Page 29 - CA 2019 Final(3)

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Photo by Robert Diamante
Basket (purse) collaboration with Gabriel Frey; black ash, leather, Maine Physalis Earrings; sterling silver, hand-blown
mussel shells, bronze, sterling silver. Photo courtesy of Nisa Smiley. glass interior orbs

She makes connections through her teaching and study. From October through May, Nisa runs monthly fine craft workshops, pro-
viding instruction, tools, materials, and a space for people to form communities and reach out of their comfort zone to be creative and
productive.

Nisa’s art is a collaboration of skills. She regularly takes classes herself at places like Haystack (Mountain School of Crafts),
where she studies skills used by potters, wood carvers, painters, fabric artists, and the like. She brings this knowledge back to her
studio and applies it to her jewelry making art. She collaborates with other artists, learning and teaching at the same time. With
Gabriel Frey, she makes metal plates featuring mussel shells and three-dimensional sea urchins that he combines with his baskets and
leather joinery. She is taking on Lauren Beach as an apprentice through the Craft Apprenticeship Program to work with her on pieces
combining wood, gemstones, and bone. Nisa feels teaching craft challenges her in fresh ways, helping her to grow as an artist.
While other kids in school tried on different professions they might become, Nisa Smiley always knew she was an artist. From
the summers she spent in Stonington and made her first pair of earrings, she was sure.

Photo by Robert Diamante
Tidal Offerings Brooch; sterling silver, Maine mussel
shell, Maine sea glass.
Nisa Jewelry pieces are available at these fine shops:
J. McVeigh Jewelry, Stonington
KoT, Ellsworth
Sweet Leaf Earrings with Ice Quart; 18k and 24k gold, Shaw Contemporary Jewelry, Northeast Harbor
sterling silver, quartz. Photo courtesy of Nisa Smiley.
and other locations outside the DownEast Acadia Region
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