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About The nugget. (Sisters, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (May 22, 2019)
4 Wednesday, May 22, 2019 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon Bryan Brown has opened a new studio in Sisters By Jodi Schneider Correspondent In his small upstairs <Metals= Jewelry Studio in Sisters, precious-metal artist and gemologist Bryan Lee Brown spends time skill- fully crafting jewelry and other exquisite pieces using a 400-year-old Japanese metal art technique. Mokume-gane, or <wood- grain metal,= is the intricate process Brown practices. The metal forging technique was developed by master metal- worker Dembei Shoame in the 17th century to decorate swords of samurai warriors. The mokume-gane-embel- lished swords the samurai wore were essentially large pieces of jewelry; fashion elements intended to convey their position and status to the world. Brown9s calling in jew- elry-making commenced at an early age. <I was 15 in high school, living in Detroit, and my dad arranged a job for me to get me off the streets,= Brown told The Nugget. <I started working for a biker that had a small store just outside of Detroit. He showed me the basics of soldering and jew- elry repair work.= Brown left for Los Angeles after returning home from serving in the U.S. Marines to become a student at the Gemological Institute of America and graduated as a gemologist. For over 40 years Brown has been an artist in a busi- ness that is diversified enough to keep him very busy. After working with jew- elry for a little more than 20 years, Brown came across something unique that really piqued his curiosity. Brown said <I had been doing jewelry for a long time and I decided to read through Jewelry Concepts and Technology, a huge refer- ence book. I got as far as the Japanese process that talked about mokume-gane and decided to try it 4 and have been hooked ever since. The technique has the tendency to want to do what it wants to do, and sometimes it9s a sur- prise to me. I just keep work- ing with it to see what9s going to happen next.= The traditional compo- nents of mokume-gane are relatively soft metallic ele- ments and alloys 4 gold, platinum, copper, silver, shakudo, (copper with fine gold added) and shibuichi (copper with fine silver added). <There9s always some- thing new to learn, there9s always a surprise during the process. It9s the collaboration of the artist and the metals,= said Brown. <There are dif- ferent ways to achieve more unique effects by twisting or denting the flattened piece for example. And the final design is realized when the piece is complete, it9s always chang- ing, and that9s why I keep creating using this technique; it keeps me entertained.= Brown starts the process by stacking different colored metals until he reaches many layers of alternating metals. Brown noted, <I start with a stack of metal like shi- buichi, that goes in between two steel plates. Then those are clamped together under pressure and put in an elec- tric kiln. And as the tempera- ture increases the metals are brought up to their eutectic point. As they reach this point the metals begin to mingle together at an atomic level, forming a new metal between the original layers and bind- ing them together as one.= From Christmas orna- ments to delicate bowls and intricate rings to unique pendants, every piece of mokume-gane Brown designs carries a bit of Japanese history. Brown said, <The one thing I enjoy about the Japanese arts is that it all looks so simple to the eye because of the clean lines, graceful style and its sim- plicity. But I found that with what looks the simplest, is generally the hardest thing to accomplish.= Brown does trade work for other stores, and since he relocated to Sisters three years ago with his son, Liam, he9s been a wholesaler for boutiques around Central Oregon, including Sisters. He added, <Although I9m in the wholesale business, I9ve got a lot of inventory and would like people to come on up to my working shop and see what I have, and I9d be happy to explain the process that I use.= Brown9s studio is located at 220 S. Ash St., Suite B, upstairs in the Three Creeks building. Visitors are wel- come during business hours. Brown also does a huge amount of repair work and uses a special process to repair pottery called kintsugi. Kintsugi is the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery using adhesive and 24-carat gold. <The pottery usually has some sort of sentimen- tal value to the person, and they want to emphasize the breakage or the history of the piece,= said Brown. One of the first things you PHOTO BY JODI SCHNEIDER Sisters artist Bryan Brown designs jewelry using ancient process. notice when you meet this friendly precious-metal artist is his unique glasses that he made himself out of gold. <I was going for John Lennon9s glasses but it9s more of a 1900s type of look. I did all the hinges and all the screws, made everything. It began as rough gold, I molded it, poured the ingot, poured the wire and drew the wire.= Brown does any type of custom jewelry work, includ- ing traditional gold, platinum and silver. He also does lapi- dary work and will work with any type of stone he can inlay. Sarah Hansen & Kelley Salber Featured Artists May 24 • 4 to 7 p.m. FOURTH FRIDAY ART STROLL 541-749-1800 9-1800 800 00 0 • 357 W W. . HO H HOO HOOD O O D AVE AVE., SISTERS • HOODAVENUEART.COM Sisters Kiwanis ANTIQUES, JEWELRY & COLLECTIBLES SALE! METALS By Artist Bryan Lee Brown Proceeds from this sale a l e o u t h go to support local youth r s h i p s organizations, scholarships for students, awards t to o t s career-changing adults 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. and much more! Saturda y May 25 , 3 0 1 S . E l m S t . Jewelry • Repair • Custom Work Specializing in mokume-gane or wood-grained metal and kintsugi, a unique way of repairing pottery with gold. Over 40 years of experience Come on up! Tuesday-Saturday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Upstairs in the Three Creek Building, 220 S. Ash St., Ste. 8 541-904-0410 • metals.bb@gmail.com One day only!