Earthworks Studio, Kelly Averill Savino
I have worked as a public sector folklorist, an academic, a potter and a writer. I manage a teaching studio for 3D fine craft in a botanical garden in Toledo, Ohio and am blessed to know many generous and enthusiastic makers.
My flasks and small vessels have their roots in medieval culture, and the history of fermented and cultured foods. I take heart from the process of a saved "starter' giving new life to later batches (sourdough, yogurt, fermented beverages, etc) because it reminds me of how human traditions pass through generations. I usually sell flasks at renfaire, but it's 2020 and we're rolling with the changes.
My new line of "Dangly Bits" jewelry provide a purpose for the pieces I make in my studio (clay beads, enamelled and etched copper, stitched sari silk, fused glass, polymer, ecoprint and felting, rolled paper beads, handmade books, glass frame charms, etc.) -- and the stones, bones and fossils I collect from nature -- and the trinkets, baubles and remnants of personal history I have always hoarded from antique shops, my grandfathers' tool and tackle boxes and my grandmothers' jewelry boxes and junk drawers.
I have a special appreciation for those objects we have invested with meaning, even when they they have outlived the hands that once held them. Religious medals and milagros, good luck charms, Hamsa hands and Ganesh charms, are incorporated in places of honor. Your own treasures can be included as well: the collar tags of a beloved pet, cremains, the old boyfriend's class ring, an orphaned earring or bit of an elderly Aunt's costume jewelry can become part of a custom piece, as can your ancestor photos, war medals and dogtags and other treasures from your attic. We can collaborate using sent images so your treasures never need to be shipped.
You can find tutorials, videos of art making, and more at my blog: http://kellysavino.blog
