The Art of Jewelry in America

As art jewelry comes into its own in America, galleries are clasping onto the trend and finding success with the art/jewelry mix.

Throughout the world, body ornamentation is an ancient and time-honored art form. Yet in the United States, jewelry as art has only recently come into its own.

Such art is not the series of gold tennis bracelets lined up in a glass case at the mall. Nor is it the design of a single artist whose staff puts it into mass production. These are handcrafted, one-of-a-kind works conceived and executed by the artist with all the technical elements and aesthetics that carry it across the line into the realm of fine art.

"The distinction between mass-produced jewelry and art jewelry is not just in the quantity but the design," said jewelry artist Gretchen Kubacky of Los Angeles. "I've seen some stunningly high-quality designs in a department store that wouldn't be considered fine art, and I've seen $5,000 diamond earrings that have no design quality to them. Art is in the eye of the beholder." All kinds of jewelry such as wholesale costume jewelry,fashion jewelry wholesale,wholesale jewelry,jewelry supply,pearl jewelry,body jewelry

Kubacky identifies her own work as "ethnicized contemporary" jewelry drawn from historical images, as well as craft and folk art. She uses sterling silver, high-quality stones and pearls, but she likes to mix them up, putting hand-made stones from India with cultured pearls--the fine and the not-so-fine--to create a more hand-made appearance.

"Jewelry-as-art depends on function and intimacy," wrote Carolyn Morris Bach, who exhibits her bone-and-precious metal jewelry at high-end expositions and in select fine art galleries across the country. "Every piece of jewelry that leaves the studio is entirely hand-fabricated by me. While I strive for perfection in my design and craftsmanship, I am not overly concerned that every form requires perfectly rounded edges or that every element be an exact replication of its counterpart. If this is art, it should be individual and unique and preserve for the viewer deliberate traces of the decisions for fabrication; the passage of the hands through materials."

Herein lies the realm of distinction between commercial jewelry and jewelry as fine art. Part of the departure lies in the purpose or intention behind the piece, whether it was made to be sold in quantity at a profit and ultimately worn, or if it was created for the sake of art--art that was hand crafted, using unconventional materials or traditional materials in unconventional ways. The closer the artist remains to the creative process, the closer the jewelry is to fine art.

"The difference is the same for jewelry as it is for the other decorative arts, such as glass and ceramics," said jewelry artist and photographer Douglas Steakley, who exhibits jewelry and other fine crafts at his Concepts Gallery in Carmel, Calif. "You can tell when they change into fine art because they cease being functional, or they become sculptural objects themselves," Steakley said. "Still, there remains a huge gray area of pieces that are semi-functional or are artistic but identifiable, wearable jewelry."

Steakley and his wife Jacqueline founded Concepts 15 years ago as a gallery featuring the work of jewelry artists like Carolyn Morris Bach, Sydney Lynch and more. Their criteria were that each piece had to be unique, well-developed and identifiable--the artist had to create a signature.

"Concepts hasn't changed much," he said, "except to introduce glass and photography that follow the same artistic criteria. It's a good mix. Glass, in particular, provides a nice contrast to the jewelry. It's larger, visually interesting and colorful. It's also more accessible than jewelry."

Jewelry continues to make inroads into fine art venues such as galleries, high-end shows and expos, and it is creating quite a presence in the marketplace.

Patina Gallery in Santa Fe, N.M., dedicates half of its expansive space to art jewelry and the balance to other fine crafts. Owned by Allison Barnett and directed by her husband, jewelry artist Ivan Barnett, the nearly two-year-old gallery is renowned for representing some of the finest art jewelry in the world.

"We make a huge commitment to European jewelry artists," said Ivan. "At lot of what I would call the cutting-edge of art jewelry is coming out of Europe. Theirs is a different, cleaner aesthetic. American jewelry artists are more decadent--not in a bad way--but there is a pared-down quality about the European designs. Americans are still tied a little more to the precious materials, largely because America is so market driven. Not to misrepresent the quality and aesthetic of many fine American artists, but Europeans are more closely aligned with our philosophy; creating surprises for people who have great sensibilities and want something way off the track."

For the past 23 years, the William Zimmer Gallery in Mendocino, Calif., has presented an "eclectic, expansive and imaginative collection of contemporary arts" in both traditional and craft media. Along with sculpture, painting and furniture, it specializes in fine art jewelry with work from Morris Bach, Lynch, Abrasha and others.


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RICHIE LAUNCHES JEWELRY LINE

Nicole Richie is set to extend her portfolio of moneymaking ventures: She is launching her own jewelry line.

The reality TV socialite is designing pieces, which will be produced by Mouawad, the exclusive jewelers behind supermodel Heidi Klum's fine jewelry collection, according to People.

And the new mum is ecstatic with the way the production process is going, because she can fit in time for designing as she looks after her newborn daughter, Harlow Winter.

She says, "It's all costume jewelry. I like to play with jewelry and mix and match. (I'm working with) this really talented woman named Shelley Gibbs. She's an artist and she sketches everything.

"Everyone's been really mellow and able to work around my schedule. If I need to go feed the baby, I do it."

As well as the jewelry project, Richie, who already has author, actress and singer on her resume, is launching a children's clothes range in addition to rumors of plans for her own fragrance, reports People.com.


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Jewelry retailers pledge to boycott Pebble gold

In a different twist to the annual No Dirty Gold campaign backed by environmental NGOs, five major jewelers have pledged they will not use gold from the controversial Pebble copper & gold project near Bristol Bay, Alaska.

