Member News

Complete Member List Artisan Member List Artisan Memorial Information for Posting • It is to the discretion of SAS as to the appropriateness of the submitted material. • Member News can also be e-mailed in Word 6.0 format or faxed to members. • SAS Members click here to post to Member News Exchange. Member Color Code Artisan Member | Supporting Member | Associate Member | SAS Discount Supplier

Our own newsgroup, open to all who appreciate the silversmith's art & craft!

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Member names in bold refer to the object pictured.

 

 

4/23/2008: From State University of New York (SUNY) New Paltz: We are delighted to announce that our Graduate Metal/Jewelry program has been ranked #1 in the nation in the recent 2009 U.S. News & World Report list of America’s best graduate schools.

The Metals/Jewelry program ranked first in the nation in the Master of Fine Arts category and, overall, New Paltz’s Master of Fine Arts program was named among the 100 best in America, according to U.S. News.

Please share in our congratulations to Professors Jamie Bennett and Myra Mimlitsch-Gray, Technician John Cogswell and the entire Fine Arts division!

3/11/2008: Wendy Yothers just completed this 16" lifetime achievement award for an executive in the cosmetics and fragrance industry. The topper is silver, with a tendril of gold and two pearls. The metaphor is a fragrance bottle--the flower is another fragrance allusion. The first individual to receive this is a perfume maven. I hewed out and engraved the base. I designed the bottle and had a friend blow the glass form.

3/5/2008: W. Scott Braznell will be giving a talk in Detroit on March 29th entitled "Arts and Crafts Metalwork in Detroit: Promotion / Patronage / Production."  You can read the entire program here.

2/20/2008: Fred Zweig will be teaching a Making Faces Workshop, Chasing and repousse, Tucson Parks & Recreation (Randolph Center), Tucson, Arizona, Class Code: 48473, March 8th & 9th. Online registration: www.ezeereg.com, tel: 520/573-3933.

Fred will also be teaching a “Pin Ups” workshop: techniques in pin fabrication and fibulas, Idyllwild Art Academy, Idyllwild, California, Course # AAJW ØØ-E, June 22nd – 26th. Online registration: http://www.idyllwildarts.org/summer/registration/registration.html, tel: 951/659-2171.

1/30/2008: Tom Muir recently completed "Twin Risers" (pictured right). See how he created it by clicking the following three links: body fabrication, spout & handle fabrication, hinge fabrication. Pure genius! Tom says: "Some people were asking how I soldered the sheet sections out of 18 gauge without warpage and most of how I did that are illustrated in these photos. I was very pleased with the hinge and with my eyesight, which I thought had deteriorated significantly. I sawed and filed it by hand to four one hundreds of a millimeter." This piece is also on the Creative Process page.

1/30/2008: Linda Weiss reports that one of her vessels (Copa d'Oro)  is featured as the cover of the Mendocino Art Center Spring 2008 catalog. She will be teaching a beginning raising workshop there end of April. Linda also has another vessel (Hemerocallis Hybrid) included in 500 Metal Vessels, a book by Lark publications - vessels were selected to be included by SAS Artisan Member  Fred Fenster, professor emeritus - Art Dept. University of Wisconsin ( Cranbrook Art Academy alumnae).   Also - 3 rings  included in another recently released juried Lark publication, 500 Wedding Rings.

1/26/2008: Munya Avigail Upin will be teaching a PMC workshop at the DeCordova March 1 & 2.  For info go to www.decordova.org. Munya is also working on two Mezuzot and a Ner Tamid (eternal light) for a synagogue in NY.  The pieces should be done within the next two months.

1/26/2008: Cynthia Eid will be teaching the following workshops: February 2-3, 2008, Creating with Argentium Sterling Silver: Tips and Procedures for Working with Sheet and Wire and Granules,Metalwerx, Waltham, MA http://www.metalwerx.com/index.php; February 21 - 2/24 Creatively Moving Metal: Working with the Hydraulic Press," Metalmorphosis Studio, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, susan@SJLMetalArt.com; April 26-27, 2008, Creating with Argentium Sterling Silver:Tips and Procedures for Working with Sheet and Wire, League of New Hampshire Craftsman, 13 Lebanon St - Hanover, NH 03755, Phone: 603/643-5384, http://www.nhcrafts.org/hanover/; August 6 - August 10, Master Class: Forming with the Hydraulic Press, Metalwerx, Waltham, MA, http://www.metalwerx.com/index.php

1/22/2008: TREASURED VESSELS: the art of the teapot Gump’s cordially invites you to the opening night preview A selection of beautiful forms ranging from the elegant to the playful, the practical to the decorative, in various media, interpreted by our featured artists, artisans and designers. Thursday, February 7, 2008, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., Gump’s 135 Post Street San Francisco, California. R.S.V.P. 415/984-9250

Cocktails and hors d’oeuvres.

The exhibition continues through March 28, 2008.

