Betty McKim Resume

Education
Master of Fine Arts, Metal Design, East Carolina University, 1987
Penland School of Crafts, Penland, NC
Revere Jewelry Academy East, Wild Acres, NC
Revere Jewelry Academy, San Francisco, CA

Awards / Honors
Wake County Emerging Artist Grant
United Arts Council Artist Grant
North Carolina Triennial Exhibition
Earrings selected for Lark Publication - 500 Earrings
Metals Studio Assistant, Penland School of Crafts, Penland, NC
Commemorative Pin for Yates Mill Pond selected for Museum Store sales
Image of work included in the book “Jewelry Lab: Experiments in Metal”  

Work Experience
1997 - Present
Assistant Director Pullen Arts Center, Raleigh, NC
Manage and Teach Classes for the Jewelry Program

Galleries / Shows
Cedar Creek Gallery, Creedmoor, NC
Grovewood Gallery, Grovepark Inn, Asheville, NC
Rebus Gallery, Raleigh, NC
Larkspur Garden Annual Crafts Show, Raleigh, NC
The Boylan Art Walk Annual Crafts Show, Raleigh, NC
Art In The Park Annual Crafts Show, Blowing Rock, NC
Carolina Designer Craftsmen, Raleigh, NC
American Craft Council Wholesale Show, Baltimore, MD
Piedmont Craft Show, Winston Salem, NC
Ziabird, Wrightsville Beach, NC
Charmed Exhibit, Society of Contemporary Craft, Pittsburg, PA
Narrative Brooches, Mahler Fine Art Gallery, Raleigh, NC


Artists Statement

 

Artist Quote

My jewelry is about structure and shapes with movement. Textural surfaces embellish the forms and give each piece a unique quality.

 

Artist Statement

My jewelry is about structure and shapes with movement. Textural surfaces embellish the forms and give each piece a unique quality. The work is about keeping complexity, composition and beauty interesting while creatingvisual movement and whimsy within the piece.  Each piece is fabricated primarily from silver with gemstones and gold accents. The oxidized satin finish gives depth and creates value contrast. It also highlights and defines textured surfaces. My inspirations are reflections of visual editing and the abstracting of nature and my surroundings. The spoke shape has an energy that radiates and reminds me of an industrial flower, spinning wheel or sunburst. I restructure and abstract this shape, as you will see it appears throughout my work. The work is always a sensitive combination of restraint and indulgence. The multiplicity and repetition of shapes and textures are layered, clustered, tangled, and or isolated. The elements and forms move mimicking the rhythms of nature. The object can be playful and sensuous as it takes on a life of its own. Each piece is carefully executed and timeless in design. The jewelry is meant to be worn and enjoyed for many years. The predominate material is silver interlaced with genuine, colorful, gemstones. Some of the designs have been heavily gold plated with 18 k gold, occasionally I include enameled surfaces, tin, and found objects into some of the pieces. Each piece is hand fabricated combining various metalsmithing techniques. I particularly enjoy the process of making a series of parts and then composing them in a harmonious way.


Artist Technique

The predominant material is silver interlaced with accents of gold and colorful gemstones The surfaces are oxidized, satin finished and, or high polished. Each piece is hand fabricated combining various metalsmithing techniques’. I particularly enjoy the process of making a series of parts and then composing them in a harmonious way, sometimes injecting an oddity or dissimilar point of interest.