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South Carolina House of Representatives House Resolution

South Carolina House of Representatives House Resolution

Much to my surprise, I received a letter from South Carolina House Representatives Bart Blackwell and William Cogswell, Jr. notifying me of a House Resolution they and other members passed honoring my life’s work and recognition for my recent Daughters of the American Revolution award. It is such an incredible honor for my artwork to be highlighted and documented in the permanent South Carolina archives in this extremely special way!

house resolution

sc house resolution

Read more about the specifics of the DAR award and see detailed images of the silver necklace at https://www.kaminerhaislip.com/daughters-of-the-american-revolution-american-heritage-award-2/

I sincerely appreciate this esteemed acknowledgement of both my artwork and the special DAR award by the South Carolina House of Representatives. I look forward to thanking them in person when I meet them in Columbia at the House of Representatives Chamber. They invited me to see their ceremonial mace, that was made in 1756 by London master silversmith Magdalen Feline, which has been in continual use ever since. I am very excited about this wonderful honor and soon seeing such a significant historic silver object. Many thanks to the South Carolina House of Representatives!

Helena Fox Fine Art Gallery – November 2020

helena fox fine art helena fox fine art gallery

Helena Fox Fine Art – Charleston, SC

Helena Fox Fine Art, who represents my handcrafted silver designs and regularly carries a curated selection of my silver hollowware, flatware, home objects, and jewelry in their stunning downtown Charleston art gallery, is hosting a special Open House event featuring my artwork Friday, November 13 and Saturday, November 14 from 12-4pm. During that time the gallery will be open to the public and there is the option for a private viewing. Please contact the gallery to set up individual appointments.

You can read the full press release about the event on my website Press page.

I will exhibit a wider variety of my silver objects, original jewelry designs, and Christmas ornaments than what the gallery usually shows during this unique event. I hope to see you there!

Helena Fox Fine Art

106A Church Street

Charleston, SC 29401

843-723-0073

www.helenafoxfineart.com

Charleston Artwalk + Trunk Show – Helena Fox Fine Art

helena fox fine art
helena fox fine art gallery charleston artwalk

Charleston Artwalk + Trunk Show

Helena Fox Fine Art, who represents my handcrafted silver designs in their stunning downtown Charleston art gallery, is featuring my work and the paintings of artist Julyan Davis for the Charleston Artwalk Friday, November 1 from 5-8pm. You can read the full press release for our exhibition Classically Contemporary on my website Press page.

Helena Fox Fine Art regularly carries a curated selection of my silver hollowware, flatware, home objects, and jewelry. During the artwalk and on Saturday, November 2 from 11am-4pm, a wider selection of my silver home objects and jewelry will be shown, including my new Oyster Jewelry collection. I hope to see you at one of those events!

Helena Fox Fine Art

106A Church Street

Charleston, SC 29401

843-723-0073

www.helenafoxfineart.com

Art Mag – Summer 2019

Art Mag Charleston art silversmith visual arts magazine
Art Mag
Summer Issue 2019

Art Mag, a publication publication focused on the arts in Charleston, SC, highlighted Kaminer Haislip’s silver hollowware vessel Gradual Erosion being included in the international silver exhibition Schoonhoven Silver Award. To learn more about this exhibition, visit the Blog on this website. Many thanks to Art Mag for such a lovely interview and feature!

SCHOONHOVEN SILVER AWARD

by Emily Reyna

silver vessel hollowware contemporary silver vase
Gradual Erosion by Kaminer Haislip

Charleston makes its way across the pond to Europe where local artist and silversmith Kaminer Haislip will exhibit her silver vessel, Gradual Erosion.

“It was an incredible honor to have my silver vessel, Gradual Erosion, selected for the international Schoonhoven Silver Award. The opportunity to share my silver work with a European audience in both Schoonhoven, The Netherlands and Freiberg, Germany is very much appreciated,” says Haislip. “It’s the second time my silver hollowware has been exhibited in this special silver exhibition, and it’s a wonderful compliment.”

silversmith Kaminer Haislip artist studio Charleston, SC
Kaminer Haislip in her Charleston silversmithing studio

The piece’s name is inspiration by natural erosion. “The vessel form was based on a mountain shape and the etched surface lines are my own artistic interpretation of the gradual linear disintegration. The erosion begins at the base of the vessel, so the center line is tapered in to portray the slow breakdown of the mountain over time. The concept of erosion relates to the passing of time, what is lost, and what is taken away,” Haislip explains.