Presenting: Michael and Maureen Banner, Paul Benson, Alice Corning, Jack and Marilyn de Silva, Heath, Cliff Lounsbury, Roy McMakin, Laurie Marson, Merrill Morrison, Frances Palmer, Gregory Roberts, Inge Roberts, Leslie Roth, John Scott, Richard Shaw

1/19/2008: Pauline Warg will be teaching a week long workshop at the Armory Art Center (www.armoryart.com), West Palm Beach Florida 2/18-2/22/08,as part of their Masters Seminar Program. The Topic will be around her book: Making Metal Beads, and will also include: surface design and texture, mixed metals techniques to make patterned sheet metal.

1/1/2008: Linda Weiss's vessel "Copa d'Oro" is featured on the cover of the Spring course catalog for the Mendocino Art Center.

9/6/2007: Linda Weiss's gold & platinum vase with the detachable brooch is in the new Lark book 500 Metal Vessels. She will also have three pieces included in the soon to be published 500 Wedding Rings, also by Lark.

8/17/2007: From Val Link: As many of you know, I have been teaching Jewelry and metalsmithing at the University of Houston since 1970.  After 37 years in this wonderful field I am retiring.  As of August the 26th I will be fully retired and available to do my own thing.  Although I am retired my enthusiasm and love of metalsmithing has not diminished and I would like to continue teaching through other venues.  If there are any sign-up sheets out there for doing workshops, short term teaching arrangements please include my name.  Thanks for doing such a superb job with SAS and hopefully you will be able to continue for many years to come.  Thanks, Val

7/30/2007: John Marshall Receives 2006 Hans Christensen Sterling Silversmith's Award!

Jeffrey Herman, Executive Director of the Society of American Silversmiths announced that John Marshall has been selected to receive the 2006 Hans Christensen Sterling Silversmith's Award.   This lifetime achievement award for many reasons. He's produced astounding large-scale and innovative pieces throughout his career. His amazing ability to move metal and push the material to its absolute limits is nothing short of phenomenal. Many of his major commissions have combined silver and some of the world's largest natural gemstones. Simply handling these major specimens while creating support structures for them is a feat in itself. Marshall's teaching skills, including establishing the metals department at the University of Washington, have produced many admiring and successful metalsmiths. John Marshall is a humble and driven artist who has given the world a totally new and exciting way to appreciate silver.

In addition to images of his work and a biography, John produced a short video. At only two and a half minutes, it shows Marshall working on tour de force pieces of silver. I know it will knock your socks off.

• About the Christensen Award
• Marshall's work and biography can be seen here
• Marshall's movie

2/25/2007: In November 2005, Pauline Warg and her husband Gary opened WARG Enamel and Tool Center in Scarborough, Maine. The Studio / Gallery /Store offers classes year round in jewelry making, enameling and silversmithing. There is a gallery featuring the work of Pauline Warg. They also have a full service tool and supply store selling from companies such as Ikohe, Grobet, Eurotool, Helby, Paragon Kilns,Thompson Enamels, Amaco and many others. They carry metals, gems and findings. Making Metal Beads: Techniques, Projects, Inspiration by Pauline Warg, (LARK BOOKS) was released in August of 2006. For all the info., visit Pauline's Web site at wargetc.com.

2/9/2007: John Cogswell recently received two distinctions:

Celebrating John Cogswell - 2007 Artist of the Year

From Touchstone Center of Crafts: While our mission is to advance excellence in the arts and crafts by educating and encouraging individuals to develop technical skills, good design, and innovative expression, Touchstone is really about the people who make it such an amazing place. No one fulfills our mission and epitomizes the spirit of Touchstone more than John Cogswell. He is an excellent instructor, an incredible talent, and he gives so much of himself. He has been teaching at Touchstone ffor 21 years, and each time he comes to campus, he brings something new and fresh. 

John's contributions over the years are far too many to list. However, we do thank him for initiating our Summer Weekly Auctions, for continuing to raise the bar for all of us, and for bringing his wonderful, wacky sense of humor to the campus.

John Cogswell is a studio goldsmith, silversmith, and educator, and currently teaches at SUNY New Paltz. He previously taught at Parsons School of Design, New York City, and was the director of the Jewelry and Metalsmithing Department at the 92nd Street Y in New York City, the largest adult education program of its kind in the country. 

He has also taught at Pratt Institute and Hofstra University, and has conducted numerous workshops at such locations as Haystack, Penland, Peters Valley, Touchstone, Brookfield, and many others. 

John has served as a technical consultant and contributing author for several contemporary jewelry texts. His work has appeared in numerous exhibitions and publications, and is included in many public and private collections, including the Jewish Museum in New York City and the Ackland Art Museum in Raleigh, N.C. He was recently selected as the 2006 inductee into the National Metalsmiths' Hall of Fame.

Touchstone is very fortunate to have John as part of our family, and we are thrilled to honor him as Artist of the Year for 2007, our 35th anniversary year. 

John Cogswell was Inducted Into the Florida Society of Goldsmiths National Metalsmiths Hall of Fame, 2006 Artist/Arts Educator category.

The National Metalsmiths Hall of Fame was established in 1999, with Kurt Matzdorf as the first recipient. In 2000, Phil London was given the award in the category of Arts Patron. Ramona Solberg received this award in 2002. Mary Ann Scherr and Jack Prip received the award in 2002. John Paul Miller received the award in 2003. Bob Ebendorf and Mary Drutt English were honored in 2004. The award recognizes outstanding contributions and consistent support of the metalsmithing arts.

