32.5_MEGAN CORWIN.CB.FINAL.JDFINAL9/3/093:29PMPage48

48 ORNAMENT 32.5.2009 All photographs by Doug Yaple, except where noted. where except Yaple, Doug by 38.10x7.62centime photographs patination, All fabrication, wconstruction, goldbi-;hollo eighteenkarat pinsofster , eighteen karat ascentedoilbottlewithninehair , VASEWITH NINEHAIRPINS, atwork. 35.56x NANCYMEGAN CORWIN patination, 1999. hollow s, construction, 12.70 x5.08centimeter repoussé, goldplating;chasing, lingsilver, pinstopper ofster A DILEMMAscentedoilbottlewith hair F il. Feeling thatthesubjectneededfullerandmore up-to- .” as describes which Corwin “a to the gift published in1994, Ancient Technique Modern Applications, with includingMarcia Lewis’s self-published sources, andadornment. objects of metalsinto those centuries-old methodsfortransforming a powerful desire to create abeautifulandusefulstudy of laborand many years of of thefruit she unveiled thework, thewelcoming andlecture atHaystack, hall building, Seated intheGateway bepublishedlaterwhich in2009. will book, chasing andrepoussé. she isacelebrated master andteacher: which tools andapassionfortwo techniques of of array a wide her work, samplesof arrivedattheseasidecampuswith Corwin metalcrafts, atalllevels Aseasonedinstructor of well prepared. The inspiration forthebookcamefromThe inspiration anumber of for herfirst proof alsobrought alongthegalley Corwin Seattle-based metalsmithNancy Megan came Corwin thispastJune, Maine, Crafts inDeerIsle, School of or herfirstteaching stintattheHaystack Mountain Chasing andRepoussé: Methods Ancient andModern, N ANCY M Chasing: EGAN How did she end up an author, artist andteacher? artist How didsheend upanauthor, andteacher asany anartist individual inthemetalsfield. isas And Corwin asthechasers usethem.” individual who are “as shenotes, Chasingtools, twenty-five years ago. Wisconsin more than school attheUniversityin graduate of thetechniquewhen shefirstlearned from EleanorMoty findtheexperience asempowering andthey asshedid tools, teaches studentshowCorwin easyitisto make theirown In herclassesandworkshops, the tools and how to make them. aspecialfocuson with techniques are featured andillustrated, fromlearn theprocess “and getexcited aboutit.” experience whocan alllevels of a teaching tool forjewelers of Her as foremost serve hopeisthatthebookwill aspect. derives thegreatestCorwin pleasure from itsinstructional work reproduced throughout, Repoussé andthediversity of chasing andrepoussé from around theworld. examples of gathering thejeweler gotto work, techniques, literature onthe of andrecognizing adearth date treatment, ota n,dtie tpb-tpepaain fthe detailedstep-by-step explanations of To thatend, sectionof While thegallery pleasedwith C ORWIN Carl Little Chasing and es 1999. ters, ling 32.5_MEGAN CORWIN.CB.FINAL.JDFINAL9/3/093:29PMPage49 olg) Theschool offered acreate-your-own so curriculum College). (which hadjustchanged itsnamefrom Presbyterian Florida Iwas inlove metalwork.” with silver, minute Itouched apiece of “From the recalls, As Corwin chose thelatter. They . ceramics or anymore andoffered thestudentsachoice: Noffke decidedhedidnotwantto teach the course, way through About half Noffke. metalsmithGary class with thembeganinadrawing Oneof soon discovered newpassions. but she ethnomusicology, Shewasstudying Stetson University. her lifeandwork. through took An place imprinting thathascarried detritus. sticksandother remembers outof buildinglittlestructures She rode horseback through) thatcaptured herfancy. It wasthewoods sheroamed (andsometimes playwrights. interestednot particularly in thelandscapepainters or theyoung woman was Growing colony, upinarenowned art Philadelphia. of town asmall north Pennsylvania, New Hope, eeig 01 01 etmtr,2004. 10.16xcentimeters, boulderopal;chas silver, bezeling, FAN BROOCHofsterling 2009. 