Interview by Juanita Canzoneri I interviewed Frank and Ginny Maiolo, our March Artists of the Month, in their home studio. Frank and Ginny named their studio Monument Moon because they live in Monument, Colorado and Ginny has been enamored by the moon all her life. Frank and Jenny are jewelers. They design and create jewelry from silver or copper with gemstones and precious semi-precious stones. They make rings, earrings, bracelets, pendants, sometimes dog tags. Most of their work is done with hot connections using solder and flux. They use an acetylene air torch for silver soldering. They have been rock hounds their entire lives and have a large collection of stones in their studio. Ginny and Frank retired from corporate America seven years ago and decided to have fun with the rest of their lives. They had both been managers for software development groups at FedEx. One of the women worked for Ginny made jewelry and Ginny asked if this woman would give her a class. She came home from the class and left all of her class instructions on the table and went shopping. When she came back home Frank had already made two pair of earrings. They had no idea they wanted to work in metal. Frank read through the instructions Ginny had left behind and decided it looked like fun. Being a little more familiar with tools he helped with those. “I was afraid of the torch,” Ginny confessed. “it was a little still a little unnerving at times, but Frank is really good with the torch.” I asked the question I typically ask silversmiths: how many hammers do you have? They start counting and come up with 17. They’d have more but the hammers they like are really expensive. Then I point out a large hammer under the table, giving a final count of 18. They use a rolling mill as much as hammers for texture and have another tool with a texture attachment. I asked Frank how he came to start his line of Camino jewelry. In 2015 they decided to would do the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage in Spain, a 500-mile-walk through Spain on the Santiago de Compostela. After they got home, they realized most of the commemorative jewelry they had seen on the trip was made in China. So, Frank came up with a couple designs for pendants, rings, earrings, and bracelets and has been selling those now for a couple of years through our Monument Moon site, Etsy, and Amazon handmade. The pieces can also be found in Camino Marketplace on Facebook. Frank and Ginny started their business while in their sixties and it's flourishing. “So often we think it's too late. I'm retired and there’s nothing more I can do,” Ginny says. “But it's never too late! When I retired Frank got me this card and I framed it and put it in my studio. ‘There will come a time when you think everything is finished, but that will be the beginning.’ And it's so true. this has changed our entire life.” They’ve always been interested in art. Ginny paints and they've always been an advocate of the Arts. They travel the world going to Art Museums and so it's always been an interest. “I thought I would stick with painting,” Ginny says, “but I wasn't that good at it. I enjoy it, and it's fun, and I still do it. But jewelry just resonated with both of us it was just so completely us, using the things that we've always loved. Having been in the corporate world all of our professional careers this was something where we just reinvented ourselves.”
Frank has an MBA project management, undergraduate business information. Ginny has an undergrad in psychology which has helped her deal with group dynamics. She taught in the corporate world as well as managed and comments, “you'd be surprised how often we use that in the world of artists. Group dynamics are pretty similar no matter what group you're in.” But Commonwheel has been a freeing experience for them both. They had rigid corporate standards in software development, which is something that really turns software developers off because they want to have their own thing. Now they can do anything they want and can experiment, and play, and don't have to worry about it. For the newly retired or those who want to expand their creative life the recommend taking classes anywhere you can find them. “Explore,” says Ginny “I never thought I would get into jewelry making. I enjoyed it, I love buying it, but I would always look at it and think well I could make that. And then I started making jewelry and it's a lot harder than I thought. Explore. Play. Don’t be too ready to say you can't do something.” Whatever you learn will often carry over into other areas. Looking at the different types of art that Commonwheel carries and that they do you will find they all draw on the same art concepts: the rule of threes, asymmetry, and so on. Everyone has creativity whether it's in music, writing, art, even thinking—which basically starts at all. Ginny and Frank have two completely different design methods. Ginny has a basket of ideas in her space. When there were wildfires near their home a few years ago, this basket is one of the things their daughter took to keep safe. The basket contains her ideas, drawings, names, etc. “I keep it by me at night when Frank's watching TV and jot down ideas. I have a basketful of paper and pencils and I'm designing,” Ginny says. Frank says he designs at the bench. He doesn't do any drawings. He just sits down with his raw materials and it grows. Usually he's picked a stone out of their collection first and does a lot of designing in his head. Franks calls is designs simplistic elegance and Ginny says she gets way too into a piece and has to figure out where to stop. So, she ends up with some designs that she can't finish without showing it to Frank and say “now what do I do?” But they do definitely help each other with the design and with the technical aspects. “I'm so afraid I'm going to melt something” says Ginny about fusing. “I don't want it to melt and Frank is so totally comfortable with that torch. He knows it intimately.” In addition to Commonwheel Artists Co-op and our Labor Day Festival the Maiolo’s sell at Front Range Open Studios. This will be their seventh year. There are currently 16 artists in Monument that are part of the weekend event in September.
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Step out of your comfort zone and feel the exhilaration of trying something new. Explore the possible creative ways of displaying and enjoying your beloved jewelry pieces by integrating diverse artistic mediums. You might find that an exotic pendant can be displayed in your home on an interesting wall art piece when it is not hanging around your neck. A gorgeous ring or bracelet may have a place to rest in a small shadow box that has a poem or haiku specifically written for the piece of personal adornment. A painting can become three dimensional when adding another artistic component. The possibilities are endless. Can you visualize a wonderful piece of pottery embellished with a removable piece of jewelry
Opening Reception Friday, April 15, 5—8 pm
April 15 to May 16, 2016 Commonwheel Artists Co-op invites you to free yourself from your comfort zone and open yourself to creativity! We’re offering a place to explore new ideas in personal adornment and innovative home décor items, providing a sensory delight for our art loving customers. Why not display an exotic pendant on a beautiful ceramic sculpture when it is not hanging around your neck? Why not showcase a gorgeous ring or bracelet in an evocative shadow box? Why not exhibit a dazzling showpiece within an embellished painting? Our next gallery show, “Dare to Express,” will playfully provide you with interesting ways to incorporate wearable art into your home décor and innovative displays to showcase your beloved jewelry pieces. On April 15th join us for our gallery opening reception and get a chance to meet in person the creative masterminds behind this one-of-a-kind show, while tasting hors d'oeuvres and enjoying Colorado Bluegrass music. |
Juanita Canzoneri
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