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Artist Lori Talcott offered SOFA attendees a visually rich and insightful presentation describing how her work is a synthesis of family history, her experiences traveling, and research in traditional and historical adornment.
Talcott is a 4th generation jeweler, metalsmith, and jewelry historian who credits her father for “…opening the door to a vocation that became my world.” She continues, “For him, being a jeweler was far more than just a way to make a living. He had great appreciation for beauty and craftsmanship, as well as a high regard for the connection people had with their jewelry; believing that its power transcended mere consumerism or materialism.”
Leaving the family business - a manufacturing and retail jewelry store founded in 1872 - at 27, Talcott went back to school at the University of Washington to become a “maker.” After completing a BFA in Metal Design, she pursued her interest in European folk jewelry, apprenticing to a master silversmith in Norway where the aesthetic and technical knowledge is still a “living tradition,” passed on from master to apprentice. Today Talcott is considered to be an expert in the field of Scandinavian folk jewelry, as well as an artist of international stature. She is known for the virtuosity of her craftsmanship, thoughtfulness of design, and skillful layering of symbolism and historical reference in the content of her work.
In her 2002 exhibition, Arbor Mundi: Form, Myth, Metaphor, Talcott used the ubiquitous tree of life symbol as a central theme: “Fragments and ideas from Norse mythology and epic poetry, along with botanical ‘relics’ are contained in archetypal forms.” These pieces led to her most recent series of neckpieces based on the “Brisinga men”, a mythic ornament belonging to Freyja, the Nordic goddess of creation and destruction. Brisings’ Stole, from this series, was purchased by the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian Art Museum.
Those who appreciate thoughtfully made and intellectually stimulating work will find that Lori Talcott’s jewelry far exceeds her goal of making “beautiful, evocative, and wearable forms; referencing history while meaningful in contemporary culture.” Surely her father, grandfather, and great-grandfather would be proud; and today’s art jewelry patrons privileged, to call her work their own.
Talcott currently lives and works in Seattle, where she is beginning a new body of work based on her research and experien
ces while on sabbatical in Europe this past year. She was supported by an Art’s Fellowship from the American-Scandinavian Foundation.