7.62x3.81 inches, of LIGHTBROOCH bezeling, 2000. repoussé, s, chasing, black 7.62x3.18centimeter ; silver, sterling fabrication, repoussé, goldleaf;chasing, paint, chestnut, lingsilver, CHESTNUT BROOCHofster Two years later, Corwin transferred to Eckard transferred College Corwin Two years later, to headedto attend Florida Corwin After school, high herearlylifein spentmuch of Corwin inNewBorn Jersey, A P SINFOR ASSION rings in a morning andseveral inamorning hundredrings inthecourse remembers making fifty Corwin produce largequantities. housejewelers The were required to silver to goldinayear. shewent from Her continued: learning a Boston company. comes through allthetime.” love “her forwhatshedoes states; Corwin a great teacher,” “She’s Fine . theMuseum of 2007)attheSchool of 31.1, metalsmithLindaKindlerwith Priest ( At shetook classes night punch cards). in thedays of at theHarvard BusinessReview To herself, support similar to it. some timeinLondonandwanted to live inan city American to figure out.” “and things trying states, Corwin camaraderie,” “Ienjoyed the launched ateachingunusual arrangement career. This wonder. sherecalls with my grades,” up giving friends “Iended Shewaseven given abudget; teach thecourse herself. to theschool encouraged Corwin instructor, avisiting with After run ashort-lived trial she requested acourse injewelry. Some time later, Corwin landed ajobasbench jeweler at Corwin Some timelater, she hadspent movedFrom Corwin to Florida Boston; T ECHNIQUE (she wasaphenomenaltypist she took asecre Ornament tarial position tarial 24 1999; 22.4, n,repoussé, ing,

49 ORNAMENT 32.5.2009 32.5_MEGAN CORWIN.CB.FINAL.JDFINAL9/3/093:29PMPage50

50 ORNAMENT 32.5.2009 of Wisconsin at Madison. She studied with Eleanor Shestudiedwith Wisconsin atMadison. of school andchose theMFA attheUniversity program production liked to andpeople buy itenough it.” somethingImadewasputinto “It wasalovely feeling: herdesigns. in downtown Boston oneof wearing seeingsomeone sheremembers of To thethrill thisday, sometimes thepiece would beproduced andmarketed. and to timeshewasasked anornament, to design From time Corwin’shelped affirm passionforthe field. piece.individual calls it—someonewould arequest come foran inwith she Every once inawhile—“the candy part,” aday. of Corwin finallydecidedsheneededto goto graduate Corwin thework Despite theheavy production schedule, eosé yrui rs orming, hydraulic pressf repoussé, gold;chasing, twenty-four karat silver, keumboo keumboo Below: 2004. tubechain, centimeters 35.56 piece, scenter 17.78 centimeter 30.48x bezeling, fabrication, repoussé, chasing, ; usy, emeralddr silver, terling MEETINGNECKPIECEofs THE BOARD 77 .5x25 etmtr,2006. 17.78 x6.352.54centimeters, VLDTBAEE fsterling ofs OVAL DOT (gold fusing) , ign,patination, hinging, asoaegree,which intensified herconnection to a passionate gardener, shebecame in 1989 to teach attheuniversity, Oregon, When shemoved to Eugene, in thewoods atNew Hope. remembering hertime to world, she turned thenatural For inspiration, sheexplored textures. In theearlyyears, right. held to thisday. apositionshehas she becameanadjunct, teaching aterm, After Shefell inlove theplace—and thestate. with . substituting forLinda Watson College in atCabrillo Aptos, including sabbatical-leave appointments, landed acouple of She decidedto pursueteaching. Corwin metals), in art students.” of at “and theexcitement recalls, she ideas,” of sharing exchanges, bywas becauseIthrilled theinteractions, “Ithinkit teaching grew. Her love of inbasicdesign. a term, Shehadtwo classes continue to beinvolved ineducation. Joseph Cornell boxes”—captured herimagination. objects—“like ametalsmithversion intriguing of featuring itchasing) andthelatter’s smallvignettes her work (someof aswell asthetextures in forms, natural The former’s useof Linda Watson (now