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Teaching The Art of Metal. The Florida Society of Goldsmiths is a not-for-profit organization created by metalsmiths to aid and support other metalsmiths through meetings, publicity, workshops and exhibitions; to provide metalsmiths with opportunities
for education and exchange of information; to broaden public knowledge,awareness, and appreciation of fine quality hand-crafted metal work, including, but not limited to, jewelry. The Florida Society of Goldsmiths is open to all. We welcome artists that work in all metals as well as other jewelry artists using other mediums. We strive to offer a friendly environment where creativity is encouraged and supported through social and educational events throughout the US.
president’smessage p.3director’sperspective p.4chapters p.6-19old mastersmargaretdepatta p.20‘how to’gerald lewy p.28why pirateswear earings p.29 Earings by
SheilaStillman
OFFICERS AND BOARD OF DIRECTORSSTATE DIRECTORS
Jena Matzen, PresidentJackie Kaufman Vice PresidentCindi Bateman, TreasurerMaria Goodwin, SecretaryJean Marie DeSpiegler, Newsletter Co-EditorArnold Lasris, Newsletter Co-EditorDick Bugdal, Newsletter Graphic DesignerMarti Wakshlag, Web MasterAlan Brown, Hall of Fame ChairpersonArnold Lasris, ParliamentarianJean Marie DeSpiegler, Executive DirectorFSG OFFICERS AND BOARDSOF DIRECTORS: AT LARGE (OUT OF STATE) CHAPTER REPRESENTATIVEDon WalkerNORTH EAST CHAPTERDennis Fair, PresidentOpen VPCarol Zodrow, TreasurerJillian Logue, SecretaryNORTH WEST CHAPTERMarcia Jensen, PresidentOpen, VPStarr Payne, TreasurerSusan Wilson, SecretarySOUTH WEST CHAPTERRobert Small, PresidentDoug Shemenski, VPCindi Bateman, TreasurerDixie Dixon, SecretarySOUTH EAST CHAPTERCynthia Abood, PresidentJanice Wiesler, VPCynthia Abood, TreasurerDenise Delrusso, SecretaryWEST COAST CHAPTERStacy Perry, PresidentHeidi Enneking, VPClare Leonard, TreasurerJenaay Brown, SecretarySOUTH CHAPTERMarti Wakshlag, PresidentMichelle Sandler, VPCatherine Kononoff, TreasurerMaureen Kaisischke, Secretary
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Earrings by Sheila Stillman
www.sheilaJstillman.com
Sheila Stillman is a designer goldsmith working in Durham, nC. She started her jewelry career apprenticing with a master German goldsmith while living in the Virgin islands. her specialty there became fabrication in 18kt gold and gemstones. after moving back to the States she was able to pursue her passion for ancient techniques, and added granulation in 22kt gold to her work. most recently Sheila has been experimenting with argentium’s unique fusing properties, and combining oxidized argentium with 22kt gold. She loves the rich contrast of gold against blackened silver.Sheila teaches workshops throughout the Southeast, and shows her jewelry in select galleries. her work will be included in the Society of north american Goldsmith’s upcoming publication Jewelry and metals Survey.
MESSAGEPR
ESIDE
NT’S My name is Jena Matzen and as the new President
of the Florida Society of Goldsmiths, I thought I’d take this time to introduce myself to the many members I have yet to meet.I was born and raised in Denver, CO. I came east, first to Florida and later to NC, after graduating from college at CU Boulder. In Florida, I co-owned an environmental consulting and contracting company prior to attending law school at UF. My first job as a new attorney brought me to NC. I consider myself a designer and artisan metalsmith.I started making jewelry when I was a teenager, but I didn’t learn to be a metalsmith until about 12-13 years ago when I began teaching myself. The first
jewelry I made was mostly assembly. The first jewelry I sold was made with fused glass. The process I most like is fabrication. I love the creative process.My main source of inspiration is water, pebbles and stones, coastlines, landscapes, Japanese aesthetics/design, architecture, mid century modern design, pre-Colombian motifs/design, and experimentation.Jewelry has been more of an avocation than a career for me. I am a “compulsive creative” so throughout my life I have always been involved in craft - in multiple mediums. I have also been a potter/ceramist for as long as I’ve been a jewelry maker. Working with clay has helped me to think in 3D and has also informed my knowledge of construction. And my work as an attorney has helped me to be a better story-teller and editor of my work.Others have described it as ‘funky elegant’. I have three lines...”Pop” which is colorful and clean, “Zen” which is minimalist and organic, and “Urban” which is more detailed and edgy.YOLO...so fearlessly go for it!I have a favorite tool which I love to use. It is a little watchmakers hammer...it makes an awesome texture.I have received some really good tricks, tips, and advice from several workshops. Three especially: From Michael Boyd: “Make it once, it is art. Make it twice, it is work.” - this has been more of a validation for my determination to make one-offs :)....thank you, Michael!
