Cosmo's Moon = Maureen BZ

various gear necklaces by Cosmo's Moon

Maureen Brusa Zappellini is the talented metalsmith behind Cosmo's Moon. She is another one of our newest Etsy Metal members and we are proud to have her on our team.

1. Where do you live, and where are you from?
I'm a New Englander who moved to the desert southwest (Tucson) 16 years ago. In 1995, I was just about to move back to Boston to pursue a masters degree, and, (wouldn't you know it,) I met and fell in love with my husband, Guido , an Italian astro-physicist..(what are the odds?, right?) We have spent the past 13 years in Tucson AZ and Florence Italy, and I have taken advantage of all the metals programs here and there that I could find!

2. How did you get started working with metal?
I was lucky enough to apprentice for a silversmith (Mel Reisz) for 2 summers, when I was home from art school. The 'smith that mentored me those two summers had a couple of stores in Portsmouth NH and Ogonquit Maine, and he routinely hired art students to make his line of simple forged sterling jewelry. I learned a huge amount those two summers, about soldering and forging, and also about tenacity while learning a new technique. I'm deeply grateful for the experience.

florette studs with olive green accents

3. What are a few of your favorite pieces at the moment?
Pieces of mine? I am re-visiting some of my more traditional jewelry pieces lately, like my florette stud earrings, and my Baroque Rococo necklace... I like them because they are painstakingly crafted and solidly beautiful, while also being wearable from brunch to last call. With that said, I also really love my one of a kind pieces, especially my component bracelets
4. What inspires you (artists, objects, interests)?
I am inspired by the geometry of architecture, repetition of form in nature, fabric design, pattern, modern painting and sculpture, weatherbeaten surfaces, music, and my garden.

5. Do you have any other artistic interests?
I actually went to school as a painter/sculptor , but now I am completely obsessed with playing with metals. I paint occasionally now, mostly to decorate my son's room and for creating environments in my home. I also occasionally dream of going back to school here at the U of Arizona, for architecture.

You can find more of Maureen's work on her flickr photostream and in her two Etsy shops: CosmosMoon and mbzap.