Watson-Abbott) andLindaThreadgill. two , shewasespeciallytaken by thework of time, At the andcomputer graphics. theater design, , , including explored othermediums, Corwin metals course), andateacher. herlifeasanartist become thefoundationof techniques would for theseintertwined says, Corwin day,” “Ithankherevery introduced herto chasing andrepoussé. It wasMoty who amongothers. Moty andFred Fenster, All the while, Corwin was growing as an artist inherown wasgrowing asanartist Corwin All thewhile, After from graduating Wisconsin in1983(her degree was A teaching assistantshipat Wisconsin allowed to Corwin While continuing to catch up(shehadnever hadabasic the success 32.5_MEGAN CORWIN.CB.FINAL.JDFINAL9/3/093:29PMPage51 fsrsi eea ale rohs where theindividual inseveral earlierbrooches, sorts of hadaprecursor Theseries to themthatfitstheirsubject. Thebrooches have quality anorganic rendered asabstractions. ways through thesetwo assheworks hermagic techniques. allows itto Thisplasticity stretch inmany metal. sheet of how much three-dimensional shecancreate form from aflat Sheloves created hersamplersusingrepoussé andchasing. elements. triangular often featuring fabric, are where pieced thedesigns from of scraps quilts, to crazy inthisrespect, andisalsokin, notes, Corwin “It’s like chaos brought together,”do notneedto match. theblocks have completetypically freedom intheirdesign; Quiltartists thecoverlet. thatprecede fabric thecreation of of thesimpleblocks thatsherelates to quiltsamplers, Alternating andFallen Leaves. includingTheGarden, onthethemeandconcept, variations Shehascreated several her finestchasing andrepoussé work. many sheexplains. elementsthatdidn’t getinasdid,” are “There as played to comethefinaldesign. with upwith which shethen orunits, different elements, made anumber of Corwin noticeable framework. connection orsupporting any without seamlessness, places to create animpression of particular but invery Each elementwassoldered to others, in New Hope. thewoods nearherchildhood home of theleafyinterior of drew Corwin on memories for collector Rabinovitch, Seymour Like shecreated thefishserver asacommission randomness.” “to freeze inherwords, shewastrying, had falleninto place; would be configured insuch away asto give they theillusion shapes time backshesetoutto create apiece inwhich leaf time. forastretchornament of orfocusonbrooches oranother design, aparticular exploring often createthe metalsmithwill several related objectswhile Even so, states. Corwin pieces camefrom oneperson,” Puget Sound. edgeof northern atherhomeon Whidbey Island onthe trees, as well asfruit shemaintainsflower andvegetable Today, gardens, seeds. climbedthestalksto squirrels eatthe life: into thescheme of she foundinOregon—“they were huge!”—and how fit they Sheremembers herawe atthesunflowers anddeath. growth of books. andbotanicalillustration drawings plantsandcollected Shebeganstudying the environment. Plant and served as inspiration, but they are butthey asinspiration, lifeserved Plant andmarine Corwin , Working plate from of asingle of hasmadeaseries Corwin Over thepastseveral years, doingsomeof themetal, workedCorwin onbothsidesof planning. took agreat dealof Autumn , The piece, Some anassignment. give herself will Sometimes Corwin where you’d artist say allthose “I’ve never beenthekindof thecycle Corwin’s heightened These activities awareness of emo,ptnto,2005. patination, keumboo, orming, hydraulic pressf repoussé, gold;chasing, twenty-four karat lingsilver, OVAL PEBBLEBROOCHofster becomes apendant. clasp Removable pinkheart 2004. diameter, 27.94centimeters setting, stone niellofusing, , fold ; drusy niello, silver, sterling ALTERNATING NIELLONECKPIECEof clasp becomesapendant. Removable 2003. diameter, 30.48centimeters fabrication, chasing, forming, fold quartz; drusy lingsilver, FALLEN LEAVES NECKPIECEofster