Technique and craft are central to Haislip’s creative process when working with fine metals. “I crafted the vessel by fabricating sterling silver sheet, which was hammered over five different cast iron stakes to create the asymmetrical shape,” describes Haislip. “The linear surface design was drawn by hand and etched with nitric acid to create the erosion inspired texture. All aspects of the construction were done entirely by hand utilizing traditional silversmithing techniques.”

Gradual Erosion will be on view at the City and Mining Museum in Freiberg, Germany from June 29 – October 2019.

Visit Art Mag at the link below for this article and many more exciting articles about the arts in Charleston!

Handcrafted Silver Spoons

Kaminer Haislip’s silver Flight of Fancy Serving Spoon

Handcrafted Silver Spoons

Serving up silver spoons for this Blog post! Since silversmithing has become an obscure craft, I have decided to write a series of posts that feature various traditional silversmithing processes I use to create my silver designs. As often as I am asked how I make my pieces, I have come to realize how little most people know about silversmithing. I took my first jewelry and silversmithing course over twenty years ago, so it has become extremely normal to me since I have done it practically every day since then!

The majority of the time, people only see my finished works and not the process, so they have no idea the amount of time, labor and skill that goes into making them. Through sharing some of my silversmithing techniques, I hope to give some insight into what it takes to craft my functional works of art.

silversmithing hammers jewelry hammers silversmith workshop jewelry studio
A selection of Kaminer Haislip’s silversmithing and jewelry hammers.

My journey to becoming a silversmith began long before my first college course and you can read about my background in detail on a former Blog post titled “How did you get into silversmithing?”. During my BFA studies at Winthrop University under Alfred Ward, an internationally acclaimed English silversmith, the first functional object I made was a silver spoon with laminated ebony handle. The spoon form has much significance to my functional work and I have continued to explore it since that first creation so many years ago. To view a selection of spoons I have made over the course of my career and the aforementioned first spoon visit my website Portfolio Spoons page.

silversmithing tools silversmith stakes metalsmithing workshop steel stake
Several of Kaminer’s steel silversmithing stakes

As covered in my previous Blog post on my forged silver cheese knife, all of my objects begin as sterling silver sheet and wire. For hollowing and forming silver sheet into functional objects, I hammer it over steel stakes that are the precise curve I need for an item, such as a silver spoon. The stake is held in a sturdy steel vise as shown below.

spoon stake silver spoon silversmithing technique handcrafted silver spoon
Spoon stake in vise

I use a rawhide mallet to form the spoon bowl, because it does not stretch the silver or leave marks in the surface.

traditional silversmithing technique handcrafting a silver spoon silversmith studio
Silver spoon bowl being formed over steel stake
sterling silver spoon charleston rice spoon serving spoon

Once the spoon bowl shape is formed, I planish it with a steel hammer to set the form precisely and work harden the metal, so it has strength when used to serve food.

Kaminer Haislip Charleston silversmith contemporary silver functional art
Silversmith Kaminer Haislip planishing the silver spoon bowl.

With the planishing technique I use small, light overlapping blows as shown up close below.

silver spoon bowl planish silversmith hammer silversmithing technique
Overlapping planishing hammer marks on the silver surface

The planishing process is one of my favorite silversmithing techniques! It requires focus, rhythm, and precision to hammer around and around consistently over the entire surface. I really enjoy planishing my silver spoons, but a coffeepot or teapot is an extensive challenge that I so revel in!

The two spoons highlighted in this Blog post are from my Flight of Fancy Series in which the handle design was inspired by the shape of a bird’s wing. The serving spoon (first image) has a traditional serving spoon length handle, but the Charleston Rice Spoon has a longer handle. The silver Charleston Rice Spoon, derived from the English Stuffing Spoon, historically had a long handle. During the 18th and 19th centuries rice was an immensely important crop to Charleston’s economy and the rice spoon was created due to it. My contemporary design is based on the historic form and gives a nod to tradition while still looking forward.

Both spoon styles are very popular wedding gifts, so be sure to check them out in my website Shop Home category. A handcrafted silver spoon certainly serves a purpose when stylishly entertaining!

Forged Silver Cheese Knife

Silver cheese knife silver tray cheese plate appetizer serving accessories charcuterie plate

Forged Silver Cheese Knife

I am constantly asked how I make my silver pieces, so I am highlighting some of my processes on my website Blog to give insight into my handcrafted techniques. All of my designs are created with sterling silver sheet and wire through skilled fabrication techniques. Each object is made individually by my hands and I do not use casting or other mass manufacturing processes. For this blog post, my forged silver cheese knife illustrates one way I use forging in my silversmithing work.

