Metalsmith Joy Raskin featured in League of NH Craftsmen’s exhibit

Friday, February 1, 2013

Loretta Jackson photo


Bedford's Joy Raskin, a longtime member of the League of New Hampshire Craftsmen and an avid teacher of metalworking, completes a project in her studio, where she creates metal sculptures, silver jewelry and knitted-wire garments, in addition to custom flatware and other items.

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Joy Raskin, of Bedford, created these spoons. She will be among the artists featured in the the League of New Hampshire Craftsmen's exhibition, A Child at Heart, at its Gallery at The Craft Center and headquarters in the SMILE! building on 49 S. Main St. in Concord. The exhibition runs through April 13.

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A metal-weaved handbag created by Joy Raskin of Bedford

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Courtesy photo


A metal-weaved garment created by Joy Raskin of Bedford.

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Loretta Jackson photo

Joy Raskin, an award-winning metalsmith from Bedford and longtime member of the League of NH Craftsmen, uses the flame from a compact torch to solder a silver ring that may be added to a Valentine's Day collection of her jewelry, available at the League's Nashua gallery on Main Street.

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Loretta Jackson photo


Metalsmith Joy Raskin, of Bedford, designed and constructed this long-sleeved jacket by knitting together loops of metal wire in varying colors. A matching skirt also was a part of the project.

Enlarge,

Loretta Jackson photo


Bedford's Joy Raskin, a longtime member of the League of New Hampshire Craftsmen and an avid teacher of metalworking, completes a project in her studio, where she creates metal sculptures, silver jewelry and knitted-wire garments, in addition to custom flatware and other items.

Enlarge-

Silver, pewter and glass are a few of the materials artist Joy Raskin uses to make metallic magic. She creates ornate metal sculptures, fancy jackets woven out of metal wire, flatware that is functional yet beautiful, and jewelry smooth to the touch.

The Bedford artist has been a silversmith since 1984. The tools of her trade are torches, pliers and hammers. Her work has been exhibited in national and international shows that draw the world’s best artists. She is renowned locally for her custom-made flatware – spoons and forks with accents of twisted metal – and also for her sculptural works and jewelry items that echo the free-flowing shapes of leaves and almonds and other wonders of nature.

Raskin was still in high school in Manchester when she was welcomed as a member of the League of New Hampshire Craftsmen, an organization founded in 1932 to help Depression-era artists earn a wage. Today, the organization of about 150 members remains highly esteemed. She earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Rhode Island School of Design, and a Masters of Fine Arts from the University of Massachusetts. She now creates her designs in a spacious, well-equipped studio and spends about half of her work time teaching in-state and elsewhere. She frequently conducts classes at the League of N.H. Craftsmen’s Nashua retail gallery, 98 Main St., where many of Raskin’s works are on sale.

“There’s something magical about joining metals together with heat,” Raskin said. “I’m not really a jeweler, I’m a metalsmith. I found my career early on and never looked back. I like to have a hammer in one hand and a soldering torch in the other.”

Raskin enjoys sharing her craft. Her workshops in metal-smithing techniques, wire weaving and jewelry making have have earned accolades from many. Her students range in age from teenagers to age 90.

Raskin examines a woven-metal purse made up of five colors of metal loops. She runs a finger down the interlocked stitches that make its layered design. Rows of black loops blend into those of colors named gun metal, hematite, titanium and silver.

“I started out in jewelry but I like working big, maybe a foot across,” Raskin said, showing some discs of heavy, gray metal. “Pewter is good. It has some heft to it. If I make something, I want it to be functional.”

In Raskin’s studio, a mannequin wearing a dress of woven wire and seed pearls shares space with other unusual artworks. There is a whimsical bustier and a matching, wide-brimmed hat made of strips of pounded-copper ribbon accented with sections of thin, round, copper wire. A heavy bronze serving spoon nearby is a project from a casting class.

Near the bronze spoon on one of the her studio’s counter tops is a clear, plastic box occupied by Raskin’s pet hedgehog, Spikey – the most recent of 10 she has called her pets. She lifts Spikey gently out of a woolen ski cap that he considers his condo. A Raskin original, a sculpture of a hedgehog made out of welded nails, stands near the cage.

“A lot of my work has a spikiness to it,” said Raskin. “It’s a repetitive form found in architecture – bridges and the like.”

Ruth Boland, owner of the League of N.H. Craftsmen’s Nashua gallery, said Raskin’s artwork at the gallery always draws substantial interest.

“We have some of Joy’s knitted-copper chains with sterling-silver clasps and some rings made of sterling-silver metal and gold,” Boland said. “There are quite a few pieces that incorporate hearts, perfect for Valentine’s Day.”

Boland, a juried basket maker and teacher, said the Nashua retail gallery opened in May 2010. The work displayed is created by members of the League, and includes objects in metal, wood, art glass and other mediums. Boland said Raskin’s one-day workshops are a popular offering among the gallery’s many activities. Raskin will conduct a wire-working workshop from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. on Saturday, March 16. She also is scheduled to teach a workshop on making earrings from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday, April 20.

Boland said Raskin has been a teacher and a contributor to the gallery since it opened. Visitors can view Raskin’s work at the Nashua gallery, 98 Main St., on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, 11 a.m.-4 p.m.; Thursdays from 11 a.m.-8 p.m.; and Fridays and Saturdays from 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Call the gallery at 595-8233 for more information.

“Joy is very passionate about her work and very enthusiastic,” Boland said. “People want to be creative. They want to make things with their hands. Our classes here offer instant satisfaction. You go home with something you’ve made.”

Raskin, meanwhile, fires up a torch that allows her to manipulate metal at temperatures of up to 1,600 degrees. She joins a silver collar, about a half-inch high, that will be a ring. As she focuses on adjusting the flame, she mentions she has found “extreme happiness” in her work and wants to continue her mission of sharing her knowledge.

“As long as I can lift a hammer, I’ll keep on doing what I’m doing,” she said. “I’m in a bowl-making mood lately.”

For more information about Raskin’s work, and workshops and venues where her work is displayed, visit www.joyraskin.com.