Society of North American Goldsmiths (SNAG) is an organization of jewelers and metal artists in North America. It is located in
Eugene, Oregon
Eugene ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is located at the southern end of the Willamette Valley, near the confluence of the McKenzie and Willamette rivers, about east of the Oregon Coast.
As of the 2020 United States Census, Eu ...
.
Foundation
The Society of North American Goldsmiths (SNAG) was founded in
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name ...
in 1969.
It was formed after an initial meeting in 1968 of
Robert Ebendorf
Robert Ebendorf (born September 30, 1938) is an American metalsmith and jeweler, known for craft, art and studio jewelry, often using found objects. In 2003–2004, the Smithsonian American Art Museum organized an exhibition of 95 pieces, titled ' ...
,
Phillip Fike,
,
,
Stanley Lechtzin Stanley Lechtzin (born 1936) is an American artist, jeweler, metalsmith and educator. He is noted for his work in electroforming and computer aided design (CAD) and computer aided manufacture (CAM). He has taught at Temple University in the Tyler Sc ...
.,
Kurt Matzdorf
Kurt J. Matzdorf, also known as Kurtheinz J. Matzdorf (1922 – 2008), was a German-born American jewelry designer, metalsmith (which included silversmith, goldsmith) and an educator. He was Professor Emeritus at State University of New York at ...
,
,
and
Olaf Skoogfors.
The group was formed to create a structure for conferences and exhibitions.
In 1970 held its first conference in
Saint Paul, Minnesota
Saint Paul (abbreviated St. Paul) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County, Minnesota, Ramsey County. Situated on high bluffs overlooking a bend in the Mississip ...
. The same year it held its first exhibition at the
Minnesota Museum of Art
The Minnesota Museum of American Art ("The M") is an American art museum located in the Historic Pioneer Endicott building in Saint Paul, Minnesota. The museum holds more than 5,000 artworks that showcase the unique voice of American artists from ...
.
Activities
The organization provides workshops, competitions, and lectures to its membership. It also provides an environment for contemporary jewelers and metalsmiths to share information.
Publications
SNAG published various newsletters starting in 1975. In 1980 SNAG began producing a quarterly magazine entitled ''Metalsmith''.
It became a