Meet Our Collective

Katie Rearick received her BFA with an emphasis in Metal/Jewelry from Western Michigan University, and her MFA from SUNY New Paltz. Supplemental to her formal education, she has studied at Haystack Mountain School of Crafts and Penland School of Crafts.

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Her work ranges from small-scale body adornment to large sculptural installations that utilize personal narrative as a starting point. Katie’s work was included in the publications 500 Gemstone Jewels and 500 Enameled Objects. Notable exhibitions include: Staring : in HINDSIGHT  at The International Design Museum in Munich, Germany, Associated Artists of Pittsburgh 107th Annual Exhibition at The Westmoreland Museum of American Art in Greensburg, Pennsylvania and Fresh: Metalsmith Exhibition in Print at the National Ornamental Metal Museum. 

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Previously, Katie has taught at SUNY New Paltz, Waynesburg University and Pittsburgh Center for the Arts.  Having founded the Allegheny Metals Club in 2015, Katie is actively engaged in the Pittsburgh metals community and currently teaches workshops at the Society for Contemporary Craft. She also maintains a home studio in the Stanton Heights neighborhood of Pittsburgh. 

Stacy Rodgers is a studio jeweler based in Pittsburgh, Pa. She received her BFA in Jewelry/Metalsmithing from the University of Kansas in 2007. Stacy exhibits and sells her work nationally while also teaching jewelry at Contemporary Craft. She served on the SNAG Board of Directors from 2020-2023 acting as President of the Board from 2021-2023. Stacy’s work was published in the 2008 book Pendants and Lockets by Lark Books.

Jim Bové is an educator and artist living south of Pittsburgh. His formalist artwork tends toward the minimal and is informed through observations of the world around us. A recent residency to the far northern reaches of the Arctic Circle has been his inspiration for a new body of art work which takes that vast landscape, filled with ice and sky, and interprets it into an intimate scale for the human body. Jim’s work has been featured in books and magazines, including, Cast Art and Objects: Humanities most Transformative Process, On Body and Soul: Contemporary Armor to Amulets, and Pioneers of American Craft. His artwork has been exhibited nationally and internationally, including Munich’s Schmuck, the Royal Museum in Tokyo, and at the Cheongju International Craft Biennale in South Korea.

Sharon is a mid-career jeweler/metalsmith/enamelist whose artwork has been exhibited in over 100 juried and invitational exhibitions all over the world. Images of her work have been published in both American Craft and Metalsmith magazines, and she has work in many public collections including the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Museum of Fine Arts Boston and the Yale University Art Gallery.

Kattie graduated from Edinboro University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree (focus in Metalsmithing-Jewelry) in 2019. During her time there, she discovered her love for being in a studio. She found herself especially drawn to hammer-forming techniques and fascinated by the intimate relationship she was able to have with the materials.

She stayed in Edinboro for a Post-Baccalaureate opportunity to continue her work and engage as a graduate student for a year. Afterward, she decided to start a career as a jeweler. She currently lives in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania where she continues to learn and create in my personal studio, exhibit my work nationally, and explore opportunities.

Courtney graduated from Edinboro University of Pennsylvania, receiving her bachelor’s in fine arts – Concentration Jewelry & Metalsmithing with minors in Business Administration and Ceramics. Currently she works from her home studio in Wexford, PA creating jewelry and small sculptures. Her work has been exhibited nationally in locations including Lillistreet Gallery (Chicago,IL), Pocosin Arts Center, The Erie Art Museum, and NYCJW 2022.

Maria Camera-Smith is a metalsmith, enamelist, and jeweler whose craft practice focuses on nostalgia, identity, and body adornment. She relies on jewelry formats as systems to analyze her environment while also searching for a time/place of belonging. Camera-Smith is the current Artist in Residence in Jewelry & Metalsmithing at the Armory Art Center in West Palm Beach, FL. She earned her MFA in Jewelry, Metals, and Enameling from Kent State University, OH in 2021 and a BFA in Metalsmithing from Slippery Rock University, PA in 2015.

Sue Amendolara was born in Youngstown, Ohio. She received a Master of Fine Arts degree in Jewelry Design/Metalsmithing from Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana and a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Miami University, Oxford, Ohio. She taught Jewelry Design/Metalsmithing at Edinboro University of Pennsylvania from1991-2022, retiring in 2022. She served as President of the Society of North American Goldsmiths from 2011-2014.

Her metalwork has been exhibited regionally and nationally in galleries and museums for over thirty years. Her work has been included in international venues in Germany, Switzerland, Thailand, Poland and Japan. Publications of her work include American Craft, Metalsmith, Ornament and Lapidary Journal. She has been the recipient of three Individual Fellowships from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts (1994,1999, 2003) and a Mid-Atlantic/NEA Regional Fellowship (1995.) Her work is part of the permanent collections at the Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh, PA, The Victoria and Albert Museum in London, England, The Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington D.C. and the White House Collection of American Crafts, Washington D.C. She was awarded “Artist of the Year” from Erie Arts and Culture, Erie, PA in 2023.

