Grant Awarded for Guilloche

le brassus switzerland

Vallee de Joux, Switzerland

Grant Awarded for Guilloche

I am very excited to announce I have been awarded an Arts Project Support Grant from the South Carolina Arts Commission! This grant will help fund my travel to Switzerland to study Guilloche under Calina Shevlin, one of the few expert Guilloche artists in the world who do it professionally. American College of the Building Arts in Charleston, South Carolina, where I teach a metalsmithing and jewelry elective class, is also supporting my professional development, which I sincerely appreciate.

 

calina shevlin

Calina Shevlin working at a Guilloche machine

Guilloche, or Engine Turning, is a handcrafted process utilizing a manual machine to put engraved lines, designs, and patterns into metal. Though the technique has its roots in ancient times, the machines used today, most built before WWI, have their origins in 18th century France and Switzerland. Brought into mainstream culture by Breguet in the 18th century and Faberge in the 19th century, the decoration on silver objects, such as cigarette cases and belt buckles, was extremely popular during the 1920s Art Deco era.

kaminer haislip guilloche

Me using the Guilloche machine at the American College of the Building Arts

Sadly, my college professor Alfred Ward, an internationally acclaimed silversmith from England, recently passed away. The American College of the Building Arts purchased many of his tools and equipment from his estate. One of those items included a Guilloche Hall Straight Line machine, made in Rhode Island in the early 20th century, so I have begun learning how to use it for both my artwork and to teach my students. The journey has been fascinating and sometimes frustrating as it is an extremely difficult process to teach oneself.

Fortunately for me, I found Calina’s book Guilloche: A History and Practical Manual online and read it to learn about Guilloche. I ultimately contacted her after I saw her class offerings on her lovely website. She has already been so kind and generous with her time and I would not have made it this far without her!

My first Guilloche sterling silver jewelry series, Rialto, incorporates the new skills I have developed.

 

rialto pendant small

Sterling Silver Rialto Pendant Small by Kaminer Haislip

 

I’m honored by the opportunity to learn Guilloche from a leading expert in the field and thank the South Carolina Arts Commission and American College of the Building Arts for supporting me in this important endeavor. I teach a jewelry elective class during the spring semester and am thrilled to bring back new skills to teach my students. I’m also eager to see the new direction my work will go in after learning more of this intricate process. My instruction will take place in March 2025, so stayed tuned for another Blog post detailing my studies then!

 

sc arts commisisonThis project is funded in part by the South Carolina Arts Commission which receives support from the National Endowment for the Arts.

This project is also funded in part by a generous award from the John and Susan Bennett Memorial Arts Fund of The Coastal Community Foundation of South Carolina.

Silver Ring Workshop – October 26, 2024

silver ring workshop

American College of the Building Arts student Robin Andrews

Silver Ring Workshop

Date: Saturday, October 26, 2024 

Time: 10:00 am – 4:00 pm

Instructor:  Kaminer Haislip, Adjunct Professor of Silversmithing at the American College of the Building Arts

Register: Redux Contemporary Art Center (contact them at the link below to sign up)

https://redux.givecloud.co/product/11000-102624/silver-ring-fabrication-workshop-saturday-october-26th-2024

Cost: $216 for Members / $270 for NonMembers

*Membership Discount applied at checkout.*

Age: 18+

Students will handcraft a sterling silver ring and learn beginner jewelry skills in the American College of the Building Arts jewelry and metalsmithing studio, located in downtown Charleston, South Carolina.

Techniques include:

  •  piercing
  •  filing
  •  soldering
  •  fabrication
  •  forming
  •  hammering
  •  polishing

Students will have the option to incorporate copper and brass into their ring design. All tools, equipment, and materials are provided. No experience necessary!

silver ring workshop

American College of the Building Arts Jewelry & Metalsmithing Studio

amreican college of the building arts jewelry studio

American College of the Building Arts Jewelry & Metalsmithing Studio

New Guilloche Jewelry Series

guilloche engine turning

New Guilloche Jewelry Series

Guilloche, or Engine Turning, is a handcrafted process utilizing a manual machine to put engraved lines, designs, and patterns into metal. Though the technique has its roots in ancient times, the machines used today, most built before WWI, have their origins in 18th century France and Switzerland. Brought into mainstream culture by Breguet in the 18th century and Faberge in the 19th century, the decoration on silver objects, such as cigarette cases and belt buckles, was extremely popular during the 1920s Art Deco era.

