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Grant Recipient

Final Resting Place (detail), 2019, Copper, brass, silver, glass, cork, beetle, 3 ¼" x 2" x 2"

Jessica Howerton

Windgate-Lamar Fellowship

2020

Artist Statement

My craft practice focuses on the creation of objects which reflect my fascination with collecting and arranging specimens. The powerless feeling that accompanies losing something precious drives me to create vessels, and my process allows me to integrate my personal feelings of loss into them. These containers categorize, catalogue, and display the contained objects, preserving the memories associated. I focus on applying innovative metalsmithing techniques to the fabrication of vessels, heightening their impact on the audience. As my practice has developed, my focus has shifted from making jewelry to crafting intricate reliquaries and objects from metal. Forming this material into a variety of forms allows me freedom to express myself through each part of the process. I hammer and mold the metal till the desired form is achieved, filing away at the ruggedness of the edges, until finally finishing out the surface to achieve tactile sensations and visual stimulations. The culmination of these steps leads to an object imbued with a certain energy in and of itself. Each viewer will experience the piece differently and formulate their own narrative as to what its intended purpose could be, making everyone’s experience uniquely their own.

Bio of the Artist

Organization Background

Location

Cookeville, TN

EDUCATION

Tennessee Technological University

SPECIALIZATION

metalsmithing and jewelry

Institution

Grant amount

$15,000

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Selected works

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