Six Years Smitten

form & concept | July 2019

“It started with a community of makers who wanted to create in a radical new way,” says Marissa Saneholtz, one of the co-founders of Smitten Forum. Every year since 2014, Saneholtz and Sara Brown have invited a new group of jewelers and metalsmiths to work side-by-side in a communal studio for a week. Over six years, the forum expanded in numbers and geographic area to encompass over 70 artists in several states.

Call it a mobile artist colony, a colorful social experiment, or a crafty piece of performance art. Smitten Forum invitees range from emerging to well-established jewelers who employ a stunning array of mediums and techniques — including casting, computer-aided design, found object assemblage, powder coating, tin construction, traditional silversmithing and welding.

Smitten Forum offered an opportunity for makers to work side-by-side for a week, removed from everyday distractions and limitations. The creative energy that ensues inspires participants to experiment with new materials, concepts, and styles — and makers often end up creating collaborative works.

Six Years Smitten brings this dynamic range of artists back together for a cumulative exhibition of wearable artworks. In addition to co-curating the group exhibition, Saneholtz and Brown have also collaborated with form & concept to create The Bench, an inaugural symposium featuring lectures, demonstrations, and workshops by prominent names in the field of jewelry and metalsmithing, which unfolds on the exhibition’s opening weekend.

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