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victoria moore’s damascus steel jewelry

Susan Lomuto — Thu, 24 May 2012 18:13:29 +0000

Using pattern welding to create the wavy patterns that appear in her billets of Damascus steel, Victoria Moore achieves a bold graphic statement by adding simple lines of gold and diamonds to the steel that highlight the movement of the line.

The images practically jump off the page – I imagine in person the jewelry appears to jump right off the body and into your line of vision.

“Pattern welding is a mechanical process wherein strips of metal are laid up together, heated, forged together, folded, then reheated, forged, folded, and so on, again and again. Patterns appear in the metal and vary according to what the smith does to the layered metal. Patterning techniques include carving, drilling, twisting and then flattening of the layered bar.”

Victoria Moore’s website

sean hennessy: tattered, stained, covered and encrusted

Susan Lomuto — Fri, 18 May 2012 14:22:17 +0000

He’s a quiet man. Thinks before he speaks. Ponders the questions you ask before he responds. I like this about him. Sean Hennessy creates thought provoking sculptures in glass and concrete, casting narrative glass panels that he paints and trowels with concrete, then stains with pigment before framing the glass in steel.

The Difference Between Us, glass, concrete, steel

“Tattered and stained. Covered and encrusted. Yet the glass, our humanity, and the narratives of our lives still shines through.”

This piece is backlit by LEDs that will last at least 25 years!

During my apprenticeship in DC last year I had the opportunity to see Hennessy’s work and I can easily say that pictures don’t do the work justice (as lovely as the photos are. . .).

Afterlife

“I liken the presence of glass in my art to the ethereal aspects of our lives, our spirit, and our hopes and dreams. I equate the concrete with the realities of earth, and life, and the shell that we use to protect ourselves from exposing our soul to the world.”

It Requires More Than Yourself

“My pieces are interpretations and psychological landscapes of the unseen forces in our lives—being judged by others and ourselves, finding inspiration and will, and dealing with obstacles that may hold us back.”

Sean Hennessy is participating in the much awaited Artomatic festival/show/event along with many of my friends including Michael Janis, Erwin Timmers and Tim Tate. From May 18th (yes, that’s today!) through June 23rd, more than 1,100 artists and 5,000 pieces of art take over an 11 story building in Crystal City, Virginia. If you are in the area, be sure to check it out.

Sean Hennessy’s webite

Read more about the artist and see work in progress photos here and here.

Hennessy is also known in DC for his faux and decorative painting talents. Check it out here.

nisa smiley: inspired by nature, created by hand

Susan Lomuto — Wed, 16 May 2012 20:42:57 +0000

Nisa Smiley lives and works on the coast of Maine, immersing herself in nature and incorporating her experiences into the jewelry she has been making for more than a decade.

Physalis (Chinese Lantern Plant)
fine silver (PMC), custom hand-blown hollow glass interior beads

Spiral Seashell Ring

I’m partial to the Seashell Spiral Rings she creates with fragments of shells – you know the type of shell fragment I’m talking about – pieces of the interior spiral part of a shell that you find while walking on the beach, soaking in the scent, the sound, the sheer bliss of being oceanside. She sets them into hand crafted silver rings that are truly wonderful to look at – and remember time spent near the ocean. I don’t wear jewelry much, but I would wear that ring. Speaks to me.

Antique Shell Button Earrings

Bronze Lantern Bells

Skeleton Leaf Lentil Earrings, silver

Often I am moved to create jewelry that “tastes” of my experiences in Nature, be it the discovery of a blush-pink snail shell on the gray beach, the nubby green texture of a sun-bleached urchin shell, or the intricate pattern of feathers adorning a heron’s wing.

Nisa Smiley’s website

thierry chollat’s iron and wood bestiary

Susan Lomuto — Fri, 11 May 2012 15:45:46 +0000

A prolific artist who works in several media, Thierry Chollat is known as much for his animal sculptures as for his illustrations. The wood and iron sculptures shown here offer a glimpse of the artist’s talents – he also sculpts in stone, papier mache, driftwood and other materials. Chollat’s goal is to bring attention to environmental issues and endangered species.

Chimpanzee

Goat

“I seek, through sculpture, to create a face to face, to reveal another side of humanity, to take a look full of meaning and emotion as each of us is a mirror of the other.”

Horse

Cat, detail

Red Deer

Thierry Chollat’s website

Get a closer look in this 25 second video

Two pages of pictures here

On his blog, Chollat shares stone sculptures and illustrations of nudes

helen noakes: silver, resin and miniatures

Susan Lomuto — Thu, 10 May 2012 15:22:37 +0000

Helen Noakes’ playful nature is apparent in her work and even on her website, where she lets you know,”you have entered the world of noakes. you should leave now if you aren’t prepared to be amused and enthralled by the jewellery she makes.”

I Wish I Had A Penguin, ring

Penguin March, necklace

Swimmer, ring

Noakes happened upon a few miniature figures and a book about resin at the same time. It was enough to trigger her imagination and before long she was on a roll combining the two, setting them into silver and creating little worlds to wear. The jewelry is lighthearted and fanciful and I love the way she adds text to the silver. Don’t you think the words enhance the whimsical nature of the pieces?

Swimmers, bracelet

Polar Cube Necklace

Easy Tiger, necklace

Synchronized Swimmers, necklace
(click image to really see the swimmers)

Helen Noakes’ website