2025 Jewelry
Jen Lawler | Des Moines
Jen Lawler Designs
FB: Jenlawlerdesigns
IG: Jenlawlerdesigns
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I hand carve and cast using a lost wax casting or hand fabricate each one of my jewelry designs. I strive to create modern, unique designs that are easily and wanting to wear every day. I am inspired by the gemstones I use, the architectural shapes all around me as well as the textures found.
My jewelry designs are all one of a kind and hand fabricated. I use traditional metal smith techniques including sawing, filing, soldering, stone setting and finishing with high polish or an oxidized and brushed surface. I create using Sterling Silver, Gold, Natural Gemstones, and Pearls. |
Sara Letsch | Boone
Nymph in the Woods
FB: nymphwoodsjewelry
IG: nymphinthewood
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I create wearable art that helps people show off their true styles. I've been creating jewelry for the past 9 years, learning and improving on my abilities with both wire wrapping and fused glass! I believe that jewelry can help you to feel more confident and beautiful when it really speaks to you, and I strive to create pieces that do just that!
The glasswork is started using sheets and balls of glass. I fuse, cut, and shape the glass up to 4 times. Then, using copper, sterling silver, or gold, I weave, wrap, and shape the wire around the glasswork to transform it into jewelry. The pieces are then oxidized and polished to add depth and beauty. |
Mary Nelson
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I started making jewelry in 2010 after taking a class at the Des Moines Art Center. I found that I really enjoyed working with metal & learning different methods, and have continued to take classes at the Art Center for the last 14 years. I especially enjoy combining traditional metal-working/jewelry making techniques with vintage & found objects I collect at flea markets & antique shows/shops.
My jewelry reflects my fascination with vintage objects & the history behind them. I use a variety of jewelry making methods to combine my vintage finds with metal & gemstones/beads to create jewelry that is unique & fun to wear. Examples of the materials I use include early plastics like bakelite & lucite, vintage pinback buttons, lithograph tin & transit tokens, electrical resisters, & WWII ration stamps. Techniques include texturing, riveting, soldering, wire-wrapping, enameling, resin-casting, anodizing, & forming. Each piece of jewelry I design comes with a description of the materials used (including their history) & the methods used to create it. |
Connie Rodgers | University Park
Fancy That Jewelry
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I am an Iowa master gardener and get much inspiration from my extensive gardens. I share a home with 9 cats and the love of my life, my husband Dave, who travels the world with me collecting small vintage treasures to create wearable works of art.
My designs combine brass I manipulate and hand age with my own Moretti glass lamp worked beads. I make my own findings and paint, texture, wirework, patina, and solder brass. Pearls crystals, vintage gemstones and handmade beads Czech beads complete the Art Nouveau inspired designs. Vintage treasures collected on my travels abroad highlight my work. |
Rhonda Scott | Ames
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Rhonda Scott is a teaching artist from Ames, Iowa who works in multiple media. She is passionate about the value of creativity and lifelong learning. She is especially fascinated by age-old processes with a modern twist, such as lampwork and paper marbling. These two art forms have many things in common, aside from their long history; both allow her to play with colors, pattern, visual texture, mark making, and negative space, as well as surface tension and chemical reactions.
Rhonda Scott creates jewelry which features her own glass beads, handcrafted metal focal pieces, natural gemstones, enamels, and precious metals. She uses a small torch and MAP gas to create the glass beads and the components used in the beads (including custom twisted cane and frit). She anneals the beads in a kiln for durability. Fine silver metal work is created with metal clay using simple tools and a kiln. |
Jess Wisdom & Jesse Richardson | McCallsburg
Callo Metal Art
FB: callometalarts
IG: callo_metal_art
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Jess and Jesse create heirloom adornments using traditional silversmithing techniques. They are keeping an ancient art alive through fire, forge, hammer, and saw.
Handcrafted artisan jewelry in recycled sterling silver and ethically sourced stones. |