{"id":1021,"date":"2013-04-30T20:14:06","date_gmt":"2013-04-30T20:14:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/userblogs.ganoksin.com\/metalwerx\/?p=1021"},"modified":"2013-05-03T16:45:27","modified_gmt":"2013-05-03T16:45:27","slug":"meet-the-masters-victoria-lansford","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/userblogs.ganoksin.com\/metalwerx\/2013\/04\/30\/meet-the-masters-victoria-lansford\/","title":{"rendered":"Meet the Masters: Victoria Lansford"},"content":{"rendered":"

Old world jewelry making techniques take center stage at Metalwerx’\u00a0 annual “Summer with the Masters<\/a>” series on June 25,\u00a0 when Victoria Lansford<\/a> returns to present workshops on Eastern repouss\u00e9 and Russian filigree.<\/p>\n

Some of the world\u2019s oldest and finest examples of metalsmithing were made using these methods, such as the filigree jewelry made by Etruscan and Greek artists, or the repouss\u00e9d funerary mask of Egypt\u2019s boy king, Tutankhamun.<\/p>\n

$\"High$ <\/p>\n

Preserving the interest in these labor-intensive processes is a personal calling for Victoria. She has achieved international recognition and many awards for her clever approaches to conserve some of metalsmithing\u2019s most traditional processes.<\/p>\n

$\"Russian$ <\/p>\n

It\u2019s all part of her calling to promote \u2018slow craft:\u2019 plumbing the connections between metal and design using time-honored techniques to produce quality artistry.\u00a0 \u201cI feel fortunate to have learned this in the right place at the right moment,\u201d she said. \u201cSome things will never be done as well by machines or computers as they can be by hand.\u201d<\/p>\n

Victoria takes her mission seriously. She teaches workshops year-round, produces videos, and writes books to pass on and preserve the skills she learned as a student at George State University in Atlanta.<\/p>\n

$\"Lyric$ <\/p>\n

As a child she\u2019d been fascinated by the Egyptians; their cultural objects and gold jewelry held a particular allure for her. While studying metals in college, she wondered how the ancients were able to get such distinctive relief on their hammered pieces. She had practiced repousse, but felt the technique had limitations.<\/p>\n

But\u00a0 after studying with Gia Gogishvilli, a professor at GSU from the Republic of Georgia, she felt like she\u2019d entered a time machine. \u201cI could see immediately the process, the shape of tools, the work within a matrix.\u00a0 There are a couple of tricks unique to that process that allow for all the height and differentiation. Once I learned to do that, any shape I could think of, I could do,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

$\"Russian$ <\/p>\n

The Eastern repousse tradition differs from other methods because the shape of the tools is different, and you don\u2019t have to work exclusively on pitch, she said. \u201cPart of what makes it work is there are certain ways and areas of hammering the metal from the back that give greater height. And every time you do a new design or a smaller area, you don\u2019t have to stop and make a tool.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the old days, clay was used to hammer the back to get height. Victoria uses plasticine. But in the front, where more resistance is wanted, the\u00a0 hammering is done on pitch. The combination of the tools, the supporting material behind the metal, and the manner of freehand hammering gave Victoria the look she was after: a crisper, higher relief.<\/p>\n

$\"High$ <\/p>\n

Participants in the four-day High Relief Eastern Repousse<\/a> class will concentrate on practicing hammering techniques on copper\u2014no tool-making required! Victoria will have sets of Swiss-made tools for students to use. Students will make two or three pins or pendants and a finger ring, from their choice of copper or silver.\u00a0 Alternative materials such as mokume gane and bi-metal are encouraged.<\/p>\n

Russian \u201copen back\u201d filigree<\/a> is another technique for which Victoria is acclaimed. She will teach a two day class June 29, in which students will learn to tension set fine, scalloped wire within a smooth frame. Click here for pictures from her last workshop.<\/a><\/p>\n

Victoria explained that the term \u201cRussian\u201d for filigree isn\u2019t regional, but technical. \u201cIt reached a zenith in Eastern Europe in the 18th and 19th centuries, though I don’t know why the Russians get the credit,\u201d she said.\u00a0 \u201cOther artists have been describing filigree by country, but Russian, Yemenite, Mexican, Turkish, and Persian filigree are all the same technique, with occasional stylistic differences.\u201d<\/p>\n

$\"Russian$ <\/p>\n

While visiting in the Boston area, Victoria also will speak June 22 at the Peabody Essex Museum<\/a> in Salem, MA, as part of the exhibition, \u201c Faberge Revealed: The Collection of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts<\/a>.\u201d\u00a0 She will demonstrate granulation and torch fired enameling in addition to Eastern repouss\u00e9 and Russian filigree.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love doing demonstrations like this, especially if there are kids in the audience,\u201d she said. \u201cKids in particular are mesmerized. They see that there\u2019s so much more to metal and jewelry than mass-produced stuff on billboards.\u201d And because she had already was booked to teach at Metalwerx, she said, \u201cThe timing was perfect.\u201d<\/p>\n

$\"Russian$ <\/p>\n

Kids are the perfect audience for Victoria\u2019s mission to attract new followers to slow craft. \u201cI don\u2019t want to see the world turn into 30-minute earrings. That\u2019s great sometimes, but there\u2019s a limit to what one can do artistically. In our fast-paced world, people crave doing things with their hands. For me, slow craft is not about cutting corners, but taking as long it takes to make.\u201d<\/p>\n

To learn more about “Summer with the Masters” or to register for Victoria’s workshops, visit www.metalwerx.com<\/a> or call 781-891-3854.<\/p>\n

–by Yleana Martinez<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Old world jewelry making techniques take center stage at Metalwerx when Victoria Lansford returns for workshops on Eastern repouss\u00e9 and Russian filigree. Some of the world\u2019s oldest and finest examples of metalsmithing were made using these methods. Preserving the interest in these labor-intensive processes is a personal calling for Victoria.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":143,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/userblogs.ganoksin.com\/metalwerx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1021"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/userblogs.ganoksin.com\/metalwerx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/userblogs.ganoksin.com\/metalwerx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/userblogs.ganoksin.com\/metalwerx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/143"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/userblogs.ganoksin.com\/metalwerx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1021"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/userblogs.ganoksin.com\/metalwerx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1021\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/userblogs.ganoksin.com\/metalwerx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1021"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/userblogs.ganoksin.com\/metalwerx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1021"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/userblogs.ganoksin.com\/metalwerx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1021"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}