Links
Hydraulic die Forming for jewelers and metalsmiths
First published in 1993, the new (2016) Fifth Edition has larger photos, updated illustrations and a larger gallery section of work by successful artists. The content and basic design of the book remains the same, offering practical advice on hydraulic equipment, basic information about the materials and processes, and step-by-step directions for making and using dies. Lists of jewelry and metalsmithing books, craft organizations, local guilds and other resources have also been updated. For more information or to purchase, click here.
At the Omai Mine in Guyana, 3.4 million cubic meters of cyanide rich mine waste was released when a tailings dam failed.
The price of gold (2004)
The flow of gold throughout history has caused us to be obsessed, intoxicated, inspired, and exalted. It has, from the beginning of history, been a dream, a myth, a symbol of something beyond itself. Goldsmiths and artisans around the world esteem it as the most beautiful and desirable of metals; warm and glowing, malleable, ductile. The ecologic, economic, social, and political price of gold is far costlier that we imagine. We are in the midst of a new gold rush, one that is consuming wilderness areas, contaminating watersheds, destroying ecosystems, and imperiling the economics of poor nations and the wellbeing of indigenous people throughout the world. The article was first published in Metalsmith. Download PDF
In western culture, jewels are traditionally the gift of a man to the woman, perhaps as a symbol of physical possession. Numerous jewelrey ads show women in a state of ecstasy, swooning or appearing disheveled.
Jewelry: its not a pretty picture (1991)
Status is not the only, or even the primary function of jewelry. In our culture, it works to symbolize and sustain the gender hierarchy. Jewelry provides ritual objects for paying homage to the it. Jewelry is not as much about love and beauty it is about power. Jewelry sympolizes the unequal positions of women and men in our culture. It symbolizes men’s claim to intellectual superiority and women’s supposedly primitive nature. It serves as a visual reminder of men’s economic power and women’s dependence upon men. It promotes and perpetuates almost all the misogynist myths and stereotypes about women that evolved during the last century. This article was first published in Metalsmith. Download PDF
A FEMINIST PERSPECTIvE (1987)
The first feminist was Christine de Pisan. She began writing in defense of women in 1399. Yet the total absence of any mention of feminism, or the significance of women’s involvement, in the current American craft movement or in metalsmithing suggests that there are issues that have not simply been overlooked, but avoided. This paper was presented at the annual conference of the Society of North American Goldsmiths at Cranbrook Academy of Art, June, 1987 Download PDF