The work of Robert Lee Morris jewelry artist and sculptor has been one of my lifelong inspirations...Cindy Edelstein, of the Jewelers Resource Bureau recently posted the news he was given the first lifetime achievement award by Silver Marketing International. A winner of many awards already, many credit this man as being the designer that for the most part began the art jewelry movement. Robert, in his memoir, The Power of Jewelry, credits a lot of his perspectives on his art to his peripatetic upbringing ( he lived in 23 places by the age of 18, including Japan and Brazil),his love of nature, and studies in anthropology. His work whispers of artifacts of ancient and aboriginal cultures, and yet is so powerful and somehow very graceful at the same time. I love the fluid simplicity of his forms...they become a part of the body when worn, and yet, you most definitely would never miss them...they are the kinds of pieces that some women would never take off....signature statement pieces...no matter what else they had on. A true child of the '60's not formally trained in metalsmithing, Robert's first tool was a secondhand hammer. Not one to run towards precious metals as soon as he could afford them, Robert is credited with creating a "new attitude towards the value of design over the value of the materials". Having arrived at a place in his life and career where he can do 'what he wants, when he wants', Robert is currently involved in the study of shamanism. No surprise there, as he is the ultimate iconoclast...carving his own path, in his own way, born with an innate vision of the talismanic properties of adornment. I highly recommend his book, to anyone of you who might have an interest of delving deeper...and you will find a really informative article from JCK magazine here. I hope and dream that some day my work 'speaks' like his does...
Can you tell me,who inspires your art?