guilloche silver pendant

Sterling Silver Rialto Pendant Large by Kaminer Haislip

Sadly, my college professor Alfred Ward, an internationally acclaimed silversmith from England, recently passed away. The American College of the Building Arts in Charleston, South Carolina, where I teach an elective metalsmithing and jewelry class, purchased many of his tools and equipment from his estate. One of those items included a Guilloche Hall Straight Line machine, made in Rhode Island in the early 20th century, so I have begun learning how to use it for both my artwork and to teach my students. The journey has been fascinating and sometimes frustrating as it is an extremely difficult process to teach oneself. This first jewelry series incorporates the skills I have developed thus far.

sterling silver guilloche earrings

Sterling Silver Rialto Split Drop Earrings by Kaminer Haislip

Inspired by the Art Deco era, an influence over my artwork since I began silversmithing, Rialto Jewelry Series gives nod to the layered, geometric designs of the style and the use of Guilloche to decorate surfaces. This jewelry collection was designed with the glamour and energy of the period in mind.

sterling silver guilloche necklace

Sterling Silver Rialto Split Pendant by Kaminer Haislip

Many years ago, Alf and I discussed going into business together and Rialto, which has associations with Art Deco, was going to be the name of our company. I thought it was appropriate to give this first Guilloche jewelry series that name, since I created these pieces using his machine. It has been very meaningful and special to incorporate Guilloche into this new collection with my mentor and dear friend’s machine and carry forth his legacy with it.

Shop the collection in my website store Jewelry category.

 

Quail Forever Benefit Event – December 11, 2023

Quail Forever Benefit Event – December 11, 2023

I am very excited to participate in a Lowcountry holiday market and benefit event for South Carolina Quail Forever co-hosted by the Charleston Mercury! I will have my silver jewelry, functional home objects, and Christmas ornaments displayed for sale.

The festive event will take place Monday, December 11 from 3pm-9pm at Alhambra Hall in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina. Alhambra Hall is a former Ferry Terminal nestled in the historic Old Village section of Mount Pleasant and overlooks the Charleston Harbor. The address for the venue is 131 Middle Street, Mt. Pleasant, SC 29464.

During the event, Charleston photographer Cacky Rivers will be signing her new avian book “Born and Raised”, which features birds native to the South Carolina Lowcountry.

We hope to see you there!

alhambra hall

 

Helena Fox Fine Art Trunk Show – December 1 & 2, 2023

helena fox fine art

helena fox fine art

Helena Fox Fine Art in historic, downtown Charleston, SC

Photograph by Marie Rodriguez Photography

Helena Fox Fine Art Trunk Show – Charleston, SC

Helena Fox Fine Art represents my handcrafted silver designs and regularly carries a curated selection of my silver hollowware, flatware, home objects, and jewelry in their stunning historic, downtown Charleston art gallery. They are hosting a special event featuring my artwork on Friday, December 1 from 5pm-8pm and Saturday, December 2 from 12pm-4pm. Our Friday event will be part of the downtown Charleston artwalk for the month of December and we are thrilled to participate. I will exhibit a wider variety of my silver functional home objects, original jewelry designs, and Christmas ornaments than what the gallery usually shows during this festive holiday shopping event. I hope to see you there! Also, they will have on display their 20th Anniversary exhibition that begins November 2 and will be on display until December 23. Each artist they represent, including myself, will have a new artwork in the exhibit. I created a unique, one of a kind sterling silver dish inspired by the palmetto tree, which continues the theme from my popular Palmetto Jewelry Series. The gorgeous artworks will be a lovely added bonus to my trunk show! sterling silver palmetto dish Helena Fox Fine Art 106A Church Street Charleston, SC 29401 843-723-0073 www.helenafoxfineart.com

Colonial Silver Lecture – September 21, 2023

french huguenot society south carolina

french huguenot society south carolina

french huguenot society south carolina

french huguenot society south carolina

Colonial Silver Lecture – Huguenot Society of South Carolina

The Huguenot Society of South Carolina was established in 1885 to preserve the memory of the Huguenots who left France prior to the promulgation of the Edict of Toleration, November 28, 1787. Today, the Charleston based Society has nearly 2,000 members who are descendants of those Huguenots.

Kaminer Haislip’s colonial silver lecture will focus on how historic silversmithing has influenced her work. In addition to discussing past Charleston silversmithing, she will also highlight several French Huguenot silversmiths and their contributions to early America.

