The month of February is all about hearts and love this year at In-Town Gallery, particularly women’s hearts. The Gallery’s First Friday Event, February 3, from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m., is entitled “Go Red for Women” to tie in with the American Heart Association’s signature women’s initiative of the same name and will showcase three artist/designers who create unique jewelry perfect for that special Valentine. “Their beautiful designs using semi-precious stones, metals, or beadwork will enhance any outfit,” said Jim Tucker, spokesperson for the Gallery.
The purpose of the AHA’s 18-year-old program is to increase awareness that heart disease is women’s greatest health threat and to promote education, events, and projects to help women lower their risk. In fact, February is American Heart Month, and the Heart Association will launch its newest campaign the same day as the In-Town show; February 3 is designated as “National Wear Red Day.” Every year, beginning in 2004, AHA has introduced a new aspect of its mission to build healthier lives through public health education because cardiovascular disease is the No. 1 cause of death in women.
In-Town, which regularly combines its shows with community service, will be donating a portion of the proceeds of the show to this extremely worthwhile program.
The jewelry-makers who will be showcased - Eleanor Goodson, Barbara Munson, and Carol Ott – each has a signature style and media in which she works. Their designs are distinctive and dazzling, contemporary and classic. It may be difficult to choose just one. Perhaps the solution is one of each.
Eleanor Goodson, working away in her “mountain-top studio” on Lookout Mountain, has been with a member of In-Town for many years and is a former president of the cooperative. Her resume is a list of professional memberships and recognition, including several state Goldsmith societies. She works with semi-precious stones and precious metals, creating necklaces and woven chains. Her cast pieces are one-of-a-kind, using the lost wax method. Goodson’s education includes study in New York at several jewelry institutes in ancient jewelry design, chain weaving, granulation (applying minute grains of precious metal to a surface), and enameling, as well repousse (creating relief on metal). She has exhibited in juried shows locally and around the country. Her jewelry has ancient influence that imbues it with a classic elegance.
“I create ART. You Wear” is Barbara Murnan’s tagline, and her necklaces, bracelets, and rings do demand to be worn. Her medium is metal, silver and copper, which she combines with geodes, fossils, and minerals reflecting an “urban, architectural influence.” Using a torch, she also achieves variations in color and texture. Murnan says that as the pandemic began to diminish, she set out to broaden her professional skills. Her designs became more geometric with a deliberate intention to create space between the metal and the focal stone or fossil. This made the pieces lighter to wear and allowed more innovative design elements.
One of her significant influences was a book about the sculptural designs of jewelry from the 1950s and ’60s, which led her to incorporate free-form design with aspects of abstract impressionism, interpretating these in ways that result in stunning original pieces. A member of the Georgia Goldsmith Group and the American Craft Council, Murnan is also a member of the Association of Visual Arts in Chattanooga and owns her own business called Catching Fire Designs.
Working with very different materials is Carol Ott, who began making jewelry at the tender age of 8. Bedridden due to an illness, she began developing her skills with a small beading loom. Life interrupted, though “creativity in some form” has always been a part of her life. Ott grew up in Oak Ridge, Tenn., lived and worked in Washington D.C. where she and her late husband owned an art consulting and framing enterprise. In 2012, she relocated to the Scenic City, bringing with her a revived love of creating with beads. She has been a jewelry-maker for more than 20 years.
Just a cursory look at a well-designed piece of beaded jewelry reveals how much talent is needed to produce it. There are more beading techniques than one might imagine, and Ott enjoys them all, but she dislikes making the same thing twice, so “free style” is her favorite. The process of sorting through the immense variety of beads - the shapes and sizes, the colors and finishes - inspires Ott’s creative flow. “Deciding where to take the work next - or let it take me - is the fun and challenging part,” she says.
Conversely, she also loves working with geometric beading, which requires precise bead placement and color combinations. “Every bead has to be in the correct position in order to create the desired form.” Each approach demands different skills and an exacting attention to detail. Ott designs pieces that vary widely, some lacy and delicate, especially the necklaces, others sporty or more contemporary or geometric in style. Her cuff bracelets are equally as diverse in both style and color and offer something for every mood and every occasion.
