Featured Artist: Esther Eve of E²

One of the perks of being a member of Etsy Metal is the instant social circle of talented, motivated, and supportive artists. When one of us discovered Pinterest, a large number of us were there with in a week. I quickly learned that many of us have much in common. And now I know that Esther Eve and I would have no trouble deciding on a place to do lunch. Judging from her playlist below, we would have no trouble agreeing on the music to listen to on the way there either. 

Esther Eve's work in gorgeous. Her work is both bold, with its often larger scale, and organic with a tactile nature that begs to be touched.

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E²

 Esther Eve Metalsmith

 

Tell us a bit about yourself

I had an obsession with seed beads and Indian loom-woven jewelry when I was a young girl, so I guess you could say that I've had the 'bug' for jewelry most of my life. In late 2007 I began my love affair with metal working, and the rest is history. I intend for my work to have a very armor-like and ancient whimsy, as I am obsessed with medieval and old-world style and culture. I intentionally antique and distress each piece for a timeless rustic feel, and use sterling silver, copper, brass, and natural stones for my medium. Aside from using traditional silversmith techniques, I love to create organic designs incorporating crafts such as etching, electroforming, enameling, and various patina concepts. Each piece is entirely hand-made in my small home-based studio, currently residing on the Emerald Coast of Florida.

What is the best advice you've ever been given?
My father taught me that honesty is the key to a peaceful heart, and a happy life.  This has proven incredibly true, and I treasure this invaluable training that he gave me when I was young.

What do you listen to in the studio?
Discovering new music is a great passion of mine.  I'm a child of the 90's era music, so much of what I love was created in that decade, but I love earlier and some recent music just as well.  Usually in the studio I tend to listen to more mellow and soulful artists, but I love my heavy metal just the same ;o)

I'll just list a few here that I've recently added to my playlist:

Adele, Arcade Fire, Cowboy Junkies, Dangermouse (the new album with Jack White and Norah Jones), Das Racist, Deftones (always a huge fan!), Florence & The Machine, Mazzy Starr, Johnny Cash, Lissie, Lykke Li, Metallica, Minnie Driver, Morcheeba, Mumford & Sons, Neko Case, Nina Simone, Portishead, Shakira (I'm terrible at booty-shakin, but sometimes need to spice things up in the studio and get a little crazy!), Smashing Pumpkins, The Ravenonettes, Thievery Corporation, Zach Brown Band, Zola Jesus.

What is your most prized possession? 
My mothers tiny gold mirror, that is engraved with her name and fits perfectly in those little pockets inside most purses.  I'm so scared I'll lose it, so I never actually put it in my purse...it usually stays in my jewelry box where I can still see it daily.  She passed when I was 14, and I will always treasure the memory when I would admire the mirror when I was a child and she would let me play in her purse.

Where can we see your work? (shops, blogs, upcoming events, installations, etc)

You can find my work in my Etsy Shop, My blog, and my Flickr.  

www.evemmetalsmith.etsy.com

www.evemmetalsmith.blogspot.com

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If you would like to learn more about Esther Eve and her work, including the tool at the top of her wishlist and her favorite objects to collect, you can read the full interview at the Etsy Metal Blog.

My Favorite Piece in the E² shop:

You can also follow the official Etsy Metal Pinterest Board to see more work from Esther Eve and other Etsy Metal members.

Charm Swap 9: Moving Right Along

 I decided I better keep up the momentum and get to the point where I could be sure I was going to have enough materials. So today I soldered the copper rings and flattened them. Then I ran some silver wire through the rolling mill, and cut it to length.

 I was really getting nervous toward the end, but it turns out my estimate on wire was right on with about 2cm to spare. That was close!  Of course, I could have been a little more precise on the length of the silver strips, but I like the security of that extra overlap. And when I'm done, I'll have a bunch of little silver pieces to melt into balls for future projects.

Next I'll be cleaning up the seams on some of the copper and then I'll start soldering that silver down. Lets hope I don't melt anything!

Charm Swap 9: Getting Started

I've FINALLY picked my design for the Etsy Metal Charm Swap 9! They'll be smaller versions of my Horizontal Stripes Necklace. 

I've got all my materials and I even completed the first step, cutting the copper:

Next up, soldering the little guys. I'll keep you posted!

Four A Month: February

Copper, Sterling Silver

Sterling Silver, Copper

This month for the Flickr Four A Month challenge I've been working on stripes! Stripes as components of biological forms. Stripes as focal points. Stripes as art objects. Stripes, stripes, stripes! I'm really digging stripes, so much that I've already listed some in my Etsy shop and there are sure to be more in the future.

Horizontal, Sterling Silver

Gymnosperm Receptacle, Sterling Silver and Copper

If you are in the Humboldt area you can see "Gymnosperm Receptacle" and "Horizontal" at Hunter Plaid Gallery in the Sunny Brae Shopping Center with the North Coast Metal Arts Guild's February exhibition. Show runs through March 8th.