Wearable Assemblage: Jewelry from Found Objects

Overview

What's in your junk drawer might be your next piece of jewelry. In this workshop, bring in a variety of found objects, bark, driftwood, pieces of rubber, smashed bottle caps, hardware, anything with the right shape or texture, and learn to assemble them into a wearable collar, bracelet, or other body adornment. Using cold connections, a variety of glues, and aluminum wire shaped with long, flat, and round pliers, you'll build fabrications entirely from materials you wouldn't normally think of as jewelry. No prior jewelry experience required. Taught by Sara Gay, whose own practice is built on exactly this kind of transformation: turning found, manmade, and unconventional materials – like crystals, bottle caps, mulch, and more – into one-of-a-kind body art.

Sara Gay is a New York based jewelry artist working in beading, stained glass, and metalwork. Her and her eclectic, over-the-top jewelry can be found most Sundays at the Grand Bazaar on the Upper East Side. After early studies at NYU and the New School, she returned to her art practice after raising her children and completing a teaching career, studying stained glass at the Westchester Community Art School and welding at SUNY Purchase. She fashions semi-precious stones, exotic and vintage beads, found materials, and metal into one-of-a-kind necklaces, bracelets, and earrings. @saragayart