Tippecanoe Arts Federation to debut jewelry exhibit by Kirstin Eismin
\nLafayette Journal and Courier
\nBy Tim Brouk
\ntbrouk@journalandcourier.com<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Kirstin Eismin wants her art to look good and feel good.
\nA jewelry artist from West Lafayette, Eismin goes to great lengths to make sure her necklaces, rings, cuffs and earrings are pleasing to the eye and skin.<\/p>\n
“I have reservations putting these under glass. They are meant to be felt,” Eismin said. “I’d tell people these need to be touched. … If a piece is not appealing to the touch, I just let it sit.”<\/p>\n
Currently an American studies graduate student at Purdue University, Eismin has been creating jewelry for only a little more than two years.<\/p>\n
Her first solo exhibition, “Independent Beauty,” opens Friday and will continue through April 23 at Tippecanoe Arts Federation, 638 North St. An opening reception will be from 7 to 9 p.m. Friday at TAF.<\/p>\n
While aided by her artistic eye after excelling in art classes at Harrison High School and some classes during her undergraduate studies at Purdue, Eismin found that one necklace would take her weeks to finish at the beginning of her art career.<\/p>\n
“I kept adding stuff to it. I told myself ‘You have to stop. No more will fit!’ ” Eismin said.<\/p>\n
Eismin said her work is “fashion jewelry” not “fine jewelry.” She doesn’t have a soldering gun to set fine jewelry. She prefers using sterling silver wire and working with millions of beads in her home studio.<\/p>\n
For Essence of Ocean & Earth, the necklace and bracelet set contains more than 1,000 beads, gems, silver leaves and real shells she picked up in Florida.<\/p>\n
Eismin said she works from sketches. Sometimes she meticulously maps out where each tiny bead would go on a necklace. Other times, she goes with the flow and changes her pieces at will. This sometimes results in having to start some works over.<\/p>\n
“I get pretty frustrated,” Eismin said. “I have some duds sitting in the back that didn’t make it. I couldn’t give them any more energy.”<\/p>\n
Eismin prefers to use natural items in her jewelry. Several of her 15 sets that will appear in her show contain imported pieces of coral. The pieces are bright in color and have interesting shapes to provide weight and depth.<\/p>\n
When making jewelry, Eismin only uses small jeweler’s pliers. She goes through yards of wire to hold her pieces together. The lattice work of the wire almost outshines her choice in beads and gems in some of the works. The silver eye pins, end caps and pearl clasps are necessary items in a necklace, but Eismin finds a way to make them become part of the jewelry’s aesthetic.<\/p>\n
Cleopatra is a standout for Eismin. The fashionable cuff and necklace set contains a countless number of tiny, purple beads.<\/p>\n
“It was just wrap, add beads, wrap … ,” said Eismin, whose favorite color is purple.<\/p>\n
The Cleopatra necklace is form-fitting jewelry as it wraps around the neck and shoulders. It is the only one of its kind in Eismin’s portfolio.<\/p>\n
“Independent Beauty” is a rare, all-jewelry exhibit at TAF. Eismin will feature most of her work on pedestals.<\/p>\n
To fill those blank, white gallery walls, Eismin will hang pictures of influential women in her life. She believes the friends, family and colleagues are the real art, and the jewelry only accents them.<\/p>\n
“Every woman is a new canvas for each piece,” Eismin said. “This is about the women wearing the jewelry, not the jewelry itself.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Tippecanoe Arts Federation to debut jewelry exhibit by Kirstin Eismin Lafayette Journal and Courier By Tim Brouk tbrouk@journalandcourier.com Kirstin Eismin wants her art to look good and feel good. A jewelry artist from West Lafayette, Eismin goes to great lengths to make sure her necklaces, rings, cuffs and earrings are pleasing to the eye and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[411],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n