About Laura Margaret
A metalsmith and art historian, Laura grew up in rural Minnesota and learned silversmithing at the Milan Village Arts School. She studied gemology at the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) in Carlsbad, California. Previously, she worked as a teaching assistant for Syracuse University and Stanford University in Florence, Italy. When not teaching, she made jewelry at a Florentine studio where she learned the time-honored art of hand engraving from a former Buccellati goldsmith.
Laura in the streets of Florence, Italy not far from the jewelry studio.
As a Luce Scholar in residence at Mehrangarh Museum Trust in Jodhpur, India, Laura studied decorative arts and jewelry traditions at the Marwar court. She also apprenticed with two local jewelers in Jodhpur. It was during this year that Laura visited the nearby village of Pratabgarh and began a collaboration with thewa artisans. The jewelry for sale in the shop was made in the artist’s room and studio pictured below.
Laura at the bench
In the main courtyard of Mehrangarh Fort
Laura in her room and jewelry studio inside Mehrangarh Fort, Jodhpur.
Laura spent a year in Kosovo on a Fulbright grant studying filigree jewelry traditions. There, she became interested in religion’s role in adornment traditions and conflicting cultural ownership of the filigree craft amongst Kosovo’s ethnic groups. She apprenticed at a master’s filigree studio, Filigran Company.
The artist at Filigran Company workshop in Prizren, Kosovo.
By studying art history and metalsmithing as an undergraduate at Syracuse University Laura explored the concept of art jewelry. The focus was on experimenting with different materials, metals, and found objects. She went on to receive an MA in Italian Renaissance Art History.
Laura as an undergraduate student at the metalsmithing studio at Syracuse University, New York. Photos courtesy of Kirsten Celo.