Silver Moon Traders: Featured Artists More Info

Silver Moon Traders

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E-mail: Silver Moon Traders

Featured Artists:

Becky Burt

Why metal? Why jewelry?

Ever wonder why artists choose one specific medium instead of another? Most artists I know are good in more than one, or at least, they’ve tried their hands at more than one before they find the “right” one. It’s because they can bring the things they imagine in their heads into physical form in the right medium. It’s about being able to manipulate the metal or glass or stone or clay to reveal what’s hidden inside.

I’ve moved through several mediums myself -- stained glass, clay, drawing, and beadwork -- but metal is the only one where I can actually translate my ideas into physical form. It’s also the only medium where I continue to have new ideas instead of reaching a point where I plateau.

There are certain materials that speak to me – fur, ivory, leather, stone, amber, bone, wood, metal. Their textures invite me to touch them and, when I do, they sing like sirens. When I buy stones, I’m usually attracted first by type, then by shape. I have my favorites, but that doesn’t mean I won’t reach outside that range. I love slashes and splashes of color that surface from other material (a different type of texture), and I usually have an idea of how I will use the stone before I purchase it.

I may work from the stone out -- designing the piece around the vision the stone provides. And though I sometimes have the piece designed completely before I start to fabricate it, other times, I have a vague idea of form or function and I let the piece guide me as I work. My fabrication techniques usually start with texture -- roller printing, forging, piercing – then progress to shape and function.

The pieces have an elemental quality. They are not necessarily simple although often they appear almost primitive. You may find influences from the Native peoples of the American Southwest through Oriental architecture to the Arts and Crafts Movement. Shapes, forms, and textures tend to resurface again and again. Sometimes, the pieces are so symmetrical it hurts; other times, I will move something to break the rules and change the structure, just because I can.

And as most artists will tell you, sometimes the piece has a mind of its own and it becomes something you never envisioned.

George Nakashima said the wood told him what it wanted to be. As an artist, I think it’s my job to ask.

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