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Charleston Silver Lecture

American College of the Building Arts silver lecture
Brandy Culp at the American College of the Building Arts
American College of the Building Arts silver lecture
Kaminer Haislip at the American College of the Building Arts

Charleston Silver Lecture by Brandy Culp and Kaminer Haislip

Brandy Culp, the Richard Koopman Curator of American Decorative Arts at the Wadsworth Atheneum, and I have recently given several lecture presentations on Charleston silver, so I was inspired to write a blog post discussing our unique collaboration. We have presented to private organizations and groups and last week we gave a lecture on Charleston silver for the American College of the Building Arts. The pictures in this post are from that event.

Kaminer Haislip and Brandy Culp at their Charleston silver lecture
Kaminer Haislip and Brandy Culp at their Charleston silver lecture

When Brandy and I collaborate on a Charleston silver lecture, we begin with her discussing colonial Charleston history and silversmithing. She is an expert in the decorative arts field and in particular metalwork. Brandy earned her Master of Arts degree with an emphasis in American decorative arts from the Bard Graduate Center. There she completed her thesis on the 18th century Charleston silversmith Alexander Petrie and the Carolina silver trade. The topic of metalwork remains one of her greatest interests, and she is currently working on a permanent exhibition of the Wadsworth’s English and American silver collections.

American College of the Building Arts Charleston silver lecture
Lecture attendees looking at Kaminer Haislip’s silversmithing tools, silver objects in progress, and finished silver items

Brandy ties my contemporary silversmithing brilliantly to historic forms and processes. I discuss in detail how I design and create my original, silver designs and use tools and in progress silver items to illustrate the relationship between my silversmithing techniques and past silversmith practices. Additionally, I bring a selection of finished silver hollowware, flatware, and jewelry for attendees to see in person during the lecture and up close after our slide presentation is over.

American College of the Building Arts Charleston silver lecture
Brandy Culp with lecture guests

We always save time for a question and answer session at the end of our lecture and spend time with guests after the event to take additional questions and socialize.

American College of the Building Arts Charleston silver lecture
John Paul Huguley and Kaminer Haislip after the lecture
American College of the Building Arts Charleston silver lecture
Brandy Culp with guests after the lecture

Brandy and I both are incredibly passionate about silver and very much enjoy sharing our silver knowledge. The combination of her historic metalwork expertise and my contemporary silver designs has been extremely well received each time we have done a presentation. If you are interested in having us speak to your group, organization, or college, then please email me at kaminer@kaminerhaislip.com. I can provide details, fees, and press material.

Thank you for your interest in silver!