The Hall of Fame is housed at The Arts Center in St. Petersburg, Florida and maintains a permanent display with photos of each recipient and an example of their work.  The award itself is a collaborative effort. It was designed by Phil London and Julia Woodman, who constructed the silver tessellated piece. Ken Wynsma, woodworker and metalsmith, constructed the base. We hope you are as excited to receive this award as we are to present it to you.

Congratulations! 

2/8/2007: Michael Banner's magnificent sterling and rosewood "Mother and Child" was recently purchased by the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. Congratulations!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1/4/2007: This Alfred Ward silver teapot , styled after the work of Christopher Dresser, was commissioned for an exhibition at the Blue Spiral Gallery in Asheville, NC. The exhibition was entitled "Fire & Ice" and included any object that represented hot or cold liquids

11/18/2006: 25th Anniversary Celebration: Robyn Nichols 25thAnnual Precious Metals Exhibition

Kansas City, MO – Robyn Nichols, an internationally acclaimed metalsmith based in Kansas City, announces her 25th Anniversary Exhibition.  The exhibition's opening will include a free public reception on December 1, 2006 from 6:00 – 9:00 p.m. at The Pearl Gallery.  Nichols stages her metal works among creative performance art, mingling art and fantasy to make her annual exhibitions one of the most anticipated events in the Crossroads Arts District.  Nichols’ holiday events are legendary among those on Kansas City’s arts scene, centering on such themes as The Clue, Contained Beauty, Naughty or Nice, A:MAZE Silver, Sugar and Horsepower.  This year’s 25th Anniversary Celebration promises to showcase Nichols’ most celebrated works in one event. 

This year’s 25th Anniversary Exhibition showcases the elegant styles and sophisticated designs that have defined Nichols’ career.  For this special event, Nichols is gathering one-of-a-kind, specially commissioned works from the past 25 years.  Guests will have the rare opportunity to witness the evolution of an acclaimed artist, from her modest beginnings to her current successes.  Nichols knows “it’s going to be exciting to look back on the work that has built up over all of these years.” After viewing, guests will be encouraged to create a wish list from Nichols’ collection to make for easy holiday gift giving.  The show will be open on Saturdays from 12:00-4:00 p.m. (or by appointment) and will run until December 22, 2006.

The exhibition will not only introduce new designs from one of the Crossroads’ most successful artists, but will also feature a collaboration with fellow Kansas City artist Michele Hester.  Hester is the president of the Silkpaint Corporation and creator of SugarVeil, used by professional chefs to fashion elaborate dessert decorations.

A testament to both artists’ imagination and ingenuity, Hester and Nichols fuse elegant silver jewelry and sumptuous confections to create unique works of edible art. 

A graduate of Kansas City Art Institute, Robyn Nichols’ is a self-taught metalsmith who works using sterling silver and 18 karat gold to fabricate designs with hollowware, shell forming, repoussée, chasing, and forging techniques.  Nichols’ work is in the permanent collections of the Smithsonian’s Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum and the Contemporary Art Center of Virginia.  Her tableware is currently showcased in a special exhibit at the Cooper-Hewitt museum entitled Feeding Desire: Design and the Tools of the Table, 1500-2005.  Nichols’ graceful and elegant jewelry and tableware are sold and collected across the United States, Canada, Australia, England, South America and the Caribbean.  Nichols’ collection includes jewelry for men and women, tableware, and Judaic art that are appropriate for the holidays and other gift-giving occasions.  Her private and corporate commissions have commemorated occasions for clients such as Hallmark Cards, H & R Block, Pepsi Cola Bottling, Coors, University of Missouri-Kansas City and Saint Luke’s Hospital.

8/24/2006: The Society of North American Goldsmiths (SNAG) bestowed its prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award on Kurt Matzdorf, Professor Emeritus of Gold and Silversmithing at the State University of New York, New Paltz, for a lifetime of exceptional service and achievement in the metal arts field.  The award ceremony took place on Friday, May 26 at the 2006 SNAG Conference in Chicago, with Matzdorf giving a short slide presentation of his life and work. 

Kurt Matzdorf is one of the founding members of SNAG, present at the very first meeting in 1968.  His record of accomplishment as a teacher, maker and mentor is virtually unparalleled.  For more than 75 years, he has been making art, and for over 50 years, that art has been in our community.  A survivor of Nazi Germany, he ties art and life in everything he does.  His work celebrates life’s rituals and triumphs.

His development of the metals program at New Paltz led it to new levels of professionalism and success.  His students have gone on to become today’s leaders in our field. 

The record of Professor Matzdorf’s personal accomplishments is extraordinary.  His ceremonial work is known in both academic and liturgical circles throughout the world.  He is exhibited in major public museums on both sides of the Atlantic, including the Victoria and Albert Museum and the Jewish Museum, Berlin.

SNAG established the Honorary Membership Award to honor individuals who have made lasting and significant contributions to the field of contemporary metalsmithing. This award was renamed the Lifetime Achievement Award in June 2005 by vote of the membership. The Lifetime Achievement Award Committee, appointed by the Board of Directors, selects the recipients of this prestigious award from nominations submitted by the SNAG membership. Past honorees include Helen Drutt English, Arline Fisch, Oppi Untracht, the late Philip Morton, and Margaret Craver.

