ABOUT

Metal Moves Me

at my best 

I Move Metal

In 2005, I was working on a silver piece and struggling with the design so I decided to create an aluminum prototype. The aluminum piece turned out so bright and clean that when I returned to the silver, I kept being disappointed in how it looked, slightly yellow and just a touch dull. I revisited working with the aluminum and was delighted again by the brightness and mirror finish capabilities. Using reclaimed building products and remnants, I soon found that it to be a cost effective material with which I could try out, practice and perfect new techniques and push design ideas to new limits. I decided then that I would try working in aluminum as the finished product.

I have developed my own tools and techniques creating interesting surfaces and clean crisp designs that can appear sharp but are comfortable to the touch. With contrasting matte and mirror finishes, pushing the metal in and out create dazzling reflections of light and color which change with the wearer’s movement and environment.

People question my use of aluminum again and again. I have tried my favorite techniques in silver, gold, titanium and copper, but I have found the aluminum continues to provide the best visual and tactile elements for my work:  Bold pieces that are lightweight and easy to care for.

As life changes, so does my work. Using the metal as my sketchbook pushes the limits of design; where scraps become the source for new ideas and life experience infuses it with direction and composition. 

Mary Jane Allen Armstrong, Metalsmith

MJAA@MetalMeStudio.com

Metal Me Studio LLC