Silver, stones and beads: Five designers display works of multi-faceted jewelry

Sunday, August 4, 2013

photo Local artist Marian Kern has a necklace on display at In-Town Gallery. Five artists are participating in the jewelry exhibit.

MARIAN KERNYears designing: 13.Her style: After having established a career in the Georgia Department of Labor, she began taking courses in silversmithing before falling in love with beading. Her necklaces, bracelets and earrings feature handcrafted lampwork beads, seed beads, Swarovski crystals, pearls and semiprecious stones.Artist's statement: "Growing up with a mother who loved creating beautiful things helped launch me into the wonderful world of beads."Pricing: $65-$450.

photo Local artist Eleanor Goodson's ring is part of the jewelry exhibit at In-Town Gallery in Chattanooga.

ELEANOR GOODSONYears designing: 25Her style: A self-taught artist, she read everything the Chattanooga Public Library had on silversmithing before taking classes from the Florida Society of Goldsmiths, where she learned the ancient craft of chains and granulation. She works in fine silver and 22-karat gold. She will be showing twisted rings with ruby, garnet or sapphire gems.Artist's statement: "There is something about going from a lump of metal to a finished chain or ring that's exciting."Pricing: $15-$900.

photo Bracelets by local artist Mary Clor displayed at In-Town Gallery's jewelry exhibit.

MARY CLORHer style: Engraving sterling silver feathers using Southwestern methods accented with turquoise, fused glass and natural stones. Working in her solar-powered studio on Lookout Mountain, Clor's latest collection is her interpretation of the Hopi and Zuni techniques she learned.Artist's statement: "My former hobby of hang-gliding allowed me to fly like a bird. Now my art symbolically reflects a oneness with the sky."Prices: $50-$450.

photo A unisex necklace by local artist Laura Brock is displayed at In-Town Gallery on Friday in Chattanooga. Five artists are participating in the gallery's jewelry exhibit.

LAURA BROCKYears designing: After 30 years in the computer field, she started metalsmithing classes in 2007, then changed careers to jewelry in 2012.Her style: Geometric or repeating elements in silver embellished with moonstones, lapis, black onyx or black mother of pearl. Her primary work is pendants, but she also offers rings, earrings and bracelets. She also has a new line of men's jewelry.Artist's statement: "I want people to look at my jewelry and say it is clean, elegant, pleasing to the eye, well thought through and well-finished. I want it said that I do precision work."Pricing: $85-$500.

photo A necklace by local artist Barbara Murnan displayed at In-Town Gallery.

BARBARA MURNANYears designing: 7.Her style: Combines copper with sterling silver enhanced with ammonite, flourite, jasper, crystals, pearls and natural items she picks up on her trips, for example, ram's horn found in Iceland or flint from Poland.Artist's statement: "It's feisty jewelry, not for the faint of heart. Jewelry should be an extension of your inner being. It is the final stroke of creativity on the palette, which is you."Pricing: $45-$195.

IF YOU GOWhat: Jewelry Collective.Where: In-Town Gallery, 26-A Frazier Ave.When: 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday-Saturday, 1-5 p.m. Sundays, through August.Admission: Free.For more information: 267-9214.

One trained in Hopi and Zuni Indian jewelry-making techniques. Another spent three decades of her life in the computer field before she put down her mouse and picked up a soldering torch.

Jewelry designers Mary Clor, Laura Brock, Barbara Murnan, Marian Kern and Eleanor Goodson, all members of the In-Town Gallery, are collaborating in an exhibit at the gallery that runs through the end of August.

"This is the first group of jewelers to show together in the gallery," says In-Town President Helen Burton, "but it's not the first show for any of them. They either showed as new gallery members or partnered with another artist for an exhibit. People are fascinated when they see these original pieces."

Watch these jewelers at work today when they will give demonstrations from 1 to 5 p.m.