The last 7 months have been an epic adventure into my own archive for my 35th anniversary retrospective. I’ve immersed myself in a world of tasks and decisions that surround bringing the legacy of my metalwork into accessible formats. As the big reveal gets nearer, I wanted to give you a glimpse into the process of creating the print monograph (big, juicy coffee table book) that will accompany my online exhibition.

It’s no secret that I’m a bibliophile. I love big glossy art books, and having a research library of inspiration at my fingertips is essential to my creativity. So, when I’m part of a book’s creation, my goal is always to bring to life a beautifully bound world through which others can be wildly inspired and enriched.

I’ve recently acquired some ground-breaking books I’d like to share with you. Every time I hit the wall working on my project, I make a cup of tea and open one of these gems to sustain me. They are filled with gorgeous metalwork by powerful women who have dared to follow their own visions.

This volume reviews Choo’s remarkable career, showing selected pieces from the last six decades of extraordinary craftsmanship that earned her status as Elected Fellow of the American Craft Council. Works by thirty former students reveal Choo’s influence on a subsequent generation.*

Retrospective catalog to accompany the Exhibition at Craft in the Bay, the gallery of the Makers’ Guild in Wales. The exhibition featured physical objects, virtual and augmented reality, documentary material, creative and artistic expression to provide a rich picture of the unseen material and processes that form the development of a piece of artwork, and make up a sustainable career in silversmithing. Introduction by Philip Hughes of Ruthin Craft Centre, essay by John Andrew of the Pearson Silver Collection. Photography and design by Stephen Heaton.*

With nearly 120 ornaments from a single private collection – the finest of its type in America – Imperishable Beauty features all of the major designers and jewelers from this groundbreaking era. Paintings, prints, posters and textiles fill out the presentation, making this book as rich and intoxicating as the aesthetic it portrays.*

I’m thrilled to announce that four of these authors, Kate Bonansinga, Jane Milosch, Elyse Karlin, and Rauni Higson have also contributed essays to the forthcoming book, Radiant Echoes: The Metalwork Mastery of Victoria Lansford.

But wait! There’s more!

For those of you who have my iPhone™ and iPad™ app iMakeJewelry, I recently released an update that features a virtual technical manual for working with Argentium® Silver by metalsmith and Argentium expert Cynthia Eid. The information covers everything from annealing the metal to surface embellishments and the many possible steps in between! Like the beautiful books mentioned above, the in-app reference feature also includes stunning artwork by Eid who co-authored Creative Metal Forming with Betty Helen Longhi. Cynthia Eid is also a contributing author for my upcoming book.

The book’s consulting editor is Emily Zilber, who was the first Wornick Curator of Contemporary Decorative Arts at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, where she served from 2010-2018 and is the author of Crafted: Objects in Flux. 

I’m honored to have these stellar authors, curators, and artists be part of my retrospective exhibition and book!

*All book covers and descriptions are courtesy of the books’ various publishers.