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Artist Statement
- I’ve been told I inherited
my drive, creativity and love of the Fine Arts from my great-grandmother.
Her gift has served me well as a primarily self-taught artist
with an eye for detail and insistence on perfection.
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- My dad was a dedicated rock hound
when I was young, and as a family, we were intimately familiar
with every Rock Shop within a 200 mile radius of home. Our family
would spend weekends and summer vacations hunting Lake Superior
agates, staurolite, and Montana sapphires, with some car trips
netting so many rocks that my brother and I were crammed into
the station wagon with little room to sit! I’d watch Dad
would cut the stones we’d found, polishing them endlessly
to achieve a perfect shine. To this day, the sights, sounds and
smells of a lapidary shop take me back to my father’s jewelry
bench.
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- In 2000, I returned to making jewelry
after seeing a friend’s strung bracelets. “I can do
that!” I thought. I soon amassed more beads, stones and
findings than anyone has business having. Stringing was fun and
provided instant gratification, but being my great-grandmother’s
offspring, I needed more challenge. I turned to wire-working,
incorporating the teachings of Lynne Merchant, Eni Oken, and
Sharilyn Miller into my own style. There were days that my hands
were battered from wrapping yards upon yards of 26g wire around
a base frame!
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- On a whim, I took a simple 2-in-2
chain making class at the Kansas City Bead Blast with my daughter.
During the class, instructor Bob Kennedy displayed about a dozen
chain maille weaves that he’d made. I was completely hooked.
Simply the number of maille weaves intrigued me…I figured
I could never get bored! From that classic two-in-two, I moved
to the exotic worlds of Byzantine, Romanov, Vertebrae, Dragonscale,
Caterpillar, Cleopatra…and more. I even taught myself how
to make a Rhino Snorting Drano!
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- The rich history of chain maille
is fascinating. The classic European and Japanese weaves were
used for armor in the Dark and Middle Ages, and examples of maille
have been found dating back to the 4th century BC. Today, chain
maille is used for protective clothing for butchers and shark
divers, costume armor in movies (The Lord of the Rings, Monty
Python and The Holy Grail), and jewelry. Intricate designs using
sterling silver, copper, bronze, aluminum, steel, and other materials
are beautiful and decorative – and many are based on those
functional weaves of earlier time.
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- Since learning that simple 2-in-2
weave, I’ve developed my own style of incorporating stones
and color into chain maille. My weaves have been recognized for
their unique use of materials, winning recognition in international
competitions. I love being challenged by a new weave, attempting
to “figure it out” without instructions. It’s
always gratifying to finally get the right rings in the right
places!
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- To satisfy my personal drive and
thirst to learn, my jewelry continues to evolve and diversify.
This year, I’ve begun to solder silver and copper (without
even burning down my house!), which has opened up many, many
new avenues. It’s a thrill to continue on this journey,
and I consider it the highest honor when someone chooses one
of my pieces as a gift for someone special or for themselves.
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- Lynn Kvigne
- C-My Designs
- 2008
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