Janice Pinkston,
Juror for the 2014 Jewelry Show
“The language of art has served me well from a very young age. My first memory of drawing was in the Bronx when I was 4 years old. Later, in elementary school, my parents, who were active in the PTA, brought home quantities of scrap paper with printing on one side only. I made hundreds of drawings on the blank sides. I also made doll clothes with fabric remnants from clothing, curtains, cushions and other household necessities made by my mother.
As a student at Howard University’s College of Fine Arts in Washington, D.C. I encountered artist/professors who led by example. Among them was Ed Love whose 8′-high statues of Egyptian gods fashioned from automobile bumpers epitomized the idea of making art with reclaimed materials. I spent hours at the National Gallery absorbing the spirit of James Hampton, a self-taught artist who created a gallery-sized throne installation using all manner of ‘recycled’ salvage from his job as a janitor long before the term ‘recycling’ was coined. My senior thesis for Howard was a quilted ‘wall-warmer’ made from scraps of cloth collected from a vast array of sources, including a piece from the dashiki worn by my brother at his marriage.
When I first became an art teacher for the School District of Philadelphia, I quickly learned that if I wanted to do anything meaningful with my students, I would need to use my well-honed improvisational skills to provide them with materials. After teaching art for many years, I’ve come to appreciate the freshness and spontaneity of children’s art. I hope to someday regain that same freedom of self-expression. I am proud to say that I can look to my former students for inspiration as a number of them have developed into accomplished artists in their own right.”
— Janis Pinkston
Janice Lorber,
Juror for the 2013 Jewelry Show
Janice Lorber is a retired art teacher — voted “Santa Barbara Outstanding Teacher of the Year” — and an artist. Ms. Lorber graduated with BA and MA degrees in Art and Counseling Psychology from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and has taught art at both the high school and adult education levels. She has exhibited extensively and is a member of the Santa Barbara Los Padres Watercolor Society and the Metal Arts Society of Southern California. Her professional memberships include American Crafts Council, National Self-Esteem Council, California Peer Counselors Association, Metal Arts Society of Southern California, Society of North American Goldsmiths, National Art Education Association, and California Art Education Association.
Maribel Hernandez ,
Juror for the 2012 Jewelry Show
Maribel Hernandez was born in Michoacan, Mexico. At an early age she demonstrated irrepressible creative passion. By age four, her favorite rainy-day activity was to make spiral and doll-shaped variations of hop-scotch designs. By age 8, the young visionary was captivated for hours by watching waves of bird migration patterns in the sky. She received her first colored pencil set from her grandmother as a souvenir from her journey to “El Norte” (the States). This watered in the young artist a love for vibrant color in her creative expressions.
However, these expressions did not land on canvas or an official sketchbook until after Maribel arrived in California. Maribel’s continued use of vibrant color distinguishes her current style. Her work ranges from design (graphic, interior, and fashion accessories), photography, ceramics, and painting. In constant pursuit of color and diverse media, Maribel’s work speaks of her passion for life, with its various rhythms and emotional landscapes. For the last five years Maribel has been part of the Bell Arts Factory Community artists in Ventura.
“If I could paint the world in brighter colors; I would, that is why I love to paint. Painting frees me to express the world I see and feel with added style and color. My art reflects this intuitive spontaneity in all its elements: color, style, shape, and design. I also enjoy exploring different mediums, such as painting, ceramics, graphic design, interior design, and jewelry craft and design. Nevertheless, I do not confine myself to these methods in becoming a fulfilled artist.
My current means of expression coupled with future explorations will allow a continuous reinvention of this sentient world as I become increasingly, creatively, fearless. I am an artist whose driving passion is to capture emotion and feeling beyond apparent aesthetic beauty.”
—Maribel Hernandez
www.maribeldesigns.com
Jeremy Yocum,
Juror for the 2011 Jewelry Show
Jeremy Yocum holds a degree in Art Education from Northern Arizona University and has been teaching art since 1999. He currently teaches jewelry at Mesa High School in Phoenix. In his free time he enjoys painting, screen-printing and sculpting, and regularly shows his artwork at local galleries.