BY ANNE LEVIN
Special to the Times
As far back as she can remember, Ellen Haveson has been an artist.
“I think when I was born, there were crayons in my hand,” jokes the Trenton native, perched on a sofa in her art-filled living room. “It has always been a part of my life.”
Haveson’s current artistic focus is jewelry-making, and a selection of her works is on display this month at the Ewing branch of the Mercer County Library on Scotch Road. The delicate earrings, bracelets, necklaces and other pieces are made from a variety of materials.
While one grouping is done in mixed metals, another is fashioned from a combination of black and silver. Still another collection is tur quoise, coral and silver. A further group is made from shells and pearls.
While the styles and materials differ, Haveson’s handcrafted jewelry (her company is called “Elle gance”) shares an architectural quality and a common theme.
“I like to get a shape and carry it through,” she says. “I’m very much into composition, balance and organization, so I want them to be odd, yet when you look at them they are balanced.”
Haveson graduated from Tren ton Central High School in 1968 and has lived in Ewing since the mid-1970s. Her father was a lawyer with a talent for art; her mother is “very creative,” she says.
“I was always encouraged to do art. I made most of my own clothes. I did a lot of crafts. I went to college as an art major.”
After college, Haveson began to teach art. She currently works with middle-school students at an after- school program in Lawrence.
“I like working with that age,” she says.
From an early interest in photography, Haveson developed a technique combining a form of art and photography, which she calls “photage.” She has exhibited in a Trenton Artists Workshop Association exhibit, among others.
A few years ago, Haveson began working on jewelry with her stu dents. Before she knew it, she was hooked.
“I just really got into it and it stuck,” she says. “Things have got ten more intricate as I’ve worked on it over the past two years or so.
“I love it. It’s my outlet. I love to create from scratch. I love to put together different combinations of beads and wires. It’s the designing of it — I like to get an idea that I might be able to do, or maybe not, and see if I can do it. It’s a chal lenge.”
Haveson’s workspace is portable: a small cart of stacked, plastic boxes that she can wheel around her apartment from room to room. She knows which containers hold which beads, metals and wires. “I have thousands of beads and have a relationship with every one of them,” she says.
With friends living in locations from New Zealand to California sporting her jewelry, Haveson has received orders from all over the world. She makes earrings in pierced and clip styles, and her necklaces can be adjusted to different lengths. Prices range from about $15-$40.
Her jewelry “is not for everyone,” Haveson says.
“I want it to be unique, different. It’s sort of makes a statement but it’s not too crazy, not garish. Simple can be interesting.”
Source: http://www.nj.com/