From Alan Revere: “Everything in the design should matter. If it doesn’t matter, then it doesn’t belong in the design. Use only the essentials.” I received similar advice when learning to draft legal documents. Truly words to live and create almost anything by...thank you, Alan!From John Cogswell: “The best way to do something is the way that works for you.” Truly liberating advice...thank you, John!Here is some advice I wished I had ignored: Every tutorial, book or instructor that says you must pickle/clean your metal after each and every soldering task. Again, John Cogswell liberated me from this unnecessary practice.
JENA MATZEN
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FSG doesn’t
just show you how, we teach you how.
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DIRECTOR’S
PERSPECTIVEJEAN MARIE
The subject of Acetylene gas, which is a very common gas used for fueling torches, came up during the Modern Masters workshop in a story with a warning about checking the tanks. An extremely experienced metalsmith and teacher had a liquid spewing from her torch when using a recently
filled cylinder and was shocked to learn what is really in the cylinder.An acetylene molecule is composed of two carbon atoms
and two hydrogen atoms. The two carbon atoms are held together by what is known as a triple carbon bond. This bond is useful in that it stores substantial energy that can be released as heat during combustion. However, the triple carbon bond is unstable, making acetylene very sensitive to conditions such as excess pressure, excess temperature, static electricity, or mechanical shock. Due to the unstable nature of acetylene, it must be stored under special conditions. This is accomplished by dissolving the
acetylene in liquid acetone. This acetylene/acetone is then stored in a cylinder, which in turn, is filled with a porous (sponge-like) cementitious material. If this liquid escapes the cylinder or torch, stop use immediately and return the tank to the gas supplier and describe what happened. In case of the story I heard, the tank had been overfilled past the porous baffles of the tank, a very dangerous situation!
Avoid rough handling, dropping, or knocking of cylinders to prevent
damaging the cylinder, fusible plugs, relief devices, cylinder valves or gauges. Storing acetylene cylinders on their side makes the acetylene less stable and less safe, and increases the likelihood of solvent loss and resultant decomposition.
Acetylene cylinders should be stored and used in the upright position to allow the gas to rise. They should be firmly secured to prevent falling or being knocked over. If they have been stored on their side, allow to stand upright for 24 hours before use.
Acetylene is a very easy gas to ignite. In fact, the energy from a static spark capable of igniting acetylene is lower than for any other fuel gas except hydrogen. The static charge developed by walking across a carpet floor on a dry day can be 1700 times greater than that needed to ignite acetylene.
Movement of cylinders should be done with care. Cylinders should be protected from heat. When transporting acetylene cylinders, leave a crack in the car windows to allow venting of any possible leak and do not use the auto door locks fob to lock/unlock the car when tanks are inside. The spark of the mechanism could ignite any lingering gas.
Acetylene gas regulators should not exceed a setting of 15 p.s.i.g. Flame arrestors and check valves should be installed at both the torch base hose connections and at the regulator hose connections.
Never discharge unburned acetylene gas from a torch except for the normal process of lighting the torch.
A fun fact: the “B tanks” are named because they were originally used to fuel buses.
Your gas supplier should be able to assist you with questions and safety issues.
Source: arlweb.msha.gov/alerts/hazardsofacetylene.htm
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Injector Torch
Mixing Chamber
Injector Nozzle Acetylene
AcetyleneOxygenMixing Gasses
Illustration courtesy of the MacGraw Hill Corporation
OxygenAcetyleneMixed Gasses
Oxygen
The acetylene is carriedthrough the torch and tip atlow pressue by the suctionforce of the higher oxygensmall orifice of the injectornozzle
HOTTEST PART OF FLAME
DIRCTORS PERSPECTIVE continued
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REEVES
KUSEK PRILLIMAN
MANN
NORTHEASTCHAPTER
JANOW
Open StudiOMembers are invited to come & work on their own projects for the nominal charge of $10 per session. Use any of the studio’s equipment - rolling mills, kilns, hydraulic presses, torches etc. - as long as you are versed in proper use and safety. Come and work while enjoying the company of other members in a relaxed and friendly atmosphere.
