Metalsmith Magazine. Vol 45 No 3

Influence and inspiration are sort of leaky concepts— sometimes we seek them out and sometimes they find their way in unbeckoned. This is especially true in our modern lives, which are overrun with technologies for both bringing information, ideas, and images into our awareness and then sending our own back out.

For example, text messages, the now-ubiquitous format that Zach Mellman-Carsey plays with in his piece for Voice & Vision. Or perhaps the internet memes in Findings that provide a bit of catharsis through humor and communal commiseration. Both columns tauntingly engage with power imbalances and wealth disparity. Laura Fortune’s playful, cartoon-like cloisonné enamels in Fresh Off the Bench pay homage to a time when television sets spilled forth media spectacles (like those of daytime talk shows) and before we carried the internet around in our pockets.

At their best, these technologies bring us closer to each other and into community. For example, this issue kicks off a multipart editorial residency with the international artist collective Crucible, whose members span the globe. Think of it as a publication within a publication that will unfold issue by issue for the next while. And Olivia Shih sat down with Santa Fe–based jewelry artist Alison Antelman (via Zoom) so she could share some gems of wisdom from her career of three decades and counting.

When the way forward isn’t clearly marked, or when well-trodden paths aren’t accessible, we have to make our own way. Sarah Rachel Brown shares a highly personal account of upending her life to become a digital nomad, finding her way through new countries and learning a new language. Rebecca Schena surveys both longtime metalsmiths and some relative newcomers about the many definitions of what it means to be “self-taught.” And we’ve curated LOOK to bring in more work by folks who took their learning into their own hands.

We’ve also created what we hope is an engaging activity that will help you help us in considering plans to again review exhibitions. Check it out on pages 8 and 9—we challenge you to tell us what you think: editor@snagmetalsmith.org

/ Adriane Dalton, Editor.


Features:
- A Jewelry Studio Is a Language I Understand. A US jeweler and podcaster turned digital nomad finds her footing abroad with help from the international jewelry community by Sarah Rachel Brown
- School Is in the Mistakes Pile: Lessons from Self-Taught Metalsmiths. Artists who carved their own educational pathways share their triumphs and challenges by Rebecca Schena

Departments:

• Foreword
• Crit Group: Should Metalsmith Bring Back Exhibition Reviews?
• Contributors
• Voice & Vision by Zach Mellman-Carsey
• Findings: Bench Jeweler Memes by Lauren Eckert
• Fresh off the Bench: Laura Fortune
• Ask Me Anything: Alison Antelman by Olivia Shih
• CRUCIBLE X METALSMITH: Introduction
• Look: Going Their Own Way By The Editorial Team
• Event Calendar: Happenings
• In Memoriam

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