The award itself is a stunning sterling silver vessel on a black marble base, made by Cynthia Eid.  Hers was the winning design in SNAG’s competition in 2002, and will be used for years to come. 

4/3/2006: Mexico-based artist Rocio Heredia was awarded the Fred de Vos Wax Workshop in Venice 2005 Scholarship.  During October 15-22, 2005. Ms. Heredia traveled to Venice, Italy where she participated in wax model making workshop for jewelry, instructed by Fred de Vos.

2/7/2006: Munya Avigail Upin is teac hing a class on Precious Metal Clay (PMC), Wednesday mornings 9:30 - 1:00, March 1- April 5, DeCordova Museum School, 51 Sandy Pond Rd., Lincoln, MA 01773, 781/259-8355

3/2/2005: Professor Tom Muir recently completed a ceremonial medallion for Bowling Green State University President Sidney Ribeau. This medallion, weighing 453 grams and taking 100 hours to create, replaces the one created in 1964 by former BGSU professor Carl D. Hall for the inauguration of President William Jerome, depicting a “tree of knowledge” and symbolizing the university’s growth at the time.

The medallion, created by Muir, symbolizes the values of Ribeau’s administration: intellectual, spiritual and creative growth; learning community; inquiry and discovery; and collaboration and collective effort.

The design features three interlocking rings, set inside a set of concentric rings and encircled on the outside by coils. This reflects the interconnectedness of the university.

In the center is a rutilated quartz sphere, resembling a mini-universe, and representing the university’s global perspective. Both Muir and Ribeau were cognizant of the need to have it be at once contemporary and yet reflect traditional design so that in future years it would not become dated. That, too, reflects the mission of the university, to have both a solid foundation while looking forward.

The entire medallion was fabricated from sheet and wire rather than relying on casting processes. The resulting medallion has more integrity and reflects a higher level of technical accomplishment.

When presented with the finished work in December 2004, Dr. Ribeau was most pleased, stating that it exceeded his expectations.

“It’s the visible face of what we’re trying to do at the university.” Dr. Sidney Ribeau on the medallion

2/17/2004: Fred Zweig: I sent several of my sterling and copper pieces for display during the Modernism Show at the Park Avenue Armory in New York City Nov 13-16, 2003.  I am thilled to have my work exposed to such a discriminating audience.  The visitors to this show are both the  general public and dealers from around the world. After the close of the show: "The show went well.  I got some exposure and made a few sales.  I even got a commission to raise a large copper fluted bowl."

10/4/2003:Jurors Bernard Bernstein, Lane Coulter and Mary Ann Scherr unanimously chose Cynthia Eid's vessel (pictured right) as the winning design in SNAG's Honorary Member Award design competition. Hers was the winning design in SNAG’s competition last year to create a new award that will be used for years to come. The award itself is a stunning sterling silver vessel on a black marble base. The bowl is microfolded, and then formed though use of the hydraulic press and hammers. The added anticlastic rim is engraved in commemoration of the honor. Eid's bowls will be presented to recipients of the SNAG Honorary Member Award, which recognizes people who have made important contributions to the fields of jewelry and metalsmithing. Past honorees have included author and jewelry historian Oppi Untracht, and gallery owner and collector Helen Drutt English. Eid received a $500 credit for Allcraft tools courtesy of Tevel Herbstmann, in addition to payment for each bowl made.

Cynthia's detailed description of the bowl: Dimensions: 3" tall, 2.75" diameter Argentium sterling silver vessel, 2.5" x 2.5" x 2" marble.

The bowl is microfolded (corrugated and cross-corrugated with a microfold brake made by Bonny Doon Engineering), and then formed though use of the hydraulic press (deep drawn) and mallets. The anticlastic rim is a seamless section of deep drawn argentium, hand formed over hammers and stakes (SNAG then has it engraved in commemoration of the honor). (I made a sterling bolt, and attached it to the bottom of the bowl, hidden by the foot. I threaded sterling rod to attach the vessel to the marble.)

10/2/2003: Cynthia Eid was recently named a finalist in the hollowware category of the 2003 Saul Bell Design Award competition for jewelry design. Her design "Waves" (pictured right) is a stunning sterling silver hollowware bowl created from a 12" x 12" sheet of 18-gauge Argentium sterling silver. With a 50-ton Bonny Doon hydraulic press, Eid used the deep-draw method to form the bowl. With mallets, different stakes and hammers, she added the textures, curves and "waves" to finish the design.

From hundreds of submissions, Eid was chosen as one of the finalists in the third annual Saul Bell Design Award competition. Rio Grande honored eight winners and one Grand Prize winner at the JCK Las Vegas Show in June. The annual competition honors Rio Grande¹s founder, Saul Bell. This year¹s competition challenged jewelry designers to create original and innovative pieces in any of four jewelry categories, plus a special hollowware category sponsored by 3M.

