contemporary handcrafted jewelry...

After 3 years as a ceramics major, I took my first metalsmithing class and was hooked on the idea of taking something as solid and permanent as metal and transforming it into personal wearable art. My sterling jewelry combines traditional hand fabricating methods with contemporary and organic design elements. I strive to infuse the pleasure I get from the outdoors by the twisting vine-like wire working, the bird's nest jewelry, as well as the primitive "earthy" finish of each piece.

I hand craft each piece of jewelry with sheet and wire sterling silver. I solder, melt, hand engrave, hammer, twist, and finally, apply an antiquing patina and scrub the jewelry with wire brushes to give the metal a comfortable "worn" feel. I finish by embellishing with freshwater pearls, antique beads, recycled glass, petrified wood, precious and semi-precious stones.

Since graduating in 1994 from Montana State with a BA in Fine Arts, I have been creating jewelry in my studio in the small town of Manhattan, Montana (the "Little Apple"), where I happily reside with my husband, children and dogs.

Julie Shumaker, Metalsmith