Laurel Lee and Fred Koschetzki
About Us
To view Fred's other Fine Art click here.
Our journey as artists designers started years
ago.
Fred grew up in the former home of the renowned
"Ash Can School of Art" artist Everett Shinn, the "Bailiwick".
Art was introduced to Fred at an early age while my artistic
adventure developed during our college years.
We both attended the same Universities,
After graduation the artists life beckoned.
We made functional
pottery and jewelry, created sculptures and oil paintings; all the while selling
art at craft fairs and art galleries, in this manner keeping our dream
alive.
Artisan Jewelry
All of the work is done by us in our studio using traditional fabrication techniques: hammering, sawing, grinding, solder joining and lost wax casting. Nothing is mass produced.
Castings are one of a kind or limited
edition. Our artists studio castings are far removed
from the production castings found in the jewelry industry and
have their heritage in traditional fine art sculptures created
through the ages and Art Nuevo jewelry.
The above jewelry is an example of the
various jewelry production techniques employed in our studio.
The forged one of a kind jewelry is visually different from the
castings. Comparing
the two types of jewelry is like comparing apples and oranges;
each requires a dissimilar process and skills.
The jewelry industry has developed an
enormous repertoire of production techniques and mimics each
style of forging and casting in mass production.
Machines can stamp triangles, ovals and
other shapes while a laser welder attaches bezels for the
insertion of calibrated semi precious stones.
The end product closely resembles the triangles and oval
shapes often made by jewelry artists employing the forging
technique.
Mass production castings are also a favorite
of the industrial jewelry complex.
The use of CAD and wax milling machines has all but
eliminated the need to carve wax by hand.
Items small in size are favored by this industrial
technique while larger more complicated castings, like the item
above, is too challenging and labor intensive. These castings
are not profitable enough for the commercial jewelry market to
exploit.
As studio artists who do not mass produce jewelry, we
value artists created forged and cast jewelry for their unique style and effort.
For jewelry that is special, unlike the lackluster factory products available everywhere, the purchase of artists made jewelry is an enriching experience.
Laurel Lee