| Trunk Show Featuring: David Urso Friday March 28th and Saturday March 29th |
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David Urso’s highly sophisticated resin and sterling silver jewelry is a visual feast of color, form and surface. Sensual organic shapes and a painterly use of hand-tinted resins, which are applied in solids and patterns, characterize the work.
His signature collection is created by experimenting with natural herbs and spices as pigment, sometimes combining them with pastels and mixing them directly into clear resin. The resulting color range is vibrant, earthy, and beautifully textured.
Recently David has been using woods and clear resin. His new collection features the elements of turquoise and birch, while incorporating Native American and Mexican influences to create his own contemporary designs.
As always each piece is entirely handmade in his studio in Ulster County, New York.
- David Urso
10% off our David Urso collection during the Trunk Show!
Trunk Show
April 25th and 26th
Featuring: Cynthia Liebler Saari
Woodstock, Ct.
Artist Bio:
Cynthia Saari started making glass beads in 1995 following work in textile and small business. Her art wearable jewelry pieces are sold and exhibited in numerous galleries and art museums in the U.S.; she teaches and consults nationally about the ancient craft of glass beadmaking and has work included in several publications. She recently curated a show of lampwork glass for a well-known New England gallery. Her studio is in a rural part of Connecticut, where all work is made and designed by her personally.
Artist Statement:
Like many artists, I am influenced by things in the natural landscape such as patterns and colors in tree bark and branches. Art and architecture, particularly Asian design, has found its way into my aesthetic. Using opaque glass with metal leaf, enamel powders, and threads of pulled glass enables me to create and “organic” appeal, building each bead in a process similar to layering a painters’ canvas (though materials are worked in a 1200 degree flame). Having the technical ability to express an artistic idea in a three dimensional form is the challenge and reward for me.
The art of glass beadmaking is centuries old. The beads in my pieces are made by winding molten glass around a steel rod, using hand tools and adding decorative elements. Originally, oil lamps were used to melt glass, while today’s beadmakers commonly uses a small gas torch. Beads are kiln annealed for stability before made into jewelry. A labor-intensive process to create these small works of art, each bead is a unique and individually hand made. Larger “focal beads” may take up to an hour to complete (exclusive of annealing).
Glass beads are combined in finished jewelry using semi-precious stones such as agate, carnelian, onyx, chalcedony, opal, garnet, and turquoise. Findings are made of sterling silver and gold-filled wire. I personally select accent stones in my travels to various gem shows, occasionally adding vintage beads to my one-of-a-kind “jumble necklaces”.
- Cynthia Liebler Saari