Nancy Linkin

Nancy Linkin Jewelry

"The essential quality of my work is harmony of form. I want my sculptures to stir the observer's inner sense of beauty. To be peaceful in their simplicity. I want my jewelry to soothe. To be elegant, casual, and comfortable “ like fine silk and soft blue jeans."

Nancy's passion for metalsmithing began over 35 years ago. She was captivated by the age old process of forming the metal directly with hammers. "The hammer is simply an extension of my hand..." Her exploration of the traditional smithing techniques, raising holloware and forging, started with traditional vessels forms. Soon she began to push the envelope both technically and visually, leaving the rotation form and functional form behind. Asymmetrical table top sculptures and wall pieces were a natural progression for her nature based aesthetic. "Natural forms have always fascinated and excited me: plant forms, earth forms, human forms."

Sculptural jewelry was the next step, taking the sculpture off the pedestal and putting it on then body. Nancy did a series of one of a kind sculptural bracelets over the course of two years in the mid 1980s. The tremendous success of this direction encouraged her to repeat the designs, adding earrings, neck pieces, and pins to her line of bracelets. Over the last 20 years the line has grown with over 80 different designs, each made in a variety of sizes, available in both a Sterling & 18K combination and solid 18K gold.

To create each piece, flat patterns are cut from sheets of gold and silver and hammered systematically over specialized tools. Once a piece has been hammered into its final form, it's filed and sanded, then buffed to a high polish. This fine finish accentuates the simple sculptural lines of her jewelry.

Nancy in her studio.

Nancy working on creating jewelry.

Bracelet

Earrings

Lela Kay "Show in Red"

Lela Kay
Show in Red
February 1-28, 2014


Red has so many shades and nuances that I find it to always be new,
fresh and engaging. The color red is a metaphor for life: it is vibrant,
strong, passionate, bold, and intense, makes a statement and stands
out. When I paint in red I am truly absorbed in my work. As an artist, I
love all colors, but painting in red is really my signature color.

As an artist, my work is constantly evolving. This is by intention and by
choice. I can’t imagine painting the same ideas over and over again; my
art would become stale a boring. Painting is a journey in progress for
me, a chance to explore, take risks, challenge myself and grow. Art
emulates my life, my journey, my goal to always adapt and learn from
the past and move towards something new and exciting.

This red series of paintings represents a new direction in my abstract art.
I am digging deeper within myself, sorting through all the confusion,
reinventing the old me and discovering new layers of relevance and
meaning in my life. I push and probe to open up untouched passages,
hiding others, deciding what inner truths to reveal and what to keep
mysterious and veiled. Each painting is an autobiography of where I am
at that present moment and reflects feelings, thoughts and emotions.
For that reason, no two paintings I create are alike or can be alike.

Since moving into a new studio, my art has taken on a new direction.
The space is larger, with expansive windows, and the openness allows
me to be freer in expressing my ideas with larger, bolder gestures. I am
less inhibited and more open. Painting and creating has been a life long
passion and necessity. I am always painting and creating something
new, always thinking about the next painting.