|
JOE SILVERA
I am a metalsmith, wax carver, jewelry teacher, and co-owner of a bead and yarn store. Writing a bio about myself seems like a perfect time to try to make sense of the crooked road that led me to here and now.
After wandering around California State University at Long Beach as a general arts major, taking painting, sculpture and illustration classes, I tried a jewelry class, because my college roommate showed me his samples from his class. I loved it immediately, because I could bring everything from my fine arts background to jewelry. Also, the undergraduate major was small, and we worked side by side with the graduate students, which gave me a chance to observe some great metalsmiths. My teachers were Al Pine, and Dieter Muller-Stach, a pair of fantastic teachers who exposed students like myself to a wide range of techniques, including silversmithing, blacksmithing, jewelry, and casting. I thought about going to graduate school after getting my BFA in metalsmithing, but I didn't think at the time that I wanted to teach or go deeper into the artistic side of jewelry. I wanted to know how to make more wearable, sellable jewelry - more about the craft. You know, in an art program, it's okay to make a broach that's big enough and heavy enough to rip the shirt off your body. It makes a great statement. But in the real world, there are few buyers for that kind of work.
i found a job at a jewelry shop called McCloud's Ringworks, in San Pedro, as a bench jeweler. I think Al helped me find that job. I won't lie about it, working as a bench jeweler, doing production work and repair jobs like sizing rings and setting stones, was not my fantasy life. Setting those tiny diamonds was enough to give me tics. But I put in my time, learned a lot about goldsmithing, and even managed to get a second job working for a local jeweler who subcontracted repair work for other shops. I'm ashamed to say I can't remember his full name, Pat... Hmm. Part of getting older, I guess, or blocking out memories. Gary and Pat are talented jewelers and taught me a lot about effective, efficient jewelry work and what makes a good piece of well-crafted jewelry. Watching Gary and his son, Chris, carve wax helped me to decide to specialize in lost wax casting. I liked the flexibility of the wax, how you could build up a form and carve it back. And it tickled my old love for sculpture, carving animals like frogs, rabbits, and such. With their help, I learned more about commercial equipment for casting in a small shop, waxes, tools and working with customers.
A few years later, I found myself with an offer from a big jewelry company in L.A. For some reason, after an interview, they were willing to give me a chance and started giving me jobs to make wax models for their company. It was a get paid while you learn kind of experience. And I learned a lot about making models quickly - fast enough to pay the bills and be able to quit my job as a bench jeweler. I worked my contract jobs for this company, and I put out my shingle as a model maker, taking in jobs to make original prototypes for other jewelry companies. Life as a model maker is like being a ghost writer, I imagine. You're handed a sketch by the designer, sometimes a few lines on a napkin, and off you go to make something wonderful of it. Later on, as far as the rest of the world is concerned, you are the invisible hands behind the craft, no credit on the billing.
I like as much recognition for my work as the next guy, so I started designing and carving jewelry for myself. I worked the galleries, shops, and craft shows, selling as much as I could. I had the dubious luck of starting my business during the reign of George Bush I, with all the glorious rewards of the first Bush-Recession. It was a hard time, but working during lean times teaches you a lot about cutting expenses, marketing for next to nothing, and maximizing your earnings. I peddled my jewelry with motifs like butterflies, bees, ladybugs, frogs, rabbits, cats and dogs for years. And I did what a lot of artists do to survive - I took in side jobs, like making wax models, and helping other artists with their businesses - a lot of artists can't stand the computer. It takes time away from good things, like your art. So I would handle the non-glamorous work, like creating a tidy database and making sense of their accounting programs. I was lucky to work with lots of great artists and it helped me to observe how others worked. Not many people are trusted enough to get the kind of inside information that I had access to on the job. I've always kept the details secret, but I learned a lot by being so close to other artists.
Later, I moved north, to Oakland, California. I had grown up in San Jose, long enough to not want to go back there. And although I liked southern California, I missed the golden hills of the north. It's just not the same California beneath the palm trees in Long Beach. I was still working on my jewelry and looking for opportunities when I met my wife, Anat. We hit it off straight away - we met at an open studio sale where we were both selling. Within a few short years we had moved in together, married, and even lived for awhile in France. When we came back to California, we settled near my family in Lake County. My mother and aunt had relocated during our sabbatical, and offered us a place to stay. What can I say? Lake County may be two hours north of San Francisco and isolated, but the open waters of Clear Lake make for gorgeous kayaking and bird watching, and the valley rolls with vineyards and orchards. Life is agreeable, the highways are scenic, and the parking is free. Life is a little easier here as an artist than in the city. Anat and I taught metalsmithing classes, and we thought about our future.
A few years later, we decided to open a store in our adopted town of Kelseyville. The main street is charming, with everything in walking distance - cafe, grill, bistro, wine tasting rooms, computer store, hardware store, doctors, dentists - and now, our bead and yarn store, Perlz. With help from our friends, we studied and researched and made a pretty nice space in our little town, sort of a clean, well-lit home for beadworkers and knitters. Anat taught me a lot about teaching workshops, since she had taught for years, and we still teach at our store. Together we teach metalsmithing and beadwork classes, and we invite guest instructors to teach some as well, plus workshops in knitting, glasswork, and Precious Metal Clay. I took over teaching our workshops in Berkeley and San Rafael at Baubles and Beads. With a little patience and encouragement, we like to think that we've helped to bring the joy of craft and jewelry to the lives of our students and customers.
Life here in the country goes on for us, as proud nouveau hicks and dog lovers - check out the pictures of Bela and Django in the sidebar. I still continue to make jewelry, carve wax models for clients, teach, and help run a bead and yarn shop. Heck, I even learned how to knit. It's relaxing after a hard day in the studio.
back to top
|
 |
wax carving
 What is wax carving? Well, have you ever wanted to cast your own designs in metal, like silver, gold or bronze? Then you need lost wax casting, and carving a wax model is how your prepare your piece for casting. I love carving wax.
read more about wax carving
teaching & retreats
 I was the guy around the studio who couldn't help himself - I always helped the other students with their projects. That experience and my five years teaching metalsmithing workshops around the San Francisco Bay area have helped me to become a good teacher. I squeeze a lot of material into my handouts and workshops, and I'm fortunate to have a good following for my beginning metalsmitihing, soldering, and stone setting classes.
read more about classes and retreats
custom & readymade jewelry
 We have a need to express ourselves with ornament. It can help to identify our culture or subculture, our tastes in music and art, and say so much about who we are without words. Take a look at my custom work and if you'd like to have something special made for yourself or as a gift, use my form to get a quote. Or shop my pages of readymade jewelry of animals, like frogs, rabbits, dogs and more.
view jewelry by joe and anat silvera
links
portfolio
shop my jewelry
visit our bead & yarn store
schedule of retreats and workshops
Myself as a character on the Simpsons
Simpsonize yourself
Bela
Django
They really like each other!
|
