Frequency Brooch
Regular price $245.00Inspired by the ordered chaos of electrical diagrams, the Frequency brooch is hand fabricated from sterling silver with an oxidized and brushed finish. The circles feature inlay of Rosewood and eco-friendly, soy-based resin. The resin is hand tinted with non-toxic pigments, and the wood has an oil and wax finish. The brooch features a rigid steel pin mechanism.
2” x 1” x .375”
Ships within 5 days.
STATEMENT
I create modern jewelry that merges my graphic design and furniture making backgrounds, with my interest in mid-20th century design.
BIOGRAPHY
Matthew Smith began his creative career as a freelance graphic designer. Through his years in this field, he developed what he terms a “visually concise” design language. He also maintained a long running hobby as a woodworker and furniture maker. When a move to a new city required a dramatic downsizing of his studio, Smith began to focus on jewelry as a compact way to merge his diverse interests. He found inspiration from the jewelry designers of the mid-20th century who’s work emphasized strong design and alternative materials, over precious metals and gems.
Smith’s pieces begin as a graphic design which is worked and re-worked to develop the most concise expression of the concept. Design elements such as line weight, color, and pattern are translated into silver thickness, resin tint, and wood grain. Recently Smith has begun working with a new non-toxic casting resin made from soybeans and peanuts, which he tints with non-toxic painter’s pigments.
Matthew Smith received his BA in Fine Art from Wake Forest University. While there he focused on printmaking and sculpture. His education in silversmithing began by taking classes at the Cultural Arts Center in Columbus, Ohio as well as a jewelry class at the Penland School of Crafts. He has combined traditional silversmithing techniques with his woodworking skills to create a hybrid method of jewelry making.
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Matthew's work can also be found at the following museum stores and non-profit shops:
Asher Gallery, Houston Center for Contemporary Craft, Houston, Texas
Craft Alliance Gallery, St. Louis, Missouri
Red Structural Circle Brooch
Regular price $550.00This one-of-a-kind brooch is a large, three-dimensional circle form, hand fabricated by the artist in red powder coated steel. Secures with two pins.
3.25" x 1.125" deep
Ships within 3 days.
STATEMENT
My ongoing body of work connects my interest in drawing and jewelry using wire as I would use charcoal. The work consists of a series of wearable pieces that reflect an exploration of line, form, volume, movement, structure, geometry, space, light and shadow.
Two of the primary influences for this body of work were The Modern or New Jewelry Movement, which began in Europe in 1970, and the Constructivist Movement, which took place during the early part of the 20th century, primarily in Russia. The influence of these two movements, coupled with my interest in architectural structures, form the basis for this body of work.
For me it is important that the work exist both on and of the body. When not being worn the pieces are to be displayed as a three-dimensional drawing either on the wall or in some other appropriate space, where they can be enjoyed and not locked away in a jewelry box.
The work is hand-fabricated using steel, sterling, and sometimes 18K gold wire. To add a bit of color, I use Plasti-Dip or powder coating.
Donna D’Aquino was born in Newburgh, New York. She received her BS in Design from The State University College of New York at Buffalo in 1989; and her MFA from Kent State University in 2000. She taught at three schools in Ohio: Kent State University, The Mary Schiller Myers School of Art at the University of Akron, and The University of Toledo.
She has won numerous awards including an individual Ohio Arts Council Grant and an Emerging Artist Fellowship from the American Craft Council.
In 2007 she was selected to be included in both the traveling show and the book that accompanied the “Craft in America, Celebrating Two Centuries of Artists and Objects”, series done for PBS. Her work is in the permanent collection of the Museum for Contemporary Crafts in Portland, Oregon, and the Charles A. Wustum Museum in Racine, Wisconsin.
