Local Texture Jewelry - North Adams Artists' Co-Op Gallery

SOLD-Rectangle Dangles with Glass Fringe in Lavender-Multi

Rectangle Pendant Necklace with Glass Bead Fringe in Lavender-Multi

Rectangle Pendant Necklace-long view 17" length

Post 3-Bead Dangles in Aqua

Crescent Double-Bead in Coral

Petal-shaped Dangles with Pearls in Beige-Multi

SOLD-Square Pendant Necklace with Pearl in Aqua-Multi

Square Pendant Necklace-long view 18" length

SOLD-Square Dangles with Pearls in Aqua-Multi

SOLD-Rectangle Dangles with Pearls in Aqua-Multi

Scallop Pendant Dangle Ears in Ivory-Multi

Post Earrings with Glass Bead Fringe in Caramel

Long Post Dangles in Lavender-Multi

Crescent Double-Bead Dangles in Wine

Teardrop Dangles in Ivory-Multi

Petal Double-Bead Necklace in Ivory-Multi

Petal Double-Bead-long view 18" length

Shield-shaped Dangles with Bobs in Lavender-Multi

SOLD-Square Pendant Necklace with Teardrop Fringe in Pale Pink

SOLD-Square Pendant Necklace-long view 17" length

Square Dangles with Pearls in Pale Pink

Square Pendant Necklace with Pearl in Denim

Square Pendant Necklace-long view 17" length

Rectangle Dangles with Pearls in Denim

Post Dangles in Denim

Diamond Double-Bead Necklace in Aqua-Multi

Diamond Double-Bead Necklace-long view 18" length

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Thank you for taking the time to view the designs and creations of Colleen Williams, reflecting years of development and mastery. It is my hope that you will check back frequently as new designs will be added weekly.

For more than fifteen years, my jewelry has evolved into a line of wearable art, collected by women nationwide. Having a fondness for pattern, I use symbols, universal or ethnic, to subtly convey a sense of place.

My process begins by layering a porcelain slab with layers of porcelain slip to create a colored background. On this slab, I razor-etch and hand-stamp an overall textural pattern using tiny, previously fired porcelain, motif stamps. From this decorated slab, I cut out my designs, drill holes, mold them to give the pieces a domed shape, sand the edges, allowing them to dry before high-firing them in an electric kiln. The next step involves placing a colored glaze in each of the depressions left by the stamps (each motif is assigned a different color). After the firing for the glazes, I paint an iridescent overglaze luster over almost every glazed area. Finally, after that firing, I will further embellish the designs with a 22 KT gold luster and fire the pieces for the last time.

The pieces are a long time in the making, as the techniques are easy to learn but slow to perfect and require a lot of patience. A single bead-piece may only be finished for assembly after two weeks of layered techniques and firings. The finished artwork is always a delight for me to see and I’ve enjoyed almost every minute of it—okay, I don’t like the sanding.

Biography

I first began making jewelry while apprenticing in an architectural office, after college. I was living in the home of a friend whose mother was trying to restart her pottery business. Each day after work, I would go in her garage studio and play around with the clay and do what I knew best to do—making marks in the clay with notation-like symbols, much like that of a floor plan on a blueprint.

That was a long time ago, though with each successive year, my creations became more patterned and the motifs were more tightly arranged. I began wholesaling my jewelry in American Craft Council and the Rosen Group events for a couple of years until I realized that the large volume of orders was too difficult for one artist to produce such a labor intensive product. Instead, I concentrated on juried art festivals that combined my love of travel and afforded me the ability to create truly one-of-a-kind pieces without the pressure of replication.