Hilary Hertzler
Philadelphia, PA
Website

My formal training and practical experience as an Interior Architect honed my instinctual feel for color, texture, form and working through patterns spatially. These instincts inform my craft as a jeweler – creating jewelry that is playful, graphic and refined in form. A body of work that encourages the viewer to touch each piece, to see my hand in the work.

My work starts from an instinctive attraction to individual materials – to their distinctive characteristics. As I organize these individual materials into a piece, I explore the interaction between their contrasts – bold and subtle, textured and smooth, art and object, natural and man-made. I map out their placement by hand – playing with pattern, flipping materials to create a new perspective and looking for juxtapositions that push the balance of the final piece.

I continually look for opportunities in design where I can mix mediums in nontraditional ways while drawing on traditional techniques in metalworking, bead-weaving and fiber arts to create each piece. The result is work that engages both the eye and the hand, moving the viewer to physically connect with each piece.