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Meet Hello Galena Artist: Nadine King

Hello Galena Artist Co-op kicks off its eight months of featured artists for 2009 with the jewelry of Nadine King one of the featured artists for April.

“Nadine is new to Hello Galena, and we are excited to sell her special line of jewelry as it is unlike anything else in the shop,” said Kimberley Poe-Jensen, manager of Hello Galena.

Nadine's pieces, known as “Hand and Spirit Jewelry,” are made of sterling silver, 18K and 22K gold, and typically surrounds rare jaspers and agates.

“I love working with stones,” she said.

Nadine is a self-taught jewelry artist who started her career working with old beads, and learned silver-smithing 15 years ago. She enjoys using such techniques as “Kumihimo,” which is Japanese knotting with seed beads, “Keum Boo,” a laying on 24K gold onto finished work, “fusion of metals” by use of a torch, “forming”, in which she shapes the metal using hammers, and “reticulation,” which is achieving a crinkled look by heating with a torch.

“I still love the ethnic look, although I am partial to a contemporary look. I like the clean, simplistic look. Not knowing what will come out of the process is a never ending joy,” she said.

Originally from Kelowna, B.C., Canada, and her passion for culture and art began after graduating from high school.

“I left to travel the world and never did return to B.C. to live. I traveled extensively through Europe, Asia and Australia, ending up in New Zealand for 13 years,” she said. It was during this time that she developed a passion for Aboriginal, Maori, Polynesian and other ethnic cultural art which eventually influenced her jewelry making.

Nadine married Ed King, her now ex-husband, who was a jeweler. Through his teaching, she was able to combine her love of cultures and jewelry into an art form.

“We sailed the Pacific on our yacht, spending years in Mexico, Costa Rica and Panama, where we were honored to meet and share with the local people,” she said. This is where Nadine’s true passion for other cultures took hold. Now she creates pieces as original as the art she encountered.

King’s jewelry art is for sale at Hello Galena, at 121 N. Commerce St., in Galena. Find online map, store hours and directions.