Tuesdays from 12:00-5:00 pm1st & 3rd, 5th Tuesdays: Jillian Logue or Jim Logue 2nd & 4th Tuesdays: Carol ZodrowSaturdays from 11-5pmDennis Fair Fridays from 5:00 to 9pm (4th Friday of the month is free open studio for members!)Visit www.fsgne.com for information on more classes and open studio hours
Northeast Chapter is just finishing up the first day of the 21st annual Winter Workshop event as of the deadline of this issue. Our instructors this year are
Patrik Kusek, Jason Janow, Sarah Mann, Vickie Prillaman, and Jenny Reeves. We’re off to a great start, with many familiar faces and new friends, too. Thank you to all of the volunteers who worked so hard to bring this week to life. We look forward to sharing photos and a recap of the event in the next issue!
The Northwest Chapter is experiencing a surge of energy. The enthusiasm from planning
and participating in Tallahassee’s LeMoyne Center Seduction of
Metals show spilled over to the holiday season with many members
participating in LeMoyne’s 54th Annual Holiday Show. Additionally,
with our increased membership we have enjoyed getting together for
business and lots of fun. We met in November in a private room at a
local pizza restaurant for a meeting and to socialize. The main function
of the meeting was the election of officers for 2018: President –
Leonia Maresch; Treasurer – Starr Payne; and Secretary – Susan
Wilson. The Chapter extends a warm thank you to outgoing
President, Marcia Jensen, for her leadership and dedication
through 2017. We certainly ended the year in much better shape due to Marcia’s hard work and
management.
In December our incoming president, Leonia Maresch, hosted a holiday potluck party. Members were invited to bring a handmade pair of earrings for a gift exchange.
This proved to be great fun. Upon opening the gifts, member tried to guess as to whom made the earrings. We were fairly accurate in identifying the correct artist.
We are looking forward to 2018 being a bright, prosperous and happy year for our chapter!
Earrings from the holiday gift exchange.
LeMoyne’s Center Seduction of Mettals Show
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NORTHWESTCHAPTER
For information on workshops visit us at www.fsgnw.com
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Our annual Christmas Party this year was held at the beautiful home of Lynn Yuhr our treasurer and a grand time was had by all. Our weather was absolutely glorious so we were able to sit outside by the lake and enjoy our evening with friends.This months Jewelry Artist Magazine features an article by Sam Patania on his upcoming earring projects scheduled for April 28-29. A great read whether you are signed up for the workshop or just interested in his techniques. Sam is always a great teacher. His classes are not to be missed!
2018 WORKSHOPS Gustavo Hoefs - Rivet,-Set-Go March 6- 47, 2018
Make a con-temporary style pendant; an introduc-tion combin-ing rivets with stone setting, plus changing your thinking on approach to editing a design for maximum visual impact within a mini-mum space.
For this workshop we will be using a maximum of approximately 14 individual parts, two types of rivets to set gemstones and very minimal soldering to join the main body of a pendant. As well techniques for rivets there will be instruction and demos on controlling solder to join larger heavy parts of the project to smaller delicate ones without our los-ing control and general push towards thinking outside the box.Skill Level: All Levels Date: March 2 - 4, 2018 - Friday - Sunday Time: 9:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. Class Fee: Member - $240.00 - Non Member Fee - $280.00
SOUTHCHAPTER
SOUTH CHAPTER continued
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Sam Patania - Fun with Twisted Wire - April 26- 27, 2018
The first project will be to make twisted wire from 14 gauge wire. The twisted wire can be formed into a bracelet as shown above. The second project we will use the twisted wire to build from the center out starting with the 14-gauge double twist wire
flanked by half round and single twist 16-gauge wires. If time permits, we will fabricate a ring made of double twist 14-gauge round wire (no photo shown) NOTE: This class will require over $100 worth of metal. Skill Level: All Levels Date: Thursday & Friday, April 26 & 27, 2018. Time: 9:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. Class Fee: Member - $195.00 - Non Member - $225 Non-member
Sam Patania - Prong Earrings - April 28 - 29, 2018
Two day workshop - In this workshop we will make two pair of the earrings as shown in photo with emphasis on prong mounting stones in the Sam’s
Simple Mount (SSM). We discuss the requirements in design to use the SSM and have more time to make students designs using the SSM if the students bring more silver to work with. Skill: All Levels Date: Saturday & Sunday, April 28 & 29, 2018 Time: 9:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. Class Fee: Member - $195.00 - Non Member - $225 Non-member
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Join SNAG Today!
