The 2022 Award work: Mavis Chen's teapot, Will There Be a Bird. The two honorable mentions are: Hannah Craig's Coleoptera and Mackenzie Reid's Tied to Home. Congratulations students!
I had the pleasure of co-organizing the exhibition Tactile Chronicles: The 2022 Silver Society of Canada NSCAD Student Competition of Fine Metal Sculpture, which promotes and rewards student excellence in silversmithing.
The Silversmith honours the knowledge and experiences required to understand their materials and control complex processes. In addition, the Contemporary Silversmith values the artistic endeavour to push the boundary of traditional practice to redefine what hollowware can be.
In the jurying process, we were looking for one of kind pieces rooted in traditional craft materials and techniques coupled with individual expression that transcends skill.
We examined each piece not only looking at how well it was made but also discussed the intent of maker, material, and process.
Congratulations to the selected artists! Sincere thanks to the Silver Society of Canada and L.A. Pai Gallery for promoting and celebrating these young silversmiths.
Kye-Yeon Son
Professor
Jewellery Design and Metalsmithing
NSCAD University
Halifax, NS
Canada
Emma Piirtoniemi reviewed the exhibition work in her article for MetalAid Canadian Art Jewellery Network: "While the projects presented include making specific functional objects like candle holders, teapots, and other vessels, it’s clear that students imbued these objects with rich storytelling— often biographical—reaching far beyond functionality. They brave the complexities of life, loss, change, and challenges through these works that in one form or another, all come our way. To celebrate student achievement and make space for them to share their artistic voices is indeed a powerful way to encourage the next generation of metalsmiths. As Son hints, “This is my small effort in this small corner of Canada to keep a little flame of hollowware [alive] for students so when they leave, they keep this flame of interest. I just want them to have confidence [that] they can do it, and be proud of what they’ve done.”
