Jessica McGrath
Jewelry “As a U.S. Navy spouse, Jessica has enjoyed traveling throughout the world and all around the United States, usually en route to the next coastal city she will call home. With each stop on her journey, she finds inspiration in the colors and textures from her surroundings and incorporates them into the metalwork of Studio JmcG Jewelry. Jessica strives to create versatile modern jewelry that draws its vision from the pairing of contrasting details of coastal scenery and man-made architecture and expresses her pursuit of color, texture, and form.
In her travels, Jessica is always looking for inspiration and design. She finds interest in small details found in architecture, decorative arts, and city life, which she likes to photograph. She uses these photos to make texture plates etched with the images and incorporates this textured metal into her work. All pieces in the Studio JmcG collection are hand-fabricated using traditional bench skills (sawing, forming, forging, soldering, hammering, enameling, and finishing). Jessica hand selects all of the gemstones used in her work and gravitates to those with unique colors and characteristics, such as watermelon tourmalines, beryls, dendritic agates, and unusual quartzes.
Jessica did not take the traditional art school route to her craft. Form, lines, shape, and color have always intrigued her. She first became drawn to jewelry at one of the early stops of her travels when she worked as a jewelry and accessories buyer for a major department store. She was amazed by the fabrication and design process. The possibilities of what could be made seemed endless. This awe and wonder led her to take classes and start making. She became serious about her craft 10 years ago as a student of open studio art and metals at Monterey Peninsula College.
Jessica is honored to be a member of the American Craft Council, Ethical Metalsmiths, Society of North American Goldsmiths, and the Enamellist Society. She is passionate about metalsmithing and the art jewelry community and currently serves as the board president of the Baltimore Jewelry Center.
My jewelry is a study of color, texture, and geometric shape. Color is applied to my work through the process of enamel, powder coating, and thread. Texture is added by etching on metal and by using hand-fabricated texture plates, which are made from details found in photos taken on my travels.
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