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ELIZABETH GARVIN
Elizabeth Garvin graduated with honors from New York University in 1986, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree, with further studies at Parsons School of Design and Massachusetts College of Art. Jewelry by Elizabeth Garvin is exhibited internationally in many galleries and museum stores as well as home furnishing and design focus boutiques as an example of contemporary design in wearable art.
Her goal as a designer has been to create forms with classic elegance and enduring quality, while integrating various techniques and at times parting with tradition as a part of her overall design concept. Each piece of jewelry is handmade in her New York studio from sterling silver. Applying various techniques of patterning and finishing, each piece is playfully graphic, yet sensibly made to be surprisingly affordable. Her approach to designing form, engineering movement and developing techniques often draws as much from architecture and industrial design as from the traditional craft of jewelry making. The result is an approach to design that is at once timely and timeless.
ANNA WHITMORE
Anna Whitmore began her journey in jewelry design while still in high school; over the following years, her education within the craft of metal work continued, though it was not a central part of her life. In 2003, with the encouragement of those close to her, Anna made the decision to plunge into the unknown and begin her own design company. Anna Whitmore Jewelry Design was born. Anna works from her studio in beautiful Sonoma. Her jewelry can be found in fine galleries & boutiques.
CHRISTINE GOODMAN
Christina Goodman was born in Pisa, Italy, to American parents. She grew up near Washington D.C. and New Orleans, attended Colorado College, and received a studio art degree from the University of California at Santa Cruz. Christina later moved to New York where she studied fashion design and worked for several years as a decorative artist specializing in gilding and painted finishes.
Christina began her design business in 1990. Her knowledge of decorative art and her passion for Renaissance painting merged into the creation of her own line of hand painted miniatures and jewelry. She continues to study and utilize 14th - 16th century gilding and painting techniques, as well as Renaissance frame design.
ABOUT THE PRODUCTION PROCESS
"I compose and paint the miniatures using references from a collection of art books as well as museum visits. I am particularly drawn to the landscapes and details in paintings by Giovanni Bellini, Lorenzo Lotto, Dosso Dossi and Jan Van Eyck.
To produce the miniature images, I use very fine brushes, good lighting and a magnifier. I use acrylic paint as it dries quickly and allows me to work on a small scale.
The frame designs for the one of a kind polyptychs and tabernacles are also based on Renaissance styles. I design and build the frames with wood using miniature moldings and a centuries old water gilding technique. The result is well worth the labor-intensive process. In the end, I hope to capture the luminosity of Renaissance painting in miniature."
URBAN LINKS DESIGN
Two sisters, one in New York City the other in San Francisco, 3000 miles between them but sharing a passion for beads and jewelry which began years ago as children. From selling on the sidewalks of their hometown to the sidewalks of London and eventually to fine galleries across the country, these sisters who once went their separate ways, are brought together again by their love for art, craftsmanship and beads. Their pieces are inspired by their travels and their beads, handpicked, are of the finest precious and semiprecious stones, pearls, crystals, metals and pendants.
JL WALSH METALSMITH
Jennifer and John Walsh live in Bozeman, MT. with their three daughters and the occasional bear wandering through their studio from the nearby woods. They fabricate contemporary jewelry using ancient techniques and materials.
The process begins with a series of sketches frequently inspired by finding a material and musing as to whether or not it could be worn as a piece of jewelry. Striving to use materials that a woman from prehistory might have been attracted to, the artists applies a variety of surface treatments and patinas that mimic decay, while elevating these “low” materials by constructing them with precious metals and stones. The forces of decay and decrepitude and human persistence in the face of these elements are a major influence in their work. It is for this reason that they rarely choose the thing that’s new and shiny, preferring instead to use, for instance, a fossil, bit of bone, or a river stone that’s been worn smooth. They apply a variety of surface treatments and patinas that mimic decay, and they feel that people are instinctively attracted to these pieces because in them we see a metaphor for the wear and tear of our daily modern lives: the thing that’s been worn smooth by centuries of friction between water and sand, yet emerged from this a burnished and more beautiful piece than when it started. Incorporating these elements into their jewelry – stones gathered from local rivers, hand-cut bones, shells, and bits of wood – imparts a sense of continuity and timelessness to the wearer.
METAL ART BY MARTHA
Jeweler Martha Thompson grew up in North Carolina. Living and working atop a beautiful mountain just outside of Asheville, is a constant inspiration for her work. "I find balance in contrasts," explains Martha, "of color, texture and shape."
Thompson designs personal adornments that are organic and sculptural. She personally performs all of the creative aspects involved in the creation of her jewelry. Each piece is hand fabricated from sterling silver, some with accents of 22kt. gold. She uses techniques such as forging, raising, and various surface embellishments to give the metal depth and texture. The finish is obtained by oxidizing the piece and then buffing it. The gems range from a variety of precious and semi precious stones.
"Designing a piece and having it evolve into a work of art is the most exciting part of what I do. I hope you will love wearing my work as much as I love creating it."
EAM JEWELRY
After graduating from the Rhode Island School of Design in 1990, with a BFA in jewelry and light metals, Elise Moran worked for a few years for two Providence based jewelry designers, while developing her own line of silver and gold jewelry. She then co-owned EAM Gallery, a jewelry store featuring her work, from 1993 until 2004, in Portsmouth, NH. Since graduating, she has also maintained a jewelry wholesale business. Moran's work can be found in many fine galleries and museums. Currently she works from her studio in the Button Factory (Portsmouth) where she continues to create and explore in metals and other materials.
"I am most inspired by nature's perfect design. Since 1993, I have explored translating the complex and balanced forms that I see in nature, into small metal sculptures to be worn and to adorn."
ANANDA KHALSA
"It is my hope to create jewelry with clean lines and simple elegance, while maintaining evidence of the human hand."
Ananda draws inspiration from Asian art, natural forms, and the cool sleekness of metal. Each of her pieces contains an original painting on paper, which is set behind hand ground glass in fine silver or 22K gold. Much of her work is accented with the highest quality semiprecious stones and/or high karat gold.
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