ABOUT THE ARTIST

Carla Reiter was born in Palo Alto, California and grew up in Indiana and Illinois. She went to Indiana University to study silversmithing but switched to sculpture after absorbing the rudiments of jewelry technique. She graduated with a BA in art in 1973, a BA in physics and science writing from the University of California, Santa Cruz in 1982 and an MA in cultural anthropology from the University of Texas, Austin in 1992. Throughout this time she continued making jewelry. Many of the techniques she uses are self-taught, acquired as the need arose to fulfill the works she envisioned. She became a full time metalsmith in 1997, selling a line of limited production pieces while making more labor intensive one-of-a-kind pieces for her own gratification.

ABOUT THE WORK

“I have been exploring knitted metal for more than ten years. I like the directness of knitting metal freehand, using pliers and fingers. I’m exploring knitted structures on their own and in combination with fabricated elements. The hollow knitted forms are almost weightless.

“The materials play with the convention that jewelry be glittery and precious. Silver is blackened, the “gems” are copper, pyrite, or empty space; precious stones play a supporting role.

“I want my work to blend an almost primitive handmade feeling with a refined sense of design. I’m not especially interested in technique for its own sake or on perfection – if I could, I’d abandon tools altogether and just work the metal with my hands.

“But my jewelry really isn’t cerebral. These materials and techniques sem rich and beautiful to me – something I want to wear. All of these pieces are meant to be worn. Someone once said that my jewelry only “wakes up” when it is worn. That seems right to me.”

PUBLICATIONS

American Craft

Lapidary Journal

EXHIBITIONS

2007    SOFA Chicago, Patina Gallery, exhibitor