The Jewelry
TAP Jewelry designs evolve from emotion to (aesthetic) experience and back. Romanticism underlies the forms of expression within the jewelry. The interaction of dark and light metals mixed with fine gold and diamonds combine to evoke a strong sense of mystery and sublime nature. The diamonds are bead set “upside-down” onto the surface in pave’ or scattered across the piece. This reverse setting effectively captures and reflects light in a succession of broad flashes from oblique angles creating the feeling of twilight. The emotive experience is primary with passions held over order and the senses are moved into the pleasures of the imagination.
The Jeweler: Todd A. Pownell
The experience of melting steel rods together years ago in shop class started me on my journey towards working with metals and using my hands to make objects. As I studied and explored metals, I began working on a smaller scale with nonferrous metals and copper to create miniature metal boxes. Once I was exposed to silver and gold my seduction was complete and the decision to make jewelry came naturally.
I honed my skills working with "fine jewelers" and learned to set many different types of fascinating gemstones which led me to study gemology. I was mesmerized with the internal properties of crystal structure, refractive indexes, variations and hardness of gems. Monetary displays of gems and solely decorative uses were uninteresting to me and instead I admired gemstones for their intrinsic properties and their ability to naturally interact with light.
Today, I work as an artist in the tradition of the independent studio craftsmen and jewelry becomes a vehicle for expressive desires and nomadic thoughts into visual forms.
Todd is also a Member of Ethical Metalsmith's, Jewelers for social and environmental responsibility, who support ethical mining, sourcing their materials in the most responsible manner while operating their studios with "green" practices.
The Process
I approach the process of making jewelry with an honest respect for the innate qualities of materials. Noble metals and gemstones have strong qualities of order and structure within their internal nature and this arouses my sense of admiration and attention for the craft of making jewelry objects. My work begins with the thought and recollection that "procrastination is the thief of time" as in Night-Thoughts by Edward Young. With trepidation I enter the process of making jewelry (which is always chaos, yet filled with joys and struggle too). The chaos of the process conspires with my respect of the material to create finished pieces that exist with those traces of chaos and order. The intended visual effect is similar to the tensions of a gathering storm in the night sky or the effect low angled light cast across a landscape has upon the gazing eye.