EMILIE PRITCHARD
ABOUT THE ARTIST
I am a self-taught artist. My academic training was as a lawyer, but I spent 40 years in the sailboat business in Panama City, FL with my husband. My explorations into craft began with weaving. I focused on rugweaving, creating geometric designs in a flat medium. When I started to experiment with beading, after all that time in a flat medium, I was struck by the 3D-geometry possibilities. I started with glass seed beads, but gradually moved toward longer beads that showed off the structural nature of the work better. The process has now resulted in me cutting my own tubes of sterling silver and gold fill, and building chains of polyhedrons which form jewelry. I have shown my work in art shows and galleries across the country, including exhibiting at the Smithsonian Craft Show and the Philadelphia Museum of Art Show.
ARTIST STATEMENT
I am fascinated by the possibilities of geometric form. Engineered structures and the forms of the microscopic world, including carbon nanotubes and molecular structures, provide inspiration. My primary material is metal tubes. I use tubes of sterling silver and 14 kt gold fill, handcutting them to the lengths I need to make the geometry work. I oxidize the silver tubes, because I like the way the dark metal enhances the bridge-truss-ish look of the jewelry. I join the tubes with a high-tech thread to build polygons, and build these into complex 3D structures. The mathematical basis of the work provides clarity within complex designs, and it allows me to create pieces that enclose a large volume of space while remaining open and minimalist.