On Oct. 28th, Aggies of all majors debuted their custom metalwork to the world and sold it in New Mexico State University Bookstore. This year’s jewelry sale featured first-time metal-benders as well as some who had participated in previous sales over the years.
In order to participate in the sale, students had to have completed at least one semester of the Art Department’s jewelry and small metal construction class. After that, students could begin creating their handmade artwork to sell in the fall.
The course and subject matter attracted artists, like Kayla Blundell, to learn how to create different kinds of art. Blundell had experience with metal, but not with creating jewelry until this year.
“So, my focus mainly is sculpture, and like, big sculptures, and so I’ve always loved working with metal,” Blundell said.
More than just allowing the artists to display their work, the event also taught students how to finance themselves and manage their products.
“You don’t realize how much stuff you need,” Elizabeth Swenson, a museum conservation major, said. “You need stuff to take people’s cards and know how to, like, write a check, keep inventory log, and advertise, and how to set stuff up to, like, look good.”
Many students learned post-graduation skills that prepared them to survive as a professional artist.
“So, I think this is more like a trial-and-error kind of thing. Nobody really knows what they’re doing most of the time, so it’s a good way to try everything out,” Gisselle Gomez, a studio art major, said.
Swenson noted that this experience taught her how much people will pay for different items.
“The more expensive items sell better because people are willing to spend a lot of money for something that looks good,” Swenson said.
Another skill the students learned was awareness of trends and styles. This year, gothic themes and spooky Halloween vibes stimulated the minds of many artists, but how that idea would manifest itself as a product came to each artist differently. Despite the use of similar materials, every artist found a way to make the initial metal their own.
“I just kind of wanted to have fun with the things I made,” art studio major Raele Gere said. “I did some kind of spooky stuff, but also just like, some kind of simple stuff. I wanted to kind of, like, sell to a broad variety of people.”
Participating in this yearly sale gives the artists direct contact with the consumer and allows for insight and challenges leading to self-improvement.
“I guess, for me personally, I was able to make more things because I honed my skill and I was able to produce more [jewelry] quicker,” Swenson said.
NMSU’s metalsmiths may not know what next year will bring for them, but they all recommended other Aggies try their hand at jewelry and metal construction.
