Society for Midwest Metalsmiths gives Scholarships to deserving young metalsmiths!

In the 2010 business year, the Society for Midwest Metalsmiths, has distributed or earmarked over $5000 in student scholarships and gifting to local universities with metals programs. This year, one student from Maryville University in St. Louis Missouri and one student from Southern Illinois University in Edwardsville Illinois will each receive a $1000 scholarship award honoring the memory of Heikki Seppa, a founding member of our organization, and a friend and mentor to many of our members.

SMM has also have provided scholarships to two teens selected from the under-served within our community to attend metal related workshops at Craft Alliance located in University City Missouri. Funds have been allocated to two additional teens to attend Craft Alliance workshops before the end of our fiscal year. The remainder of the above mentioned funds will be gifted to the Metals Programs of our two host Universities in the form of much needed tools and equipment for metals students in-house use. 

In addition to the above mentioned funds, with every workshop we present, we give scholarships to two students from the University that is allowing us the use of their facility to host the workshop, a minimum of 12 per year have the opportunity to attend our workshops at no cost other than a kit fee for the workshop attended.

Much of the funding for these gifts and scholarships are generated by members, members families and friends making their Amazon.com purchases by accessing the Amazon.com web site through www.midwest-metalsmiths.org. Amazon is very generous to not-for-profits by giving back a small percentage of each purchase to SMM at no additional cost to the purchaser. We wish to thank all of our membership and friends for their support and we at SMM plan to continue promoting the fine art of metalsmithing in every way possible in the coming years.

METAL Inclinations has awarded two scholarships to deserving students though "Youth in Need" program this year. The scholarships are for the students to take metalsmithing classes at Craft Alliance in St. Louis, Missouri.

METAL Inclinations2 is now online!

The eight award winners for METAL Inclinations2

The Society for Midwest Metalsmiths and Hauser & Miller present:

METAL Inclinations2 . . .Visit www.smm-metalinclinations.org to see the 50 selected images and the eight award winners for 2010-12.

Congratulations to the selected artists for METAL Inclinations2

Thank you for your entries.

The Society for Midwest Metalsmiths and Hauser & Miller Company proudly announce the 50 selected Jewelry Works/Artists for METAL Inclinations2 2010-2012 International Jewelry Design Competition. 

(Cash and gift certificate award winners will be announced October 31, 2010, when the 2010-2012 exhibition opens online)

To see the exhibition go to: www.smm-metalinclinations.org

Congratulations! these artists have one or more pieces selected:

JILL BAKER GOWER

ALICIA JANE BOSWELL
KRISTINE BOURCIER

JUAN CARLOS CABALLERO-PEREZ
DAVID CHOI

CAPPY COUNARD (2)
DARIA DE KONING
KEN DERENGOWSKI
MOLLY DOUGLASS

BENCE FORDOS
ALIYAH GOLD
THERESA HAUSER (2)
BARBARA HEINRICH
NICOLE JACQUARD (2)

UOSIS JUODVALKIS

JUDITH KAUFMAN
JUDITH KINGHORN (3)
ELHADJI KOUMAMA

CHAO-HSIEN KUO

VICTORIA LANSFORD

LORENA LAZARD (2)

SUNG-YEOUL LEE
PATRICIA LEMAIRE
JOSEPH LEROUX

AMY LYONS
CHRISTINE MACKELLAR
BROOKE MARKS-SWANSON (2)
WENDY MCALLISTER (2)

JENNIFER MOKREN

JINHEE PARK
VINCENT PONTILLO
GRETCHEN RABER
SUZAN REZAC (3)
DAVINA ROMANSKY
AMY TAVERN

PATRICIA TELESCO
ASHLEY WARSAW (2)
LIAUNG CHUNG YEN (2)

The METAL Inclinations2 exhibition will debut online at
 http://www.smm-metalinclinations.org October 31, 2010. The cash and gift certificate award winners will be announced at that time.
Before that date the 2008-09 METAL Inclinations1 exhibition will still be shown.



Hauser and Miller Company has provided financial support for METAL Inclinations2 2010-2012 and the second place award.
Hauser & Miller is the official sponsor of METAL Inclinations2.

The four jurors for the 2010-12 exhibition are: Jamie Bennett, Klaus Burgel, John Cogswell and Sydney Lynch.

