Catherine Chandler

Catherine Chandler comes to us with a wide range of experiences and techniques, learned from overseas as well as in the U.S. You can find more of her work on her Website, Blog, Etsy Shop, and Flickr.

1. Where do you live, and where are you from?

I was born and raised in Portland, Oregon. I spent my high school years in the Columbia River Gorge (Hood River, OR) and my college years in Sydney and Adelaide, Australia. After returning to Hood River for a short while, I landed back here in Portland and am loving it!

2. How did you get started working with metal?

I originally wanted to major in photography, with grand ideas of becoming some sort of photo journalist. After reading a great autobiography of a female photojournalist, that idea changed quite a bit. When I took my first Introduction to Jewelry class, I absolutely fell in love with working with metal. The ability to take a flat sheet of metal and transform it into something beautiful is amazing. The rest, as they say, is history!



3. What are a few of your favorite pieces at the moment?

I have been incorporating a lot more stones into my work as of late, since I'm trying to whittle down my collection of them. I love The Fancy Ring, which features a great smoky quartz, as well as my Eucalyptus Dreams, which features an amazing Australian Variscite. And my Leaf Chain is fabulous--I have one of my own that I wear all the time.

4. What inspires you (artists, objects, interests)?

I am often inspired by nature...I love exploring unique plants. Australia is full of fun and bizarre plants, which really exploded my interest in them. When I returned home to the states from down under, I started noticing our own unique flora a lot more. I am also really intrigued by narration now...stories of intrigue and history. I love a challenge and am always up for turning a concept into an object, no matter how difficult it can be. Currently, I'm working on (mostly in my head at the moment) a project on forgiveness which will materialize in the form of wall lockets.



5. Do you have any other artistic interests?

Although I love photography, metalsmithing got the better of me and the passion I once had for film just isn't there any more. I would love to be a multi-faceted artist who dabbles in everything, but my heart is in metal. I think, if I had the space, I could definitely get into bigger sculptures.