Famous Jewelry Collections: THE BEADING GEM'S JOURNAL

Tuesday, July 31, 2012

THE BEADING GEM'S JOURNAL

Posted: 31 Jul 2012 04:28 AM PDT

Many of you may already have come across Mary Lee Hu's amazing wire art jewelry. This renowned and pioneering metalsmith has been making fluid and elegant designs since the 1960's.

Her fascination with metals began early. She already decided to work in that medium when she was just 16. She later obtained both her Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Fine Arts. Now based in Washington, she has had an amazing career, winning numerous awards and exhibiting her work in many places. She also taught at the University of Washington for 16 years until her retirement in 2006 when she became Professor Emeritus.

Her innovative textile approach to wire design is incredibly captivating. The intricate weaving or twining do make the wire pieces look like fabric. She said, "My twining process is based on my study of a Northwest Coast Native American basket that I bought when traveling here for the first time in 1966, but I was living in Ohio at the time."

Picture Sources
Some of them are showcased in Facere Jewelry Art Gallery which is a selling venue for top designers from the US and abroad. A few are also from a preview earlier this year of a retrospective exhibition of her best work held at the Bellevue Arts Museum, Seattle. Check out her interview for that show as well as additional pictures of her work here.

There is also a beautiful book Knitted, Knotted, Twisted, and Twined: The Jewelry of Mary Lee Hu which celebrates 100 of her designs over the years. There is apparently a section on wire techniques.