Featured Artist: Marlene True

M. True herself!

You are the Assassin: Tin, enamel, pearls, etched

Gia: enamel, tin, copper, etched

Hunter's Badge: Tin, copper, found objects, 2.5mm diamond

Ephemeral Series: Steel and plastic

I recently met the infamous, Marlene True, several weeks ago, when I provided visiting artist Jesse Bert a ride to Pocosin Arts Folk School. I write 'infamous' because when I met the other graduate students of the metals/jewelry program at ECU almost two years ago, they raved about Marlene, and simply referred to her as 'M.True'.

I thought, who is this woman? And when can I meet her?! Sometimes when I meet fabulous people, or more specifically an artist, that everyone is talking about, I get shy and a intimidated, so I didn't introduce myself immediately. But when I met Marlene at Pocosin, it was about time I put my shyness away. And come to find, she is very approachable and very, very talented and savvy.

As you can see, Marlene is a lover of tin. And she creates beautiful pieces with tin, that voice her style as a metalsmith but also a modern commentary on classic themes and ideas. Such as Hunter's Badge, a classic image of the deer with antlers but also a distinct red cross and diamond.

The first two photos above are the pieces I respond to the most, and I have a feeling it's older work of Marlene's. I respond to the pendant and brooch because they speak to my own work and what I'm attracted to.

Marlene is currently residing in Columbia, NC where she teaches at the Pocosin Arts Folk School. Marlene has worked very hard to create an excellent metals and jewelry studio at Pocosin; she was able to secure funding to bring big name artist's to teach workshops; such as Jesse Bert, Boris Bally, Bruce Barnett and Tim Lazure, along with many others. You can view photos of the workshops and friend Pocosin on Facebook.

I hope you enjoyed reading about M. True and if you get a chance, visit her at Pocosin and sign up for her classes - it's worth it!

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Visiting Artist: Boris Bally

Images taken from Velvet Da Vinci website

Last night the ECU metal and jewelry department had the pleasure of hosting Boris Bally and viewing his work up close.

Boris is that kind of person that draws you in immediately; demanding your attention. And his journey as an artist and experience is very interesting but not completely unique as a metalsmith/designer/jeweler.

Boris is largely self taught but I found it very interesting that he got his start as an apprentice at 19 years old at a goldsmith studio/shop in Switzerland. And from there, Boris' interest in metals was sparked. Unfortunately I was late (had to work) for the beginning of Boris' presentation, and what his parents did as a profession however I did learn that his family loved to travel and his father taught at Carnegie Mellon University as did Boris.

Boris never went to school for an MFA which is quite impressive when you view his work and how much he learned and investigated on his own. He taught himself how to raise a vessel, and spin on a lathe...I could go on and on.

I have so much respect for artists that take that first step to learn a craft on their own - it's SO hard when you don't have anyone teaching you the right way to do things.

Boris is continuing his visit in North Carolina with a trip to the Pocosin Folk Arts School where Marlene True is heading up the metals program. I'm sure the students and visitors will be just as entertained and enthralled by his artistic evolution as we were!

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