Meet Linda Kaye-Moses
Congratulations to Linda Kaye-Moses, winner of the Advanced category in the Opposites & Contrasts Challenge! Her winning piece, Winter’s Dream; Spring Willows, is a fine silver and sterling silver necklace with dendritic quartz, Ethiopian opal, aquamarine crystal, aquamarine rough, and vitreous enamels.
Linda’s Inspiration
“The piece was inspired by the dendritic quartz, the large central stone in the pendant,” says Linda. “The dendrites in the quartz, resembling the bare branches of winter, were the inspiration for this neckpiece, and they contrast with the ‘flight’ of the green willow leaves that surround that quartz. The first trees to leaf out after winter in the northeastern United States are the willows, whose chartreuse leaves encourage those sweet trees and humans to believe that true spring is almost upon us. Thus, the title, because, even in the depths of winter, we and the trees can dream of the bright green possibilities of spring.”
Creating the Winning Piece
“Since this was a complicated piece, I created a very detailed outline for its construction as I began to make it. Many of the steps changed as I progressed. The one difficulty was setting the rivets, because the sintered fine silver tended to compress in the process, leaving the rivets looser than I wanted them to be. What I will do differently in the future, when riveting parts together, is to make the sintered metal thicker by applying/joining additional metal on the surface (back or front depending on the design) and burnishing it within an inch of its life!”
Introduction to Metal Clay
Linda, a lifelong artist, was an early adopter of metal clay. “I read Tim McCreight’s 1996 article on this newfangled material, precious metal clay (PMC). That year or perhaps the next, I watched a demo in the vendors’ room at a SNAG conference and immediately ordered my first package of original PMC. I was interested in this material because I had been wanting to add more texture and dimension to my pieces and PMC seemed to offer the possibility of doing so. Additionally, fine silver lent itself to enameling with vitreous enamels.”
Linda later taught metal clay workshops across the U.S. and internationally. Most recently, she taught enameling on metal clay at Alchemy 6, the 2022 Enamellist Society exhibition and conference. She has twice been named a finalist for the Saul Bell Design Award, was also a Final Juror for The Saul Bell Design Awards, and her work has been exhibited in juried shows internationally as well as in many publications and books (including PMC Decade and several PMC annuals). Linda created and headed the Metal Studio Department at the Interlaken School of Art in Massachusetts from 1994-2002.
How Do You Challenge Yourself to Keep Learning?
“I challenge myself each time I design a new piece. It is inevitable, and, if I did not do so, I would not find the work interesting or inspiring. I have, from time to time, enrolled in three- to five-day workshops to learn specific techniques. I teach so that I can learn from my students (in addition to teaching them). Each time I teach, when I plan my classes, I challenge myself to learn different ways of approaching metal clay.”
On Entering Challenges
As an accomplished metal clay artist, Linda has entered many artist challenges over the years. When asked if she still has to overcome doubt and anxiety when entering a challenge, she replied, “Always. Juried submissions always give rise to angst.” However, she feels it’s important to challenge yourself to enter competitions to learn about your work and how others perceive it. Her advice to other artists about entering challenges? “As Will Rogers said: Go out on a limb, that’s where the fruit is!”
About Linda
Linda lives in the U.S., in the beautiful green hills of the Berkshires in western Massachusetts, in an old farmhouse surrounded by lilacs. She describes herself as an uppity, unruly octogenarian woman, living a life enriched by the power inherent in all handcrafted art.
Find and be inspired by Linda online at:
lindaayemoses.com
Facebook: Linda Kaye-Moses