Cynthia Eid recently completed and installed this menorah (pictured right) commissioned by Temple Beth Abraham in Nashua, NH. It is 5 feet tall and 3 1/2 feet wide, made of made of 16 gauge copper---patinaed and lacquered. The rough forming was done using a mushroom stake in a 50 ton press to push the copper into urethane, in much the same way that a ball peen hammer and a depression in a stump might have been used, if this had been a smaller piece. The planishing and texturing was done with hammers and stakes.

5/19/2003: Cyithia Eid reports: Michel Royston’s work looks fabulous at Crafts Boston at the Hynes auditorium. Hop in your car, quick, and go check it out!

Elizabeth Nutt is giving a talk at the Lexington Arts and Crafts Society on Waltham St. in Lexington, MA at 7p.m. Monday night, May 19th, 2003.

 

 

 

2/1/2003 This slice (pictured right) is a piece Roger Horner did for Seymour Rabinovitch (finished the Fall of 2002). The design was conceived by one of his grandsons. The young man was ten when he made the sketch. The blade is 10" long for a size reference. All the metal is sterling except for the gold plating here and there. A Labradorite double-faced cab is set in the curl of the merman's tail. The piece is all cast except for the blade.

I havn't seen Seymour for several months but he and Flora are back from England now and we will have dinner with them at Ramona Solberg's ([one of my Professors) on February 4th. He usually has some new lovely slice to show so I am looking forward to the occasion.

1/26/2003 Valentin Yotkov won the "Best Sculpture Award" in The Master of 2002 Competition at the BTDesign Art Gallery Ravenna, Italy.

1/23/2003 Fred Zweig finished this bowl (pictured right) for the invitational and it was well received. It posed an interesting challenge in both subject matter and execution. It was created for a show commemorating the Hispanic celebration of the "Day of the Dead." Titled "Vessel of Sheol" and constructed of two raised bowls secured with altered brass screws. The words pierced on the top bowl are taken from Ecclesiastes refering to the consious state of the dead.

 

12/25/2002 The Metalsmith Beauty and Deity (pictured right) of Rocío Heredia is in Season. Read the entire article here!

8/9/2002 Congrats go to Boris Bally and Lynn Taylor who have a new baby girl: Aila Taylor Bally, born naturally on July 28, 1:10am, 6 lb.s 15 ozs.

7/3/2002 Fred Zweig reports that he is busy making sterling collars and received an order for a sterling spoon. The bowl I was commisioned to raise was well received and I will be raising another bowl for an invitational exhibit this September.

7/1/2002 Munya Avigail Upin has been hired by Wellesley High School to teach in their jewelry program. She's also teaching two workshops at the DeCordova Museum School in the Fall.

5/3/2002 Fred Zweig just got a commision to raise a simple copper bowl for a client in Laguna Beach. This could develope into further commisions as well.

Fortune shined upon him as well when he discovered and purchased two handwrought sterling candlesticks at a local antique store. "You can imagine my delight when examined them and descovered they were made at Arthur Stone's shop. It is such a treat to be able to see the fine craftsmanship that went into this pair."

3/21/2002 John Fix will conduct a weekend workshop, FORGING NON-FERROUS METALS, at Touchstone Center for Crafts in Farmington, PA; May 24-26. For more information call: 800-721-0177. He will conduct a 5-day workshop, FORGING NON-FERROUS METALS, as part of Common Ground on the Hill 2002: American Music and Art Festival at Western Maryland College in Westminster, MD; July 8-12. LINDA VAN HART will teach a workshop, PIERCING AND CHAINMAKING; July 1-5. For more information call:410/857-2771 or visit: www.commongroundonthehill.com.

3/15/2002 Valentin Yotkov was featured in the World Heritage program on the TBS Vision TV channel in Japan. I also participate in a show at the Lauren Stanley Gallery in NYC organized in conjunction with the conference at New York University: "Sterling Modernities: International and American Silver from the Arts and Crafts Movement to the Present." Lauren Stanley Gallery, March 12-April 27 2002, 300 East 51st Street New York.

OIlle Johanson also has work featured (bowl, spoon, and wedding crown with white and black pearls) in "Sterling Modernities: International and American Silver from the Arts and Crafts Movement to the Present."

3/14/2002 Kathy Hart is in a solo show, opening Tuesday, April 2nd, at 5pm, which is multi-media - silver, sculpture, paintings and prints. It is a Holocaust Memorial Show, put on annually by ARTSWorcester and Quinsigamond Community College, Worcester, MA. I have enclosed front and back of the postcard for the show. She completed a commission of five High Holiday Torah covers for the Chicago Sinai Congregation, complete with fabric covers, and encrusted around the bases with 350 sterling silver leaves, linked in a chain curtain.

3/14/2002 From Fred Zweig: I have been raising bowls... Lots of bowls... I'm bound to get it right one of these days. I have had plenty of time on my hands and raising seems to keep me busy and it drives the neighbors mad! Actually they are very tolerant since I limit it to the daylight hours... My shop is small so I work outside under an awning. I have to move the stumps around to avoid having the sun reflect into my eyes. The shapes are simple and reminiscent of the Arts & Crafts Movement era. I am intentionally replicating these to pay homage to these craftsmen who proceeded us. I am learning a great deal about how forms developed. So many shapes are a result of the techniques we use as craftsmen. I have been letting the metal do some of the design for me.