FOUNDED 1969 www.snagmetalsmith.org
Membership includes a subscription to Metalsmith magazine (choose digital or print & digital) (2017: five issues per year; starting 2018: four issues per year + 2 issues of new companion publication Metalsmith Tech)Metalsmith EXTRA!Riveting News e-newsletter every MondayTechnical Articles - Online news posts
Your Work ShowcasedYour own Maker Profile Page — you can build and update it at any timeEligible to sell at annual Trunk Show SaleAmerican Craft Council Show invitation programExhibitions
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Deb Karash: Color on Metal - November 15 - 18, 2018
Coloring on Metal Who doesn’t want to add a little color to their jewelry, or maybe your own patterns and images? Class will cover Deb’s technique for applying color to copper with colored pencils, design
and drawing tips, and some fabrication based on time available. Learn to add color and excitement to you work with special technique? In this 4 day class you should finish at least one pendant and several sample pieces. All levels welcome. Supplied by the instructor: scotch brite wheels for the buffer, prepped copper samples chemicals require for prep and finishing. Students should bring hand tools, saw, #2 swiss half round file, needle files, etc. including a rivet hammer or hammer hand piece, 6 x 6 piece of 22 gauge copper, 6 x 6 piece of sterling silver, Prismacolor premier brand colored pencils, sketch pad, x-acto knife and blades, non marring hammer. Skill Level: All Levels For more registration information see our website www.fsgso..com
SOUTH CHAPTER continued
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SOUTHEASTCHAPTER
The South-East Chapter ended the year with a high note! Our holiday party was a tremendous success utilizing our old friends from our youth- LEGOS to make pendants, and earrings. Some stunning pieces were constructed and of course the variety was astounding. Building with Legos was well received, and we would recommend that to our fellow chapters as a fun way to get together for an hour or two. Our new board has met and decided to utilize both Master Workshops, and one-day events instructed by members, to offer a variety of educational opportunities for our members this year. A fund raiser- jewelry show has also been agreed to in concept, to increase revenue for our chapter for future needs and provide a selling opportunity to
our jewelry artist members.We are fortunate to have Cynthia Abood and
Janice Weisler returning to board positions and welcome Shari LeBrenz as Secretary, and Marsha Levey Blandy as President.As we begin our year we are looking forward to two scheduled workshops taking place so far in 2018. We hope some of you will join us in West Palm Beach for the events. We may have volunteers to provide
you with a room and bath (complimentary) should you join us. Let someone on the board know if this is of interest and we will explore.We would love to add to our list of potential instructors to consider that would like to come to Southeast and give a
one or two-day workshop. If you might be interested, please send some information along to [email protected] regarding what skill/technique you would like to share in a workshop setting. We are looking forward to visiting with many of you at Winter Workshop!
This work-shop focuses on strate-gies for making unique chains and linkages. From classi-cal to funky, a wide range of chain styles will be dem-onstrated andexplained. Students will make samples andexperi-ment with a variety of fused, cold-connected, and soldered link chains in
combination with pearls, stone setting, fabrication in sheet and wire.Location: Armory Art Center Hours: 9:30-4:30 Fees: $475.
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SOUTHEAST CHAPTER continued
2018 SOUTH EASTWORKSHOPS
Paulette J. Werger -Instructor TheChain Gang - Mixing it UP March 2- 4, 2018
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Joanne M. HernŒnez -Instructor Get Stoned & Cuff: Bracelets Creativityand the Hydraulic Press April 5 - 7, 2018
SOUTHEAST CHAPTER continued
Three days ex-ploring the cuff bracelet through the use of both synclas-tic and anticlastic free form bracelet kits and their un-limited design possibili-ties.
Students will learn proper use, param-eters and important safety information re-garding the hydraulic press. Form and design through texture, sol-dering, color and space will be fully discussed, including embossing to create folded and un-dulating cuffs that look
hand formed. Also, adding stone settings to uneven surfaces will be explained.Location: Armory Art Center Hours: 9:30-4:30 Fees: $475.
