ABOUT THE ARTIST

Tom and Doris McGurrin, designers and metalsmiths, have been involved in the contemporary craft movement for twenty-five years. Their approach to jewelry combines ancient and traditional metalworking methods with silver and high karat golds. The work is completely hand made by them, meticulously designed to be worn and enjoyed.

Natives of Michigan, Tom and Doris met in the fall of 1969, married and moved to New England. Tom’s career in jewelry began in 1972 when he apprenticed for a small jewelry firm in Cape Ann, Massachusetts. His first entrepreneurial efforts came two years later when he rented a small studio “off” Main Street in Rockport, designing and selling his own work.

In 1976, the McGurrins moved to rural New Hampshire where they designed and built their home and studio. For the next eight years Doris worked at a private school until committing full time to the business.

After years of metalsmithing and design experience, their work has grown in technical strength as well as vision. With their two children off to college, they have approached their craft with renewed passion, exploring mixed metals, alternative surface treatments and various forming techniques.

ABOUT THE WORK

Though Tom and Doris, self-taught artisans, work in traditional materials and employ age-old techniques, their work is distinctively contemporary. Their collection of jewelry in silver and 14k gold is characterized by clean lines, reflecting natural forms and simple elegance. Precious materials are fabricated, forged and formed by hand. Each piece is carefully finished, with surfaces buffed to a high polish.

Newer pieces inspired by an Eastern aesthetic, combining sterling silver with 18K and 22K gold, offer subtle contrasts of color, surface and form. High karat gold with its inherent softness allows a variety of surface textures, achieved by printing and hammering the metal. Fold forming and die forming give volume to the shapes, while soldering, fusing and rivets are used to connect all the elements. Edges are burnished for contrast, and a final brushing gives the work its rich, velvety appearance.