Kaminer Haislip silversmith forged silver cheese knife silversmithing studio

Forging is a traditional metalsmithing technique that moves the metal by hammering the surface, and I mainly use this on flatware and utensils, because it gives the silver immense strength. Using a heavy hammer, forging stretches the metal and creates tension and toughness at the molecular level. Durability is of the upmost importance for functional objects and silver gains enough strength to hold its form precisely when work-hardened. Additionally, silver’s natural antiseptic properties make it the ideal medium for flatware and serving utensils.

silversmith workshop forging technique hammered silver

I begin my cheese knife by forging the shape from thick, solid sterling silver sheet. The blank begins smaller than the final form because it enlarges and expands during the hammering process on the dense steel block.

silver forging silversmith workshop handmade silver utensil

Next, I work the blade with a large planishing hammer to smooth the deep forging marks out of it and further refine the shape.

hammered silver cheese knife silversmith process handcrafted flatware

The hammer marks are then removed and the blade edge is honed razor sharp so that it will slice easily and work effectively. Finally, the entire knife is brought to a high shine on the polishing machine.

Polishing is another highly skilled process I will discuss in a future Blog post, so stay tuned.

silver cheese serving knife dining accessory silver flatware

My silver spreader is made the same way, so check out that piece in my website Shop as well!

silver spreader appetizer serving utensil handcrafted flatware pimento cheese server

For more information on how I handcraft my designs, visit the Handcrafted Process page on my website. Thank you for your interest in my silversmithing work!

Charleston Silversmithing, Traditions from Past to Present Lecture – March 7, 2019

Denis Diderot 1765 colonial silversmithing workshop
Charleston silversmith Kaminer Haislip

Charleston Silversmithing Lecture at American College of the Building Arts

Thursday, March 7 at 6pm

Brandy S. Culp, Richard Koopman Curator of American Decorative Arts at the Wadsworth Atheneum, and I will give a lecture presentation titled Charleston Silversmithing, Traditions from Past to Present at the American College of the Building Arts in Charleston, SC about colonial Charleston silversmithing and how my contemporary silversmithing relates to it.

It is open to the public, but seating is limited and reservations can be made by emailing handall@acba.edu. There is no admissions fee for attending the lecture, however you may reserve a seat ahead of time by making a donation of any size that is meaningful to you. Included with your reservation is an invitation to meet the speakers at a private reception following the presentation. Without a reservation, seating will be on a first-come, first-served basis.

Lecture Description:

In the eighteenth century, Charleston’s favorable economic circumstances spurred a healthy luxury goods market, especially the precious metal trades. Through the centuries, the tradition of creating and collecting metalwork has continued in the Carolina Lowcountry. Brandy S. Culp, Richard Koopman Curator of American Decorative Arts at the Wadsworth Atheneum, will explore how the Holy City’s talented silversmiths and jewelers reflected the global exchange of ideas, people, and goods in early America. Ms. Culp will be joined by Kaminer Haislip, a nationally renowned and formally-trained silversmith practicing in Charleston. Together they will discuss how many of the tools and techniques employed by silversmiths and jewelers have changed very little over the centuries. From the combined perspective of a design historian and practicing silversmith, Ms. Culp and Ms. Haislip will present a splendid array of metalwork highlighting examples of Lowcountry silver—past and present—found both locally and in collections outside of the South, including notable objects in the Wadsworth’s holdings.

Brandy S. Culp is the Richard Koopman Curator of American Decorative Arts at the Wadsworth Atheneum, America’s oldest continually-operating public art museum and stewards of a collection of over 50,000 artifacts spanning 5,000 years. There she has most recently curated the exhibitions, Simply Splendid: Rethinking American Design, Bed Furnishings in Early America, and Design in the American Home, 1650 to 1850. Prior to joining the Wadsworth, Culp served as Curator of Historic Charleston Foundation, leading projects for the conservation and interpretation of the Foundation’s collection of fine and decorative arts. Before that, Ms. Culp served as the Andrew W. Mellon Curatorial Fellow in the Department of American Art at the Art Institute of Chicago. She has also held positions at the Bard Graduate Center and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Culp graduated summa cum laude from Hollins University and received 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.

A native of Aiken, South Carolina, Kaminer Haislip grew up in her family’s hardware store. Amidst the story-telling locals and tools for sale, she was inspired at a young age to create three-dimensional objects ranging from sculpture to jewelry. Haislip received both a BFA in jewelry and metals and an MFA in silversmithing, design, and sculpture from Winthrop University, where she studied under Alfred Ward, an internationally acclaimed English silversmith. After graduating in 2005, she moved to Charleston and established her studio. Nationally recognized for her craftsmanship, Haislip was most recently featured in the Museum of the City of New York’s exhibition Silver: Then and Now. Her handcrafted metalwork has been shown internationally and highlighted by numerous media outlets, including Antiques and Fine Art, Metalsmith, The Magazine Antiques, Traditional Home, Elle Décor, Garden & Gun, Southern Living, Charleston Magazine, and Handcrafted America. Haislip has also collaborated with Reese Witherspoon’s southern lifestyle company, Draper James, to create exclusive objects that reflect the South’s rich metalworking history.

