Jewelry Portfolio Anne Courie-Meulink 2009

Introduction This slide presentation will introduce the viewer to the world of jewelry making and design, including an overview of materials used in my most recent work. All of the jewelry pieces shown were hand fabricated by me, Anne Courie-Meulink, during my many wonderful years as a studio artist at Goldworks. * Photos of workspaces and raw materials were borrowed from the world wide web.

About ME and My Work After graduating from ECU with a BFA in Metal Design and a minor in weaving I began working as a goldsmith in a repair shop. I worked in repair until 1992 when I happened into a shop called Goldworks in Brightleaf Square in downtown Durham. This shop is owned by a wife and husband team, Wren and Ted Hendrickson, who create their own custom jewelry in a studio in their home. I was hired on the spot and began learning how to hone my fabrication skills and given free reign to create my own work. With each piece new ideas would spring forth that I would add as improvements to the next piece. I could and will work a lifetime and never get all the ideas I have in my head out there in the world. Too many ideas, too little time. In Spring 2007 I began to contemplate my life and the path and direction it was in and where I wanted to be next. I had a successful career as a goldsmith and knew the skills I had would be mine as long as I could hold a pair of pliers and wield a torch. I entered the Art education program at NCCU to earn my teaching license. Now I am happy to have had many wonderful years of studio work and life experience and am ready to give back the love and joy of creating to future generations of artists.

Jewelers Workbench Jewelers have a specially designed workbench and create jewelry using many different types of tools. Some of the tools are pliers, files, hammers, calipers, saws, and a torch that runs on a mix of oxygen and propane.

Jewelry making Materials Jewelry can be made of almost any materials. Here are some of the materials I use when making my jewelry; 18k and 22k gold sheet, wire and tubing, sterling silver, precious and semiprecious stones in many shapes and sizes.

Colors of Gold The karat system is a measurement used to reveal the amount of pure gold found in an item. 24 karat (24K) gold is pure gold. While pure gold is yellow in color, gold can also appear to have other colors. These colors are generally obtained by alloying gold with other elements in various proportions. Alloys which are mixed 14 parts gold to 10 parts alloy create 14 Karat gold, 18 parts gold to 6 parts alloy creates 18 Karat, 22 parts gold to 4 parts alloy creates 22 Karat and so on. There are hundreds of possible alloys and mixtures possible, but in general the addition of silver will color gold green, and the addition of copper will color it red. A mix of around 50/50 copper and silver gives the range of yellow gold alloys the public is accustomed to seeing in the marketplace.

Precious Gems Gemstones that are highly valued fall into this category. Diamonds, Sapphires, Rubies and Emeralds top the list.

Semi-Precious Gemstones Stones in this category include topaz, tourmaline, moonstone, garnet, and quartz just to name a few.

Rings with both Precious and Semi- Precious Stones

Opals Opals are found in Australia and Mexico. They come in a wide range of colors. Some different types of opals are white opals, black opals, boulder opals and fire opals.

Pearls Pearls come in many different shapes and sizes. Some of the many kinds of pearls are; button pearls, sea pearls, mummy pearls, blister pearls, rice pearls and black pearls.

Pearls

Fossils Jewelry can be made using many different materials. These earrings are made of 18 & 22 Karat gold, pearls, gemstones and fossils.

Drusy Quartz Drusy (sometimes referred to as: druse, druzy) is a layer of tiny quartz crystals that form on a host stone. The cavity inside a geode is sometimes filled with drusy quartz crystals. Craftsmen can add a fume of platinum, gold or titanium to color the crystals.

Conclusion Along with the materials shown in this presentation jewelry can be made from found objects such as paper, wood, bone, glass, ceramics, plastics, and much more. If you can dream it you can make it. It is fun to create jewelry, and it does not have to cost a lot to be beautiful and functional. I hope I have inspired viewers to learn the art of jewelry making. I look forward to seeing future creations!