Rockets are Cool! - Changing Hues

Materials: Found Object Tin, Enamel on copper and Sterling Silver
Dimensions: 2.75" x 2" x .3"

Layered vintage tin combined with artist created enamel flames and window riveted to a pierced, soldered and stamped sterling silver back with sterling wire. "Rockets are Cool!" is stamped on the back. Shown on a sterling snake chain.


Photo credit: David Kocchi

Kay Cummins
Out And About Girls, Funky and Found Object Jewelry
Phoenix, AZ. USA

Colorful person. Colorful life! Influenced by graphics, childhood images and humor - my work says "come on let's have some fun!"

My degree and work prior to being a full time artist was primarily problem solving and organization. These skills now applied to recycling, metalsmithing and enameling serve me well.

Seeking out vintage items and the discovery of what could be.

Simply put, a Found Object is an item that is treasured for it's artistic value although it may not actually be precious. Most of us acquire and keep things because we like them, a stone or shell from a vacation, a toy from childhood, etc. Some of the Found Objects I currently use are vintage Billiard Balls, Lunch Boxes, Tins, and Computer Keyboards.

Ideas evolve from the found object. I often ask myself "What can I do this this?" I think about the possible theme, what I like about the item, and what Wordplay could work. Sometimes this is immediate; other times it hangs out in my studio for months.

Once the design idea is set, I repurpose and obscure the objects' original function by layering and combining wordplay and enamel. Enamel is glass on metal and its' bright crisp color is created by heating powdered glass via torch & kiln firing. This describes my process; however, there are many steps along the way and humor and wordplay is included in each piece.

Because Found Objects may not withstand the riggers of many Metalsmithing techniques, I have learned and modified these steps so that the condition is preserved. I use both Hot and Cold Connections in fabricating my work, but all soldering and torch work must be done before a Found Object is set. Actually, all finishing work must be complete as well. No glues are used. Enameling has added the opportunity to add layers and colors as desired. I am a active member of the International Enamelists Society and have acquired many enameling skills.

My work is sold at juried Art Festivals and my website. I love being an artist! No doubt it is hard work. But I wouldn't trade what I do with anyone. I hope you enjoy these glimpses into my life, and that you enjoy my work.

Funky and Found Object Jewelry for Cool People - You know who you are!


The exhibition explores metal works whose primary theme is color embraced as their primary visual focus, whether that be using colored materials, exploring creating colored surfaces, or encasing the object in color.

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.

In total 303 artists contributed 814 show pieces for the permanent online exhibition.

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.

Hue is one of the primary properties of color, it refers to the place the color occupies on the visual spectrum. Humans have used hues throughout time, to create cave paintings, to decorate themselves, their clothing and their housing.

Different hues have taken on different meanings throughout time. Gold traditionally has been a color of purity - the metal gold is relatively unchangeable, and the hue of gold has come to stand for gods and goddesses, for royalty, for durability and for purity. Red has often meant love, or passion. Hues often reflect the meaning of the seasons, with pastels referring to spring and the burst of new life after the pale hues of winter. Summer is reflected in vibrant, deep hues, followed by the browning of hues in the fall as plants go to seed and die, and the land turns fallow.

The worth of a hue has often been tied to what is necessary to make the pigment that creates the hue, and the expensive involved in the process. Often created from crushed stones that had to be mined and carried by caravan over thousands of miles, or from fermented roots of plants only grown in certain areas, or the carapaces of rare insects - the creation of hue in a way that could be used by man was an involved and generally expensive process.

In today's world metalsmiths have access to perhaps the widest range of materials and hues in the history of man - and in some of the most affordable ways ever.

This exhibition celebrates hue - color - as an integral, inherent element of the work. We talk of the "richness" of color, and examples of this abound here. One expects hues from the colors of gemstones used in metalsmithing, but we also have hues from some less expected places. Glass enamels are an ancient way of adding color, as are a variety of patinas. Today's artists also use synthetic man-made materials to add color in ways that didn't exist a century ago.

We invite you to enjoy this celebration of hue, and the ways hues and their use have changed over time.