Ornament Current Edition Volume 45.1

Welcome to our newest edition of Ornament Magazine! Karen Searle celebrates another big fifty, with Joyce J. Scott’s retrospective exhibition at the Baltimore Museum of Art. Having been an artist “since she was in utero”, Scott’s work has been an incredible tapestry, using beads as the medium for expressing the African-American voice. A master storyteller, Scott has encouraged plenty of conversation with her beaded jewelry, sculpture and installations.

Robert K. Liu found inspiration in a recent SNAG Conference talk given by Ana María Jiménez, a Colombian jeweler who is experimenting with ancient metalworking techniques. Here he gives an impressive overview of ancient jewelry from across the Americas.

Ashley Callahan gives one of the father’s of contemporary art jewelry his due, celebrating fifty years of Bob Ebendorf’s work from the generous Porter • Price Collection, donated recently to the Mint Museum. From being a dedicated educator to his pioneering use of found objects and alternative materials, Ebendorf has inspired joy and contemplation.

Olivia Barney grants readers a personal tour of “Art & Sole,” an exhibition at the Heard Museum in Phoenix, Arizona that brings together contemporary Native shoe art with the crossdisciplinary work made by those same artists in different media.

Patrick R. Benesh-Liu navigates shifting perspectives as he writes the story of how the exhibition “La Frontera” was organized for its third iteration. Examining the issue of the US-Mexico border from many different, personal takes, this fascinating show continues to reinvent itself and express new messages.