During December, the River Gallery is showcasing jewelry by Deb Karash along with handmade silk and bamboo apparel and accessories constructed by Jen Swearington. Their exhibition, “Wearable Art,” illustrates the idea that the human body can be the perfect canvas.
Karash combines copper, silver, brass and colored pencil into wearable works of art. She begins by applying layers of colored pencil to a textured copper surface and then suspends the copper over cooled sterling silver. For her, surface, color and texture are as important as the forms themselves.
Karash says that there is something personal about wearing handmade jewelry.
“Throughout history, humans have adorned themselves in a variety of ways,” the North Carolina artist says in her statement. “I feel a part of that history, if in a very small way.”
Swearington, also from North Carolina, hand-dyes or hand-prints each piece of fabric with imagery from her sketchbook or original hand-cut stencils.