Craig Vandeman

Metalsmithing and jewelry are the keys to my secret place, my path to the inner parts of my soul, my looking glass which allows me to explore and examine how I see the world and the things in it. From the beginning, the process of transforming a flat sheet of metal struck me as magical. I found myself becoming like a child with eyes wide open. After having the experience of traveling to China a few years ago, I found myself drawn to the many uses and importance of bamboo to the Asian people. It is revered and held in high regard in the daily lives of the Chinese people and has been for centuries. Spiritually speaking, bamboo represents resoluteness, strength, purity, longevity, and perseverance under extremely harsh conditions. I want these qualities to resonate through my jewelry to the wearer. I noticed how images and renderings of bamboo could be found in paintings, drawings, architecture, food, and textiles, but nowhere did I see bamboo represented in jewelry or metal form. It was important to me to express bamboo with the highest honor, and I couldn’t think of a better place than to represent it in conjunction with the work I am doing now. I’m emulating nature in the form of jewelry, giving adornment and protection to the body as nature does for the earth. Materials include fine silver, sterling silver, Japanese alloy Shibuichi, semi-precious stones, and 14K gold. My methodology/process is to mimic bamboo in as realistic a manner as possible with the use of fine silver tubing and rods and sterling silver rods that have been deeply carved to give it an aged appearance. Patinas are used to enhance the texturing on the “bamboo”