Daniel Kamman
508-996-1707
danielkamman@industrialjewelry.com
www.industrialjewelry.com
STUDIO ADDRESS
Ropeworks
123 Sawyer Street, #5
New Bedford, MA 02746-5403
MEDIUM: Industrial Jewelry
The press has described my work as "graceful", "some form of alchemy", and "ingenious and delicate".
I devise novel mechanical (no solder, no glue, no weld) construction methods to combine industrial materials and some traditional jewelry components, to create striking earrings (primarily) and necklaces.
Industrial components include rubber (rings and cords), electronic connectors with gold-coated pins, heat sinks (black, red, or blue spoked-ring radiators for cooling electronics), gears, and brilliantly-colored glass laser filters. Recently, I've been working with glass tubes, stainless steel tubes, tiny ball-bearing balls, and new gears. Jewelry components include sterling silver (beads, tubes, and wire), gold-filled beads, and glass beads (contemporary and vintage).
I base my jewelry methods on information skills I learned in my engineering studies (PhD) and career (30 years), supplemented by a few short courses taught by internationally-renowned jewelry designers. Many of my engineering activities (and my 2 patents) were related to mechanical systems.
During open studios I talk at length with people interested in my hundreds of mechanical, electronic, and optical materials (who like the way they look or want to know what they were for); with people who work with my industrial materials (who bring a special perspective); with children (who often ask insightful questions); and with people deciding which piece to buy (who share with me the pros and cons of each piece). In childhood my attempts to use hand tools were criticized by my overbearing father. In my early teens I started to learn about art and visited the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.
In college I learned to use intellectual tools, in engineering courses. In graduate school I learned to use physical tools, to make apparatus for my engineering PhD. In my first job I worked with 3-story-tall experimental equipment, developing new processes. In my second job I combined information in unusual ways to solve long-standing problems. I started making jewelry to overcome childhood upsets around using tools. Originally, I made necklaces for myself, quickly, from a few components. One day, a jewelry salesperson and a bus driver admired one of my necklaces and said I should sell my jewelry — so I did.
During the last 17 years my jewelry has been in open studios events, juried shows in Massachusetts and Florida, and galleries in Massachusetts and New York. For more information: danielkamman@industrialjewelry.com, www.industrialjewelry.com |
