Materials: sterling silver
Dimensions: 8 x 12 x 4 inch
raised, fabricated, woven.
Photo credit: Chas Krider
Bradshaw HaysMichael
Columbus, Ohio. USA
I use traditional forming and construction methods to fashion items that are contemporary solutions to the historical forms of holloware and dinning utensils. Through the investigation of form and volume I try to impart upon each piece a monumental sculptural and architectonic quality while maintaining a satisfying human-scaled functionality.
Over ten years ago while doing research for a museum exhibition I was curating on the history of Ohio decorative arts I began to take metalworking classes at a local arts center to better understand the processes and technical issues of the field. Fascinated by the sculptural quality inherent in the work, and the many diverse and complex methods employed to achieve it, I became enamored with the medium of silverworking. Since then I have taken classes at craft schools across the U.S. and have maintained a studio as a independent silversmith.
My work draws inspiration from the intersection of the restrained architectural classicism of Biedermeier design of the mid-nineteenth century Germany and the meticulous functionality of industrial products of the Bauhaus during the 1920’s and 30’s. By attempting to marry the minimalist, utilitarian forms of the latter with the sophistication of design of the former, I hope to achieve the combining of the pure functionality of one with the elegance of form of the other. My work is a balance of striving to fashion items that are elegantly playful while possessing a visually pleasing functionality.
Over the last few years I have been recognized by the Ohio Arts Council, and my work has received the Rio Grande Jewelry Award in 2008, the 2011 Dresden Artist Residency from the Greater Columbus Arts Council, and the Pamela Morris Thomford Award For Excellence in Metals in Body of Work from the Ohio Craft Museum, Columbus, OH. I have exhibited throughout the U.S. and Germany, most recently in “Craft Forms” at the Wayne Art Center, Wayne, PA, and “CRAFT USA” at the Silvermine Guild Arts Center, New Canaan, CT. My work has been published in several books on contemporary metalworking, including “500 Metal Vessels” by Fred Fenster, and is in the permanent collection of the Ohio Craft Museum and the MGM Grand, Las Vegas, NV.
Materials: sterling silver
Dimensions: 8 x 12 x 4 inch
raised, fabricated, woven.
Photo credit: Chas Krider
Bradshaw HaysMichael
Columbus, Ohio. USA
I use traditional forming and construction methods to fashion items that are contemporary solutions to the historical forms of holloware and dinning utensils. Through the investigation of form and volume I try to impart upon each piece a monumental sculptural and architectonic quality while maintaining a satisfying human-scaled functionality.
Over ten years ago while doing research for a museum exhibition I was curating on the history of Ohio decorative arts I began to take metalworking classes at a local arts center to better understand the processes and technical issues of the field. Fascinated by the sculptural quality inherent in the work, and the many diverse and complex methods employed to achieve it, I became enamored with the medium of silverworking. Since then I have taken classes at craft schools across the U.S. and have maintained a studio as a independent silversmith.
My work draws inspiration from the intersection of the restrained architectural classicism of Biedermeier design of the mid-nineteenth century Germany and the meticulous functionality of industrial products of the Bauhaus during the 1920’s and 30’s. By attempting to marry the minimalist, utilitarian forms of the latter with the sophistication of design of the former, I hope to achieve the combining of the pure functionality of one with the elegance of form of the other. My work is a balance of striving to fashion items that are elegantly playful while possessing a visually pleasing functionality.
Over the last few years I have been recognized by the Ohio Arts Council, and my work has received the Rio Grande Jewelry Award in 2008, the 2011 Dresden Artist Residency from the Greater Columbus Arts Council, and the Pamela Morris Thomford Award For Excellence in Metals in Body of Work from the Ohio Craft Museum, Columbus, OH. I have exhibited throughout the U.S. and Germany, most recently in “Craft Forms” at the Wayne Art Center, Wayne, PA, and “CRAFT USA” at the Silvermine Guild Arts Center, New Canaan, CT. My work has been published in several books on contemporary metalworking, including “500 Metal Vessels” by Fred Fenster, and is in the permanent collection of the Ohio Craft Museum and the MGM Grand, Las Vegas, NV.