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SOUTHWESTCHAPTER
Happy New Year from the SouthWest Chapter! In September we were scheduled to have a fusing sterling silver workshop (Marne Ryan’s process) with Bev Fox, but turns out Hurricane Irma had other plans.
Conse-quently, the workshop was post-poned and held at the end of Oc-tober at the Cape Coral Arts Studio (CCAS). The building where we have classes, meetings and work-shops was damaged by a very large tree limb
falling on the roof along with a transformer and power pole and lines. It has taken months to start the repair work on the building which houses our jewelry benches, rolling mill, torches and hydraulic press and more, but it is still not open. The City of-fered the other building on site for our workshop, but we couldn’t remove any of our equipment from the closed building. Our group got together and collected personal equipment, torches and rolling mill needed for the workshop. We had a full
1. POGO FUSING 2. FUSING COPPER DESIGN TO COPPER PLATE. 3. GROUP LEARNING
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SOUTHWEST CHAPTER continued
class (10 people) and everyone made two full sheets of patterns. Some made cuff style bangle bracelets out of their sheets, while others made charms and earrings. Every sheet was beautifully different and very unique.
Bev adapted her unique vision to the process and the two day workshop was a huge success! Ev-eryone had such a great time, some wanted to book another session with Bev. For many weeks, Doug Shimenski, our chapter VP worked on a present for his mom. Her dog passed away and he wanted to make a reliquary for Lola’s ashes. Doug is a goldsmith, bench jeweler with over 30 years’ experience and he works every day. He taught himself
chasing and Repousse for this project by first creating a copper hummingbird Plaque. Doug had many challenges with this project, least of which was using large copper pieces and soldering silver onto the
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5
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4. BEV TEACHING 5. LYNN 6. SHIMENSKI’S HUMMING BIRD PLAQUE 7. SHIMENSKI’S LOLA RELIQUARY
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surfaces. The inset lid is a perfect fit and the little ball feet ads that finishing touch to Lola’s final resting place. What a work of love and art! Doug is truly a perfectionist!
In December, Lynne Manley, Bruce Carlson and Bev Fox attended a “stone on stone” workshop at the Art Center Manatee in Bradenton, FL, taught by Wendy Thurlow. They had a great two days of learning not only the process of setting a stone on top of another, but also how to inlay silver into stone. Wendy Thurlow was very thorough and
greatly accomplished in the processes. She shared tips and tricks and supply resources with the class. They came awaywith a wealth of knowledge, which Bev has already used to finish several pieces that are on display for sale in her gallery, “Harbour View Gallery”.On December 19th we had our annual Christmas Party Ornament exchange with a delicious pot luck dinner. The orna-ment theme this year (we vote themes a few months in ad-vance) was “anything Holiday”. Everyone did an amazing job and really put a lot of thought into them. The ornaments are wrapped to disguise who made them. We always do the num-
SOUTHWEST CHAPTER continued
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8. FUSED NECPIECEW 9. CINDI SOLDERING 10. TEXTURED EARINGS11. FUSED TEXTURED SILVER 12. ROUND EARRINGS
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ber swap, which is known by many names like, “Yankee Swap”, for in-stance.
We have resumed our once a month “Open Studio” in the other building’s glass studio, at the CCAS campus. It’s great to get together occasionally, since we haven’t had classes since August. The next open studio is January 13th from 11:00 – 4:00 and the cost is
$8.00 for residents & $9.00 for Non-residents, with an addition-al $2.00 charge for our chapter. This fun day is open to all that want to attend. Just bring your tools,
materials and projects and join the fun.The SW chapter meets the third Tuesday of each month from 6:00 to 8:00pm at the CCAS Campus.
