Rachelle Thiewes (born 1952) is an American

jeweler A bench jeweler is an artisan who uses a combination of skills to make and repair jewelry. Some of the more common skills that a bench jeweler might employ include antique restoration, silversmithing, goldsmithing, stone setting, engraving, ...

and metal artist based in

El Paso, Texas El Paso (; ; or ) is a city in and the county seat of El Paso County, Texas, United States. The 2020 United States census, 2020 population of the city from the United States Census Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau was 678,815, making it the List of ...

. She was professor of metal arts at the

University of Texas at El Paso The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) is a public university, public research university in El Paso, Texas, United States. Founded in 1913 as the State School of Mines and Metallurgy, it is the third oldest academic component of the Univers ...

from 1976 to 2014 and is currently professor emerita.

Biography

Thiewes was born in

Owatonna, Minnesota Owatonna ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Steele County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 26,420 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Owatonna is home to the Steele County Fairgrounds, which hosts the Steele County F ...

, and attended a private

Catholic school Catholic schools are Parochial school, parochial pre-primary, primary and secondary educational institutions administered in association with the Catholic Church. , the Catholic Church operates the world's largest parochial schools, religious, no ...

, where she derived some inspirations for her work. She received her BA in Art/Metals from Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, and her MFA in Art/Metals from

Kent State University Kent State University (KSU) is a Public university, public research university in Kent, Ohio, United States. The university includes seven regional campuses in Northeast Ohio located in Kent State University at Ashtabula, Ashtabula, Kent State ...

. Thiewes began teaching at the University of Texas at El Paso in 1976 and is a current member of the

Society of North American Goldsmiths Society of North American Goldsmiths (SNAG) is an organization of jewelers and metal artists in North America. It is located in Eugene, Oregon. Foundation The Society of North American Goldsmiths (SNAG) was founded in Chicago in 1969. It was f ...

. She also taught a

Master class ''Master Class'' is a 1995 play by American playwright Terrence McNally, presented as a fictional master class by opera singer Maria Callas near the end of her life, in the 1970s. The play features incidental vocal music by Giuseppe Verdi, Giac ...

at the

Royal College of Art The Royal College of Art (RCA) is a public university, public research university in London, United Kingdom, with campuses in South Kensington, Battersea and White City, London, White City. It is the only entirely postgraduate art and design uni ...

in London in 1995.

Artwork

In the 1980s Thiewes work was largely focused on making the wearer of her jewelry conscious of their body and incorporated kinetic or moving elements. Her more recent work draws direct inspiration from the landscape and her decades-long experience of her home in the Chihuahuan desert. This is reflected in her choice of color palette but also through her use of reflective metals and auto paint on her jewelry. Recent projects by Thiewes have included collaborations and performance work, such as her collaborative book project ''Beauty.Chaos'' and traveling show "Air Patterns" with painter Suzi Davidoff. Her work is displayed in many art collections across the world, including

The Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art, colloquially referred to as the Met, is an encyclopedic art museum in New York City. By floor area, it is the third-largest museum in the world and the largest art museum in the Americas. With 5.36 million v ...

, The

American Craft Museum The Museum of Arts and Design (MAD), based in Manhattan, New York City, collects, displays, and interprets objects that document contemporary and historic innovation in craft, art, and design. In its exhibitions and educational programs, the ...

The Art Institute of Chicago The Art Institute of Chicago, founded in 1879, is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the United States. The museum is based in the Art Institute of Chicago Building in Chicago's Grant Park. Its collection, stewarded by 11 curatoria ...

, The

Renwick Gallery The Renwick Gallery is a branch of the Smithsonian American Art Museum located in Washington, D.C. that displays American craft and decorative arts from the 19th to 21st century. The gallery is housed in a National Historic Landmark building that ...

at the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums, Education center, education and Research institute, research centers, created by the Federal government of the United States, U.S. government "for the increase a ...

, The

National Museums of Scotland National Museums Scotland (NMS; ) is an executive non-departmental public body of the Scottish Government. It runs the national museums of Scotland. NMS is one of the country's National Collections, and holds internationally important collect ...

, and the

, London.

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thiewes, Rachelle American jewelry designers American goldsmiths 1952 births Living people Southern Illinois University alumni Kent State University alumni University of Texas at El Paso faculty 20th-century American women artists Women metalsmiths People from Owatonna, Minnesota American women academics 21st-century American women Women jewellers