The “Go Red For Women” show will be on display through the month of February. In-Town Gallery is located on Chattanooga’s North Shore at 26A Frazier Avenue and is open 11 a.m.-5 p.m. (closed Tuesdays) and 1-5 p.m. on Sundays. It offers a diverse range of original art and fine craft including paintings in various media, sculpture, flame-worked glass, pottery, works in wood and metal, jewelry and fine art photography. For more information, go to www.intowngallery.com or Facebook and Instagram.
by Carol Lannon
The purpose of the AHA’s 18-year-old program is to increase awareness that heart disease is women’s greatest health threat and to promote education, events, and projects to help women lower their risk. In fact, February is American Heart Month, and the Heart Association will launch its newest campaign the same day as the In-Town show; February 3 is designated as “National Wear Red Day.” Every year, beginning in 2004, AHA has introduced a new aspect of its mission to build healthier lives through public health education because cardiovascular disease is the No. 1 cause of death in women.
In-Town, which regularly combines its shows with community service, will be donating a portion of the proceeds of the show to this extremely worthwhile program.
The jewelry-makers who will be showcased - Eleanor Goodson, Barbara Munson, and Carol Ott – each has a signature style and media in which she works. Their designs are distinctive and dazzling, contemporary and classic. It may be difficult to choose just one. Perhaps the solution is one of each.
Eleanor Goodson, working away in her “mountain-top studio” on Lookout Mountain, has been with a member of In-Town for many years and is a former president of the cooperative. Her resume is a list of professional memberships and recognition, including several state Goldsmith societies. She works with semi-precious stones and precious metals, creating necklaces and woven chains. Her cast pieces are one-of-a-kind, using the lost wax method. Goodson’s education includes study in New York at several jewelry institutes in ancient jewelry design, chain weaving, granulation (applying minute grains of precious metal to a surface), and enameling, as well repousse (creating relief on metal). She has exhibited in juried shows locally and around the country. Her jewelry has ancient influence that imbues it with a classic elegance.
“I create ART. You Wear” is Barbara Murnan’s tagline, and her necklaces, bracelets, and rings do demand to be worn. Her medium is metal, silver and copper, which she combines with geodes, fossils, and minerals reflecting an “urban, architectural influence.” Using a torch, she also achieves variations in color and texture. Murnan says that as the pandemic began to diminish, she set out to broaden her professional skills. Her designs became more geometric with a deliberate intention to create space between the metal and the focal stone or fossil. This made the pieces lighter to wear and allowed more innovative design elements.
One of her significant influences was a book about the sculptural designs of jewelry from the 1950s and ’60s, which led her to incorporate free-form design with aspects of abstract impressionism, interpretating these in ways that result in stunning original pieces. A member of the Georgia Goldsmith Group and the American Craft Council, Murnan is also a member of the Association of Visual Arts in Chattanooga and owns her own business called Catching Fire Designs.
Working with very different materials is Carol Ott, who began making jewelry at the tender age of 8. Bedridden due to an illness, she began developing her skills with a small beading loom. Life interrupted, though “creativity in some form” has always been a part of her life. Ott grew up in Oak Ridge, Tenn., lived and worked in Washington D.C. where she and her late husband owned an art consulting and framing enterprise. In 2012, she relocated to the Scenic City, bringing with her a revived love of creating with beads. She has been a jewelry-maker for more than 20 years.
Just a cursory look at a well-designed piece of beaded jewelry reveals how much talent is needed to produce it. There are more beading techniques than one might imagine, and Ott enjoys them all, but she dislikes making the same thing twice, so “free style” is her favorite. The process of sorting through the immense variety of beads - the shapes and sizes, the colors and finishes - inspires Ott’s creative flow. “Deciding where to take the work next - or let it take me - is the fun and challenging part,” she says.
Conversely, she also loves working with geometric beading, which requires precise bead placement and color combinations. “Every bead has to be in the correct position in order to create the desired form.” Each approach demands different skills and an exacting attention to detail. Ott designs pieces that vary widely, some lacy and delicate, especially the necklaces, others sporty or more contemporary or geometric in style. Her cuff bracelets are equally as diverse in both style and color and offer something for every mood and every occasion.
The “Go Red For Women” show will be on display through the month of February. In-Town Gallery is located on Chattanooga’s North Shore at 26A Frazier Avenue and is open 11 a.m.-5 p.m. (closed Tuesdays) and 1-5 p.m. on Sundays. It offers a diverse range of original art and fine craft including paintings in various media, sculpture, flame-worked glass, pottery, works in wood and metal, jewelry and fine art photography. For more information, go to www.intowngallery.com or Facebook and Instagram.
by Carol Lannon