51 ORNAMENT 32.5.2009 32.5_MEGAN CORWIN.CB.FINAL.JDFINAL9/3/093:29PMPage52

52 ORNAMENT 32.5.2009 ihihshrrpror ftcnqe,which includes techniques, herrepertoire of highlights Each piece andgoldplate andbi-metal. sterling silver, stoppers thatdoubledashairpins. with holding scented oil, bottlesfor shebegandesigning to draw outitsessence, Fascinated by how thebird dippeditslongbillinto theflower by watching hummingbirds nectarfrom extract flowers. vessels inspired of beganaseries three-dimensional Corwin “like ashield.” she explains, protected my innerperson,” brooches Iwasmakingkindof “The herwork. protection have over carried into someof providing well astheirsense of design—as form, coloration, qualities— formal helmets’ The onherwork. a lastingimpact had forexample, MuseumArt inSanFrancisco in1985, atthe Asian , Helmets Spectacular of Kawari Kabuto: An exhibition, Shealsoembraces otheraesthetics. and Pitocin). brooches related to theexperience (titlesincludedEpidural sheproduced several hersonin1994, After of thebirth lettinggo.” humans to control andthejoy of of theefforts pushandrelease, ideas about “call andresponse, process The reflects her haswritten. Corwin spontaneous,” andyet ispurposeful mark every smallsteel tools, metal with “In the forming both sides—awonderful push-pullprocess. . quartz of itsglints with thedrusy fondof Sheisespecially and texture. thecontrast of butalsobecauseof explains, Corwin “I wanted thestone inthere sothatitwouldn’t beastaticfour,” accenting theface. , such aspetrified material, but intofour, wasdivided ornament owncetdtevsesoto eas including metals, createdCorwin thevessels outof to make wishing herwork more In themid-1990s, her. carry follows instinctswhere will they artistic Corwin working from The brooches were hammered outinpitch, with astoneoranother with Each piece features a single leaf shape attached shape to astone, Each piece leaf features asingle isatonce andbright. warm attached, seamlessly ablackpearl with The rounded shape, irregular silver to the surfac thefine bringing theveined leaf, to create thetextures of tools herown Shefabricated createdLight earlierthisyear. asingle-sided titled hermostrecent pieces, in oneof themediumisdemonstrated Her of mastery shecallsit. world,” she firsttook upmetal—“the mostwonderful inthe material from themindandeye.” Forming and detailingthemetalproceed directly forgotten. thehandandtool are Soon, theprocess. thefeelof of thetool thehammeragainst becomes apart tapping of meditative “The rhythmic toin theintroduction herbook: this Shedescribes “zone” themetal. chasing thesurface of never knowsthe artist endupwhenshestarts where shewill The textures are always spontaneousintheirdevelopment; form. to serve provide They somesenseof follow themexactly. inamannerakintoto Nancy it—jaunty Graves’s . thepiece hasawonderful character in theongoingseries, Like several otherbottles (which are notfrom the mandrake). alissomegold-tipped stopper sprouting with two leaves root, Thevessel baseisforked like the powers). think ithadmagical (which legs madepeople itsroots to apairof the resemblance of thispoisonousplantthatemphasizes of a famousillustration drew on Corwin For Mandrake, are orinvented. abstracted andhydraulic dieforming. patination, repoussé, , , hollow construction, form chasing, The brooch is part of a series datingbackto thelate aseries 1990s. The brooch of ispart Sterling silver hasbeenCorwin’s favorite since material shedoesnot sketches, While doespreliminary Corwin butthey areThe motifsforthehairpins basedonplants, e toestab Opposite page: page: Opposite NANCY MEGAN COR WIN at w ork inher ork studio. WINatw NANCY MEGANCOR etmtr,1995. x 8.89centimeters, sterling sterling PITOCIN BROOCHof 1998. s, 3.81 centimeter 45.72x12.70 casting, uction, hollow constr repoussé, ; chasing, karat goldbi-metal, eighteen lingsilver, stopperofster with hairpin Photograph by Mark Phillips. Mark by Photograph ivr odfrig arcto,8.89 fabrication, silver; fold forming, ihthe lish MANDRAKE scentedoilbottle silvery andwhite tones. 