Nature-Inspired Stones, Gems, and Precious Metals
Featured at Guilford Art Center
Spring Jewelry & Champagne Event, April 29 - June 3
Opening Reception April 29, 2-4pm

Eye-catching pieces of jewelry by eclectic American designers are featured in the Guilford Art Center's Spring Jewelry & Champagne event, April 29 through June 3. The Guilford Art Center Shop is known for its changing selections of handmade jewelry, and this annual springtime event showcases pieces by specially invited artists.

For the show, Shop and Gallery Manager Julienne Richardson has selected artistically innovative jewelry that appeals to a range of tastes and flatters all kinds of wearers. "Many of the pieces emulate botanical forms and natural objects, such as rocks and minerals, flowers and leaves," explains Richardson. "The featured artists work with unusual materials, such as Pyrex glass, paper-embedded sterling silver, and carved river stones, reflecting contemporary trends in handmade jewelry."

This year for the first time there will be a champagne opening reception for the event, on Sunday afternoon, April 29, from 2-4pm. The event will feature champagne and hors d'oeuvres, jazz guitar music by Len Kaczmarek and Mike Reinhauzens, and prize drawings, creating a festive atmosphere for browsing among the season's most eye-catching trends. The reception is free and open to the public.

FEATURED ARTISTS:

Julie Jerman-Melka's "River Rock" series of works have been created to be worn as an amulet or a talisman since, as the artist explains, "legend says that if you find a rock with a cavity or hole in it, you will have good luck." She carves small holes in the rocks and uses sterling silver and 18K gold, which are hammered or forged. For her "Flora Fauna" series she creates granulated sterling and gold pieces that emulate plant forms.

Amy Kahn Russell naturalistic designs epitomize this trend in jewelry and are much-coveted by collectors. Her work often incorporates images her extensive travels. Russell's new pins/pendants, necklaces, earrings, and bracelets incorporate sterling silver, sometimes with 14Kt and 18Kt gold, natural minerals, pearls, fossils, and semi-precious stones as. Russell's jewelry is carried at the Natural History Museum and the American Craft Museum, has been worn by such celebrities as Madonna, Iman, and Halle Barry, and has been featured in photo shoots for Vogue, Glamour, Revlon, Mirabella, Essence.

Stephanie Maddalena specializes in lampworked glass beads, and most recently she is concentrating on creating jewelry that resembles bouquets of seasonal flowers. These wearable art pieces, which can be commissioned as one-of-a-kind bridal jewelry, express her fascination with "anything sculptural" and her love of color and texture.

Kevin O'Grady is well known as a talented glass bracelet maker, concentrating on the creative and unique use of color. His designs are both high-tech and artistic. "Wearing art glass as jewelry celebrates both contemporary and ancient fashion statements," says the artist. "Although glass bracelets date back to the Egyptians, there is no more unusual and innovative way to appreciate modern art glass."

SOMERS is the work of designer Somers Randolph, a sculptor known for his large works in marble and alabaster. For years he also whittled small shapes and concepts for his sculpture in soapstone, which he and his wife Hillary decided to cast in silver, converting sculpture to jewelry. SOMERS designs include pendants, bracelets and earrings.. "To wear these organic distillations," says the artist, "is to connect with nature on a profound level."

Carol Windsor has developed a technique of laminating sterling silver between layers of very thin paper. The oxidized wire shows through the translucent paper like veins in a leaf or petal. The 'twigs' that connect them are textured, oxidized, then 'dimpled' with a burr to suggest the spot where a branch has broken off. With these pieces, the artist says she "hopes to evoke an appreciation of the beauty and preciousness of life."