ARTISTS AT WORK: Goldsmith Everett Hoffman Wins National Recognition
‘Artists at work’ isn’t some empty tag line here; our bench jewelers regularly have art on display in galleries around the country. Most recently, Green Lake Gold & Platinumsmith Everett Hoffman won entry into the first ever annual chasing & repoussé international exhibition, hosted by Denver’s Outnumbered Gallery on behalf of the Society of North American Goldsmiths. Where rings are typically made by first creating a wax model to cast, chasing & repoussé is employing relief and embossing by hammering and shaping the raw metal material. It’s an increasingly lost art and good to see one of our own recognized by his peers to be especially adept at it.
Safe Inside
For his current collection, Everett draws direct inspiration from the Mountain Pine Beetle epidemic sweeping the Inland Northwest. A graduate in fine arts from Boise State University (where he studied sculpture and contemporary metal art), Everett has experienced the dryer summers and milder winters brought on by climate change and has witnessed the effects of dying forests and increased fires. He sums up the narrative of his work:
“Our effect on the environment and ecosystem that surrounds us can be seen on a macro and micro level. It can be seen in the large scale destruction by changing weather systems or the destruction of our forests by the tiny pine beetle. Historically pine beetles work symbiotically with the forest by targeting weak or damaged trees ensuring a strong thriving forest. As temperature changes the population of the tiny pine beetle grows not only killing sick and weak trees but the strong hundred year old trees that live in the forest. Objects of adornment act as symbols and reminders of what is precious around us. This series acts a symbolic gesture to the magnitude of the pine beetle and its effect on our daily life.”
At Green Lake Everett brings his artistry to the bench too, working on a wide range of fine jewelry and employing a myriad of techniques. One of the most popular rings to recently leave the workshop came from Everett – This 18K palladium engagement ring with a hammered finished and pear-cut aquamarine won over 500 ‘likes’ on our Facebook page!
To learn more about jewelers at Green Lake, visit our Artists at Work page.