About the Artist

When I was 10 years old, I made my very first ring from a piece of copper wire I found in my father’s desk drawer of his basement workshop. I twisted and bent it until my little heart was content. Then with a second piece I made a “matching” one for my little sister. I was very proud of these rings and I wore mine everyday no matter how green the copper turned my finger. Looking back, I know it was then that I fell in love with making jewelry. Little did I know that years later I would still be just as excited to shape wire and metal into beautiful works of wearable art. Those rings were the very first pieces of metal jewelry I ever made and I still have my little copper wire ring to this day. It hangs on the wall on a pushpin next to my workbench in my studio.

Artist Statement

I create one-of-a-kind pieces using sterling silver and semi precious stones sometimes incorporating copper, brass and gold into my work. My ideas come from my imagination as well as the shapes and the colors of the stones and metals I use. My artwork is fabricated solely out of flat pieces of metal and wire. Each piece is cut, filed, formed, textured, soldered, stone set and polished all by hand, resulting in a simple yet unusual piece of adornment.

Biography

Michele Grady has been interested in art throughout her life. She started working with acrylics, pastels and oils at a young age, moving on to three-dimensional art such as paper-maché and wheel-thrown pottery as she grew up. Eventually this lead to metals, which she has been working with for over 20 years. She has taken a class here and there to learn the basics but most of her skills are self taught and were acquired by trial and error. She teaches classes and workshops in metal smithing, PMC and wire working as well as sells her work in many galleries through out the United States.