To register for the in person event (limited to 20 participants), please visit https://www.eventbrite.com/e/third-thursday-colonial-silversmiths-with-kaminer-haslip-tickets-686613729147?aff=oddtdtcreator&mc_cid=f4eacb8394&mc_eid=cba4f75226

To register for the virtual/ZOOM event, please visit https://www.eventbrite.com/e/virtual-third-thursday-colonial-silversmithing-with-kaminer-haislip-tickets-687456499897?aff=oddtdtcreator&mc_cid=f4eacb8394&mc_eid=cba4f75226

Kaminer Haislip Silversmithing Films

kaminer haislip silversmith studio

Kaminer Haislip Silversmithing Films

Kaminer Haislip’s silversmithing process and artwork are the focus of an exciting new film series. In five separate films, she demonstrates how she creates her sterling silver bowls and spoons, discusses the inspiration behind her handcrafted hollowware objects, and shows how she draws her original designs before progressing to silver. The five films debuted with her collaborative exhibition Interwoven: The Art of Indigo and Silver with Leigh Magar at Aiken Center for the Arts in historic, downtown Aiken, South Carolina in spring 2023.

Watch the five inspiring films at this LINK!

 

sc arts commisison

This project is funded in part by the South Carolina Arts Commission which receives support from the National Endowment for the Arts.

This project is also funded in part by a generous award from the John and Susan Bennett Memorial Arts Fund of The Coastal Community Foundation of South Carolina.

Interwoven: The Art of Indigo and Silver Exhibition – Aiken, South Carolina

indigo and silver

Silver Nest Bowl by Kaminer Haislip and Boo Hag Blue Indigo Baskets by Leigh Magar
Photograph by Jack Alterman

Interwoven: The Art of Indigo and Silver

March 30, 2023 – May 3, 2023

Artworks by Kaminer Haislip and Leigh Magar

Aiken Center for the Arts
122 Laurens Street SW
Aiken, South Carolina

Interwoven: The Art of Indigo and Silver brought together three contemporary artists—a silversmith, textile designer, and photographer—and a curator in 2018 at City Gallery located in Charleston, SC. Curator Brandy Culp worked with Jack Alterman, Kaminer Haislip, and Leigh Magar to weave a story based on their artwork and the Lowcountry’s deep culture both past and present. Haislip and Magar are now bringing a second version of this exhibition to Aiken Center for the Arts situated in historic, downtown Aiken, SC.

This exhibition explores the intersection between the past and present while recognizing that ultimately contemporary art and craft must be rooted in its own time. Inextricably linked, indigo and silver are transformative as raw materials, imbued with symbolism that transcends time and cultures, and imbedded within the early cultural fabric of the Carolina Lowcountry. Although inspired by Charleston’s cultural heritage, each artist brings unique contemporary perspective and original artwork to the exhibition. Interwoven will include silver hollowware, flatware and jewelry, textile art, and artist renderings.

Kaminer Haislip is the only practicing silversmith in Charleston that continues to employ traditional metalworking techniques and tools that have been used for centuries. As a contemporary silversmith, she is inspired by as well as carrying forth the city’s long-standing silversmithing tradition—the silver and metals manufacturing trade was vital to Charleston’s economy from the eighteenth through the early-twentieth centuries. With a nod to the past, she is most inspired by today’s domestic rituals and enhancing daily life through the creation of functional handcrafted objects that are entirely contemporary in form.

Additionally, Haislip received an artist grant from the South Carolina Arts Commission for a film project about her silversmithing. A television screen in the gallery will have the videos playing for the visitors to view. In the films, Haislip demonstrates traditional silversmithing techniques, such as how to make a silver bowl and silver serving spoon, and discusses her work in detail. This engaging educational element will enhance the viewer’s experience of the exhibition and illustrate silversmithing in an exciting way.

Milliner turned textile artist, Leigh Magar has established a small-batch label that combines art, fashion, history, and performance. The “Seed to Stitch” project was inspired by her sea island home’s Indigo history; both rich and tangled. The story of a young girl; Eliza Lucas Pinckney who had the vision of planting indigo and with the work of the enslaved, it was made into a cash crop in South Carolina during the mid 1700s. She interweaves design and nature with her local garden where indigo is grown and then used to create one-of-a-kind collections. Her work includes hand-dyed and hand-stitched garments and goods, textile art, and installations. Magar is inspired by traditional and simple sewing techniques, such as quilt making, rag quilting, and hand sewn-textiles, which she interlaces with contemporary, non-traditional elements.

