VERN
DEAS |
| I began
making jewelry in late 1958 when my wife, Nancy, fell in love with the work
of artisans in Greenwich Village, New York City and Lenox, Massachusetts,
where we lived. It was the big, beautiful, rustic wearable art of the bohemian
culture of the fifties and, as a full-time student, I couldn't afford it.
But with the influence of those same artisans, I learned to make it myself. |
 |
| Over the years, I developed
my own eclectic style that reflects the avant-garde jewelry of that era.
Much of it is influenced by the African art popular to the Beat Generation
and to that I have added Native American influences. |
Using
 methods
also popular in that era, I fabricate pieces from sheet and wire sterling
with semiprecious stones. I much prefer the construction techniques
of sawing, filing, plandishing and soldering to carving wax or molding
metal clay. It allows a layering effect I like and creative changes
in design during construction that the other mediums do not. I'm also
able to create interesting textures on sheet sterling and high-copper
alloys. In a way, it also allows the stones to better show me how they
would like to be displayed.
I have been
making jewelry off and on, full time and  part
time, for forty-five years. In retirement now, after thirty-five years
as a human services executive, I have been creating jewelry full time
for six years. My work has shown in numerous galleries and juried shows
in the Northeast, Midsouth and Southwest, including the New Mexico Arts
& Crafts Fair.
|
Contact me at: El
Garra del Oso Studio Los Lunas, New Mexico 505-866-0599 Gmamadeas@att.net |