ABOUT ME
In 1962, when I was about 6 years old, I started collecting corn silk from our garden and bits of broken glass, saving them in my Dad's cigar boxes. I thought they were like gold and diamonds. Growing up in Europe and Asia, I continued being enthralled with jewelry. I learned to cut gems in South Korea at a lapidary shop when I was twelve and to cast and construct jewelry shortly after that. My formal education was in Art at several universities, finishing with a Masters of Fine Arts in Goldsmithing from SUNY New Paltz in New York. A couple of weeks after I graduated I was in my first craft show, and haven’t stopped yet. I’ve had the privilege to show my work in nearly every major craft exhibition in the United States (my Mica Pod earrings were chosen to be the logo for the 2010 Smithsonian Craft2Wear exhibition).
For over 30 years I’ve been striving to make what I hope will be your favorite jewelry.
My work has been carried in hundreds of galleries across the country as well as in France and Italy. I am also represented in the book 500 Gemstone Jewels (Lark, 2010), Best of Worldwide Jewelry Artists Vol. 1 (Kennedy 2011) and in the collection of the Cooper Hewitt Museum. I am most gratified to be in the collections of the thousands of people who have found my jewelry at craft events and have continued to wear it over the years.
Thank you for your interest in my designs, and I hope you find this site enjoyable. If there is any way I may help, please don’t hesitate to contact me at
info@keithlewisstudio.com
ABOUT MY PROCESS
My daughter Roxanne preparing to paint the Eco designs
In my work I celebrate the materials, textures and surprises found in Nature. I am currently using amber Mica which I layer with 23K goldleaf and carving volcanic stone and Anthracite which I inset with natural pearls and precious stones. I contrast this formal construction with serendipitous surface treatment such as my version of a very old Japanese patina called Hiirodo; I heat copper to bright red, expose it to wood particles, and then plunge it into boiling water which creates an organic and unpredictable "Raku" effect. For vivid color I create a clear oxide on Niobium which develops into interference colors, as in a soap bubble or Blue Jay feather. These diverse materials require a combination of goldsmithing techniques and necessity-is-the-Mother-of-invention engineering for me to turn them into a piece of finished jewelry. I strive to capture the beauty found when working with natural materials.
ABOUT MY STUDIO
