Nancie Roark
Artist Statement:
Nancie creates jewelry as small sculpture to wear. To her, the journey from start to finish of a piece is not only a creative process but also a fabrication or building process … “Creating and making go hand in hand; jewelry allows me to showcase metals and gems in a vivid counterpoint of shape, reflective color changes and contrasting textures.” Among the processes she uses are sawing, piercing, soldering, embossing, photo-resist acid etching, raising, shell forming, forging, reticulation, creating hollow and box forms, traditional stone setting techniques (bezel, prong, tube and flush setting), non-traditional stone setting techniques (back setting, picket setting, cages and more). Additionally, finishings include patina and keum-boo
Biography:
After earning a BA at North Carolina State University, Nancie moved to New Orleans, LA, and studied art at the University of New Orleans and New Orleans Academy of Fine Art. She credits the beginning of her jewelry career to having the opportunity to study with Margo Manning and to work with other talented jewelers in the area. Having begun as a glass artist, she combined the two mediums and then moved to including gemstones in her work and to study with nationally known jewelers who each specialize in specific techniques. Having lived in New Orleans for thirty years, Nancie now teaches and works in her studio in Franklin, TN, and at Vanderbilt University’s Sarratt Art Studios.