FORGING IDEAS

Take the world’s oldest art form and make it relevant in the 21st century - that’s the challenge of modern jewelry makers and metalsmiths, and one we embrace at MECA. In one of our most discipline-intensive studies, Metalsmithing & Jewelry majors develop a deep understanding of the intimate connection between object and body. You’ll not only learn to make beautiful objects - but how to make meaning. The tools and techniques you master will come together as you create in wood, marble, fabric, glass and less traditional materials. Throughout your studies, you’ll learn the vast history of the art form, question the meaning of material value, the concept of power and even the definition of jewelry. Ultimately, you’ll discover how to captivate people with your metalwork that will capture your ideas and last for millennia.

Chloe Darke '11

Hometown

Bio

Chloe Darke is from Groveland, Massachusetts where she received great support from her family, teachers, and peers to pursue her interest in art. A senior Metals major, she anticipates receiving her BFA degree in May 2011. She has attended workshops in forging and enameling taught by David Clemons and Jamie Bennett, respectively. In 2010 her work was displayed at the Institute of Contemporary Art’s Thinking Outside the Body exhibition; she also received an Honorable Mention for her work in MECA’s 2010 Merit Show. Chloe’s post-graduation plans are to continue her studio practice and to earn an MFA in Metals. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, writing, and singing classical music, all of which feed her desire to create art.

Where was your first introduction to Metalsmithing and Jewelry?
During my first year here at MECA!  Previously I had only done 2D work and figured I would major in something 2D-related.  When signing up for courses, I wanted to learn something different and Metals sounded fun and interesting. I’ve been hooked ever since.

How has your work changed since coming to MECA?
I do a lot more research now than I ever did before and pull from sources other than just the visual arts, especially history and literature. My work has also become more personal for me and I feel that I have a very intimate relationship with my pieces because of that.

What motivates you to make both Jewelry and Hollowware?
I am mostly motivated by the processes of making.  I am interested in smithing techniques and utilize these when creating work.  Smithing is such an archaic technology, but it is still a technique used to make modern art and therefore expands and enriches the history of the practice.  This still really amazes me and also forces me to consider how my art will contribute to the history of this technique.  And when it comes down to it I really like stakes, hammers, anvils, and fire and I actually enjoy the physical labor that smithing requires.

What year has been the biggest learning curve?
It’s hard to pinpoint an exact year because I’ve learned so much here, but I feel I learned the most Junior year coming into the major.  I began to recognize ideas that I was really interested in pursuing and how to explore a consistent concept to create a body of work that I can feel proud of.  I also learned better time management, which led to me feeling healthy and rested even though I was averaging many more hours in the studio than in previous years.  That has also definitely paid off this year.

What are your plans for after school?
I want to attend some workshops and artist residencies around the country, travel, build up a strong portfolio, and in a couple of years apply to graduate school to receive my MFA.  No matter what I do for a career, I want to have my own studio practice so I am making plans to purchase equipment and find a space for that.

Work

Sharon Portelance

After receiving her BFA in Jewelry and Silversmithing in 1982 from the Portland School of Art (now Maine College of Art), Professor Portelance traveled the country, ultimately settling in Seattle, Washington, where she began her studio practice and discovered what was to become her future in teaching at the Pratt Fine Arts Center in Seattle.

In 1989, Professor Portelance returned to the east coast to attend graduate school at the State University of New York at New Paltz, receiving her MFA degree in Metal in 1992. While in the Mid-Hudson Valley, she maintained her studio practice, producing provocative work that was exhibited though out the United States. In 1996 to 1998, she taught at both Southwest Texas State University and the University of Texas in Austin; she was also invited to teach metal skills to a group of indigenous people in Michoacan, Mexico, and to lecture at institutions worldwide, including The Akademie de Bildenden Kunste in Munich, Germany, and Massachusetts College of Art in Boston. Since then she has been a guest lecturer throughout the United States and in the Czech Republic and Canada.

Professor Portelance has been teaching at MECA since 1999. She maintains an active studio practice, exhibiting both nationally and internationally. Her work can be viewed in collections at New Mexico State University Museum in Las Cruces, The Samuel Dorskey Museum in New Paltz, New York and the Okresni Muzeum Ceskeho raje in Turnov, Czech Republic. Her work has been featured in *Ornament Magazine*, *Metalsmith Magazine, *and Lark Book publications (“1000 Rings” and “500 Bracelets”). Her latest body of work explores the relationship of the body’s interior and exterior, while continuing an ongoing investigation into the nature of jewelry and how it can operate both privately and publicly.

Education

BFA in Jewelry and Silversmithing, Portland School of Art (now Maine College of Art); MFA in Metal, State University of New York at New Paltz

Publications

Gallery

Metalsmithing & Jewelry Faculty - Sharon Portelance

Seth Gould '09

Hometown

Bio

WHY MECA?
I knew I wanted to go to either an art school or a liberal arts school and study art. I visited almost every art school on the East Coast - some big schools and some little ones. MECA was my first choice.

