Featured artists Stephanie Wilbanks, Mata Iaia, and Debra Jurey, will be on display in the Studios Front Window throughout the month of May!
Glass Artist Stephanie Wilbanks ~
Stephanie Wilbanks creative history began with music, which eventually became an avocation. The creative field of advertising honed her visual and design skills through her career as a marketing director/consultant.
A fascination with glass art lead her to a class in kilnformed glass. She was instantly smitten with this art form, which combines creativity with the magic of science. The chemistry and physics of molten glass require that each piece is fired in the kiln as many as three times at different temperatures to get the desired layers.
This background in marketing and music gives a foundation to each art glass concept. Marketing informs the balance while music inspires the harmony of color and line.
Metalsmith Mata Iaia ~
Mata Iaia is a metalsmith based in San Miguel, California. She works primarily with copper, silver, and vitreous enamel. Her journey as a metal artist began 25 years ago when she stumbled upon the art of architectural and ornamental metal work. She was immediately drawn in by the magic of forging, forming and moving metal and knew this was her calling. She began working with steel and copper with a forge and anvil under an avocado tree in her back yard in Southern California. Since then her passion for the craft has only grown and she now works indoors in a lovely studio in San Miguel. She continues to improve her skills through study and by taking classes and workshops around the country with Master metalsmiths and Artists. She spends time in her workshop, hammering away, shaping and manipulating metal into unique, organic and one-of-a-kind pieces.
Jeweler Debra Jurey ~
As a California native Debra grew up in the great outdoors - from the beaches to the National Parks and later hiking the Sierras with her husband and camping across the western United States. It's no wonder that Debra's jewelry designs are inspired by the color, pattern and texture of the natural world.
Debra's handcrafted and wearable works of art are one of a kind and are ever evolving. Her love for animals and wildlife is the spark that draws her imagination. She is delighted and most grateful when her work is passed on and enjoyed by others.