In a statement issued Tuesday, Jon Bridge, Co-CEO/General Counsel of Ben Bridge Jeweler in Seattle said, "I am pleased to stand with others in the jewelry industry today in announcing our support for protecting Alaska's Bristol Bay watershed from large-scale mining. As retail jewelers, we want to be able to tell our customers that the precious metals we use are mined responsibly-that the materials used in the jewelry they purchase have been mined in environmentally friendly ways, respectful of the Bristol Bay salmon fishery and the communities that depend on it."

Joining Bridge in the Pebble gold boycott were Tiffany & Co., Helzberg Diamonds, Fortunoff, Leber Jewelers, Inc., and Alaska's Blake's Fine Jewelry. The retailers are among a group of 28 jewelry retailers, representing 23% of U.S. jewelry sales, who have endorsed the No Dirty Gold campaign's "Golden Rules" human rights and environmental criteria for mining.

Last December an advertising campaign was launched in industry news publication National Jeweler, asking jewelers to boycott gold from the Pebble Mine project in the Bristol Bay watershed. Washington, D.C.-based EARTHWORKS placed the ad in the January, February and March issues of National Jeweler.

Vancouver-based Northern Dynasty Mines has proposed to build the Pebble copper-gold mine southwest of Anchorage. However, Northern Dynasty has drawn criticism for failing to conduct an effective consultation campaign outside of Alaska regarding Pebble's potential impacts on Bristol Bay. Conversely, Bristol Bay environmentalists have been able to draw on the support of national and international environmental NGOs, fisheries and sportsmen groups, as well as Alaska native interest groups.

The involvement of international mega-miner Anglo American in the Bristol Bay project is expected to improve national and international stakeholder consultation. Sean Magee, a spokesman for the Pebble Partnership, told reporters that they are disappointed that none of the jewelers or EARTHWORKS spoke to them prior to Tuesday's announcement.

Magee told the Los Angles Times that "there is a lot of common ground between the Dirty Gold camp and the approach we are taking. We support high environmental standards for mining. If the fisheries can't be protected, we won't advance this project."

Tiffany's CEO Mike Kowalski-who is also a prominent advocate for reform of the 1872 Mining Law-told the Anchorage Daily News that the company supports Bristol Bay residents who value the region's salmon fisheries over mining, and pledged that Tiffany will avoid using gold from Pebble if it is developed into a mine.

However, EARTHWORKS President Stephen D'Esposito told the Anchorage Daily News that mining companies, smelters and refiners also have to help jewelers, such as Tiffany, have more control over their gold supply chain.

The Pebble West project is believed to have a measured and indicated resource of 4.1 billion tonnes containing 42.1 million ounces of gold, 24.6 billion pounds of copper, 1.4 billion pounds of molybdenum and additional silver. The Pebble East project is believed to have a 3.4 billion-tonne inferred resource containing 42.6 billion pounds of copper, 39.6 million ounces of gold and 2.7 billion pounds of molybdenum.

GOLDEN RULES REPORT

In a report that accompanied the No Dirty Gold announcement of the Bristol Bay gold boycott campaign, EARTHWORKS and Oxfam America highlighted gold mining operations, which they believe, violate basic human rights, refuse to recognize their miners' right to organize through labor unions, or fail to adequately protect worker health and safety. Other mines are criticized for their alleged involvement in armed or militarized conflict, or forced relocation of nearby landowners and/or indigenous peoples.

The report also highlights mines which reportedly dump mine waste into oceans, rivers, lake or streams; and calls for ensuring that projects are not located in protected areas, fragile ecosystems, or other areas of high conservation or ecological value.

Among the mines criticized in the report are Freeport-McMoRan's Grasberg mine in Indonesia; Newmont's Yanacocha mine in Peru; Barrick's Cortez Mines in Nevada; BHP Billiton's iron ore mines in Australia; Barrick, Teck Cominco, and Newmont's Hemlo Camp mines in Ontario; AngloGold Ashanti's Mongbwalu mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo; Gabriel Resources' Rosia Montana project in Romania; Placer Dome's former Marcopper mine in the Philippines; Newmont's Minahasa Raya and Batu Hijau mines in Indonesia; Barrick's Porgera gold mine in Papua New Guinea; Ascendant Copper's Junin project in Ecuador; Newmont's Akyem gold mine in Ghana; and Anglo American and Northern Dynasty Minerals Pebble copper-gold project in Alaska.

Also featured in the report are the former Pegasus Gold Zortman-Landusky mine in Montana; Golden Star Resources' Bogoso/Prestea gold mine in Ghana; Yukon-Nevada Gold's Jerritt Canyon gold mine in Nevada; and the former Galactic Resources Summitville gold mine in Colorado.


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When Gold Blossoms: Indian Jewelry from the Susan L. Beningson Collection

This exhibition, organized by American Federation of the Arts, showcases the stunning beauty and intricate technical craftsmanship of Indian jewelry from the 17th to the 19th centuries. Primarily from south India, the works include rings, anklets, pendants for the hair, jeweled crowns, ivory combs and a gold throne for a deity. The works are predominately solid gold and often encrusted with rubies and other stones in geometric forms that exemplify the south Indian style. A small group of ancient artifacts also are included: sandstone seals and gold adornments dating back to the 2nd century BC. A catalog published by Asia Society, New York, accompanies the exhibition.


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