Inspired by Charleston’s extensive silversmithing tradition, Haislip is dedicated to carrying forth that legacy. Hand-forging her flatware, hollowware, and jewelry, she uses the very tools and techniques employed by silversmiths for centuries, yet her metalwork reflects her unique approach to contemporary design.

American College of the Building Arts
649 Meeting Street
Community Room
Charleston, SC 29403
http://www.acba.edu

Schoonhoven Silver Award 2018 – The Netherlands Silver Museum

netherlands silver museum

schoonhoven silver award 2018

Schoonhoven Silver Award 2018 – The Netherlands Silver Museum

Kaminer Haislip’s silver vessel Gradual Erosion was accepted into the international silver object (no jewelry) exhibition Schoonhoven Silver Award 2018!

The exhibition is hosted by The Netherlands Silver Museum in Schoonhoven and opened December 7, 2018. Schoonhoven Silver Award 2018 will be on display for three months before traveling to cities in Belgium and Germany until November 2019.

etched silver vessel

Schoonhoven Silver Award 2018 includes a wide variety of silversmiths from all over the world and its goal was to inspire artists to test and explore the boundaries of their traditional art and craft. The Netherlands Silver Museum sought objects that bear a direct relationship with the museum’s policy of stimulating the exploration of new technologies and uses, and innovative art forms. Innovation, as envisioned in the Award’s present edition, centers on the rejuvenation of past, time-honored techniques and on the preservation of this heritage through injecting dynamic new life into the art of silversmithing.

silver vase

The international Schoohnoven Silver Award exhibition began in 2001 and 2018 is the seventh edition of this unique silversmithing focused exhibition. Kaminer Haislip’s silver and ebony teapot Perched Flight was included in the 2009 exhibition Poetry in Silver, so she is excited and honored to exhibit again with her new silver vessel Gradual Erosion.

etched silver vessel

Gradual Erosion is currently available for sale, but will not be available for delivery until after the exhibition travels to two other European countries and ends in November 2019. Gradual Erosion will be returned to Kaminer Haislip after the exhibition and you can contact her directly for details at kaminer@kaminerhaislip.com.

To learn more about Gradual Erosion, visit its product page on this website’s Shop at https://www.kaminerhaislip.com/silver-art-jewelry-baby/gradual-erosion-silver/

To learn more about The Netherlands Silver Museum or Schoonhoven Silver Award 2018 visit the two links below.

https://zilvermuseum.com/en/

https://zilvermuseum.com/en/4919-2/

Helena Fox Fine Art – Charleston, SC

helena fox fine art

silver oyster bracelet

 

Helena Fox Fine Art – Makers Market

Kaminer Haislip’s silver jewelry, functional objects, and Christmas ornaments will be exhibited for sale at Helena Fox Fine Art for their first Makers Market Friday, November 30 and Saturday, December 1 from 11am-4pm. Shop this special gallery event for unique, handmade holiday gifts!

Located South of Broad in historic, downtown Charleston, SC, Helena Fox Fine Art specializes in fine American representational art featuring artists from around the country.

106-A Church Street
Charleston, SC 29401

www.helenafoxfineart.com

Equestrian Themed Christmas Ornament Collection for Holiday 2018

equestrian christmas ornaments

 

Equestrian Themed Christmas Ornament Collection for Holiday 2018

New for Holiday 2018 Kaminer Haislip has designed and created an equestrian themed Christmas Ornament collection! All in sterling silver, Horse, Equestrian Helmet, and Lucky Horseshoe are the perfect Christmas gift for an equestrian enthusiast or someone who loves horses. Horse and Equestrian Helmet can be personalized with gorgeous hand engraving. Lucky Horseshoe has a hammered surface that will sparkle on the Christmas tree and catch the light beautifully!

Shop the collection on Kaminer’s website store under the Holiday category.

Kaminer’s inspiration for this special equestrian collection came from her wonderful experience at the World Equestrian Games in Tryon, NC this fall. She met so many great people and already had so many friends involved in the equestrian world she wanted to design something fun for them. Also, growing up in Aiken, SC, a small equestrian community, and spending time on her grandparents’ farm with their horses in northern Virginia, had an influence on this unique collection. Kaminer has always loved horses and hope you will like these ornaments as much as she does!

Portfolio Items