Anita Craft

Anita Craft

Clinton Ms

Guild member since 2019

My interest in metalsmithing began with my love of sea glass. A friend from Canada gave me a few small, pristine, colorful pieces she had collected from the beach near her home. I had done wire wrapping and beading but knew these pieces needed more. I found a metalsmith in Puerto Rico to make the bracelet for me by creating bezels in fine silver, but already knew I had to learn this technique. I found a teacher in Maine to study under, Mig Lemire and the rest was history.

My jewelry pieces are all one of a kind. I often begin with a stone in mind and then create a drawing of a design with that stone. I use sterling silver sheet to cut out/saw the designs, texture the metal with hammers and or a rolling mill with texture plates, create the bezel for the stone out of fine silver, solder all of the pieces together with a torch, set the stone and polish the piece until it looks like the finished product I was among for.