I have long been fascinated by the marrying of metals: silver/gold, yin/yang, cool/warm. There’s something about the juxtaposition that I just love. This past summer, I took a class at Penland School of Craft studying under Edna Madera, who has perfected the art of braising 24k gold onto fine silver. Edna’s work is decidedly more delicate than mine, but I am in awe of the the way she marries and mixes metal tones. It was such a fun class and I have loved the work that has come out of it. I had to learn the hard way how to heat the gold properly by burning up more gold than I’d like to admit, but that’s all part of the process! 

It was important to me to find a way to incorporate this new technique while also keeping my minimal/geometric aesthetic in mind. The surface texture and embellishment add new variety to my traditionally monochromatic work. When the “fusion” is complete, I have found that I prefer to oxidize the silver to create a high-contrast black background from which the gold can stand out and glow.

So how does it work, you ask? To start, I begin with a piece of 24k gold that I draw down through my rolling mill to the exact thickness that I want. With an exacto knife, I cut the pieces of gold that I will use to place on the fine silver. Carefully heating the silver, I use a braising rod to rub the gold onto the silver surface. After making sure that no edges are sticking up and that all of the gold is firmly in place, I’m ready to make any finishing touches to the piece, attaching components, oxidation, adding posts to earrings, etc. This is one of the more time consuming and precise processes in my studio, but it has really fueled my creative drive since the class ended and I have so much fun making these pieces.

I debuted this as a limited collection in time for Christmas last year, but I’m currently in the process of growing the collection to include more styles. A big gold fusion shop update is coming later this spring, and I cannot wait for you to see the styles! Follow along on instagram for progress reports 🖤