I have seen some of the images of the shops of others and am impressed at the quantity and organization of the tools. Alas I have to scrounge tools where ever I can find them...Tucson is not the place to find metalsmithing tools. I manage to pick up a hammer here and there or modified chunks of metal polished with an angle grinder to form stakes. I have found a source for dollies used in aircraft bodywork and they are easily modified to any shape you might need. I often start raising using a maple stake and a metal raising hammer. I have purchased some fine hammers made for me by a smith in Maine. Would love to hear of the working experiences of others.

Munya Avigail Upin is in the Paradise City Arts Festival in Marlborough on March 15-17th. It is located at the Royal Plaza Trade Center, 181 Boston Post Road West. Take Route 495 to Exit 24B, the Trade Center is one mile ahead on the right. The hours are Fri 15th, noon to 8pm. Sat- 10am to 6pm and Sunday the 17th from 10am to 5 pm.

2/19/2002 Alix Mikesell announces the founding of the Chicago Metal Arts Guild! We are a non-profit corporation dedicated to fostering community among Chicago area metalsmiths and jewelers as well as promoting our field to the general public. Planned activities include artists' lectures and workshops, and various exhibitions in local gallery spaces. For more information contact Alix Mikesell: 773/235-3695,<alixmikesell@hotmail.com>.

2/14/2002 Pauline Warg will be teaching Tool Making (chasing, stamping, matting) at Wolf Designs in Portland, Maine, March 9,2002 and September 25, 2002. (www.katewolfdesigns.com).

12/6/2001 Sue Amendolara is showing her work with her husband Bill at the James Prendergast Library Art Gallery in Jamestown, New York, December 7-January 11, 2002. For information, call 716/484-7135.

11/2/2001 Susan Ewing, Robly Glover, Kathleen Hart, and Wendy Yothers will be participating in "Round About: Reinventing the Wheel" at the National Ornamental Metal Museum in Memphis, TN, December 2, 2001–April 21, 2002.

10/14/2001 Sue Amendolara and Linda Kaye-Moses are participating in "Millennium Metal, The Art of Precious Metal Clay" at The Lynn Tendler Bignell Gallery in Brookfield, CT. This unique national profile exhibition of exciting contemporary fine art jewelry and sculptural objects has been curated by Linda Kaye-Moses. It showcases fine designer craftwork that is either entirely, or substantially, made from the new art material known as Precious Metal Clay. Work selected for this show explores the special potential of this unique material. Participants include both invited and juried artists who were selected for their ability to take this new medium in exciting new directions. The exhibition runs through October 21, 2001.

10/12/2001 Charleen Weidell, Grand Prize Winner of the 2000 Student Silversmiths Competition, has a web site. See more of her fantastic student work here.

10/11/2001 Cynthia Eid and Robert Oppecker were honored with pieces chosen for the 13th Silver Triennial, a tradition in Hanau as an international event for the promotion of the art of the silversmith. Robert's piece is a sconce for flowers and has a sterling hook that mounts to the wall to hang it. It is supposed to be viewed vertically, but the hanging issue appeared to stymie photographers. Congratulations!

10/9/2001 Metal Artist Maria del Rocio Heredia from Monterrey, Mexico, will be conducting an intesive workshop on repoussé and the hand embossing of metals, at the Stockton Jewelry Arts School in Stockton, California, October 19, 20, and 21. Maria has presented a recent exhibition at the Loyola Cultural Center in Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico and her work may be viewed on-line at http://www.rocioheredia.com.

9/29/2001 From the Washington Hebrew Congregation Journal: Dorothy Gordon, a member of the WHC since 1957, looks a doting grandmother right out of central casting; a tiny cherubic woman who might delight in baking for her grandchildren when she isn't knitting them sweaters and scarves. While Dorothy may very well be an accomplished baker and knitter, grandchildren who come to visit are more likely to find her working diligently in the metal workshop of the home she shares with her husband, Ben.

The Fine Arts Committee is proud to present an extensive exhibition of Dorothy's hand crafted silver and gold treasures in Kreeger Lobby beginning Friday, December 1, 2001. The Congregation is invited to meet Dorothy at a reception in her honor from 7:00 to 8:15 p.m. prior to Shabbat service, with a special Oneg Shabbat to follow.

Dorothy is a prolific silversmith of national stature whose work and professional accomplishments belie a lifetime devoted to art and the painstaking perfection of a centuries old craft. Her stature in the world of fine metal work is evidenced by her invitation into the exclusive 75-member Society of American Silversmiths. She is also a member of the Washington Society of Goldsmiths.

Featured in the exhibit is the Temple's Havdalah Set (made at the request of Rabbi Weinberg) which was completed and dedicated in 1995 after almost two years of work. Other pieces exhibited include exquisite sterling silver candlesticks, bowls, Kiddush cups, jewelry, varied serving pieces and ritual objects. Each is a one-of-a-kind piece. Except for a few chains, everything is made completely by hand, a rarity even among established silversmiths. Many of the pieces contain semiprecious stones, Hebrew lettering and design influences from architecture to nature.