$4,200 in cash and gift certificate awards will be awarded to the winning artists. Awards will be sponsored by the Society for Midwest Metalsmiths, Hauser & Miller, Pasternak Findings, Xuron Corp. and Rio Grande.
To visit (the previous) METAL Inclinations1 International Metalsmithing Exhibition for 2008-09
Go to: www.smm-metalinclinations.org

Hauser and Miller Company has been a major supporter of the Society for Midwest Metalsmith's, exhibitions and programs since 1999. Though the years they generously gave SMM funding for the 1999 SNAG Conference in St. Louis, the "Metal Departures" Exhibition in 2001, the "Stones" Exhibition in 2004, the "Hey, These Things Snap Right Off" Exhibition in 2006 and the METAL Inclinations International Exhibition in 2008-09.

Thanks to all the many supporters and volunteers of METAL Inclinations1 & 2!
The METAL Inclinations International Exhibition sponsored by SMM was successful because of the tremendous support by the world-wide metalsmithing community and the corporate sponsors who helped to provide financial support.

SMM would like to thank all those who helped to make the exhibition possible. Thanks to the many volunteer/members of SMM who gave their time and talents to make everything came together and thanks to the hundreds of metal artists who submitted their images to be juried by our four jurors Jamie Bennett, Klaus Burgel, John Cogswell and Sydney Lynch.

Finally we would like to thank the corporate sponsors of the exhibition, Hauser and Miller Company, Pasternak Findings, Rio Grande, Xuron Corp. and Juried Art Services. Please use the links provided to visit these company's websites. We hope the past year was successful and creative for you.

Thanks to all who entered METAL Inclinations2

The entries are fantastic. The jurors will have a hard time making their selections. The award winners and the selected images/artists will be announced September 1, 2010.

METAL Inclinations2 will debut on the Internet October 31, 2010.
To see the exhibition go to: www.smm-metalinclinations.org

24 hours more to sign up July 19th new deadline!

Juried Art Services had a computer glitch so applications to METAL Inclinations2 were cut off 12 midnight EST instead of PST. We are giving everyone 24 hours to get their applications in.
Information here: http://smm-metalinclinations.org/enter.htm

Hurry! July 18, 2010 is the extended deadline to enter METAL Inclination2

Hurry, only a few more days left to enter your jewelry images in METAL Inclinations2.

 The online exhibition sponsored by Hauser & Miller and produced by the Society for Midwest Metalsmiths will debut October 31, 2010 and remain online for 2 years. That means for two years your winning images will be visible to gallery owners, collectors and buyers 24/7. You will have your own personal web page with the image of your jewelry, your artist's statement and most importantly, your email address or a link to your personal website. You will be able to sell the pieces chosen for the exhibition at any time and keep 100% of the price. Your jewelry images will remain in the exhibition until October 2012.

For a prospectus go to: http://smm-metalinclinations.org/enter.htm

The Society for Midwest Metalsmiths and Hauser & Miller Company will promote the exhibition and the chosen artists with print ads and Internet promotion.

The Society for Midwest Metalsmiths is a non-profit organization.

Call for Entries: METAL Inclination2

June 30, 2010 is the deadline to enter your jewelry images in METAL Inclinations2.

 The online exhibition sponsored by Hauser & Miller and produced by the Society for Midwest Metalsmiths will debut October 31, 2010 and remain online for 2 years. That means for two years the your winning images will be visible to gallery owners, collectors and buyers 24/7. You will have your own personal web page with the image of your jewelry, your artist's statement and most importantly, your email address or a link to your personal website. You will be able to sell the pieces chosen for the exhibition at any time and keep 100% of the price. Your jewelry images will remain in the exhibition until October 2012.

For a prospectus go to: http://smm-metalinclinations.org/enter.htm

The Society for Midwest Metalsmiths and Hauser & Miller Company will promote the exhibition and the chosen artists with print ads and Internet promotion.

The Society for Midwest Metalsmiths is a non-profit organization.

Jurors for the Metal Inlinations2 Online Exhibition

Learn more about the amazing jurors for
Metal Inlinations2 Online Exhibition.

The Society of Midwest Metalsmiths' board of directors came up with many possibilities for jurors while planning for the 2010 Metal Inclinations2. Since this exhibition is an International online exhibition, we wanted our jurors to reflect and appreciate the world of International metalsmithing and jewelry, not just metalsmithing in the United States.

