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Mystic Moons
Fire Mountain Gems and Beads' Jewelry-Making Contest 2020 featuring Metals
Gold Medal Prize Winner
Category: Metal Clay
Vintage Chainmaille Wedding
Fire Mountain Gems and Beads' Jewelry-Making Contest 2012 featuring Metal
Silver Medal Prize Winner
Category: Wedding and Holiday
Wedding Fans
Fire Mountain Gems and Beads' Jewelry-Making Contest 2011 featuring Metal Clay, Metal Beads, Wirework or Chain
Bronze Medal Prize Winner
Category: Wedding |
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Meet the Designer-Artist
Where do you live?
I live in warm and sunny California! I have lived here for nearly 8 years. Before moving to California, I lived in Pennsylvania, as well as Massachusetts.
What inspires you as a designer-artist?
I'm inspired by everything around me, both natural and manmade. Others' designs are frequently a source of inspiration, though I always like to make things my own. Even if I pick up a kit or a book to learn a new technique, I never make any individual featured project, but rather take elements I like from many and combine them in my own way to make something uniquely mine!
What medium do you work with mostly?
Metal in all forms--sheet, clay, wire and more. Chainmaille is my go-to technique, but I love combining it with elements from sheet metal, metal clay, and wirework along with beads and just about every jewelry-making technique that interests me.
Why did you become enchanted with this style of jewelry-making?
I have a college degree in Astrophysics, as well as an intricate knowledge and understanding of computers--math is very much my friend! Chainmaille is very mathematical, and metal-working is very scientific (hello chemistry!), so for me, working with metal in all its forms is just a creative extension of my education (and it's a lot more fun than writing research papers!).
Where and How do you sell your jewelry?
I have an Etsy shop, and I also sell by word of mouth.
What is the name of the piece you submitted with your success story?
Wedding Fans
What inspired this design?
I saw an interesting chainmaille weave that was derived of the one I used in this necklace--European 4-in-1, but the designer of that weave made it curve in a rather unique way. I thought the concept was interesting and decided to make something even more unique. Wedding Fans was the result of that experiment.
How did it come together?
I almost never completely plan out a design before I start working on it. Often, my designs begin with one thing I want to do, and grow to become the finished piece, which is sometimes 180 degrees from what I first envisioned. Each piece inspires me along the way, and so they tend to define themselves as I work.
View all of Amanda's designs in the Gallery of Designs. |
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