Seattle Metals Guild

Please join us Friday October 16, 4:30pm to 6:30pm at Facèré Jewelry Art Gallery. Facèré and the Seattle Metals Guild will host a reception for the 2009 Northwest Jewelry and Metals Symposium presenters. Meet the speakers, see some of their work up close, and socialize with other SMG members. Catering donated by Café Paloma.

Reception location: City Center Building, 1420 Fifth Avenue, Seattle, WA 98101 | Tel. 206.624.6768

Our program features these presentations and presenters:

Nancy Megan Corwin

A Survey Of Contemporary Chasing and Repousse

Drawing from deep within the hallowed and ivied traditions of metalsmithing, Seattle metalsmith and teacher Nancy Megan Corwin will present an overview of the work of contemporary metalsmiths who have mastered, applied and reexamined this ancient and technically demanding discipline. Megan’s book "Chasing and Repoussé: Methods Ancient and Modern" has just been published and she will be signing copies which will be for sale at the symposium. Megan received her MFA at University of Wisconsin, Madison and she teaches extensively nationwide. Her work can be found in the permanent collection of the Tacoma art Museum and locally at Facere Jewlery Art gallery. For more information about Megan please visit her website: www.nancymegancorwin.com

John Grade

Impermanence

Expanding the definition of what an art object is and the expectations of how it functions in the world, Seattle artist John Grade uses materials as varied as paper pulp, metal and biodegradable polymers to build work that is conceived and designed to ultimately disintegrate: consumed by insects, birds and micro-fauna.

John has received numerous honors and awards including residencies at the Kohler Arts Center and Foundries and at the prestigious MacDowell Colony (twice) and he has recently mounted a solo exhibition of new work at The Bellevue Art Museum. John earned his BFA at Pratt institute in 2002 and soon after began to travel extensively, an experience which provided him exposure to cultures and places that became an important element of his work. The artist will speak about his sculptural work, installation pieces and life as an artist. For additional information please visit his website: www.johngrade.com

Lisa Gralnick

The Gold Standard

A high, consistent level of technical proficiency and a devotion to excellence are the hallmarks of the professional craftsman and they provide the physical scaffold upon which a superior object is built. But when wielded in the pursuit and exploration of a specific idea, high craft can produce something that is truly powerful: something that can educate and enlighten and maybe even change the way we think. Known for her exceptionally well made, intelligent and conceptually dense jewelry and sculptural objects, metalsmith and Professor of Art (University of Wisconsin, Madison) Lisa Gralnick will present an overview of her work, focusing on her newest series of artworks: “The Gold Standard”. In this evolving three part series Gralnick explores the relationship between gold’s history as an artistic medium and how, in the modern world, it serves as collateral. Lisa received her MFA from SUNY New Paltz. Her work resides in the collections of The Racine Arts Museum, The Renwick gallery, Smithsonian, The Mint Museum and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. To know more, visit: www.lisagralnick.com

Jim Wallace

How to Build a Museum On $12 a Day and Live to Tell About It

In 1977, on a bluff in Memphis overlooking the Mississippi River, artist-blacksmith Jim Wallace accepted the challenge of transforming three decrepit, former US Marine Hospital buildings into the National Ornamental Museum.

Truly a gem, the National Ornamental Metals Museum is the only institution in the United States devoted exclusively to the preservation and promotion of fine metalwork, from jewelry, hollowware and sculpture to architectural ironwork. The three-acre complex encompasses the main museum building, it’s extensive library and permanent collection, a working smithy and foundry, conservation facilities and classrooms. In the true spirit of a living tradition, full-time smiths, visiting artists and interns work side by side fulfilling commissions, creating new work, restoring existing pieces – both public and privately held- and interacting with the community through outreach programs such as Repair Days. Jim will give us a personally guided history of the museum from his 30-year perspective as Executive Director. For a closer look at the museum click on: www.metalmuseum.org

Felieke van der Leest

Living With A Beasty Heart

“...My whole house is one big Zoo. Animals everywhere, some without heads, some are missing other parts of their bodies, some are just waiting till it's their time...” Dutch born artist Felieke van der Leest crochets, knits and recontextuallizes (read: cuts into pieces and silversmiths back together) rubber and plastic animals to render quirky, oddly compelling, at times poignant jewelry and small scale objects that always raise a smile. Now living and working in Norway, Feleike attended the Gerrit Rietveld Academie in Amsterdam. Her work is featured in numerous public and private collections including International Museum of Applied Arts in Turin, Italy and Hiko Mizuno Collection in Tokyo, Japan and can be found in the pages of a multitude of publications. She is represented internationally by Charon Kransen Arts. The artist will speak about her work. To find out more, visit www.feliekevanderleest.com

A Brief History of the Seattle Metals Guild

On the eve of its 20th anniversary, metalsmith and teacher Lynne Hull will deliver a short presentation on the history of the Seattle Metals Guild. The SMG has become a crucial and unifying force for metalsmiths, jewelers, makers and collectors in the Northwest and is considered nationally to be one of the strongest and most active communities of its type.

Silent Auction

One of the ways we raise money to continue supporting the growing and changing needs of our membership is through the Silent Auction.

Donations from the past years have demonstrated just how creative you are! Ideas such as baked goods, books, private instruction, studio tours, photographic services, scrabble tiles, tool kits, cut stones, portfolio of personal bench tips - even snowshoeing! Anything goes, no donation is too small or too weird. In fact, the stranger the better!

What is so unusual that you’d actually bid on it? Is there something wonderful (collecting dust) in your studio which someone might be inspired by?

Some ideas: cookie jar of oddities... handful of molted antlers... plastic doll limbs... metal scrap flattened by a semi... 50 lbs of bottle caps... taxidermy eyeballs... bag of tiny watch parts... dental tools... antique oil cans... folding yardsticks...

The money that is raised from your donation helps to provide quality opportunities for our membership through the various programs we offer. Donations are gladly accepted through Saturday, October 10. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Jessie Wylie.

Symposium Location:

Museum of History and Industry (MOHAI)
2700 24th Ave East
Seattle, WA 98112