SOUTHWEST CHAPTER continued
13. SORCERY PENDANT 14. FRAN WORKING ON FUSING 15. EAGLE PAINT PENDANT
16. TEXTURED EARRINGS 17. CHRISTMAS ORNAMENTS 18. TEXTURED EARRINGS 19. SOFT PINK EARRINGS
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Did you know that there is a wide assortment of jewelry-making classes and workshops offered through our partnered Art Center studios for all skill levels of jewelry fabrication? We invite you to check them out and take advantage of our beautiful jewelry studios! In your area, classes and workshops are available at Art Center Manatee, Morean Arts Center and the Dunedin Fine Art Center. Check them out on-line to see what inspires your creative muse!We continue to add more equipment to our studios to help make your jewelry-making experiences all the better! We thank you for your continued support of this organization. Your membership fees and donations enable us to continue our mission of providing quality education in the jewelry arts!
eVentS And upCOMinG WORKSHOpS Our Wildacres Workshops 2018 event is fast approaching! Mark your calendars for June 16-22and plan on joining us on the mountain for fun, fellowship and learning! We’ve got a great lineup that you won’t want to miss! Details coming soon!
torch-fired Keum Boo - Workshop with Stacy perry -
February 17-18. 2-day workshop. Tuition: $175M / $215NMSaturday and Sunday 10:00AM – 5:00PM. ArtCenter Manatee, Bradenton, FL Materials fee $85.00 (includes gold and tooling) Levels 2 – 4 Int. to Adv.
A Florida Society of Goldsmiths West Coast Chapter event -This method of Keum boo gold and silver application uses a torch.....opening endless possibilities to Keum boo application not possible using the more common hot plate. Students must be comfortable with a torch. For details, registration, etc. Please go to the WCFSG website: www.wcfsg.orgWe are always open to and welcome suggestions for local and Wildacres workshops. Do you have a particular artist you would like to lean a technique from? Please email us with your request! [email protected] For information on upcoming workshops, please visit our website www.wcfsg.org or www.wcfsg.com
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WESTCOASTCHAPTER
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Respectfully submitted by Stacy Perry
St. Petersburg:The Morean Arts Center
Open Studio hours on Wednesdays 10:00AM - 3:00PM. Check it out online
at http://www.moreanartscenter.orgor contact them at (727) 822-7872
Bradenton:ArtCenter Manatee
The Open Studio time varies depending upon classes and other studio activities.
Please call ACM for details. Check it out online at http://artcentermanateeorg or contact them at (941) 746-2862.
[email protected]: The days and times for the Open
Studio may vary for each of the art centers. Please call them for details.
FSG members, please use your email membership confirmation as proof of
membership when you purchase Open Studio passes. Thanks.
Dunedin:Dunedin Fine Art Center
Studio K- main campus, Michigan Ave.DFAC for Open Studio on Tuesdays,
11:00AM - 4:00PM. Check it out online at www.dfac.org or contact them at
(727) 298-3322
OppORtunitieSWe currently have three gorgeous partnered jewelry studios for our members enjoyment!! Keep an eye out for upcoming workshops and soon-to-be-schedule member meetings at our partnered studios and take advantage of their great 6-week classes, workshops and open studios! Conveniently located throughout the Tampa Bay Area, please stop by and say “hello!”.
WESTCOAST CHAPTER continued
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She was particularly excited by European avant-garde art that
was shown in museums and exhibitions on
both coasts. De Patta was unique in that
she came to the field of jewelry with a
strong background in modernist painting.
Legend has that De Patta’s life took a
dramatic turn and her jewelry career was
born in 1929 when she was shopping
for her wedding ring. Unable to find one with
a modernist design, and unsatisfied with
the ring she had commissioned, she
the masters
de pattamargaret 1903-1964
Margaret De Patta (nee Strong) was born
in 1903. In the 1920s, De Patta studied
painting in San Francisco and at
New York’s Art Students League
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asked a metalsmith to teach her how to do it. After working with him for two months, she
still didn’t have what she wanted so she set out to
find it on her own. She saw that no one was making
jewelry inspired along the lines of modern art. She
approached jewelry as an artist would. Her jewelry is less about flash and adornment
than it is about light and movement.
A rebel in many ways, with no formal training programs available, she was primarily
self-taught. She turned to books on jewelry making
and studied ethnic jewelry in museums. Her very
early jewelry experiments demonstrate how she used
ethnic museum pieces as models to explore how jewelry was fabricated. A bracelet of beaten metal
and simple wire circles and spirals shows a somewhat Moroccan influence. Only a short time later, her work
had changed dramatically, becoming carefully balanced, modern compositions.
She made pins from flat sheets of silver, cutting out simple shapes that she assembled.
