With the various programs San Diego State University offers, there might be some that students are not as familiar with. One of these may be the Jewelry and Metalwork program.
Part of the School of Art and Design, the program — offered for both undergraduates and graduates — was established in the 1960s by jewelry designer Arline Fisch.
Hana Foo, a senior majoring in applied design: jewelry and metalwork, began her academic journey as an undeclared student. After she took some extra art classes on the side, Foo discovered her major.
Exploring ancient technique styles, getting helpful feedback from professors and connecting to her culture helped Foo realize she wants to travel and learn preserving techniques for ancient art.
“My work is mainly inspired by ancient Chinese art,” Foo said. “My family is from Southeast Asia, but we’re all Chinese. So I like to look at ancient works and just (think) about how, like a lot of different cultures, our art is seen as artifacts, even when they’ve inspired so many bigger European movements.”
Alessandra Lara, a junior majoring in graphic design, always knew she wanted to pursue art as a career, but was not entirely sure what she wanted to do.
“In terms of employment, graphic design felt the most promising versus anything else, but it’s grown on me a lot,” Lara said.
Lara had always been interested in jewelry, and after discovering and taking SDSU’s classes last fall, she realized jewelry and graphic design go hand-in-hand.
“I’ve learned that there’s a bunch of avenues that you can take with graphic design and with jewelry. It’s kind of fun to be able to bridge both practices, (such as) using (Adobe) Illustrator and all these digital programs to, in the end, create jewelry. So that’s been fun,” Lara said.
Since enrolling in jewelry classes at SDSU, Lara’s post-graduation path might take an unexpected turn.
“Ever since I started the jewelry program, I fell in love completely,” she said. “So I’m not even entirely sure if I want to pursue a master’s in graphic design. And I know that SDSU offers a master’s program for jewelry and metal work, so I’ve considered that.”
In addition to the jewelry program, SDSU offers a jewelry club — the Jewelry Student Co-Op, “the core group” of which “is within our jewelry program,” according to Foo.
Kerianne Quick, an associate professor of art and faculty advisor for the Jewelry Student Co-Op gave insights into the group.
“The purpose of the Co-Op is to supplement the education that the students are already receiving at San Diego State, and we primarily do that by bringing in visiting artists,” Quick said.
This year marks a particularly special year for the club as additional funding has created opportunities for them.
“(We received a) generous Student Success Fee (SSF) to cover artist honorariums, artist travel and all workshop materials for participating students,” Quick said.
For this upcoming year, the World Design Organization has designated San Diego and Tijuana the World Design Capital. To honor this celebration, an exhibition called “La Frontera,” will be held at the Mingei International Museum and Centro Cultural Tijuana (CECUT).
“(The exhibition will have) all these different artists that have some relationship to the border making art about the border,” Foo said.
The jewelry club seized on the opportunity and decided to invite some artists from the La Frontera exhibition to give lectures and workshops at SDSU.
“They’re all making work in the creative and more expressive jewelry style that we teach,” Quick said. “So we decided to write an SSF to bring some of the artists from that exhibition to campus. And so we’re bringing seven artists over the course of the entire school year. Basically, it’s like one a month.”
The next artist lecture is with Kathleen Browne on Nov. 30 at 6:30 p.m. at Com 207, which will be open to everyone.
“It’s a really exciting way for the club to make these connections with contemporary jewelry artists that are important in the field, and also showcase some of that to the broader San Diego State community because anyone can attend the lectures,” Quick said.
The Jewelry Student Co-Op is organizing a jewelry sale preview on Nov. 14, followed by the sale with SDSU Ceramics on Nov. 15 and 16.
For more details on the lectures, workshops and jewelry sale the Co-Op is hosting, follow the Jewelry and Metalwork and Jewelry Student Co-Op’s Instagram.