Jennifer Marcson I am from Bowling Green, Ohio and have been a member of the Michigan Silversmiths Guild since graduating from The University of Toledo. I have served as a Guild board member for four years, most recently as Secretary. I will be attending Bowling Green State University in the fall as an MFA candidate in Metalsmithing. My work employs conventional jewelry surfaces contrasted with materials commonly associated with household or industrial applications. My aim is to use recycled and cast off materials, the detritus of modern life. Each material is sourced locally, focused on the scraps of both local businesses and household items. Items I frequently use include scrap anodized aluminum, silver, coal, shells, and laminate samples from my grandmother’s former business. My recent work has focused on organic forms, using lightweight aluminum shaped into a substantial looking, mineral-like abstraction. I apply the torch to anodized aluminum to create unpredictable textures similar to reticulated silver. Molten metal folds and buckles into itself, the anodized surface bunching, pitting and flowing. Certain conditions and variables can be replicated, but the look will never be exactly the same.
Charlotte Allen
Carol Tomasso
Sculpture and wearable jewelry are united in my work. The beauty of seemingly simple, fluid lines observed throughout nature—from the droop of a heavy flower on a stem to the haziness of a distant horizon fascinate me. Inspired by such elegant forms, I work to recreate them from hard flat metal, forming it into graceful, hollow forms and embellishing it in ways to please the eye. I focus on creating emblematic and earth-inspired jewelry that provides a sense of beauty and delight to both the wearer and the observer.
Carol A. Tomasso was born and raised in Detroit into a family of artists, musicians, and craftspeople. Adornment, objects, and utility reminded her of her life at home with its rich traditions and how that could be used as inspiration. With her travels out east as a child to another side of the family, the idea of making and repairing felt important as a communal, shared experience—one in connection to family, or objects belonging to a certain person with a special significance.
Three-dimensional movement is everything. Working with silver and copper, and using pearls and various patinas to embellish, accentuate and define, my pieces are fabricated using various hammering processes, including raising, fold-forming and forging. These techniques allow me to simplify complex subject matter into shapes that focus on form and linear content.
Carol moved between majors in undergraduate studies. She discovered the field of metalsmithing and was struck by the potential of metals as a medium of expression. Her skills were further developed by a series of apprenticeships, independent as well as corporate, where once again, adornment and objects had emotional and historical significance. This led finally to a bachelors degree and then a Masters in Fine Arts from Wayne State University.
I’ve always worked with my hands in one way or another. In 2005, I left the corporate world and began exploring metalsmithing as a creative art form. I took workshops with world-renowned artists, and graduate metals classes at EMU, where I fell in love with hammering, and I’ve been in the studio ever since! In 2014, I obtained a Masters in Art with a focus on metals.
Carol works in her studio in Northville, MI and her work can be found through the Detroit Artists Market. She is currently an adjunct professor in Jewelry and Metal Design at Macomb Community College.
Teri Ritter
Tina Brunetti Sayer
Being able to create is a privilege and a passion for Teri. Following a 23 year career in marketing, followed by a 15 year career as a professional photographer, Teri now enjoys creating fine jewelry. As a child, texture, form, and color played important roles as influences in her life. Teri carries those same influences into her jewelry.
My jewelry has been described as quirky and fun. I try to incorporate a sense of irony or a pun into my pieces. I love explaining what a material is, how I prepared it, and its story. The best words to describe my work would be colorful, playful, and conversationstarting.
Focusing in keum-boo, mokume gane, fold forming, and kumihimo allows Teri to create very unique pieces. Teri loves the history that each discipline possesses and enjoys sharing the history of the process. She feels that when her jewelry is worn, each piece has a story to be told. As an emerging artist Teri has studied with some of the finest educators over the past 4 years. Those educators include Kristine Haddox, Mary Kernahan, Julie Sanford, Idelle Hammond Sass, Michael David Sturlin, Chris Nelson, Chuck Bruce, Jeff Fulkerson, and Cynthia Eid. Teri’s work is represented at the Ann Arbor Art Center in Ann Arbor as well as Studio JSD in Grand Haven where she is also a Resident Artist. Teri works out of her home studio in Grand Rapids.
Anastasia Oravec I used to say I had no imagination. Growing up in Finland, I was a ballroom dancer focused on perfecting the assigned choreography and a translator who didn’t think she had her own story to tell. But a few years ago, encouraged by my husband, I gave my heart away to something that was as much imagination as technique. Very quickly silversmithing became something much more than a hobby. I am constantly learning and utilizing more techniques as I want to grow as an artist, follow my instincts, and take risks in my work. My jewelry is created with care, thought, excitement, and fire! My approach is artistic, not entrepreneurial, so I make one piece at a time which makes each piece one of a kind. I am currently local to Livonia, MI, and I especially love working with sterling silver, but also with brass and copper. The ideas that pop into my head and come to life through metal reflect who I am. I am where I’m supposed to be, doing what I love.
I combine non-traditional materials with metalworking methods to create my pieces. My current interest is in using tumbled glass and plastic gift cards. Although this tumbling creates an object similar to sea glass, it does not have the tell-tale unevenness and pitting that years of splashing in the surf causes in real sea glass. The plastic cards can be cut, carved, and formed in the same manner as metal. I use a variety of metalworking techniques including bezel and prong setting, wire wrapping, reticulation, riveting, and hydraulic press forming. My jewelry making started when, as a young adult, I began combining unusual objects into earrings: electronic parts, wire insulation, fishing lured, and even my own wisdom teeth. I share my house with two teen boys, my supportive and tolerant husband, and Wallace and Gromit, a Jack Russel and a Great Dane.