ABOUT THE ARTIST

Michael Boyd divides his time between Pueblo, Colorado and Salida, a small art community in the Colorado high country. His work is intricate and demanding, the kind of work for which mountain hikes are the perfect antidote. It is not surprising that when away from the bench, he can often be found hiking the nearby mountains. Or if the water is high and his buddies are free, you might find him in a kayak on the Arkansas

When he hikes, he brings along his pack goats. They’re his companions; he raised them himself, bottle-feeding them as babies.  And they’re his assistants. If the day is good, he and the goats will return to his studio, packs loaded with the jasper, agate, aquamarine and quartz that are the hallmark of his work.

He was first introduced to jewelry fabrication in high school but pursued painting instead. He enjoyed some success. His paintings were shown in a number of galleries, including the Sheila Nussbaum Gallery in New Jersey.  His exposure to the work of jewelers also exhibiting there inspired him. That was in 1990. He gave up painting to return to the bench and has never looked back.

ABOUT THE WORK

Michael Boyd’s jewelry has a delightful exuberance. Each piece is one-of-a-kind and is meticulously fabricated in combinations of gold, silver and colorful stone, like collages of stone and mixed metal.  While not all his material is self-gathered from the surrounding mountains, much is. These stones he will cut himself. The rest, the precious stones such as diamonds, tourmalines, rubies and sapphires are used sparingly, not so much for their intrinsic value but for the punctuation they provide.

More recently Michael has begun to explore the creation of objects, like teapots, candlesticks, utensils and even a compass. Most are modifications of an object he has found, a Chinese teapot, for example, or candleholder. He removes original elements and embellishes with his own, using the same techniques and materials he applies to his jewelry. The results are magical, fabulous objects of questionable function and fantastic form.