We are most fortunate to have approximately 70 pieces of Dorothy's work for this special exhibition, "Precious Obects," and look forward to honoring her at the opening reception on December 1.

9/29/2001 Michael Banner and wife Maureen will be participating in the Paradise City Art Festival in Northampton, MA, October 6-8. Show infomation: 800/511-9725. Also at the Westchester Craft Show at the Westchester County Center, October 19-21. Show information: 203/254-0486.

9/10/2001 Anika Smulovitz will be participating in a MA exhibition at the 743 Gallery, University of Wisconsin-Madison. The opening reception is Saturday, September 15, 6-9pm.

7/22/2001 Pauline Warg will be the featured artist for the month of August at the League of New Hampshire Craftsmen's Concord Shop Gallery, Concord, NH. She will be teaching a 35 hour Intensive Intermediate/Advanced Metalsmithing seminar at the Maine College of Art in August.

7/6/2001 Congratulations go out to Billie Jean Theide & Rimas Tadas VisGirda and their new baby: Tadas Walter VisGirda, born July 2, 2001, 2:52 pm, natural birth,12 hours labor, 10 fingers, 10 toes, excellent conehead, great lungs, 7 lbs. 7 oz., 20.5 inches. Go here to see the baby.

5/16/2001 Welcome to our newest Artisan member Susan Wood-Onstad from Mendocino, California. Click here for a complete list of Artisans.

5/5/2001 John T. Fix recieved an Individual Artist Award in Crafts for FY 2001 from the Maryland State Arts Council. He was selected for the $1 000 grant based on his recent silver hollowware and sculpture. He also was awarded a second place prize in Metal/Enamel at the 23rd Biennial Juried Exhibition sponsored by The Creative Crafts Council of Washington, D. C., at the Strathmore Hall Arts Center in Bethesda, Maryland, Feb.22 April 7, 2001.

3/23/2001 In conjunction with the SNAG conference in Richmond, Robert Oppecker had two pieces accepted into The Millennium Metal Show at Artemis Gallery. John Crutchfield the owner of the gallery footed the bill for awards in ten categories, each award being $500.00. One of my pieces one the award "Best in Holloware & Metal Formation." The jurors for the awards were John Crutchfield-Artemis Gallery, Ron Wyancko-James Madison University, Pam Siers-Artisans Center of Virginia, and Judy Donald-OXOXO Gallery.

The piece that won the award was a sterling silver baptismal basin (pictured above) entitled "Liquid Silver: Dedicated to the enduring memory of Richard Reinhardt." Dimensions are (14.25" L x13.25" W x 7.25" D). The weight approx. 81 troy ounces. The piece was created 1/1/2000.

3/14/2001 Preston Jones was featured on the cover of Colonial Williamsburg, Winter 2000-2001. Master silversmith James Curtis and journeyman Gayle Clarke were pictured in the article: Silversmithing at the Golden Ball, a depiction of what silversmithing was like during colonial times.

The work of Cynthia Eid (cover of the announcement and pictured right) and Fred Fenster was featured in the exhibition "Tevet to Av: Celebrating Contemporary Judaica," on view at The Gallery of Design at the University of Wisconsin-Madison from January 30-March 8, 2001.

In the announcement: "The tradition of creating Judaica or Jewish ceremonial objects has been carried on by artists for thousands of years. The beautifully designed and finely crafted works by twenty-two contemporary artists selected for this national invitational exhibition are evidence that this tradition is flourishing."

2/15/2001 Mueller Kaiser Plating Company proudly celebrates its 90th anniversary of service. Mueller Kaiser was established at the request of religious authorities for the plating and restoration of chalices, ciboria, altar ware, monstrances, kiddush cups, torah crowns, and other metalware.

Noted commissions include two ornate English altar wine flagons and an ornate processional cross for an Episcopal cathedral--and the historic gilded silver chalice of noted American missionary explorer Father Jacques Marquette, S.J., used by Pope John Paul II at the 1999 Papal Mass. Noted restorations by the firm include an ornate 17th century Bavarian Baroque Monstrance and Reliquary, as well as Spanish Colonial chalices and altar ware brought to America by missionaries. Also restored by the firm are the snuffboxes of Col. Meriwether Lewis of the Lewis & Clark Expedition, and the sword and scabbard of the Marquis de Lafayette.

The Society congratulates Mueller Kaiser Plating Company and the Kaiser and Mueller families on their achievement of 90 years in servicing the liturgical and metal arts fields.

They offers SAS members 15% off gold & silver plating and refinishing on non-repair items. For selective plating/refinishing, please stop-off in advance of requesting an estimate. Members are asked to pay for return shipping should a job estimate not be approved. Mueller Kaiser Plating Company, 5815 Hampton Ave., St. Louis, MO 63109, 314/832-3553,Web: www.Mueller-KaiserPlating.com

1/29/2001 Sue Amendolara and Cappy Counard Wolf will be exhibiting their work at the Elzay Gallery of Art at the Wilson Art Center of Ohio Northern University in Ada, Ohio. The show runs from February 4-March 2, 2001. For more details call the gallery at 419/772-2160.