Despite being self-taught, De Patta was an accomplished jeweler and deeply immersed in the Modernist movement by the time she encountered
de patta continued
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Bauhaus, which emphasized simplified forms and organic use of materials. The form-follows-
function philosophy struck note with her as well as the innovative work being done with
movement and light, including in film and photography. These discoveries inspired her
to take her jewelry in a new direction. Her jewelry expresses the historical intersection of the German
Bauhaus and American
design.
While De Patta never
incorporated precious
gems, or had any interest
in the sparkle and flash of
conventional faceting, she
became fascinated by
quartz. De Patta envisioned a
piece of jewelry as a dynamic
object capable of changing
perceptions of space and movement by creating reflections,
optical illusions, and unexpected alterations of light using kinetics and reflective distortion.
She never ventured into faceting herself, but found her perfect partner in a skilled lapidarist
Francis Sperisen. Clear and rutilated quartz proved the perfect medium. These stones were
de patta continued
de patta continued
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rarely used before De Patta made them popular.De Patta would shape and cut wood or acrylic
models to show the designs and shapes she wanted and Sperisen would cut the actual stones. De Patta
called these stones with complex optical qualities, Opticuts.
With Sperisen’s help, De Patta began
exploring the optical properties of quartz.
She designed many of these
pieces around what Sperisen referred to
as his double-lens cut, with a curved
top and criss-cross faceting that
allowed light to enter the stone in a way that distorted the
metal behind it.
Before De Patta, jewelry was either
a costly luxury item, a relatively
unimaginative craft object, or a mass-
produced piece with conventional forms and stone settings that looked back to Victorian and earlier designs. In contrast to other mid-century
American jewelers, De Patta applied the intellect and rational approach of an architect to her
designs, basing them on construction principles, employing non-representational designs. She
worked as a sculptor would, making space and light her principal “materials” and in doing
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so, turning her back on tradition and challenging the wearer to adopt a different concept of value based
on innovative design as well as new and masterful techniques, not on the raw value of the materials
or craftsmanship alone.
She made some fascinating kinetic pieces, with parts that swivel around to transform the design, Allowing the wearer
to interact with the jewelry, De Patta did not specify a position for her brooches, but left it up
to the individual. Components were often movable and
colored stones could be flipped to suit the wearer’s mood or
outfit. De Patta’s open structure integrated the wearer’s clothing
with the piece’s appearance and made the wearer a participant. Several kinetic brooches can be
placed in a choice of three different positions. Sometimes she would use
multiple photographic exposures to capture the kinetic effects
of her work.
After divorce from Sam De Patta in 1941, She later married Eugene Bielawski, an industrial designer, who had
been a Chicago Bauhaus faculty member. She had many friends in the Bay Area craft community and
was one of the founders of the San Francisco Metal Arts Guild in 1951. She was a devoted teacher and taught at the California Labor
School together with her husband. The school strongly promoted democratic principles and
was one of the institutions that trained returning veterans, but McCarthy-era politicians targeted
the Labor school as a Communist front. The couple
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was blacklisted and in 1947 they had to leave the school, which closed a few years later. They tried to open their own Bauhaus-type school, and began writing a book on
design, but these efforts never came to fruition.
The couple decided to design
jewelry for the growing middle
class and started an important new
phase in their lives. In 1946, they founded Designs
Contemporary while they were still teaching at
the Labor School. With Designs
Contemporary, they made production
pieces that were intended to be comparable in
quality to many of her one-of-a-kind
pieces.
De Patta had become upset that her handcrafted pieces were so time-
consuming that she had to charge high prices for them and only the well-
to-do could afford them. Selling only to the rich conflicted with democratic
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design philosophy of the Bauhaus, which always had been part of De Patta’s basic
nature.
De Patta designed 40 to 50 master models in silver that Bielawski would cast in limited
editions so that the designs would not become too familiar. The production
pieces, mostly rings and pins, were sold across the country at affordable prices. De Patta and her husband became packers, shippers and marketers, as well
as manufacturers. This, they had to admit later, turned out to be an overwhelming amount of work. All
the production pieces were wax cast by Bielawski and De Patta
finished each one by hand. They struggled to make ends meet. De
Patta came up with a few stock designs for mass production,
which never much caught on. Being priced around $50 a piece (the equivalent of a few hundred
dollars today), it still may not have been as accessible to the public
as she’d hoped.