HOW DID YOU DISCOVER METALSMITHING?
It was on my tour of MECA. It was a private tour for just my family and me. I had never seen metalsmithing before. First semester freshman year, I signed up.

WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST PROJECT?
Learning how to saw - literally just cutting metal with a jewelers saw. The assignment was cutting two small squares of metal and making a thoughtful composition that would work when the two pieces overlapped.

HOW’D IT TURN OUT?
Not very well! But it made me want to get good at it. I was like, okay, I can do this.

ANY DOWNSIDE TO YOUR CHOSEN MAJOR?
I had to get glasses because I work so close to my pieces.

Work

What are some of the career paths for someone who majors in Metalsmithing & Jewelry?
Become a bench jeweler for a jewelry store, set up a gallery and studio, become a self-sustaining one of a kind jeweler or production jeweler. Teach art, become a manager within a large  jewelry corporation, go to graduate school, become a watchmaker.

How do you prepare your students for the real world?
Beyond our professional practice course students are also required each year as a major to apply for a juried national student exhibition, We encourage students to do internships and we also work with local jewelers and metalsmiths to provide competitive opportunities for our students.

Once a major, students learn to develop their own studio practice. Students are expected to work more independently while learning  to generate, develop and execute work from self-determined areas of inquiry.

What are some examples of what your alums are doing?
Alum examples: gallery owners, teachers, studio artists, watchmaker in Switzerland, designing portable water filters for third world countries, many students go to grad school Students also leave the institution with such skills as technical proficiency (the ability to manipulate and construct with materials, are visually acute, gain critical capabilities, and are creative problem solvers. These skills can be applied to many fields in the arts, in industry and in an entrepreneurial business practice. Our students are empowered to think creatively and many have the ability to link unorthodox connections between seemingly unrelated ideas. This kind of insight regardless of what they choose to do, encourages new ways of thinking and can solve problems at large.

What are the prerequisites to major in Metalsmithing & Jewelry?
Students must complete MJ101 and any of the four rotating elective courses that include Casting, Tableware, enameling or “More than one” (production).

What unique skills do your students get?
Students learn how to learn.  They learn how to design, develop ideas and execute them with skill. They learn how to research and pursue answers to questions on their own.

There is a strong emphasis in developing all aspects of ones work that include: Strong technical skills and design sensibility in relationship to one’s idea. developing on tools and mechanics (the way things work).

Will I be able to incorporate other media or interests with my work as a Metalsmithing & Jewelry major?
As students move through the program they are also encouraged to explore non-traditional materials and their potential meaning in relationship to jewelry and hollowware. Students learn how to transfer the technical and problem solving skills they learned in metal to manipulate new materials. Students have incorporated multiple materials in their work that include felt, wood, orange peels, pantyhose, plastic and much more.

What are some of the classes that are offered in your department?
After gaining basic skills in MJ 101 the 1st and 2nd year elective classes focus on introducing students to multiple aspects of the field that include enameling, casting, tableware and production.  All assignments address technique, design considerations and concept in relationship to the diverse formats of jewelry and hollowware.

What  are some of the unique aspects of this program?
Students begin by learning how to view metal as a plastic, malleable, seductive material. All of the techniques that students need to begin expressing their ideas is covered in Metals I and II.  These techniques are taught through ideas and concepts.

What are the faculty like?
Our faculty are working artists who bring diverse expertise and aspects of the field to the classroom. Their voices both compliment one another and provide varying viewpoints.

What are your facilities like?
Facilities include general elective classroom space with enameling facilities, a forming and casting room, a finishing room, and majors studio space. Our studio is well equipped to learn techniques required to become a successful jeweler and metalsmith. These techniques include basic jewelery and metalsmithing skills as well as specific equipment necessary to learn fomring, rainsing, enameling, and casting. Our majors share a generous studio space where each students has their own bench for two years.

What are some examples of internships your students have done in the past?
Portland has a wealth of self-employed jewelers in the Portland area and many of our students have pursued internships with them. For example Folia, a local gallery and jewelry shop, has hired many of our students to do internships. Patti Daunis, another locally successful jeweler who does shows throughout the country also hires students. These students are exposed to a number of new technical skills and begin to see the inside operations of what it takes to run and own ones own business.  If a student is interested in developing a production line we will work with them to find the appropriate person to do an internship with so that they also learn the many aspects of designing for production. This year three students will be doing internships with the Metalsmithing & Jewelry faculty over the summer. Students will learn about various ways in which different artists pursue their work and learn new technical skills as well.

How many students (juniors and seniors) do you typically have in your major?
Anywhere from 10-18 students.