Next Up: Spring Pop-Up Art Market April 20th 11am-5pm

Rachel Smith and Jennifer Ramirez

Untitled (Pollinator Piece)

Waterjet cut aluminum, powder coat, fabric, ribon and batting

WIP

Artist Statment:

Our work melds art jewelry with sculpture. The act of adornment speaks volumes. One’s jewelry is chosen to reflect identity and purpose, so our designs all rely on the body and are wearable in nature. Equally important is the performative, over-the-top scope of the work. We strive to imbue each piece with materials and techniques that increase the opulence and excess of the overall look. This maximizes the impact on the runway and our ability to explore and have a dialogue about our concepts.

This work-in-progress was designed to celebrate pollinators and to raise awareness to their critical role for our planet's future. Each of the flowers referenced in the waterjet cut aluminum pattern is one recommended in a regional guide published by the Pollinator Partnership and NAPPC to support pollinators in NorthEast Ohio. The color gradient present in the work references a timeline. We must plant and/or support public initiatives to plant for the health and future of our pollinators. Depending on our actions, the timeline can go either way.

The global pandemic put a pause on this piece, originally due to be shown during a runway show this May 2020. With the event postponed until next year at the earliest, and the importance of social distancing superseding that of this work, it was decided that this piece will be completed when possible, in the future. While we can and often do individually work on some components and possibly even could assemble the work while apart, we have discovered that in every collaboration, working together and each having a hand in the various processes is what leads to our work’s success. We work best bouncing ideas off of each other and social distancing keeps us from being able to do that.

Finally, COVID 19 shutdowns made it so that we no longer had access to certain materials, or the ability to complete processes necessary to complete this piece. So until the world understands and can better fight against the virus, we might sew a few extra ribbon flower components so that this work is just bursting with blooms some day, but we know that the final effect will be better once we can work together again.

Bio:

Jennifer Ramirez and Rachel Suzanne Smith are a collaborative duo working out of Northeast Ohio. Their artistic partnership began after a collaborative runway call for the Society of North American Goldsmiths had them working together for the first time in 2015-2016. Upon completion of that first project, they have continued to create at least one piece a year for the professional society’s annual runway show.

Ramirez is a metals artist specializing in textile techniques in wearable art and sculpture. Smith is a metals artist specializing in wearable sculpture and integration of digital fabrication with traditional metal forming. Together, they work to push past the boundaries of their individual work, and have a lot of fun doing so. In 2019, they announced the soft opening of Smamirez Studio, a shared metal fabrication studio that increased the scope of their collaboration ability.