Artful Adornments

Ever since 3000 B.C., when the Pharaohs layered on magnificent bracelets, pendants, necklaces, rings, armlets, head ornaments and collars of gold, people have been decorating themselves with body adornments.

In fact, the jewelry industry in the United States is somewhere around a $40-billion-a-year business.

Prices range all the way from hundreds of thousands of dollars for a single piece in an exclusive jewelry store to inexpensive, mass-produced, plastic knock-offs sold in chain retail and wholesale stores.

Somewhere in the space between Tiffany’s and Wal-Mart are the craft shows, art galleries and small retail shops where one can find individually handcrafted pieces designed and fabricated by artisans.

The Inland Northwest is rich with such talented jewelry makers.

Several local galleries and shops carry handcrafted jewelry, and this weekend a dozen artists are showing at Spokane Art School’s Yuletide (see list).

The variety of jewelry and techniques varies widely. Some are simple pieces while others may take hours, days or even weeks to perfect.

One master goldsmith who takes weeks to perfect each of her sculptural pieces is Jody Sahlin, an artist with 50 years’ experience.

Three of Sahlin’s architectural pendants are included in the “Regional Showcase” on view in the Art School’s Huneke Gallery as part of Yuletide.

“My focus has always been on design,” says the Spokane artist. “Each piece I make is evaluated for balance, proportion and use of material, as well as for wearability.”

Many of Sahlin’s pieces feature ebony or other hardwood combined with gold, silver or bronze, and sometimes semiprecious stones or acrylic.

A couple of years back Sahlin and her daughter, weaver Janet Sahlin, collaborated on a pendant series of intricately loomed beadwork set in silver or gold frames.

Another jewelry maker who works with beads, but in a very different way, is Amy Mickelson of Spokane.

“I like to make big, chunky jewelry with lots of color,” says Mickelson. “My favorites are the more sculptural beaded-beads.”

Mickelson is at Yuletide this weekend with a booth full of bright necklaces, bracelets and earrings.

“I am intrigued by the endless possibilities of color combinations that beadwork allows,” she says. “Currently I am experimenting with more free-form bead-weaving techniques and incorporating wire into my pieces.”

Another artist at Yuletide is Deborah Ellis of Mead, who specializes in fine art jewelry and ornamentation.

“I love to incorporate texture, depth and color by using different materials and techniques,” says Ellis. “Most of my designs are inspired by nature, incorporating the organic and the geometric.”

As an extension of her jewelry work, Ellis is collaborating with metalsmith Laura Dahl of Nine Mile Falls, Wash., in making small treasure boxes, purses and other forms of small functional art.

“We incorporate metal, stones and other materials we use in making jewelry into these pieces,” says Ellis. These works also can be seen at Yuletide.

Also at Yuletide are Margot Casstevens and Kurt Madison, the husband-and-wife team comprising Punctum Studios.

The Spokane Valley duo have worked in a number of mediums and styles. Madison crafts contemporary pin and necklace pieces using a variety of metals and glass.

Casstevens comes to jewelry with a sculpture and ceramic background and considers her jewelry work to be an extension of those processes. “I think of my work as little, tiny sculptures,” she says.

Says Mickelson: “The best place to find interesting art jewelry is at shows and festivals. People can walk around and see a variety of styles and materials.”