultural mecca - maybe Paris or Rome -...

This article is one of a series of articles from Metalsmith Magazine “Fads and Fallacies”.  For this 1987 Spring issue, ...

This article series from Metalsmith Magazine is named “Recent Sightings” and here Bruce Metcalf talks about art, craftmanship, design, the...

Kelly Jean Conroy discusses her approach to metalsmithing, jewelry art, and education. Learn what her Video Series on Ganoksin offers....

This article is one of a series of articles from Metalsmith Magazine “Fads and Fallacies”.  For this 1989 Summer, A....

Jeweler Milt Fischbein explains his approach to teaching filigree techniques. Learn what he's planning in his upcoming videos and workshops....