Contemporary American Jewelry Design

The Phenomenon of Studio Goldsmithing When the history of art in the 1980s is written, much of it will be etched in gold. This is the time of the contemporary goldsmith, an artist who chooses to work in precious metals rather than oils or marble. The contemporary jeweler-as-artist has only recently become a re cognized force. With rare exceptions, the whole field is little more than thirty years old. But it is only within the past fifteen years that these jewelers have entered the jewelry mainstream. The phenomenon of contemporary goldsmithing embraces an eclectic group of artists, each with a unique vision, each taking a per sonal path to jewelry producing. They have as little relationship to the typical, mass-produced jewelry as a champagne maker has to a bottler of orange soda. They approach a piece of art, not a piece of metal. The work is personal and a perfect expression of the "back to the land" movement that spawned it. Many of these goldsmiths were looking not merely for a way to make a living but for a way to make a life that was worthy of living. Running a business while trying to remain a creative metalsmith at the same time is the ongoing challenge. The jeweler-artists have solved or resolved these often conflicting needs in slightly different ways and in a beautiful variety of techniques and styles. Their meth ods, their growth, and their work are discussed here.

This sensational design book showcases America’s most gorgeous and inventive art jewelry! For over a decade, the elite invitation-only American Jewelry Design Council (AJDC) has sponsored an annual project: every member creates an original piece based on a given theme. With imagination and skill, jewelers have tackled such concepts as the Mona Lisa, Wheel, Key, Puzzle, Water, Flight, Peekaboo, Sphere, Pyramid, and Secret Treasure. Each of these topics now becomes a dramatically photographed chapter, complete with illuminating introductions by renowned jewelry writers Cindy Edelstein and Frank Stankus. In addition to background information on the AJDC, and the story of the annual design event, artists’ commentaries enhance specific images. A final members’ section includes a biography, headshot, and additional jewelry images for each talented individual.

An accessible and easy-to-use guide to the principles and elements of jewelry design, this resource helps jewelry makers of all skill levels take their designs from good to great. Instructor and expert Loretta Lam offers guidance on working with a wide array of materials, along with exercises to help you explore new design concepts before applying them to your work directly. Dozens of stunning examples from designers around the world help inspire anyone looking for a new source of creativity. Learn how to discover your personal inspiration and process, master the use of the design elements and principles, establish a design hierarchy and find your voice, draw on the inestimable value of critique, and more. You will keep this book close at hand and pick it up time and again for inspiration and as an essential reference.

Designing American Jewelry: From City Rhythms to Western Dreams is both personal memoir and compelling catalogue showcasing the life's work of the award-winning fine jewelry designer, Ellie Thompson. The book describes her vision as a contemporary American designer, including why jewelry matters, as well as the sense of meaning and connection it confers on those who wear it. From her humble beginnings as a teenage shop girl in New Haven, CT, Thompson tells the tale of her career as a highly regarded gemologist and designer in Chicago and beyond. Designing American Jewelry highlights the myriad inspirations for her work, reflects on the influence of people and places along the way, and is a testament to living a life of curiosity. The beautifully designed book includes more than 150 color photographs illustrating this remarkable American designer's quarter century of design, ambition, and resilience.

Contemporary Jewelry Design showcases over 40 designers from around the world, from established names in jewelry design to less-known rising stars, whose work embodies the diverse production techniques and design concepts that define modern jewelry. The projects go beyond the everyday expectations of jewelry to the realm of wearable art, used not just as adornment but as pieces that interpret feelings or ideas, tell stories, or express emotions. The book features interviews with designers as well as stunning photography of their pieces, and traces the projects through the design, research, and experimental stages all the way to the realization of the finished product. The projects in Contemporary Jewelry Design will encourage readers to approach design from new perspectives, and expand their creative horizons with inspiration from the very best of contemporary jewelry.

The popular 500 series takes its hippest, most fun approach yet, with an intoxicatingly vibrant and technically diverse collection of contemporary jewelry. Sloan has put together a survey of the best work being done with this thoroughly modern material.

Contemporary Jewellery Art presents the work of more than forty of the best and brightest young jewelry designers around the world. Their work is not about luxury or even permanence. Rather, the works within focus on the most creative use of common, inexpensive materials. The book is organized according to the materials used, including metal, ceramics, stone, wood, fur, textiles, plastic, soap, and rubber. The aesthetic of each piece, whether simple or sculpturally intricate, balances the designers unique perspective with the constraints and possibilities of each medium from the elasticity of plastic to the solid weight of stone, silver, and iron. Interviews with each designer illuminating the concept and creative work process renders this book a useful guide for everyone from the established jewelry designer to the independent crafter hoping to break into the industry. Designers featured include Hanna Hedman, Helfried Kodr, Mari Ishikawa, Iris Bodemer, Karl Fritsch, Marina Messone, Annika Pettersson, Maria Cristina Bellucci, Mirla Fernandes, and Timothy McMahon.