Ashley Buchanan is a jewelry artist who received her BFA in Jewelry and Metalsmithing from the University of Georgia and now makes her living as a studio jeweler in Atlanta, Georgia. Her work has been shown nationally and internationally in galleries and museums such as The Racine Art Museum, The Museum of Art and Design in New York for LOOT and SOFA Chicago, to name a few. Her work is available in galleries and shops here and abroad, and she participates in high-end craft shows across the country such as the Smithsonian Craft Show, The Philadelphia Museum of Art Craft Show where she received The Excellence in Jewelry award in 2018 and The American Craft Exposition where she received the Show Directors’ Award in 2013. She has been awarded various design awards, honorable mentions and awards of excellence in other shows as well. Ashley’s work has been published in two of the Showcase 500 Series books, Ornament Magazine, Metalsmith Magazine and she was featured in American Craft Magazine as one of the short-listed artists for the Emerging Voices Award.
When making her powder coated, metal jewelry, Ashley hand-cut silhouettes from brass and sterling silver sheet metal using a traditional jeweler’s saw, and in select pieces she employs water-jet and laser-cutting technologies. She applies color through an industrial process called powder coating in which the metal is electrostatically covered with a dry pigment that is cured under heat to create a durable, uniform finish. She focuses on iconic imagery, decorative patterns, and familiar motifs to reference ornamentation and historical jewelry. Ashley’s goal is to speak with a fresh voice by creating wearable works of art that push the boundaries of jewelry while maintaining a clean, contemporary aesthetic.
