Welcome to the Blog
Crafting an Artful Life: Imaginative Musings on Creativity
Art Through a Wider Lens
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Lacy Economics: How and Why I Mastered Filigree
As we all freak out over precious metal prices (and unthinkable violence, the loss of democracy, the patriarchy being all too alive and well…), I’ve been remembering how it felt when I was a beginning metalsmith and, ironically, the partially economic reasons that I first became good at filigree. Silver was $3.11 ozt by the…
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Too Much of a Good Thing is Essential
“Too much of a good thing is wonderful” – Mae West Coco Chanel got it wrong when she suggested women should go for the ‘less is more’ approach. Watch a scene of a woman getting ready for an evening in any costume drama or classic movie, and one of the defining things she’ll put on…
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Micro Chasing Spring
After becoming slightly obsessed with a chased gold cylinder from ancient Nubia that I saw last summer, I began experimenting with what I call micro chasing. I created this chased bead from seamless, sterling tubing (Rio Grande’s largest diameter). By slightly altering the order of Eastern repoussé steps I employ to refine my repoussé pieces…
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35 Years: Forging Ahead with a Mouse and a Pond Skimmer
Spring here continues in all its glory. The trees are nearly leafed out, which means soon I’ll be able to stop skimming oak flowers out of the fish pond. Skimming them does no good for the many displaced cervical discs in my neck, but it’s so calming that I can’t resist. This is how I…
Inside the Studio
The messy, honest, behind-the-curtain reality of a life in art
— because context is part of the creative conversation.
The Ancient Art of Eastern Repoussé
How the Work Gets Made
A look into the rhythms, rituals, and revelations of creative life
— from first spark to finished piece.
Passing It On
Reflections on teaching, learning,
and the joy of sharing rare, endangered techniques with the next generation of makers.
