Amy Weiks

Amy Weiks is a nationally exhibiting artist with an artistic background that is materially and technically diverse. This diversity has greatly influenced the way she makes work, often moving fluidly from one material or process to another and blurring the lines between traditional media. It is the intimacy and interactivity of the object that draws her to jewelry and metalsmithing. While a desire to communicate her ideas through the objects she creates tends to dictate material choices, she also works very intuitively, often playing with a material or process until an idea emerges and aesthetic decisions become more conscious and deliberate. Some of her material choices include precious and non-precious metals, fiber, thread, beads, and paint.

The series, Equal and Opposite, is an exercise in form and function, an exploration of materials and an investigation of contradictions. Through repetitive hammer blows the metal is stretched and formed from flat sheet into its unique shape. The inside and outside are painted or patinated for dramatic contrast, accentuating the delicate edges. Each brooch hangs from a long stainless steel pin stem that arches above it thus requiring a balance of materials to combat the forces of gravity. Thread or beads are attached to provide visual or literal weight and balance. Due to their atypical pin mechanisms, the brooches are also reversible further pushing this idea of equal and opposite.

Weiks received a BFA in Photography from Western Michigan University in 2004. She has also studied at prestigious institutions such as the Glasgow School of Art in Scotland (printmaking) and Virginia Commonwealth University (jewelry/metals). At HCCC, she will share a studio with her partner, Gabriel Craig, through August of 2010. For more information, visit www.amyweiks.com.