1/19/2001 Recently named as one of the craftspeople to receive a League of New Hampshire Craftsmen Lifetime Achievement Award, silversmith Elizabeth Nutt tells of an inspirational experience she had at the Annual Craftsmen's Fair when she was only 12 years old.

As a teenager, I attended summer camp in NH and was taken to the Fair. David Campbell was the League's director and I was introduced to him. He had brought a friend of his from NY City, Irina Brynner (Yul's cousin), to lecture and give demonstrations. She was an international famous jeweler whom I found sophisticated, dramatic and very exciting. She was encouraging to me, a naive kid from Cleveland, and I was enchanted by her creations, her Russian accent and her renown as a jeweler. She was a major influence on me and made me believe that I too could be a successful silversmith in a field that at the time, was totally dominated by men.

1/17/2001 Cynthia Eid and Munya Avigail Upin are both showing their work at Mobilia Gallery in Massachusetts. Called "The Ring," the show runs in conjunction with a symposium at Massachusetts College of Art and will run from February 10-March 3, 2001.

Cynthia and Munya are also in the "Faculty" show at the DeCordova in Lincoln, Masachusetts, up now through February.

Munya is having a public showing of her work in conjunction with a slide presentation at Beth El Temple Center in Belmont, Massachusetts on March 28th at 7:30. In June, she will be teaching at the Mid-Atlantic Fiber Association Conference at Towson University near Baltimore, Maryland. In June, Munya will be teaching a five-day workshop on "woven metal techniques" at the Oregon College of Arts and Crafts in Portland, Oregon.

12/19/2000 Robert Oppecker received an Individual Artist Fellowship Grant 2000/2001 from the Commonwealth of Virginia Commission for the Arts.

12/2/2000 Robyn Nichols is in a show at The Pearl in Kansas City, MO. Entitled "Essentials Elaborations," the sho runs through the 23rd.

10/4/2000 Kathy Hart will be teaching a workshop at the 92nd St. Y in New York, November 5th and 12th, entitled "Women's Ritual Objects." "Women have been creating new rituals meaningful for their increasing participation in Judaism and have added ritual objects to enhance them. Create an object for and about women's roles and inspirations, using individual creativity and basic metals techniques such as sawing, shaping, cold-joining, and surface enrichment. No experience required." For information, contact the Y at 212/996-1100.

Munya Avigail Upin will be in the following shows: "Living In The Moment" September 25, 200-June 29, 2001, Hebrew Union College, Brookdale Center, One West 4th St. New York.

"Heaven on Earth: Divine crafts for Jewish Homes and Traditions," October, 2000-December17, 2000, JCC of Greater Washington, 6125 Montrose Rd., Rockville, MD 20852.

Teaching the "Woven Metal Techniques" workshop at Worcester Center for Crafts, September 24-25, 2000, 508/753-8183, and at the Pennsylvania Society of Goldsmiths, Nov. 11-12, 2000, contact Munya at 617/489-3710 for info.

Boris Bally has a busy exhibition schedule: "Hand-crafted Functional Objects," opens at Museum of the Southwest, Midland, TX, Jan 28, 2001, travels until Jan 7, 2004. Curated by Robert Logan, catalog available.

"2000 Objects for the New Millennium," Gallery 91, New York. Part 4: Universal Design, July 25th-September 2nd.

Farbige Dinger, Heinz Brummel and Boris Bally, Mainstreet Studio and Gallery, Deer Isle, ME, August 13-September 13.

"Consumed: Fine Craft Inspired by Popular & Media Culture," Craft Alliance, St., Louis, MO. Curated by Angela Reinoehl, September 15-October 29, 2000.

Riveting Metal: Exploring the Possibilities in Metal, Vermont State Craft Center, Frog Hollow, Curated by Karen Wark, Burlington, VT, September 15-October 29, 2000.

Penland School of Crafts, "Flatware Design and Techniques," TENTATIVE dates: Session 3, June 24-July 6, 2001, info: www.penland.org.

"20 Years of Metalwork: Boris Bally," December 6, 7-9pm, lecture and reception at Metalwerx,10 Walnut St., Woburn, MA 01801. Info: 781/937-3532, or info@metalwerx.com.

5/19/2000 Congratulations to Artisan Boris Bally and his wife Lynn Taylor have a new baby boy! Born May 13 at 12:24am, Etai Taylor Bally weighed in at 7lbs. 15oz., and was 20" long.

11/15/1999 Jeffrey Herman recently repaired and conserved four large sterling trophies (one of which was over 30" tall!) for the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, RI. He removed major dents and gouges, and gave all pieces a protective coating of Renaissance wax to preserve their finish.

11/13/1999 Sue Amendolara, Boris Bally, John Cogswell, Jack da Silva, Cynthia Eid, Susan Ewing, Randy Long, Kurt Matzdorf, Tom Muir, Billie Jean Theide, and Munya Avigail Upin are participating in "Magic and Ritual: Hannukkiahs Seen Through Contemporary Eyes." Curated by Robert Schroeder (Fort Wayne Museum of Art). Steinbaum Krauss Gallery, 132 Greene Street, NYC 10012, 212/431-4224. Show dates: November 27-December 30, 1999, and traveling. Reception: Saturday November 27, 1999.

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