Materials: copper, vitreous enamel, polished pebble
Dimensions: 2" x 2" x 2"
A long long time ago in a place far away, something like Ohio in 1975, I read this book by Sherril Jaffe called “Scars Make Your Body More Interesting.” The stories were interesting to read, but it was the title that stuck. Scars are usually something that you want to hide but this title made scars interesting. It brings up the question of what is beautiful. I use common things like copper with holes burned in it and polished pebbles, things not generally considered beautiful, but have a story to tell.
Photo credit: Evelyn Markasky
Evelyn Markasky
Santa Cruz, CA. USA
I like to tell a story with my metal work combining influences from pop art as well as elegant and organic images.
I grew up in an edgy little steel town with a large immigrant population in Youngstown, Ohio. I spent many of my college years in photo booths, creating images to use for my BFA in sculpture where I incorporated sculpture, jewelry, conceptual art, and comedy, not necessarily in that order.
I work in copper using vitreous enamels sometimes for their colors, but mostly as a patina adding texture and an aged effect to my pieces. My work is clunky, organic, and elegant always questioning what is considered beautiful.
These containers and vessels definitely hold their place in the world of stunning art objects as well as in the world of metalsmithing.
Since the dawn of time humans have created containers to hold things that were important to them, from large vessels to hold food and harvests to intimate containers for small precious things. They might hold memories, ashes, medicine, beverage, fruit or food - but all spring from the imagination and skill of the maker. Some have specific religious functions, some are meant for everyday use. When one thinks of a vessel or container the inclination is to think of something with solid walls - yet many of these works involve the exploration of positive and negative space, and the use of negative space to help create the illusion of the wall of the vessel.
As the world’s largest jewelry related internet site, Ganoksin strives to develop exhibitions showcasing work from around the world. This exhibition was open to all metalsmiths, professional and amateur, advanced and beginner. Participants are from The Netherlands, the USA, Canada, Australia, Costa Rica, the United Kingdom, Israel, Hong Kong, Colombia, Romania, Italy, Ireland, Japan, Malaysia and Denmark. While most of the pieces are by an individual metalsmith, some are collaborations, one of three artists spanning 50 years.
In total 319 artists contributed 729 show pieces for the permanent online exhibition.
Objects in the exhibition include boxes, lockets, urns, ash containers, bowls, wine cups, reliquaries, match holders, vases, teapots, pitchers, sugar bowls, baskets, nests, pillboxes, clutches and a range of sculptural forms. A variety of techniques are showcased covering a wide range of metalsmithing techniques. Materials used include everything from gold and silver to less expensive metals. Ornamentation includes the addition of enamel, chasing and repousse’, gemstones and found objects.
The exhibition was curated by Beth Wicker, President of the North Carolina Society of Goldsmiths in the United States, and Adjunct Instructor at Northeastern Technical College in South Carolina. Director of the exhibition is Hanuman Aspler, founder of The Ganoksin Project, the world’s largest internet jewelry site.