The Bent Wire

 A native Ohioan, Jackie has been a resident in the Toledo area for over 30 years.  She has raised three children to adulthood and as a trained medical technologist, has worked at several of the area hospitals. During this time she has always been interested in the arts.  While raising a family she pursued needlecrafts such as knitting, crocheting and cross-stitching in her spare time.  She now realizes that the transition from fiber to wire was a natural step in her development.

    Historical jewelry design accomplished without fabrication or casting has always intrigued Jackie.  Several years ago she acquired wire-skills independently of any formal training and has been designing wearable art ever since. Using precious metal wire she designs a “light and airy” jewelry style that is both unique and functional. Gathering inspiration from natural form and architectural geometry, each piece incorporates the repetition of line and the use of negative space.  To represent the cyclical nature of life, she incorporates a “spiral of life” in most designs.       

   Recently completing a Masters of Fine Arts at Bowling Green State University has fulfilled a life-long dream. Now fabrication, casting and other metal smithing techniques are also a part of her skills.  The main thrust of her master’s work has been to revere the fragility and preciousness of living things.  By incorporating wispy fibers, feathers, yarns, threads or other textile-like fibers as an integral part of a wearable object, the object’s surrounding environmental dynamics bring the piece to “life.” The feathers and fibers respond by undulating and shifting much like the natural movement of sea and plant life.  She reveals a whimsical delight as evidenced by her choice of materials and designs while her strong attention to detail is a tribute to the complexity and intimate details found in nature.

While working hard at her craft, she has been a multiple award winner at Crosby Gardens Art Festival as well as earning various awards in Michigan and other locales in Ohio.  She has also been a finalist in the international competitions for the “Saul Bell Award Design Competition” and the “Niche Award”.  Besides entering exhibitions and craft shows, images of her fabricated work have been published in four books; 1000 Rings Juried by Robert Ebendorf, Lark Books, 2002, The Craft of Silversmithing by Alexandra P Austin, Lark Books, 2004, Fabulous  Woven Jewelry, by Mary Hettmandperger, Lark Books, 2005 and The Art and Craft of Making Jewelry, by Joanna Gollberg, Lark Books, 2006.

    Jackie continues to grow as an artist as she brings a new interpretation of life’s experiences to her wearable art and objects.