32.5_MEGAN CORWIN.CB.FINAL.JDFINAL9/3/093:29PMPage53 that show themany different effectsthatcan beachieved in even ininclementweather. there , natural isgreat and flex shaftanddrawers with supplies, forstoring bench, each student hasherorhisown Haystack’s accommodations: Sheisimpressed by are working through Sunday brunch. takes timeto offersomepointers to several studentswho readings forhelpingto createpoetry theretreat-like atmosphere. Shecredits director Kestenbaum Stuart Penland.” andhis “quieter than meditative place, the school isacontemplative, shares herimpression: Corwin atwo-week session, week of commitment to teaching. her fulfillmentof tocontribution themetalsfieldand further While alongproject, accepts asmile. Corwin with butitisatradeoff on herbook, shenotes. isaboutallIcando,” onegallery “I thinksupplying work. shedoesnotproduce atremendous amountof widely, While shehasdoneshows andexhibited work over theyears. herpieces to increase their “wearability.” someof of intheback includingasmallring shestarted and neckpieces, positively to thatcould ornaments beworn asbothbrooches noticingthatcustomers responded For example, the client. market andtheneedsof understandthejewelry Corwin on adiagonal. horizontally, thebrooch—vertically, she orhewantsto Thewearer canchoose how dinosaurbone. and petrified such asachestnut oranothermaterial, often quartz, drusy nhronbnh owndsly naryo samples displays of anarray Corwin bench, On herown Corwin thestudio where sheisteaching, atourGiving of thefirst attheendof Which usbackto Haystack: brings Production was further curtailed while shewasworking while Production curtailed wasfurther Facèré hasconsistently Corwin’s carried one-of-a-kind Working inSeattlehashelped forFacèré Jewelry Gallery Art Chasing andRepoussé represents amajor to unfoldinwondrous andremarkable ways. thatdialoguecontinue results The of a dynamic dialogue.” “feeling andresponding to themetalin werethey herfingers, Sheusestools asif connection to thetechniques istangible. her inthepreface As shewrites to hernewbook, now inprint. inherteaching and testimony to theseprocesses inherart, thetimeaspossible. as much of Shelikes to beavailable to students to advanced. beginning from coming to chasing andrepoussé atadifferent level, them each of Corwin’s isto hereleven students, firstduty hard atroom temperature). but isrock casts (itgoescompletely water, softin160-degree andfor oncology isusedinfacematerial masksforradiation molding Thisthermoplastic a piece settingastone. when which sheusesforholding introduced herto protoplast, aphysicist, Her husband, “isstronger thanMylar”). claims, she from to plastictools (thelatter Delran material, present andfuture—from pitch thetraditional to neoprene, the thepastwhileembracing honoring techniques, the twin outdifferent textures. samplesandtry their own Sheencourages herstudentsto make chasing andrepoussé. Rabinovitch, Benton Seymour Benton Rabinovitch, elc,DonaZ Meilach, Nancy. Megan Corwin, Michael Channing, SUGGESTED READING A champion of chasing and repoussé, Corwin offersspecial Corwin chasing andrepoussé, A champion of While working onanewpiece shehasstarted atHaystack, of teaches forms bothclassicalandcontemporary Corwin American . 2009. Press, Brynmorgen Maine: Brunswick, 28-33. 2000): . Today.Art Jewelry . “Nancy Megan Corwin.” Chasing and Repoussé: Methods Ancient andModern. Methods Chasing andRepoussé: e ok t atnsPes 2005. Martin’sPress, St. New York: . otmoaySle,Part Commissions, II:Recent Contemporary Silver, tln cifrPbihn t. 2004. Ltd., Schiffer Publishing Atglen: oue2,N.2( No. Volume 20, ,

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