Kit Burke-Smith



Kit Burke-Smith

About The Artist

Beacon, NY
Jewelry - Metal • WHOLESALE AVAILABLE • CUSTOM COMMISSIONS

The shapes and textures in my work come from everyday moments, like watching birds, afternoon shadows, or the feeling of coarse sand. I use hand fabrication to create new minimalist and sculptural jewelry. I enjoy making work where the process informs how the shapes turn out, such as earrings that start from the same piece of metal, then split apart to make two elements. I keep my methods relatively traditional but use them to create pieces that feel fresh, minimalist, and sculptural.



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Q&A

Tell us how your work is made.

The shapes in my work come from everyday moments, like watching birds or afternoon shadows. I use traditional hand fabricated metalsmithing methods to create new minimalist and sculptural jewelry. Materials are silver, 18k gold, neoprene rubber, and the occasional Peruvian opal and Tahitian pearl. I enjoy making work where the process informs how the shapes turn out. One example is my line of asymmetric paired loops, earrings that start from the same piece of metal, then split apart to make two elements that are not identical but relate to each other through the way they were made. Picture a long strip of linguini being cut lengthwise in a wavy line with each half becoming a looped earring and you will get the idea. Most of my work is made with the same foundational skills I often pass on to beginner metalsmithing students, like piercing and casting. I keep my methods relatively traditional but use them to create pieces that feel minimalist and sculptural.


What makes you passionate about the medium you work with?

I love the many different ways metal can be manipulated. You can fabricate metal in a sheet form and use it similar to paper, or you can melt it and create fluid, three-dimensional forms in a mold, or carve into it with chasing and engraving like wood, or enamel on it and play with color and texture similar to ceramics and painting. It's ability to be simultaneously delicate and sturdy at the same time is fascinating to me. Jewelry comes alive when it is worn on the human body; it is a very personal and special relationship between object and wearer.

What is something unique about you or your practice?

I play with shapes and textures that isolate the quiet, tranquil moments in everyday life and give them a way to be experienced over and over again in a personal way by being a wearable personal expression.