Adorn Artist Biographies 2024
ADORN
A Jewelry Invitational
ABOUT THE ARTISTS
Click on artist's name to browse jewelry or explore the entire collection here.
Linda Azar.is a studio jeweler living in the mountains of Western North Carolina. She grew up in Saint Petersburg, Florida, and received a BA in Architecture from the University of Florida. After moving to Asheville, NC, she studied metalsmithing and jewelry at Haywood Community College in Clyde, NC, and has been a full-time jewelry artist since 2013. Her jewelry compositions incorporate organic and architectural elements using sterling silver, semi-precious stones, steel, and brass. Her pieces are created using lost wax casting, traditional metal fabrication techniques, and powder coating. Linda is a member of the Southern Highland Craft Guild and has exhibited at numerous fine craft shows nationwide.
Bonnie Bishoff and J.M. Syron have been collaborative artists for 37 years. They started as furniture makers, exploring the use of polymer as a decorative surface using millefiori techniques to create highly detailed veneers. Over time they have shifted to making sculptural wall pieces and jewelry. They have exhibited in a wide range of venues from galleries - national and abroad - to fine craft shows with the Smithsonian Museum, American Crafts Council, and the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Museum exhibitions have included the Peabody Essex, The Museum of Art and Design in New York, with work in the permanent collection of the Racine Art Museum.
Peg Fetter moved to St. Louis to attend Washington University to study metalsmithing with Heikki Seppa. She received her MFA from Washington University and her BFA from Winthrop University in Rock Hill S.C. Because of her love of the medium, she teaches metalsmithing at several institutions as well. Fetter’s work combines the rawness of steel with the elegance of gold; the juxtaposition of the two elements creates the perfect foil. The jewelry looks delicate but is very strong because of the industrial materials.
Gabrielle Gould is a St. Augustine-based jeweler whose work is inspired by coastal Florida. She frequently incorporates elements such as feathers and shells in her designs that are set against a silver or high-karat gold framework. Gabrielle is the recipient of many honors including the Southern Arts Federation/National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship and the American Craft Council Award of Excellence. Her work has been featured in prominent museums and galleries across the country and recently featured on the Peabody award-winning series Craft In America, now available for streaming on PBS. (watch HERE)
Allison Kline received a BFA in Graphic Design from Savannah College of Art and Design. In addition to her graphic design business, she pursues a range of creative endeavors in her New Smyrna Beach studio, with an emphasis on creating jewelry as wearable pieces of art. Her bold, colorful work typically involves using vitreous enamel on copper, handmade silver chains, and the occasional found object.
Jennifer Letter is a silversmith who uses traditional techniques to create modern pieces in sterling silver. She first discovered this passion in San Francisco, where she learned the craft and served as a studio assistant at the Sharon Arts Studio. Her recent move to Colorado is proving to be a fertile environment for creativity, teenager-wrangling, and making shiny things.
Peter Schilling has been creating sculptural objects for over 50 years and holds a BFA and MFA in Sculpture. He now specializes in creating finely designed and crafted contemporary art in jade, stating, "I think of my jewelry as small-scale sculptural artworks that are also wearable objects."
Schilling draws inspiration from natural objects such as shells, seed pods, fruits, and nuts. Each piece is hand carved using an abrasive process of sawing, grinding, sanding, and finishing. The handwork involved gives his pendants and earrings a unique, personal feel that mass production cannot.
Wendy Thurlow earned her BFA in metalsmithing from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia and has produced one-of-a-kind and limited-edition jewelry for over 18 years. Her award-winning creations have been exhibited and published widely, and she has private collectors worldwide. Thurlow's pieces incorporate centuries-old techniques with mixed metals, surface embellishments, and high-quality stones to produce jewelry that is both organic and sculptural. Her collection is award-winning and has been praised for its individuality. Wendy's eye for composition and attention to form and detail enables her to create a distinct jewelry style.
Mary Timmer's sense of design and technical skill come together in her contemporary yet classic jewelry creations. Using sterling with gold accents for the basis of most production pieces, she adds the beautiful luster of pearls and the shimmer of precious stones to achieve a look of simple elegance. Mary received a B.F.A. in Art Education from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and continued her technical education in jewelry with classes at Penland School of Crafts and a specialists’ degree in Professional Crafts Jewelry from Haywood Community College near Asheville, NC. She is a member of The Southern Highland Craft Guild, The Piedmont Craftsmen Guild as well as The Carolina Designer Craftsmen Guild. She participates in juried art shows around the US and teaches classes at John C. Campbell Folk School in Brasstown, NC.
Victoria Varga received her BS in fine arts from Skidmore College in 1984. She works with resin and a variety of materials, precious and common, to create unexpected inlays that compliment her bold sterling silver designs. After each piece is etched, a silver rim frames the design. Layers of resin, pigments or gold leaf create rich textural inlays behind the images. Each piece is hand fabricated incorporating up to seven layers of resin creating three dimensional shadow box effects. The result is very lightweight sculptural jewelry combining modern graphics with luminous backgrounds.
Jeff & Susan Wise have been making jewelry together as a team for 35 years from their studio in Durango, Colorado. Working in high karat gold and precious stones, they create dynamic, one-of-a-kind sculptural jewelry that is also light and comfortable to wear. Their bold and elegant forms finely balance organic shapes, architectural elements, and geometry. Their award-winning work is exhibited nationally and can also be found in the permanent collections of the Smithsonian Institute National Museum of American Art, Washington DC, Boston Museum of Fine Art, and the New York Museum of Art and Design, among others.