Nancy Megan Corwin - Golden Petals

This piece was part of the Yukata Jewelry Show 2022 exhibition. Learn more and view the entire collection HERE.

Artist: Nancy Megan Corwin
Materials: sterling silver, fabric, acrylic paint
Dimensions: 1 1/4" x 1/2"

Artist Statement: The Japanese material I received has abstracted sunflower designs. Sunflowers represent loyalty and longevity. I was influenced by the colors and patterns of this fabric. The fabric petals and “seeds” are folded by hand (Tsumami) and painted. Japan has a long history of artisans practicing the art/craft of Tsunami Kanzashi. Tsumami, a traditional technique for making petals, and flowers from fabric for Kanzashi (ornamental hairpins). Tsumami Kanzashi has been worn by women for about 200 years to match the kimono. Now it is worn at festivals, such as New Years, for 3 and 7 year-old girls, Coming of Age Day and weddings. I have been practicing this technique off and on for a few years. Each petal or “seed” is folded from a ½” piece of fabric and glued in place with a rice starch, then painted. I find this process to be the fabric equivalent of my chasing and repousse in metal. It is meditative, takes great attention to detail, and is pattern oriented.

Artist Bio: Nancy Mēgan Corwin is a jeweler/metalsmith, teacher, curator and writer in the field of art metals specializing in the ancient techniques of chasing and repoussé. Feature articles on her work have appeared in numerous books and magazines including Metalsmith Magazine, Ornament, and “Art Jewelry Today” by Dona Z. Meilach. Mēgan has artwork in a number of private collections as well as The Victoria and Albert Museum, London, the permanent collection of The State University of New Mexico-Las Cruces, and at the Tacoma Art Museum, Washington. In 2009 Brynmorgen Press published Mēgan’s book on the techniques of chasing and repoussé, titled “Chasing and Repoussé: Methods Ancient and Modern,” which is in it’s fourth printing and is published in the US, England and China. She teaches master classes and lectures around the United States, Canada, England and Australia.