Jewelry Artist Podcast: Joe Silvera Is at His Best at Play

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A man after my own heart! Jewelry artist Joe Silvera applies himself to jewelry making with focus, patience, and plenty of method, but creativity is another story. For designing jewelry and solving many challenges that jewelry artists face, he says there’s nothing like casting aside your thoughts and just playing at the bench.

ABOVE: Jewelry artist Joe Silvera carving a wax for one of his cat rings.

In Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist’s current Tool & Supply issue, he shares his insights on bench tools and bench setups, all related to the kind of jewelry he makes. In his just released Jewelry Artist podcast, Joe talks with host Katie Hacker about what he’s known for: the Silvera Jewelry School and teaching in general, teaching soldering especially, and running a business. I wanted to learn more about his own jewelry making, and he offered these answers to the questions I asked.

Successful Play

Merle White: What part of making jewelry do you most enjoy and why?

Joe Silvera: I like to sit down with nothing in mind and play. So often I find myself at the bench with a class to develop or a specific custom project. Just letting yourself go and shutting off the planning side of your brain is the best and often results in some great designs — like my cat ring!

MW: What do you think is the most successful piece you’ve made as a jewelry artist, and in what way do you think it is successful?

Joe: I think my cat and dog ring series were very successful. I love that they stand up when they’re not worn, so they’re fun to display. I think I captured a lot of the character that we love in cats and dogs. They’re carved in wax and cast. Plus I really enjoyed making them! 

Branching Out as a Jewelry Artist

MW: If you were given the opportunity to study one new aspect of jewelry making now, what would it be and why?

Joe: Computer aided design, CAD. Specifically more figurative friendly programs, like zBrush. I still carve all of my wax models, which makes me a bit of a dinosaur. Hand work is still valued, but CAD and 3D printing are dominant now in the industry. Since my school years and apprenticeship were just before the heydey of CAD, I’d be very interested to try my hand at it. I’ve dabbled a little bit, and was very impressed with what you can make with zBrush. You can even build in some of the wabi sabi and hand into the computer models. While I was working on screen, adding, incising, subtracting, I felt like I was working in wax, which is wild.

I would also love to sit down and study engraving. I’ve dabbled, but engraving by hand is a deep craft and requires lots of practice. We’re lucky to have Hratch Nargizian come teach for us a couple of times a year. He’s a master engraver with more than 50 years of experience. What a wealth of knowledge. When he comes to teach again in October, I’ll definitely be there. I love the way the gravers cut the metal and studying the classical patterns you can make, some only by hand. 

MW: Who would you want to study with if that could be anyone ever, and why?

Joe: My fantasy would be to work for the Georg Jensen workshop in the early 1900s. I love their Arts and Crafts period pieces. To work for them and learn from them, carving waxes, soldering and producing jewelry like theirs would be amazing. And of course, to design for them would be a thrill. Plus, no cell phones or email, so much easier to focus.

MW: What is the most useful lesson you’ve learned about making jewelry that you learned from another area?

Joe: I learned a lot from my days in the sculpture department in school. Learning how to break up your design into a grid and how to measure proportions from the source to reproduce in your design have been essential. They’re important in both my work with wax and metal. My art background also gave me a firm grounding in 2D and 3D design. It taught me how to look for the elements of good design, like balance, proportion, compare and contrast, repetition, movement, etc. I think too many students study jewelry and skip learning how to design. When it comes to critique in class, we always try to support good craftsmanship and function, but also good design. 

MW: What are some of the pieces you’ve made that are your favorites? What do you like about them, and what have other people told you about them?

Joe: I love the ring I made with a labradorite stone, 18K yellow gold bezel and a leaf pattern saddle on top of a split shank. People love it and I get a lot of requests to make it again. They love the fire in the stone, which the gold bezel sets off beautifully. Of course, this one went straight to my wife, Anat.

That Most Useful Virtue

MW: What is the most useful lesson you’ve learned about making jewelry from making jewelry?

Joe: Patience. Patience. Patience. Craft is taking your time and doing it right. That was different from my fine art background, where the craft of art wasn’t always appreciated nor taught. This was the ‘80s, so a lot of things were crazy in art and fashion. I mean, look at the hair styles. Flock of Sea Gulls? Need I say more? But in the jewelry department, we were encouraged to stick with it, do it over, get it right. No matter what the medium, that is my foundation lesson that supports my work.

MW: What have you learned from jewelry making that’s been most useful in another field or aspect of your life?

Joe: Patience definitely helps in life and marriage. Being willing to listen to your work and to put in the time translates for me to being patient with others, be they strangers, friends, family or your partner. Making things teaches you that some things are out of your hands. Like those days that nothing goes right in the studio and you’ve spent hours on something that should have only taken five minutes. The best thing to do is walk away and come back tomorrow. Then it goes fine!

Same thing with life. You know, Anat and I work together all the time. We’re partners at our school and at home. That takes knowing that you’re not always right, and being willing to bend with the circumstances. If you’re mad, frustrated, having an argument — take a break. Get an ice cream or go for a walk. Then come back and try again. With a cooler head you can often see your side and their side. Just like in jewelry. With a little space and time, you can see what you were missing, catch the mistakes you were making, and do better. I think, for me, that’s the best approach to life. 

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Hear Joe’s Interview

Listen to Joe’s Jewelry Artist podcast below, and subscribe to this free podcast and hear all the episodes!

P.S. Don’t Miss Joe on Texturing Metal

That’s what he focused on in his appearance in Beads, Baubles and Jewels. Learn how to create your own custom textured hammers with Joe Silvera Beads, Baubles and Jewels episode 1712.

Originally posted July 22, 2020. Updated April 14, 2022.

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