In addition, Haislip, and Magar will create a collaborative installation for the exhibition inspired by the silhouette and miniature—art forms with long-standing Lowcountry traditions. Providing a modern look at historically significant mediums, these artists are transforming materials important to Charleston’s cultural fabric into contemporary art and inspiring appreciation of waning craft traditions among future generations. Interwoven: The Art of Indigo and Silver will be a unique showing of silver and textile art as it relates the theme of indigo and silver.

Opening Reception – Thursday, March 30 from 6-8pm

Aiken Center for the Arts will host an opening reception for Interwoven: The Art of Indigo and Silver on Thursday, March 30 from 6-8pm. It will be a great opportunity for the public to meet the artists in person and talk to them in the gallery with their artworks.

Stories from the Big Chair – Friday, March 31 from 6-8pm

Friday, March 31 engage with the exhibition during a free wine reception from 6-6:30pm in the main gallery and the power and craft of storytelling beginning at 6:30pm in the upstairs Brown Pavilion. Limited seating for storytelling, reserve your chair for $10 on Aiken Center for the Arts’ website. Join the guest speakers as they share perspectives, build points of connection, and unearth the wisdom and inspiration amongst us. Exploring the meaning of “Interwoven” from their perspectives will be Kaminer Haislip, silversmith, Madame Magar, indigo artist, and Dr. Walter Curry, local author and a mystery speaker.

Artist Lectures – Saturday, April 1 from 1-3pm

Lectures by artist Leigh Magar of the textile design studio Madame Magar and silversmith Kaminer Haislip will take place in the upstairs Brown Pavilion on Saturday, April 1, 2023 from 1pm-3pm.

Kaminer Haislip will present a lecture on the history of colonial Charleston silversmithing and how it relates to her contemporary silver designs. She will describe her handcrafted process in which she uses tools and techniques employed by silversmiths for centuries. Nationally recognized for her metalwork, Kaminer is the only silversmith practicing in Charleston. Inspired by Charleston’s long-standing silversmithing tradition, she feels compelled to carry it forth.

Madame Magar will present a lecture about her work and indigo farm that is inspired by nature, art, and history. She will talk about the rich yet tangled South Carolina indigo history that inspired her “seed to stitch” design philosophy and Madame Magar Blue School. Leigh will discuss her thought provoking, out of the box, one of a kind collections that intertwine art installations and performance with her design studio and shop.

For additional information on the exhibition, events, and programs visit www.aikencenterforthearts.org.

 

South Carolina Arts Commission

This project is funded in part by the South Carolina Arts Commission which receives support from the National Endowment for the Arts.

This project is also funded in part by a generous award from the John and Susan Bennett Memorial Arts Fund of The Coastal Community Foundation of South Carolina.

Helena Fox Fine Art Trunk Show – December 2 & 3, 2022

helena fox fine art

helena fox fine art

Helena Fox Fine Art in historic, downtown Charleston, SC

Photograph by Marie Rodriguez Photography

Helena Fox Fine Art Trunk Show – Charleston, SC

Helena Fox Fine Art represents my handcrafted silver designs and regularly carries a curated selection of my silver hollowware, flatware, home objects, and jewelry in their stunning historic, downtown Charleston art gallery. They are hosting a special event featuring my artwork on Friday, December 2 from 5pm-8pm and Saturday, December 3 from 12pm-4pm. Our Friday event will be part of the downtown Charleston artwalk for the month of December and we are thrilled to participate. I will exhibit a wider variety of my silver functional home objects, original jewelry designs, and Christmas ornaments than what the gallery usually shows during this festive holiday shopping event. I hope to see you there! Helena Fox Fine Art 106A Church Street Charleston, SC 29401 843-723-0073 www.helenafoxfineart.com

Silver Showing with The Charleston Silver Lady – December 8, 2022

the charleston silver lady

Silver Showing with The Charleston Silver Lady – Lexington, SC

Dawn Corley, also known as The Charleston Silver Lady, is an antiques historian and expert on silver. She will have a special showing of Kaminer Haislip’s contemporary silver objects and jewelry at her Lexington, South Carolina location on Thursday, December 8 from 4:30pm-6:30pm. In addition to Kaminer’s work, she will have on display antique objects and silver pieces from her own private collection.

The event will be hosted at 212 East Main Street, Lexington, SC 29072. Please use the side door as a private entrance. Parking is available for guests in a parking garage across the street as well as at a Counseling Center next door.

This festive holiday shopping event will be very shiny and bright!