Rachelle Thiewes (born 1952) is an American

jeweler A bench jeweler is an artisan who uses a combination of skills to make and repair jewelry. Some of the more common skills that a bench jeweler might employ include antique restoration, silversmith, Goldsmith, stone setting, engraving, fabrica ...

and metal artist based in

El Paso, Texas El Paso (; "the pass") is a city in and the county seat, seat of El Paso County, Texas, El Paso County in the western corner of the U.S. state of Texas. The 2020 population of the city from the United States Census Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau w ...

. She was professor of metal arts at the

University of Texas at El Paso The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) is a public research university in El Paso, Texas. It is a member of the University of Texas System. UTEP is the second-largest university in the United States to have a majority Mexican American stud ...

from 1976 to 2014 and is currently professor emerita.

Biography

Thiewes was born in

Owatonna, Minnesota Owatonna () is a city in Steele County, Minnesota, Steele County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 25,599 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. It is the county seat of Steele County. Owatonna is home to the Steele County Fair ...

, and attended a private Catholic school, where she derived some inspirations for her work. She received her BA in Art/Metals from

Southern Illinois University, Carbondale Southern Illinois University (SIU or SIUC) is a State university system, public research university in Carbondale, Illinois. Founded in 1869, SIU is the oldest and flagship campus of the Southern Illinois University system. The university enroll ...

, and her MFA in Art/Metals from

Kent State University Kent State University (KSU) is a public research university in Kent, Ohio. The university also includes seven regional campuses in Northeast Ohio and additional facilities in the region and internationally. Regional campuses are located in ...

. Thiewes began teaching at the University of Texas at El Paso in 1976 and is a current member of the . She also taught a

Master class A master class is a class given to students of a particular discipline by an expert of that discipline—usually music, but also science, painting, drama, games, or on any other occasion where skills are being developed. "Masterclass" is als ...

at the

Royal College of Art The Royal College of Art (RCA) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom, with campuses in South Kensington, Battersea and White City. It is the only entirely postgraduate art and design university in the United Kingdom. It o ...

in London in 1995.

Artwork

In the 1980s Thiewes work was largely focused on making the wearer of her jewelry conscious of their body and incorporated kinetic or moving elements. Her more recent work draws direct inspiration from the landscape and her decades-long experience of her home in the Chihuahuan desert. This is reflected in her choice of color palette but also through her use of reflective metals and auto paint on her jewelry. Recent projects by Thiewes have included collaborations and performance work, such as her collaborative book project ''Beauty.Chaos'' and traveling show "Air Patterns" with painter Suzi Davidoff. Her work is displayed in many art collections across the world, including

The Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...

, The

American Craft Museum The Museum of Arts and Design (MAD), based in Manhattan, New York City, collects, displays, and interprets objects that document contemporary and historic innovation in craft, art, and design. In its exhibitions and educational programs, the mus ...

The Art Institute of Chicago The Art Institute of Chicago in Chicago's Grant Park (Chicago), Grant Park, founded in 1879, is one of the oldest and list of largest art museums, largest art museums in the world. Recognized for its curatorial efforts and popularity among visit ...

, The

Renwick Gallery The Renwick Gallery is a branch of the Smithsonian American Art Museum located in Washington, D.C. that displays American craft and decorative arts from the 19th to 21st century. The gallery is housed in a National Historic Landmark building that ...

at the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...

, The

National Museums of Scotland National Museums Scotland (NMS; gd, Taighean-tasgaidh Nàiseanta na h-Alba) is an executive non-departmental public body of the Scottish Government. It runs the national museums of Scotland. NMS is one of the country's National Collections ...

, and the

, London.

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thiewes, Rachelle American jewelry designers American goldsmiths 1952 births Living people Southern Illinois University alumni Kent State University alumni University of Texas at El Paso faculty 20th-century American women artists Women metalsmiths People from Owatonna, Minnesota American women academics 21st-century American women Women jewellers