Radical Jewelry Makeover Artists' Project
Visual Arts Center of Richmond.  Richmond, Virginia.
A project sponsored by Ethical Metalsmiths.

Red Nubbin. Assorted beads, copper, cotton thread.
Circle with Two Lovers.  Wooden and metal beads, enamel on copper, brass.
Full Circle. Wood, beads, copper, brass.

Table layout of recycled materials.  Assortment of brooch parts & sketches.
Bead selections; Red Nubbin ready for assembly; Material waste from Circle with Two Lovers.

Material sketches and beginnings for Red Nubbin, Circle with Two Lovers & Full Circle brooches.

About Radical Jewelry Makeover

Worry Beads with Tool.

RJM is a community mining project sponsored by Ethical Metalsmiths. Community members are asked to donate unwanted jewelry. Artists are then invited to create new pieces using the discarded materials. Their goal is to "raise awareness of the connection between mining, metalsmithing, activism, collaboration and art." There are so, so many piles of beads in the boxes of discarded jewelry, when I was invited to participate in a RJM event at Dartmouth College,  I decided to create a crochet loop out of one of the beads; giving it a new purpose in life.  I then fed the orange knitted strand little blue beads throughout its length; nestling and protecting them.

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