Kim Nogueira is a contemporary artist/jeweler who received her education apprenticing as a production goldsmith for 16 years. Her BA in sociology from Smith College and deep trance hypnosis training supports the multi-dimensional and thought-based yet intuitively-guided metaphysical explorations that undergird her wearable narrative art practice. Kim's work has been in juried and curated exhibitions both nationally and abroad; notable exhibitions include the Museum of Arts and Design’s MAD about JEWELRY, Le génie des images at LA Joaillerie par Mazlo in Paris, France and the 55th International Enamel Exchange exhibition at the Tokyo Museum of Art. Her work has been published in Metalsmith and Art Aurea as well as in more than 15 exhibition catalogues and books, including 1000 Beads, Behind the Brooch, Narrative Jewelry: Tales from the Toolbox and volumes 2 and 3 of the Society of North American Goldsmiths’ annual compendium The Jewelry and Metals Survey. The Morris Museum acquired one of her automaton pendants for their permanent collection.

Joshua Kosker is a contemporary jeweler and visual artist living and working in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Drawing from unexpected and often ephemeral materials, his work explores impermanence and counterintuitive methodologies, while examining craft, materiality, and the body. Joshua received his MFA from Bowling Green State University and his BFA from Indiana University of Pennsylvania. He exhibits nationally and internationally, with his work recently published in several books including: New Brooches: 400+ Contemporary Jewelry Designs; To the Point: Pin Mechanisms and Brooch Back Design; and Narrative Jewelry: Tales from the Toolbox. Joshua was the recipient of the Ethical Metalsmiths Emerging Artist Award in 2014, and has participated in artist residencies at Haystack Mountain School of Crafts, Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, and Touchstone Center for Crafts. In addition to his creative practice, he has held teaching appointments at Indiana University-Bloomington, Bowling Green State University, and Indiana University of Pennsylvania. Currently, Joshua is the Art Shop Supervisor and Area Coordinator of Foundation Art in the Frostic School of Art at Western Michigan University, as well as a Lecturer in Digital Fabrication & Design at UW-Milwaukee Peck School of the Arts.

Erika Blair [Broas] is a multidisciplinary artist, who most often can be found making metal objects and jewelry - with a side-love for textiles, ceramics, and cooking. They have been avidly pursuing the art of jewelry since 2010. Taking symbolic inspiration from antique European jewelry and modern design aesthetics from North East Asia, her works are meaningful, tactile, & playful in nature. She pays special attention to each thing she creates, finely crafting every detail of each object, to stand the test of time. Erika grew up in the red pine forests of West Michigan, and currently resides in Pennsylvania’s Laurel Highlands; their studio is located downtown Johnstown, PA. Among their favorite things to do are examine and learn about plants on walks, ride their bike, row their boat, garden, and find frogs along streams.

Andrew Thornton is a professional fine artist, trained at the School of Visual Arts in New York City. He is a mixed media artist who works in painting, collage, metalsmithing, sculpture, polymer clay, resin, and jewelry. His work explores identity through magical realism and fantasy. Andrew is the Co-Owner and Creative Director of Allegory Gallery in Ligonier, PA. When he's not creating art, making jewelry, or writing, he is working on Star Cottage Studio. Star Cottage Studio is a working studio in a 100 year old former schoolhouse. Andrew recently was elected as a Board Member for Touchstone Center for Crafts. He and his husband also own Butcher Block Gallery, a showcase for contemporary jewelry and studio.

The creative process is a study of juxtaposition, rooted in intimacy and improvisation. My work is shaped by place, people and time, scavenging what is offered and found. In both personal and community-based works, this transformation of humble found metals and mundane materials centers play, participation, accessibility, and agency. Creating objects that intersect with everyday life is at the core of my practice. To create jewelry that becomes an element of someone’s daily routine—a ring that is worn every day, a sculpture that becomes a waypoint, an installation that activates a mundane space—the intimacy of these moments is a profound joy. These objects are not static, they are shaped, eroded, patina’d, transformed by time and human interaction. I am interested in art making as a spark of discovery, as community building, as a liminal space full of potential for dialogue. Since my first workshops in 2006, I have taught thousands of students and completed nearly thirty residency projects in schools and communities, with mutual learning throughout. I aim to design a learning environment that encourages experiments and innovations, is scaffolded so that every participant can define their own success, and that holistically intersects and aligns with my personal practice.

Amanda was born in Pittsburgh in 1994. She is an American jewellery maker from Pennsylvania. After graduating from high school in 2012, she moved to Ohio to attend Kent State University, where she completed a BFA in Crafts with a concentration in jewellery and metalworking, under artist Demitra Thomloudis, along with a minor in Art History. Wanting to continue her education she moved to Florence, Italy to attend Alchimia Contemporary Jewellery School to receive her MFA where she studied under Evert Nijland, Jorge Manilla and Lucy Sarneel.

