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Biographical Statement

Sarah West is an artist living and working in Raleigh, NC. Sarah earned a BFA in Metal Design from East Carolina University and a Bench Jewelry Certificate from North Bennet Street School. Sarah splits her time between teaching at Pullen Arts Center, exhibiting her jewelry at retail craft markets and creating custom installations for public spaces. Sarah was a recipient of a North Carolina Arts Council Fellowship and her distinctive linear works have been selected for exhibitions nationwide including: Monochrome Noir at Velvet Da Vinci; Bijoux! at The Norton Museum; 11th Biennial: Making and Taking “Pictures” Reconsidered at A.I.R Gallery; and Teapots! 9th at Morgan Contemporary Glass Gallery. Sarah’s jewelry has been published in the books New Earrings and Behind the Brooch. Sarah’s steel and textile installations are in the permanent collections of Hotel Indigo in El Paso; The Renaissance Hotel in Chicago; AC Hotels in San Francisco; Vail Cascade Hotel and AC Hotel in Times Square.

Artist Statement

Sarah West creates jewelry inspired by the magic of geometry and the architectural lattice work of bridges and electric towers. Using the beauty and strength of steel, Sarah creates three dimensional forms that express the resilience of the human spirit. Like the power lines that intersect the horizon, Sarah pieces are architectural landscapes that interact with body and space.

Each piece is made from mild steel and fabricated by cutting and brazing small lengths of steel wire to create three dimensional forms. When brazing, I introduce molten brass into the connections points of the heated steel. The pieces are finished in natural steel gray, blackened with a heat patina or plated with a 2.5 micron thick 18k gold plate. 

When I began working with steel, I fell in love with the spontaneity of the brazing process.  I think of my jewelry as three dimensional drawings which I create at my bench using a torch and steel wire. I strive to combine my traditional jewelry experience with my art school training to create unique sculptures for the body.