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< Back Visiting Artist My art is inspired by plants I encounter while hiking, a rock, shell, bug, feather, and anything that catches my eye in my natural surroundings. I hand forge each piece from silver sheet and wire, and often incorporate recycled scraps. While fabricating each piece I take time to research and learn about the form I am attempting to replicate. When each piece is complete, my goal is to share my process to teach and inspire aspiring silversmiths, as well as to further the dialogue about the challenges we face in a changing environment and how our choices and actions make a difference. https://www.nicoleringgold.com/ Nicole Ringgold

< Back Georgia Talent Courtney Poole Pendergrast is the owner, designer, and maker for Poole Pendergrast Studios, located in the foothills of Northeast Georgia. Fascinated with the mechanical aspects of all things, Courtney enjoys working as a jewelry artist and metalsmith because it requires ingenuity and creativity. She loves that there is always something new to discover, plus she has a soft spot for a well-balanced hammer! The versatility of metal inspires Courtney while form, function, and aesthetics all play a key role in her designs. By applying different processes, a simple piece of metal can look as soft as a satin bow, rough-hewn as an old, weathered iron gate, or intricate as a piece of lace. Her goal as an artist is to grasp a raw idea and forge it into something tangible and enduring. Courtney refurbishes antique jewelry, offers unique custom work, and creates original one-of-a-kind pieces. She also teaches jewelry and metalsmithing classes tailored to each student’s skill level. You can view her work at www.poole-pendergrast.com Artist Statement As a jeweler and metalsmith, I value traditional techniques and every design is meticulously fabricated by hand in my studio. I love the juxtaposition of combining delicate filigree with forged and rough hewn pieces. Using hot and cold forging techniques, I enjoy constructing teapots, utensils, and unique containers to house insects for observation. When designing custom jewelry, I incorporate methods of construction reminiscent of jewelers from generations gone by. Whether a piece is a custom heirloom to be passed on for generations or an object to be enjoyed by a child, I want it to be well considered and have purpose. https://www.poole-pendergrast.com/ Courtney Pendergrast

< Back Visiting Artist A studio jeweler and educator for over twenty-five years, Sarah Chapman's academic background is a hybrid of studio art and education studies at Northeastern Illinois University combined with an ongoing love for self-directed exploration of metalsmithing through research and workshops. Chapman makes hand-fabricated metal jewelry and sculpture, aesthetically merging the industrial and natural worlds with an emphasis on functionality. Sarah shows her work in galleries and juried exhibitions across the country and currently maintains an active studio practice in Minneapolis. https://www.chapmanmetals.com https://instagram.com/chapmanmetals Sarah Chapman The Sun-Smart Collection Sarah Chapman Button View More

< Back Georgia Talent Atlanta based Lisa Heller began her journey as a jeweler making plastic stretch beads bracelets for her son's 3rd grade class. She was immediately hooked. A dozen years later, Lisa now works with silver, gold precious and semi-precious stones, but still has one of the original stretch bracelets as a memento of that journey. Lisa is a prior member and President of the Board of the Metal Arts Guild of Georgia and a current Director of the Atlanta Contemporary Jewelry Show. Lisa Heller

< Back Georgia Talent Cassidy apprenticed in Atlanta, Georgia with Starr Miller and Troy Atterberry, two prominent southeastern custom jewelers. She studied at New Approach School for Jewelers, a state of the art jewelry school started by Blaine Lewis. Cassidy spent many years within fine jewelry sales, repair and fabrication for various commercial locations around Georgia. She now owns and runs Cassidy Jewelry and Cassidy Jewelry Artisan Collective employing and supporting other female artists from around the world. She has a diverse academic background in communications, linguistics, and second-language acquisition earning a Bachelor of Science from Liberty University. In effort to keep old jewelry traditions alive, Cassidy creates each original jewelry design by hand using wax carving techniques. Wax carving dates back as far as the fourth millennium BC. Cassidy aims to preserve these historic techniques imbuing an other worldly soul within each piece that is thoroughly hand made. http://www.cassidyjewelry.online https://www.instagram.com/cassidykento/ Cassidy Kento

< Back Visiting Artist Steel opened a door to freedom of expression in my jewelry creations, allowing me to offer wearable art that is less constrained than that of precious metals. As an artist I am luredby steel intoexploring a grittieraspect of jewelrycreation, intotaking thehumblest materialand applying vision,design andexecution to create art. Fusing gold to steel takes my work to another level entirely. The counterpoint of gold’s golden-yellow glow against the jet black of patinated steel sets off some sort of primal whisper in my head, a voice that murmurs, “Yes, this is it. This is the perfect tension, the ultimate balance.” I began my jewelry career in 2010, studying under expert jewelers and learning basic metalworking techniques. In 2013 I began studying the steel/gold fusing processes and continued with advanced workshops with the late Chris Nelson, who pioneered fusing gold to steel in the United States. I built on those studies by perfecting additional techniques and processes, including the ancient Korean art of Keum Boo applied to steel, fusing alternative metals and alloys to steel, fusing powdered metals to steel and working with various forms of steel such as wire, perforated sheet and woven mesh. I actively pursue research into working with steel and have published articles on the topic in Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist and MJSD Journal. In addition, I was selected by the Santa Fe Symposium to author a research paper entitled “Steel Jewelry— Expanding the Horizons of Steel and Gold,” which I presented in May 2022. I have authored a book entitled Creating Steel Jewelry , which is scheduled for publication by Artisan ideas in the fall of 2024. https://studiomigoto.com https://instagram.com/bettebarnett https://facebook.com/studiomigoto Bette Barnett The Sun-Smart Collection Bette Barnett Button View More The Sun-Smart Collection Bette Barnett Button View More