The original list was narrowed down. Then the process of contacting the esteemed individuals on that list to see who was willing, or more importantly who was available. In the end we concluded that  four respected artists in the field of metalsmithing would be the jurors for Metal Inlinations2. They have all graciously consented to serve as jurors: Jamie Bennett, Klaus Bürgel, John Cogswell and Sydney Lynch. We would like to acquaint you briefly with the jurors selected and give you links to learn as much as you would like about each one. For a MI2 prospectus go to: http://smm-metalinclinations.org/enter

Jamie Bennett

Professor Bennett is an artist in the truest sense, filled with artistic accomplishment, experimentation and teaching. Work Bennett gained his BA in business from the University of Georgia, his MBF from State University of New York at New Paltz and is now head of the Metal Program at this same university, State University at New Paltz. Professor Bennett's interest in enameling began with a book he owned on the topic while a boy and over time became important when he realized that he had to work in color if he was going to work as a metal artist. Throughout Bennett's career, he has been awarded many prestigious grants and has had his work shown at major museums throughout the world. Resume. For the year of 2010 there is a retrospective, "Edge of the Sublime: Enamels by Jamie Bennett", of his work traveling to six locations in the US, show review, chronicling Professor Bennett's productive career.

Klaus Bürgel

Klaus Bürgel came to the United States from Germany in 1990. He had already earned a bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Gesellenprufung, Hanwerkskammer Pforzheim and later a Master of Fine Arts from the Academie der Bildenden in Munich. Bürgel has taught at a succession of prestigious art schools since arriving in the US, currently teaching at the 92 Street Y in New York City. Resume and Short Bio. Bürgel's jewelry is simple, bold and evokes emotion as does his sculptural work, photography and drawing. Book review, "Endless Conundrum: Klaus Bürgel"

John Cogswell

John Cogswell was a 2006 inductee into the National Metalsmiths’ Hall of Fame and was selected as Touchstone Center for Crafts’ 2007 Artist of the Year among many other great accomplishments throughout his 30 year career as a jeweler, silversmith, educator and author/illustrator. Artist Work Cogswell currently teaches metals at State University of New York . John Cogswell and has taught at other esteemed schools during his career. He teaches intensive workshops throughout the year and service as "Technical Editor" for SNAG News. Cogswell is the author of "Creative Stonesetting", which he felt was his responsibility to write and hand down the knowledge that he is privileged to possess. Reviews of Creative Stonesetting

Sydney Lynch

Sydney Lynch obtained her BFA from the University of Colorado and worked as a jewelry for ten years in Boulder, CO before moving to Lincoln, NE where she now lives and works in her home studio. Lynch is a productive metal artist that is well represented by numerous galleries throughout the United States. Artist Work Ms. Lynch's aesthetic about her work is described in her artist statement. Her work is wide ranging and prolific, maintaining two lines of work; one-of-a-kind and Designer Line. Lynch works in 18k and 22k gold and sterling silver using a wide range of stones and interesting patinas. Visit her web site to get a fuller idea of her work and expertise, artist web site and facebook page.

Let METAL Inclinations2 Promote Your Metal Art

Many may not realize how much the Society for Midwest Metalsmiths (SMM) has done to promote the artists who were selected for METAL Inclinations1. SMM's mission as a not for profit organization is to promote metalsmithing and metal artists, so they are doing all in their power to promote the artists selected for the METAL Inclinations Exhibitions.

Each of the top 50 images has a place on the main METAL Inclinations Gallery web page. Plus each image selected has a personal designated web page. On your personal web page will be the photo of your work, your artist statement, a description of your work and a link to your business website or your email address. With a great photo and an insightful artist statement you will be able to attract interested International viewers to your work.

Using the link provided to your business website you may sell your piece in the exhibition or other pieces you may have. SMM does NOT receive a percentage of your sales. This is an incredible way to expand your world wide presence on the web to possible galleries and clients and increase traffic on your own web site. The Exhibition will be running officially for at least one year, but really much longer as the running show is used to promote the next Exhibit and then is archived online.

For METAL Inclinations1, International publicity was provided. Ads were run especially to promote the selected winners and the Exhibition in Ornament Magazine, Metalsmith Magazine and Craft Arts International magazine. PR releases were sent to major art print publications all over the world, online art listings and blogs, including Orchid and SNAGnet. This year with METAL Inclinations2 SMM plans a similar campaign to promote the top 50 artists and award winners.

Inclinations2 Call to Entry