Goldsmith Cheryl Swartz returns from her home state of Ohio for a three-day-only show and sale of her fine hand-crafted jewelry at Greenstone Artworks in Westcliffe, August 7, 8, and 9, with a reception for the artist on Friday, August 8, from 4-6 p.m.
After 10 years in her delightful studio and jewelry store in Westcliffe, Cheryl recently closed her retail gallery. She relocated to Ohio with her husband, Terry, to be near family and friends. Still devoted to her craft and customers, she is returning for this limited show with new and wonderful dark sky-themed jewelry and additional original, one-of-a-kind pieces.
Most of Cheryl’s unique pieces are designed around remarkable gemstones and often feature her handmade Roman chains. She has impressively mastered the use of gold and silver. Cheryl also incorporates an ancient technique called KumBoo into some of her original designs. This is an overlay process using 24K gold to create patterns on silver.
Swartz has also been pleasing customers for decades through collaboration with her clients. All of her work is original, but at times, customers may already have a piece they want to transform, a gem they want to repurpose or a special design in mind for a gift. Cheryl will work to make that desire a reality with her skilled craftsmanship and years of experience creating original, unique masterpieces.
“Artistically, my goal is to combine ancient techniques with my contemporary concepts into an elegant piece with a look of timeless beauty. Often, an unusual gemstone is the inspiration for the composition. Occasionally, my work will reflect a bit of humor or whimsy. Creating objects in metal brings me great joy, which I hope is apparent to the viewer, and contagious to the ultimate recipient of my work.”
Cheryl is a graduate of Bowling Green State University in Ohio, where she studied metals/jewelry under Harold Hasselschwert, with further studies in metal at the Toledo Museum of Art, the University of Southern Colorado in Pueblo, the Colorado Center for Metal Arts in Pueblo, and Riverbend Art Center in Dayton, Ohio. She has taught art in public schools, metals at Edison Community College, and chain-making workshops at Riverbend Art Center in Ohio.
Greenstone Artworks is an art gallery, studio, and workshop located at 100 West Main Street in Westcliffe. It represents select southern Colorado artists in many different media and is the creative outlet for the fiber arts of Alpenglow Alpacas. More at: GreenstoneArt.com. More about the artist can be found at cherylswartzjewelry.com.
– Press release by Greenstone Artworks