< Back Christina Kober Designs began as a hobby, essentially to help Christina learn about her father's business. Her father owned JFF Jeweler Supply, a jeweler supply store in Atlanta, Georgia. Christina began working for him when she was 14. She knew nothing about the field--it was just a summer and holiday job to fill her closet with clothes. Little did she know it would turn into her passion. After graduating college, Christina continued working at JFF. She found that she was curious about the process of making jewelry and decided to begin taking classes. She was like a sponge, asking customers and coworkers questions, reading books and experimenting at home. Soon, she found herself recommending what tools to buy and providing her own insights into crafting and fabricating jewelry. In 2007, armed with a few designs and some business cards, Christina opened her etsy shop and started exhibiting at art festivals. She quickly found a connection to her customers through her fortune cookie collection & inspiring messages. After being featured by a prominent blogger, followed by immense (and unexpected) social media attention in 2011, Christina Kober Designs grew exponentially and began partnering with retailers around the nation. https://christinakober.com/ Christina Kober-Kauke

< Back Georgia Talent Tony has been active in metalsmithing and jewelry making for the last 6 years. After 30 years as a mechanical engineer, he began metalsmithing as a way to find a mental break from the stresses of his career and to develop his more artistic side. As the son of an aircraft machinist, he has worked with machining and other metal working tools throughout his life. Tony focuses his jewelry primarily on forged or manipulated metal. In addition to basic metal smithing techniques Tony uses presses and rolling mills to form the shapes of his pieces and, also utilizes his engineering skills to create solid 3D models in CAD and then print them in high resolution resin for casting. Tony and his family moved to the Kennesaw area in 2011 after spending many years working abroad in the UK, Europe, and the Middle East. Tony Sanger

< Back Georgia Talent Born in Minneapolis, Minn., Kathryn Kinev moved to Atlanta with her family at an early age. She attended Georgia State University and earned a bachelor of arts degree in fine arts, specializing in jewelry design and silversmithing. At GSU she discovered metalworking. “Once my hands touched metal, I never wanted to do anything else but design jewelry,” said Kinev, who studied under Professor Richard Mafong. Kinev began her professional career working for Atlanta-area jewelers. She opened Jewel Creations in her apartment in 1982. She incorporated Jewel Creations and moved to Buckhead on Peachtree Road in 1985. During this period she discovered the unique art of granulation and chain making, which had been of interest to her since her GSU days. She was inspired by the work of Smithsonian artist John Paul Miller of the Cleveland Institute of Art and attended classes with Jean Stark. Kinev studied ancient jewelry technology in London in 2005. Kinev is known for her strengths in creating original designs, fabricating, casting and stone setting. She works in platinum, 18K and 22K, including granulation. She is a graduate gemologist and an Alumni member of the Gemological Institute of America. She is a Fellow of the Gemmological Association of Great Britain. She is a current member of the National Association of Jewelry Appraisers and president of the Georgia Chapter of the Gemological Institute of America. https://jewelcreations.com/ Kathy Kinev

< Back Georgia Talent Priscilla Fritsch began silversmithing in 2004 after leaving the corporate world of engineering. She has studied at the Revere Academy of Jewelry Arts in San Francisco as well as taken numerous classes in silversmithing techniques and design. Priscilla has taught classes at private studios throughout the area and has demonstrated silversmithing techniques at the American Craft Council Show in Atlanta. Since 2010 she has taught jewelry and metalsmithing classes at Callanwolde Fine Arts Center in Atlanta. Much of her work is strongly influenced by traditional and modern Scandinavian design, and from artifacts found at historical Nordic archaeological excavations. Priscilla finds great pleasure in helping students overcome their fear of tools and mistakes. She has a degree in Civil and Environmental Engineering from the University of Wisconsin. Priscilla Fritsch

< Back Georgia Talent Alex Wilson

< Back Visiting Artist Suzanne Williams is a Colorado resident. She graduated from Colorado State University in 1980 with a BFA in printmaking and later worked as a graphic artist, illustrator, fine artist, and technician in art/bronze casting foundries before beginning her jewelry-making career in 1990. In the past 32 years she has shown her signature 3-dimensional work in many galleries, art festivals and group shows, and has more recently been teaching workshops, particularly with a focus on designing and creating novel and unconventional clasps and closures. http://suzannewilliamsjewelry.com https://www.facebook.com/suzannewilliamsjewelry/ Suzanne Williams