My story:

Finally I'm back at the bench in the last couple years doing what I love: Creating jewelry!  I had a long hiatus with raising my two boys who are now teens, and pursuing my other passion of racing as an elite triathlete while coaching other athletes.  I still love those activities and still make sure to get out for an adventure each day.

I fell in love with making jewelry in high school art class and knew I wanted to go to art school.  I graduated from Syracuse University with a BFA in Metalsmithing. From there I spent a number of years working as a jeweler in small shop, further honing my skills before my break.

I knew I wanted to return to my creative side, as a part of myself felt missing.  I'm back now with plenty of energy!  

My work:

Many of my designs are organic in style, inspired by all the time I spend outdoors in nature.  My athletic pursuits have brought me to amazing places around the world, from the jungles of Thailand to Brazil, and my local training locations.  I've taken all of those adventures and their visual, emotional, and sensory experiences and incorporated them into my art.

I usually don’t have a preconceived concept when I start designing. I like my creativity to flow naturally from within.  I’ll explore different shapes, patterns, and textures and work to combine them into a design. I also find the actual making of the jewelry a relaxing, rhythmic, and physical process.  

I’ll create different shapes with textures and colors and then lay them all out on the bench, and from there combine them into a design.  I prefer this hands on approach, but I will make use of the sketch book to clarify designs or explore further.  This process always seems to bring out distinctive combinations of designs, colors, and use of materials. I try not to place rules on materials and designs when I'm working, I let my work naturally flow from within.  I'm looking forward to delving deeper and creating more wearable art.

All designs and work are copyrighted and property of Kelli Montgomery Designs LLC