Stewart Whetsell: capstone

Abstract

The artist's statement: "Appreciate the Little Things" This is an encapsulation of work and ideas that I thought were important to me and the process of how I make some of my work. The way that I make this work is in a way that is therapeutic to me and how making jewelry as a way to get rid of stress for me. There are different materials that I use in my work but I say that I am a silversmith. My work usually consists of silver and precious stones. I have also been experimenting with different alloys like electrum which is a combination of gold and silver. This main two bodies of work are mostly comprised of silver with precious stones using different setting styles. When thinking about the actual process of how my work is created is interesting. I have two bodies of work, One that is clean and precise work, and the other is more industrial and organic. I use a technique called fusing, This is a process where you heat the silver up with a torch to the point that the silver is almost molten and becomes liquid. I freeze that moment and the metal melts and fuses together. It's really satisfying to see the metal shine and melt into itself with this process. There are different reasons that inspired these bodies of work but they all revolve around me getting sober from alcohol. The melted and rough series are the more difficult and ugly things I have put myself through but with that rough look you want to not judge things by the way they appear. There little stone are there to emphasize the little things in the piece that are the beautiful moments that catch the eye and bring the piece together. The other series is after the fact of becoming totally sober is the more precise and clean life I have now and I have finally found structure and stability after years of tearing myself apart and almost losing my passion for metalsmithing all together. These pieces are representation of where I used to be, how I am now, and the progress I still have to go.