Meet Washington State Jewelry Artists This Weekend

Raven Brooch. Legacy Series by Ruly Deen of Silver Element Jewelry in Spokane, Washington. Photo used with permission.   Meet three Washington State jewelry artists at the Festival of the Arts, this coming weekend in Bellevue, Washington. First, Ruly Deen fashions sculptural, wearable jewelry art in her Spokane workshop. Second, Michele Raney carves and paints her exquisite designs with glass in her Port Townsend studio. Finally, in her studio in Shoreline, Melanie Brauner handcrafts wearable (and durable) jewels out of metal forms cast in delicate handmade paper.

Meet These Washington State Jewelry Artists

Ruly Deen - Spokane, Washington

Ruly Deen combines astronomy, biology, mathematics, spirituality, and metaphysics in her conceptual drawings. From these drawings, she carves intricate, miniature sculptures into wax. Using the lost wax casting technique, she pours molten silver into molds. She then solders the individual parts together to make her gorgeous wearable jewels. She draws her inspiration from the scenery in Spokane. "There are so many rivers and tributaries winding through the rolling hills. Beautiful mountain ranges are covered with deep forests, and there are a multitude of lakes where they meet," she writes on her website. Ruly's jewelry combines cross-cultural symbols with natural forms. She might etch these symbols into the wings of a bird, onto the surface of water, or into the bark of a tree. It is these concepts, which span epochs of human history, that remind us that we are connected to nature and humanity in all its manifestations.

Michele Raney - Port Townsend, Washington

Michele Raney works with a revised version a centuries-old French enameling technique called Basse-taille. She begins with an original design carved into graphite. From this carving, she makes a die and coins a blank in fine silver or 18k gold. She hand tools and polishes a base which she then enamels. It is the application of enamel which adds depth and light to Michele's jewelry. Her featured piece for the Bellevue Festival of the Arts catalog is the Celtic Cross Enamel Relic pendant. This gorgeous pendant features a brilliant blue enameled Celtic cross framed in a free-form silver frame. She bezel set what looks to be a blue garnet into the center of the cross. She inset another bezel set blue garnet (or possibly Montana blue sapphire) into the silver bale. This cross pendant is part of Michele's Enamel Relics Collection. For this collection, Michele drew inspiration from ancient artifacts. These included objects from the Egyptian pyramids, stone shards from Celtic ruins, architectural carvings on Roman ruins, and old coins from the Mediterranean. In addition to ancient relics, Michele also draws inspiration from the natural beauty around her, including the sea flora and fauna near her home in Port Townsend.

Melanie Brauner - Shoreline, Washington

Melanie Brauner works as a metalsmith, bookbinder, and papermaker in her studio in Shoreline, Washington. Her handcrafted jewels combine the sinuous lines of Art Nouveau design with the elegant details in nature. She draws inspiration from dewdrops, spider webs, flowers petals, leaves, the night sky, the curves of a river, and so on. Her jewels are created using a technique similar to the one she uses to make handmade paper. However, the result is a 3-dimensional wearable jewel. She begins with a form cast in metal wire. The metal form is then dipped into a pulp made from water and the fiber of the abaca plant. Between each dipping, the fibers cling to the metal and shrink as they dry. After several successive dips, a translucent paper skin builds upon the form. After she completes this stage, Michele then dyes each element by hand and then seals the piece thoroughly. This ensures each jewel is water resistant and durable for regular wear. The piece she selected as her showpiece for the Bellevue Festival of the Arts is a delicate flower with opaque leaves edged in green with three baroque pearls at its center.

Meet The Artists

This coming weekend, July 27th - July 29th, visitors to the Bellevue Festival of the Arts will have the chance to meet these three Washington State jewelry artists in person. The artists will be at their respective booths throughout the weekend, ready to answer questions and tell their stories. For more information, we invite you to visit the BFOA website.