Modern Heirloom® Fine Jewelry

pictured below:Illustration by Kathryn Holton Stewart www.silverbonsai.com I first discovered the beauty of hand engraving 5 years ago when I came across a class at Blaine Lewis ' New Approach School for Jeweler's . New Approach was introduced to me when Ben, my husband, studied Advanced Stone Setting under Blaine's instruction . The techniques offered and the p hilosophy of the school was so impressive we were hooked. When I spied a course on Hand Engraving I was completely intrigued and had to check it out. Drawing has been a part of my art since I was 8 . To bring illustration to my metalwork was an exciting concept. I signed up immediately and was fortunate to study under Jason Marchiafava. Jason is a third generation Artist and Craftsman by trade. He began his training metalsmithing and stone setting at a very young age under the supervision of Jeweler Tina May Shiele, the head jeweler of his father and grandfathers shop. By the time Jason graduated High School his s...

        Art Nouveau design and the metalwork of the early 1900s has fascinated me since the earliest days of my  career.  Observing the detail and intricacy of t he jewelry crafted by artists such as Rene Laliqu e and Georges Fouquet  ,I'm amazed at what they were able to accomplish at that time. Contemplating this, I found myself inspired to  focus on breaking down the techniques of their creations and mastering each individually .  The first technique to practise was something I had stopped using enough in my own work, The art of my jeweler's saw.  I spent the first week of my challenge focused on  one of the first skills I was introduced to at SCAD. Project one in " Intro to Jewelry" in 1993 which taught us about using our jeweler's saw to pierce out a design.  I still remember what I pierced, two little gecko lizards  in a mirrored design. I realized it was time to become reaquainted with my saw and the amazing detail that very tool brought to many of the piec...

The new year is well underway. I have recovered from the madness of being a jeweler during the holidays, enjoyed some r&r, and now it is time to look at what 2010 has in store. I spend my days floating between my jeweler's bench, my design center, our customers. and our gallery. Practicing my craft daily has taught me many things. We are presented challenges which we learn from each day and yet I feel need to focus on improving certain gaps which I realize exist in my mastery of the art of jewelry making. I am fortunate to craft with a partner, my husband Ben Stewart . His technical abilities and focus at the Bench amaze me daily. Of course I naturally have become all too used to leaning on his skills in my own work. My goal therefore is set...to recognize my technical shortcomings and search out the information and practice challenges necessary to improve my skills and focus. This blog will be my study arena. A chronicle of challenges, classes, and research I choose to focus o...

I have noticed a pattern over the last 25 years of creating....yes I started at age 9 and then it was all about drawing disney characters as accurately as possible. It wasn't until I had many jewelry making years under my belt and I returned to drawing on the side that I noticed this pattern . I now try to make it a point to practice it regularly. What am I referring to? Improving your skill set through practicing another. After my art school days, I had been sculpting metal regularly. One day I felt inspired to sit down and randomly bust out a drawing. Low and behold, I was better at drawing than I ever had been before, Much better. Strange...I mean, I hadn't drawn in years. How could I have improved? What I found as I drew, was that my line no longer stopped at the visual edge of the object I was drawing. In my mind's eye, it traveled around the object. I could see the hidden areas. Working three dimensionally had taught me to better understand Contour and shape and mo...

As I was exploring my facebook friends status reports this morning, I came across one that really got my brain ticking on a subject that has been in the background of our world since the start of my career. Why is there a Grand Divide between the Conceptual and the Fine jewelry worlds? Fortunately, there are leaders within our industry working steadily to build a bridge. This conversation was inspired by Cindy Edelstein , Jewelers Resource Bureau , and her upcoming talk on Fine Jewelry in an Arts & Crafts Gallery. Interestingly, the first comment on her status in which Cindy mentioned her talk was a woman claiming it’s just not possible or at least not worth it to show Fine jewelry in such an environment. The question this raised in my head is…just when did Fine Jewelry stop being “Art”. Historically, if we look to the early 1900s , we can see jewelry of such extreme artistry how could it be referred to as anything but and yet the creations of that time had every quality that def...

As I have been searching for what to create for the Vision Awards,(Yes I know last minute) , it got me thinking about design inspiration.... In order to train eyes and hands to the paper, we must first train our eye to the world around us, where everyday objects can inspire extraordinary things. I often find myself looking for underlying shapes & observing the textures and colors within them. I learn to appreciate the movement of line.... in, around, and through space. Becoming a visual data collector, this sense of observation harnesses creative inspiration and develops design skills. Our environment can serve as a constant source of creative and visual inspiration. From the organic line work of a flower to the architectural detailing of a building , we are surrounded by an inspiring array of shape, texture, & color. In jewelry design, we must also look to the human figure for inspiration. Jewelry by definition is meant to interact with the body. It is a wearable art. The figu...

Scrolls of imaginative and ornamental patterns can be found throughout the hand engraving world. As the process of cutting a scroll unfolds, it is as if you are watching leaves uncurl and vines intertwine. When I began engraving, I was introduced to the concepts behind designing a layout by a very talented engraver, Jason Marchiafava . Therefore it made perfect sense to introduce you all to him now. Thanks again, Jason for supplying this evenings imagery. Inspired by nature, the curling of an Oak leaf, and the blooming of a flower.... the key to a well en graved scroll begins with layout. As we draw and paint the scroll,we train our minds to the patterns of line and the cuts in the metal become second nature. Technique breaks the lusciousness of the scroll into a well defined series of repetitious cuts. I had the fortune of first observing these techniques through Jason's skillful hands. This is evident through the Scrolls pictured here inlaid with 24K Gold & featuring exhibi...