Mary Ann Babula
I was fascinated the first time I saw I could drill a hole in glass. I feel akin to sculptural work and working with my hands.
In 1998 The Museum of Fine Arts in Boston placed my sculpture in their collection.
More recently I create jewelry - small sculpture, carved of laminated glass, mirror, vitrolite (opaque architectural glass) and gold leaf, in the same aesthetic as my larger sculpture. For me, these are form-driven glass composites of various glasses, gold leaf, and sterling silver and are objects of light and volume, to wear.
Wendy Bergman
The recipes used to make my jewelry are made with ingredients found in nature. The delicate hues and lusters of Fresh Water Pearls and the rich and subtle textures of Semi-Precious gemstones are its foundation, complemented with precious metals: 14, 18, and 22 Karat Gold and Sterling Silver.
After graduating from Northeastern University with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Elementary Education, I knew that my career interests lay elsewhere. I started employment as an assistant Production Manager with a NY costume jewelry designer and never turned back!
Beverley Coniglio
Beverley X working as House of Coniglio: Influenced by Art Nouveau, Art Deco, & Goth, the Victorian look without the Victorian principals. I am fascinated by all kinds of creatures, furry & scaled, feathered and fanged; all things magical & mystical; flights of fancy, whimsical visuals.
Salvaging the lost and abandoned; unearthing just the right treasure to be incorporated into my latest projects. Recycling them in such a way that brings them new life and purpose. Using vintage German and Czech stock from the 1920s into the 1950s along with the unique sparkle of Swarovski components and crystals to create my designs. Components are a mix of genuine antiques and vintage stock along with reproductions made from the original old molds dating as far back as the mid 1800's. Many of my pieces are One-of-a-Kind.
Marcia Dean
I love trees and making things! I fabricate my original design jewelry under skylights in my airy studio and fulfill several roles at the co-op which provides my work life with a balance of solitude and community, variety and routine, creativity and concrete action.
My jewelry is made with gold and silver, sometimes together, and often includes opals, each one offering a unique array of brilliantly shifting colors.
I also take great pleasure in creating contemporary quilts. The entire process satisfies me from surface design to meditative hand quilting.
Liz Lurie
I draw from my background as a visual artist, dancer and gardener to create unique, one of a kind earrings. My materials are petals, flowers, and leaves, semi-precious stones and tiny glass antique beads. Findings are either sterling silver, gold, or gold/filled.
Ilana Krepchin
I have a BA from Hampshire college in Photography and Anthropology, and extensive training in jewelry making from a number of venues including the Decordova Museum. Post-college I worked as the Associate Director of a small non-profit arts collaborative, running teen photography programs. During that period, I also took a lot of jewelry making classes at the Cambridge Center for Adult Education and Metalwerx. When I left that job, I decided to immerse myself in the world of jewelry production and craft shows. I worked for many years as a studio manager and production assistant for an established jeweler; and then went out on my own. And here I am. I love it.
Roze Malone
Most of my life I’ve expressed my creativity through music as a classical violinist and currently as a rock-n-roll player with my band The MERJ.
Over the years my artistic impulses carried me in many directions besides music to include dancing, macrame, garden design, repurposing furniture, etc...
I’d seen wire wrapping, but I felt that was already being done by many artisans, and I needed to go beyond wrapping for a more personal expression. I found it in wire weaving.
My approach to design is spontaneous; not planned, no templates, drawings, or jigs. No drills, no solder, no glue. I keep it as organic as possible like the materials I use, simultaneously simple yet complex. As I’m creating, each design changes from moment to moment.
I hope my art evokes the simple yet complex beauty of life..
Sholeh Regna
I work in several media. I have been working as a visual artist in Somerville, Vernon Street Studios, for thirty years. I have been teaching sculpture in the Boston area since 1993.
Jewelry is what I consider art that is in a personal scale. It is accessible as one can have a selection of many styles and mediums to choose from. I enjoy the process of painting and sculpting in this scale.
Ann Schunior
My pots are contemporary; the designs I use are ancient. I've devoured books, hung out in museums and traveled the world in search of indigenous designs, particularly animal imagery. I work in a funky, old building behind my home in Randolph, MA, fire in a gas kiln, and sometimes pack my pots with leaves and seaweed and fire them in their own container (called a saggar) to make them look as time-worn as the petroglyphs that inspire me.
When I'm not in the studio, I do what I can to make it possible for traditional craftspeople around the world to earn sustainable incomes. I've published a number of articles, primarily in Studio Potter and HandEyeMagazine.org, about indigenous potters and weavers who work with little technology to create work far more elegant than my own.
Ann Szerlip
I have dabbled in all sorts of crafts over the years, from quilting, to weaving but finally found my passion in glass. I love the way that glass is transformed by fire and heat – you never really know what you’re going to get until it comes out of the kiln.
I create lampwork beads which I add to stainless steel serving pieces. I also create fused glass pieces to complement the serving pieces.
The term lampwork comes from the time when artists used oil lamps to melt the glass. Today, we use table mounted torches and the more modern term is flameworking. The process of sitting at a torch and creating beautiful colors and designs is mesmerizing. And if I need a break from the intensity of the torch I can move to the other end of my garage studio and focus on my fused glass designs. So much glass, so little time!
Elaine Yoneoka
The art of my work is to take materials and transform them into light, texture and color. There is always movement in my work to express the mystery of life, always changing and flowing.
The methods I use originated in Japan. The ceramics are raku fired. Each piece is heated very quickly, pulled out of the kiln and is exposed to fire and smoke. This creates a unique combination of various colors on each piece. The scarves are shibori dyed, a method of stitch resist. The methods I use are new modifications to traditional technique.
I have shown my work and overseas in galleries and museums including Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, and London. I have been artist in residence at MIT’s Department of Materials Science and Engineering.
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