[Jewelry making - Article 00500] - Re: [Orchid] Article: Minimal Metalsmithing

[Don Friedlich]

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    I have stayed out of this discussion about Nanz's comments about
    metal clay so far but now I feel the need to respond to at least one
    point made by R.E. Rourke since it involves me. I would also like to
    say that while I understand the passion people have for the material,
    and from what I know, some of Nanz's technical observations are out
    of date, I think the fire storm she has ignited is a bit of an over
    reaction and the consequences of it a real shame. She seemed to be
    making a positive contribution to Art Jewelry Magazine. Criticism is
    part of the art world and the jewelry world, but from what I've
    seen, the metal clay world is a highly supportive environment and
    less critical than those of us who have trained in a university are
    accustomed to. Perhaps that is part of the reason for the strong
    reaction and feeling like Nanz was making a personal attack. I only
    know her a little but I'm sure that was not her intention. I also
    know that my emails sometimes come off as too blunt and I've been
    told by my wife to take the edges off them. I've often seen these
    sort of misunderstandings that can happen in an email correspondence,
    as opposed to a phone conversation that can be softened and shaped by
    tone of voice and the like. 

    So, some background. Tim McCreight asked me to write the essay for
    PMC Decade and later I wrote the article based on that essay for
    Metalsmith magazine. Tim wanted the analysis of an outsider who
    didn't have any stake in the material, but who had a knowledge of the
    full spectrum of the jewelry world. This was to my knowledge the
    first significant piece of critical writing published about metal
    clay. I came to it with some of the skepticism that has been
    expressed on Orchid, but I also tried very hard to be open to it.
    Before I committed to writing the essay Tim sent me the images from
    the book, so that I could be sure that the work stimulated something
    for me to write about. I was very pleased to find it did and that
    there was some good work being done in metal clay. I tried to provide
    a constructive essay that would help in some small way to advance the
    metal clay world and also the broader art jewelry world. In the
    Metalsmth article I wanted to show the readers that this material
    has real potential and that it has produced some good work. It has
    matured over time as does any new technique or material and it's
    worth a second look. It has also done something wonderful. It has
    gotten a lot of people involved with making jewelry that wouldn't
    have been engaged without the advent of metal clay. 

    Some of the posted comments by R.E. Rourke below are inaccurate, but
    the part that spurred me to write in response is the allegation of
    some sort of collusion between SNAG and the metal clay industry.
    Nothing could be further from the truth. 

>     It is being given credence as workable metal by SNAG, for one,
>     when as you concisely point out its porosity makes it virtually
>     useless - (not to mention three times the cost of the actual metal
>     the particles come from) as an enduring work of art jewelry..One of
>     the art world's newer mysteries perhaps, but Metalsmiths/SNAG's
>     board of directors cross ties with the PMC industry are my best
>     guess..

    First, the SNAG Board has no input into the content of Metalsmith
    beyond hiring the editor and appointing half of the members of the
    Editorial Advisory Committee (EAC). The editor appoints the other
    half. The EAC has little direct say into the content and is a
    resource for the editor that provides feedback on existing issues of
    the magazine as well as occasional input of ideas for future coverage
    or writers. The area where they have the most impact is in picking
    the curators and jurors for the annual Exhibition in Print. The
    editor, Suzanne Ramljak, decides what goes into Metalsmith and she is
    intentionally autonomous from the SNAG Board of Directors. There is
    also an intentional firewall between Suzanne and ad sales. The only
    connection is that when the magazine's editorial side is finalized,
    the table of contents is sent to the ad sales person to see if there
    might be an opportunity for sales that are specific to that issues
    content. Advertising has no input into the editorial content of
    Metalsmith and there certainly is not some sort of deal between SNAG
    and the metal clay industry. 

    Suzanne read my essay in PMC Decade and was sent a copy the book in
    the hopes that she would ask someone to review it. Tim McCreight
    asked her if she might have any interest in having me write a version
    of the essay as a feature article for Metalsmith instead of someone
    else writing a review. She said yes, and I reworked the essay some
    for the Metalsmith audience, which I saw as d ifferent from the
    audience for PMC Decade. 

    The fact that there is no mention that metal clay is used in the
    pieces in the Metalsmith captions and the material is simply listed
    as "fine silver" instead, is due to a decision by Tim McCreight to
    list it the same way in his book. My understanding is the reason
    behind this is that there are two brands of metal clay, and several
    formulas for each brand, depending on your needs. Instead of listing
    one piece as Art Clay and the other as Precious Metal Clay, Tim chose
    a generic term of fine silver. He could have also just said "metal
    clay" or "fine silver metal clay", and I understand the sentiments of
    those that think this is more appropriate and I don't disagree. In my
    writing I used the term "metal clay." That said, as the author of the
    book, this was Tim's choice to make for the book and the only caption
    information provided to the magazine as well. That said, given that
    the article was all about metal clay, it seems pretty clear that
    metal clay was used to make the work illustrated. 

    To my knowledge, this was the first time metal clay work had been
    shown in Metalsmith, at least in any quantity. The cover decision was
    a nice surprise. I was thrilled that the editor and graphic designers
    decided to put a piece from the article on the cover and Claire
    Holiday was an excellent choice. As much as any person working in the
    material, Claire has found innovative and sensitive ways of using
    metal clay. She shows the material is far from useless, as do others. 


Best regards,
Don Friedlich
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