Doris Wagner Art Jewelery

Doris Wagner Corrales, New Mexico I  came to art and jewelry-making via music and anthropology.  Although born in Texas,  have spent most of my adult life elsewhere—particularly in East Africa and Switzerland, where I studied cultural anthropology, ethnomusicology, and languages.  Being drawn to the visual arts, I also studied drawing and photography.  My life and travels in other cultural settings, particularly in Africa and the Middle East, have essentially shaped my artistic sensibilities and interest in ancient art forms and archetypal symbolism.   In 1994 I moved with my husband, Günter, from Switzerland to New Mexico, where I began studying painting and printmaking.  After several years of exhibiting my monotypes and paintings in New Mexico and Arizona, I began making jewelry. When I discovered the soft Precious Metal Clay (PMC) form of silver and realized that I could mix printmaking with jewelry-making, I was very excited—and my painting was largely left behind. I began concentrating on making jewelry that typically combines original “printed” patterns on PMC fine silver with sterling silver elements, and may also include semi-precious stones and the ancient keum-boo technique of applying 24k gold to silver.  The patterns on my jewelry evoke ancient cultures and writing systems, while the overall designs are basically contemporary.  For this reason, it has been called tribal-contemporary.  New Mexico is an inspiring land of artists, art galleries, and art shows.  And I enjoy showing my jewelry in arts & crafts shows around the state, even in my small village of Corrales.  My art jewelry has been purchased not only by New Mexicans, but also by collectors in the US, Lebanon, Switzerland, Germany, Australia, Italy, and Dubai.