Kat Glazewski

I grew up near Dayton, Ohio. I love Skyline Chili, but hate the snow. In 2010 I earned my Fine Arts degree from the Savannah College of Art and Design, and would have remained a student forever if given the option. Instead I returned to Ohio, near Cleveland this time, and passed the time by making chainmail and learning to cut and polish rocks at my local lapidary club.

In 2017 I moved to California (a low-snow region) where I finally have the space and resources to return to my college projects and bring them to life in new ways.

My jewelry style is modernism with a touch of whimsy. I'm intrigued by the process of Making; I especially enjoy exploring new methods and techniques, and trying to combine new skills with old. I am making jewelry for those who want to wear Art, for those who always have a story about the little joys they find in life, and for those who want to diminish the mundane by bringing sparkle to every part of life.

KJD Blog is an accessory to the journey, here to chronical the designs, processes and progress, and random thoughts that occur along the way.

SeaDragon

The SeaDragon series began as an assignment for a college casting class: create 3 different pieces that join together without jump rings. The original leafy design is inspired by the Leafy Sea Dragon, a fish that camouflages itself as seaweed. The organic shapes and layered design call to mind leaves, fish fins, and dragon scales.

I returned to the project for the school's end of year design show, completing a large necklace entirely in fine silver while exploring kiln-fired enamels and cast-in-place stone setting.

After graduation I continued to develop the digital design of SeaDragon. In 2021 I acquired sand casting equipment and a small beehive kiln, and began the process of bringing SeaDragon II to life.

Backstories

Pieces of jewelry are sculpture. We interact with them in 3 dimensions of space and experience all sides. So why leave the back side plain and ignored? These works explore all sides, including settings that showcase the polished front of the cabochons but add interest and a story to the back sides of pendants, bracelets, and earrings.

Chainmail

Chainmail is a fabric-like mesh formed of interlaced metal rings, and has been around for centuries. The earliest historical examples are from the 3rd or 4th century BC, and it is often best remembered as armor from the European Middle Ages. In modern times the techniques are very often used for decorative arts, and there are mail-makers everywhere, creating bracelets and earrings, neck ties and dice bags, out of every metallic material from aluminum to titanium.

I love the mesmerizing patterns formed by the interlocking rings, and I love how an endless array of patterns can be created using such a simple shape. I am exploring fine jewelry through this art of chain-making. By making chainmail items of sterling silver there is the opportunity to fabricate, to add on gemstone settings and custom accents, while the woven nature of chainmail potentially creates pieces that move like rope and drape like fabric.

A Few Statements

I purchase a few components (such as chains or clasps) premade. I design all of my own work, and I personally produce it from majority raw materials in my studio in California. This is handmade.

I support the LGBTQ+ community. I believe love is love, and marriage should be equally available to all. I believe we all have a right to bodily autonomy, and to express our gender in a way the feels true to ourselves.

I am against generative AI. Most of these products appear to be created from artwork without the artists' permission, most appear to have an unreasonable impact on the environment simply to exist, and I do not want computers to be creating Art in the future. Let the robots fold laundry, let the people make art.