Don Kelley

Images are sample works. Call or visit OA Gallery for availability.

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My jewelry is an expression of simplicity in motion as I sculpt fluid silver shapes grounded by stones into contemporary bold statements. My hands are guided and inspired by nature’s beauty in stones and the malleable silver.

I begin with ordinary vintage silver dinner forks. Without the use of heat, I “cold form” this material into simple clean lines that typically enfold natural stones. Semi-precious accent stones add balance.

With intuition, my hands expose designs that I believe were already there and ready to be discovered. For the most part I work without a design or preconception and let each piece reveal itself.

As a young boy I marveled at the tools my mother used in making simple sterling silver rings. Not allowed to touch or use these only made me want to use them more. Decades later I found “the box”. The rediscovery of these tools is when my passion took hold. Today I use these instruments every day. One particular pliers, that my mother used in the 1930's, today touches over 90% of every piece that comes out of my studio.

I love transforming something old into something new. But even more, when using a customer’s family piece of sterling. I love creating something meaningful that a daughter or granddaughter can wear.