Jenne Rayburn



Jenne Rayburn

About The Artist

Jenne Rayburn • Malden, MA
Jewelry • WHOLESALE AVAILABLE • CUSTOM COMMISSIONS

Jenne Rayburn is a goldsmith, enamellist and designer. She grew up in the farming country of southeastern Washington State, and studied art, interior design and architecture. History and tradition, vernacular design and indigenous peoples inspire Jenne's vitreous enamel and metalwork. She is fascinated with myths and folklore that recount heroic adventures and connect us to a larger purpose, and believes that the arts and crafts of our world are critical to the development of creative societies.



Connect

Instagram
Artist website
Email

Q&A with the Artist

Tell us how your work is made.

My work is primarily in vitreous enamel, combining drawing and painting with texturing and patterning in a process of fusing thin coats of specially prepared ground glass to metal in a kiln, using high, controlled heat. I strive to create depth and luminosity with hand drawn designs and multilayered finishes that reveal different aspects of color and metal as they move. I use three dimensionally formed metal, found objects, ink, colored pencils, Limoges paints, mason stains and decals to achieve richly textured, curiously evocative and technically innovative contemporary work.


What makes you passionate about the medium you work with?

People who create and make things by hand tell the stories of a society, who we are and what we believe, and this deepens our understanding of ourselves and the human condition. Being a goldsmith and enamellist blends art and science, form and function, creativity and innovation. For me, the process of creation, from researching and brainstorming to sketching and modeling, selecting materials and fabricating, is inspiring. Motivated by curiosity and problem solving, I enjoy continually reimagining what is possible, using design as a thought process and storytelling as my purpose.

What is something unique about you or your practice?

As a child I loved Greek mythology and it was always my dream to travel and to see first hand the settings of these ancient and magical stories. Experiencing art and architecture in my travels has been amazing and the Greek jewelry and Roman gilded glass work deeply inspires me. The design sensibility, sense of color and contrast, and high level of workmanship is interesting and beautiful, but really what I feel as I stare into those museum cases is a longing to be connected to the people who had made these beautiful things, to reach in and travel back in time. Fundamental to my design is the idea that when we feel connected to our past and present, we can have an easier time facing the future. I really believe that personal history has staying power. Jewelry that is imbued with the stories and emotions that connect us with our beliefs and to our ancestors can be powerful and symbolic, transport us to our memories and our dreams, and it never goes out of style.