Ai Jewelry

Very few can see beauty and art in a piece of discarded electrical wire, but around the age of 13 Aileen Lampman saw something in the scraps her father left behind from his many household projects. Using his pliers, she bent, cut and twisted then accented that otherwise useless material with some beads and dismantled vintage jewelry she and her mother purchased at local flea markets. Voila! She had found her calling. A few months later was selling this handcrafted jewelry at galleries and taking orders from friends, classmates and teachers.

Her appreciation and understanding of metalsmithing unfolded in her junior year of high school when she was accepted to the Pennsylvania Governor’s School for the Arts at Bucknell University. Here she studied jewelry fabrication and casting. After high school her studies at university concentrated on jewelry in the metals program as she earned a bachelor of fine arts degree at Edinboro University. Following graduation, Lampman apprenticed as a bench jeweler at A.U. Jewelers in Hershey and found the experience immensely rewarding. “Here we worked in all karats of gold and I was taught a variety of stone setting and wax carving techniques along with clever ‘underground’ bench tricks. It provided me the opportunity to learn which tools aid in efficiently creating a quality piece and how to think outside the box.”

In 1997, while establishing her own company, Ai Jewelry, she remembered the lessons her apprenticeship had taught her and concentrated on creating hand-fabricated pieces that would endure continued wear, but still evoke an artistic, unique quality. Handcrafted from 14k gold, 14k gold filled and sterling silver wire and sheet, Aileen’s designs are inspired by leaves, flora and landscapes, Georgia O’Keeffe paintings, ancient Egyptian art, and even something as small and insignificant as a ringlet of hair. Shapely concave and convex forms serve as the basis of her designs and are accented by a combination of textures, highlights and overlapping patterns. Never one to take the small details for granted, she hand-forms, hammers and solders each piece of metal including each and every link for her durable Figure-8 chains. The Pocket Necklaces, her most intriguing creations, are reversible and slide open to reveal a tiny space to tuck away small treasures; “preferably love notes”, she adds. Occasionally she’ll incorporate bezel-set precious or semiprecious stones into her work but Aileen explains; “I prefer the metal to be the main focus of each piece – it’s my first love and deserves to be noticed.” Not surprising, given that metal is in Lampman’s blood; her great-grandfather was a blacksmith and today she uses the very anvil that he once used to hammer out his ironwork.

Aileen lives and creates in Pittsburgh with her husband, Giuseppe and their rambunctious doggy, Olive.

Ai JEWELRY CAN BE PURCHASED AT THE GALLERIES LISTED BELOW...

Appalachian Spring, locations in Virginia, Maryland and Washington D.C.

Caleb Meyer Studio, Philadelphia, PA

Copperwood Artware, Orange, CA

G Squared Gallery, Ligonier, PA

The Gallery Shop, State College PA

Handworks Gallery, Mt. Lebanon, PA

Henne Jewelers, Shadyside, Pittsburgh, PA

Langman Gallery, Willowgrove, PA

Metalworks Gallery, Philadelphia, PA

Pittsburgh Center for the Arts, Pittsburgh, PA

Red Sky Gallery, Charlotte, NC

Trios Gallery, Solana Beach, CA

AS WELL AS THE FOLLOWING ART AND CRAFT MARKETS:

American Craft Council, Baltimore, MD

Three Rivers Arts Festival, Pittsburgh, PA

Central PA Festival of the Arts, State College, PA (Penn State)

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