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Melanie Bentley Shockley
I started my artistic adventure 30 years ago as an artist who worked in a variety of mediums with clay winning out in the end. My clay exploration included sculpture, functional/decorative pottery and raku beads but since the year 2000, precious metal clay (PMC) has become my passion and it ultimately led me into jewelry design and (surprisingly) into opening a bead store though my first love will always be "making stuff" in my studio. The common thread in all of my designs, whether sculptural, functional, or jewelry is the simple organic nature of the pieces I make. Less is more. I strive to achieve an understated approach to any element I work with in order to maintain and honor the simplicity of the material itself. In the case of my found object and PMC jewelry designs, I employ combinations of earthly elements such as semi-precious stones, precious metal clay components, freshwater pearls, vintage beads, brass and oxidized sterling silver chains, and last but not least, found objects in partnership to create one-of-a-kind high mileage designs that can be worn with jeans or a "little black dress".
Current classes:
- Intro to Precious Metal Clay
-
Felted Flowers (Wet Felting)
- Hollow-Form Precious Metal Clay Beads
- Introduction to Resin Jewelry |
