Photo: Raco
Jesse Bert, a jeweler from San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, will be visiting to teach a workshop on salt water etching on September 6th and 7th.?
SCC: How would you describe your medium?
I would describe my medium as sculptural jewelry, although I also make many handmade jewelers tools which I use for my own work as well as sell. ?
SCC: What themes seem to occur/reoccur in your work?
My work is informed and inspired by the land in which I live, combined with the nostagia and stories of people and the objects that fill their lives.? Often incorporated in my works are old bits and pieces of items once used or seen but now forgotten. History found in architecture, emblems or designs once common help bring a narrative quality to the description in surface texture.? Nature is another essential element in my life.? The pattern, repetition, and consistency show through in the items that leave my bench, carrying with them great detail and an acute intricacy like so many of the wonderful plants found on my daily camino within the rich environment surrounding me.
SCC: Can you tell us a little more about one of your favorite pieces that you’ve made??
One of the pieces I made most recently that i am very fond of was made for a friend that owns a small school in Mexico City where I teach usually at least once a year. ?It was a birthday present secretly arranged by her sister. ?I was happy to do it because she has helped me and by inviting me to teach each year played a developmental role in my career. ?The piece I made for her is included here in a foto. ?It is a brooch which includes the metal image of a “molcajete” which is a type of mortar and pestel made out of volcanic rock very comon here in Mexico. ?Mostly they are used for making salsa, but I liked the image alot and it serves as a good visual representation of cooking which is one of the things my friend Cristina likes to do, so it was very fitting for her brooch!
SCC: What are most excited about seeing when visiting Pittsburgh??
I Have never really spent too much time in Pittsburgh but I have a few other artist friends who live there or who have lived there and they have very nice things to say about it. ?Along with looking forward to the class I am going to teach at SCC I am looking forward to seeing my friends! ?
?For more information and to register for Jesse’s Saltwater Etching workshop, please visit our catalogue here.?
For more of Jesse’s work, visit his site: jessebert.com
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