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Bee Reid (also known as Corey Drew) is a jewelry artist and metalsmith from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and is currently based in Kent, Ohio. They began their metalsmithing career at Edinboro University and received their MFA in Jewelry/ Metals/ Enameling from Kent State University in May 2023. Before attending grad school, Reid co-founded and operated Queerly Collective, a space to center and uplift queer artists. They have exhibited work at New York City Jewelry Week and the Ohio Craft Museum, Columbus, OH, and their work has been featured in Metalsmith magazine. Their work will be featured in an upcoming exhibition at the National Ornamental Metal Museum, Memphis, TN.

Currently located in Pittsburgh, PA, Cat Luck (they/them) started Collarbone Jewelry in 2010 with $5, a bicycle, and a dream too big to keep in one place. They haven't stopped evolving since. A nomad at heart, Cat has travelled up and down the country establishing the Collarbone brand. They started their career in Utah, and has called Salt Lake City, Seattle, Pittsburgh and NYC their home.

Cat is inspired by the raw aesthetics of the natural world. They think of themself as a visual storyteller, using the alchemy of pure and mixed metals, precious gems, and raw stones to create striking and eclectic pieces that speak on their own. Cat has apprenticed in the traditional craft of lost-wax casting and has studied with stone-setters and silversmiths. Cat studied traditional jewelry making at a jewelry trades-school in Manhattan, giving them an emersion into the NYC jewelry industry.

In the Collarbone Jewelry line, they use brass, bronze, base metals, raw stones and whimsical charms to handcraft a fashion jewelry collection that speaks to all walks of life. This collection spans many occasions, as you could find the perfect pair of earrings for your road trip adventure with friends or a simple necklace to wear to work.

Cat’s newest jewelry line, CAT LUCK, is the intense, nocturnal ying to Collarbone Jewelry’s breezy, chaotic yang. CAT LUCK brings together forged, minimalist, geometric, and personal pieces for humans of all gender expressions. This collection features sterling silver, 14K GF and 14K Gold. More complex jewelry construction techniques are used including soldering, wax-carving, mold-making and lost-wax casting.

Ms. Lovingood creates both jewelry and metal objects and currently be found teaching Metals at Brockway Center for Art & Technology in Brockway, PA. She has lectured and taught at universities and colleges around the country, and has an undergraduate degree from East Carolina University with a graduate degree from San Diego State University. Ms. Lovingood’s work has been featured in Lark Books 500 Judaica, as well as Metalsmith, Niche, Ornament and American Craft Magazines. Her work is included in the Red Bull Permanent Art Collection.

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Mixed media artist Karen Krieger is a native of Pittsburgh, who credits her love of design to a pre-college summer program at Carnegie Mellon University. She majored in architecture at Yale University and earned a Regional Planning master’s degree, with a concentration in design, from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. She studied metals and book arts at Penland School of Crafts, Haystack Mountain School of Crafts, and North Country Studios. Krieger has owned and managed several art-related businesses, and has taught artist business courses. Karen’s current work is focused on social justice issues, inspired by the US Constitution, color and graphics including maps, vintage books and calendars, and ephemera. Her artwork has been exhibited in the American Museum of National Jewish History, the Muskegon Art Museum and the Museum of Craft and Design in San Francisco. Her work has been included many times in Fiber Art Now magazine and Basketry+, a publication of the National Basketry Organization. She is a current board member of the Fiberarts Guild of Pittsburgh, and a member of the Allegheny Metals Collective and the Craftsmen’s Guild of Pittsburgh. Karen shares a home and studio with her husband and frequent collaborator (workingbirds.com), and her daughter, in Pittsburgh just beyond the three rivers. When she isn't in her studio, she can happily be found on a tennis court. 

Born and raised in Tacoma, WA, Matthew Coté sparked his interest in art while attending Tacoma Community College. Eventually, interests led him to attend Central Washington University with concentrations in Sculpture and Metalsmithing, and then Pennsylvania Western University for his Master of Fine Arts in Metalsmithing. Matthew uses the medium of metalsmithing to convey artistic activism. He draws inspiration from political campaign slogans, flags, and propaganda, utilizing the attention-grabbing designs. Matthew’s artwork has been shown nationally and internationally in notable exhibitions, including in the Museum of Glass, The State Museum of Pennsylvania, and Contemporary Craft. Now residing in Erie, PA where, from 2018 until 2022, he worked for the Erie Art Museum as Lead Preparator and Collection Manager. In that role, he curated several exhibitions aimed to drive constructive conversation as well as inspire the local community. Matthew now works as Adjunct Instructor of Sculpture at Mercyhurst University.

Brian Ferrell is currently Associate Professor of Art at Seton Hill University in Greensburg, PA. He is an artist who creates functional one-of-a-kind furniture, tableware, and lighting using wood, ceramic, metal, and 3D printing technologies. His work has been shown in locations such as the Carnegie Museum of Art, Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater, and the Society of Arts and Crafts in Boston. It is also in numerous private collections in the US, UK, Germany, and the UAE. He holds a BFA in jewelry/metals from Indiana University of Pennsylvania, and an MFA from the Program in Artisanry at the University of Massachusetts –Dartmouth.