De Patta made an enormous personal investment in the less
expensive production pieces, but even at very low prices,
the public did not accept her avant-garde designs. De Patta
became frustrated by her inability to change the consumer’s
buying patterns and must have been disappointed that the
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democratic principles on which she had based her life and work had not produced success. They
gave up their production line in 1957.
De Patta’s studio jewelry remained innovative, as her late pieces demonstrate the beauty she saw
in simple river stones and beach pebbles. Known for her silver and gold boomerangs, amoebas and
off-kilter grids, twisted around pebbles, onyx and quartz. The layered elements, De Patta declared,
created “the excitement of optical effects such as magnification, reduction,
multiplication, distortion and image reflection.”
She was remarkably liberated in an era that had not yet experienced women’s lib. She never accepted the
conventional path, teaching herself jewelry making,
inventing new techniques and not compromising on her modernist principles. She lived her art, following the Bauhaus
principles to merge life and art, and created an art expressive
of her time and the social changes taking place. Yet, De
Patta was frustrated and angry at the failure of her jewelry
to sell, which she attributed to the unwillingness of the
broader public to accept new designs that went against convention. She viewed
that closed-mindedness as a herd instinct and saw herself as a victim of a consumer society that was
driven by a lack of self-confidence.
Her iconic works are as timeless and as vital today as when they were first made.
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HowTo
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“ Modyfing Burs”by master diamond setter Gerry Lewy
Instead of attempting to prepare the inside of a Tube Setting with undercutting or bearing-cutting burs, I came across a fantastic idea. This round bur that is ‘not bought in your tool supplier shop” but with a little modification of a round bur (of any size) greatly assists the preparation of the tube setting. The Cabochon
stone will then nicely and tightly fit into the setting.All it takes is a round bur of your choice and put the bur against the bench-grinding wheel and rotate it as it is grinding. The whole idea is not get the round bur too hot, or it will lose its tensile strength! Keep the bur cool to the touch. Just remove only half of the round shape of the bur as
seen in the photographs. The remaining shape, will be the actual shape of the Cab-stone, interesting? The bottom of the bur as it is cutting will be the “resting seat’ for the stone.So in essence, you are doing two things at once, creating a ‘curved inner-shape’
for the curved surface of the Cab. Then as well you are making a ‘resting seat’ for the stone, what could be easier? Have setting your Cabochon stone now!
WHY PIRATES
WORE EAR RINGS
Pirates and sailors of old are often depicted wearing earrings. But the gold hoops weren’t just swashbuckling fashion statements they served several useful purposes.Seamen proudly sported earrings as a mark of their travels and
voyages. Earrings were given to young sailors to commemorate their first crossing of the equator, or when they rounded the treacherous waters of Cape Horn, the southernmost tip of South America.Earrings were also worn for superstitious reasons. Some pirates were convinced that wearing an earring would improve or even cure bad eyesight, or that the pressure on the earlobe prevented seasickness, as they believed that the precious metals in an
earring possessed magical healing powers. Another tale was that pierced ears would prevent seasickness. Others
believed that a gold earring served as a protective
talisman and that
SUBMITTED BY JEAN MARIE DESPIEGLER
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a man wearing an earring wouldn’t drown.This, of course, often proved to be false. But earrings made of gold were worth enough to pay for a sailor’s funeral if his body washed ashore. Some seamen even engraved the name of their home port on the inside of the earring so that their bodies could be sent to their families for a proper burial. If a man died on a ship, the earring helped to cover
the cost of transporting his body home so that he wouldn’t be buried at sea or on foreign soil.
But wearing hoop earrings did serve one truly beneficial purpose for living sailors. “Pirates, especially those who fired the ships’ cannons during close combat with the enemy, dangled wads of wax from their earrings to use as earplugs,” Doug Lennox writes in “Now You Know Big Book of Answers.”
WHy PIRATES WORE EARINGS continued
Alan Revere Retires and Closes the Revere AcademyThe Revere Academy of Jewelry Arts will close its doors on December 15, 2017, with the graduation of the 34th Jewelry Technician Intensive class. The school will not offer classes in 2018.
Since 1979, past four decades, Alan has taught fine craftsmanship, that he learned in Europe, to
thousands of students from all 50 states and as many countries. With past students now working
as jewelers, entrepreneurs, bench technicians, and around the globe, he is proud of what the Revere Academy has accomplished. He felt that he has completed a personal mission to carry old world craftsmanship across the ocean and into the next millennium. In gratitude we all thank you Alan.
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