"My most recent body of work, "Regal Graffiti," combines my interest in two vastly different depictions of history--graffiti and antique jewelry.
I find graffiti's colors, patterns, and symbols, as well as the sense of history it conveys to be fascinating. I am also captivated by layered and chipped paint, rust, and other forms of architectural decay often found alongside graffiti. My exploration of spray paint and sgraffito on metal is a direct result of these interests. For this series I also turn to antiquated styles of jewelry from the Renaissance and Victorian eras, among others. I want to demonstrate my reverence for what came before in jewelry by creating new works that reference more traditional styles of adornment. Through an intentional blending of the refined look of antique jewelry with the urban feel of graffiti, I am revealing the layers of this merged history and its significance to me personally."

Amy Tavern

Education:
2002 BFA Metal Design, Post Baccalaureate, University of Washington, Seattle
1996 BA Arts Administration, State University of New York College at Fredonia 

Exhibitions: 
2010 Fault Lines, Rare Device, San Francisco, CA | Earrings Galore, Heidi Lowe Gallery, Rehoboth Beach, DE
2009 Nuit Blanche, Metal Arts Guild of Canada, Toronto, ON | Sparkle Plenty, Quirk Gallery, Richmond, VA | Celebration of American Crafts, Creative Arts Workshop, New Haven, CT |Plush Jewels, Fancy, Seattle, WA | The Barns: 2009, Penland Resident Artist Show, Penland Gallery, Penland, NC | Delicate Beauty, Penland Gallery, Penland, NC | The Stimulus Project, Sienna Gallery, Lenox, MA | Earrings Galore, Heidi Lowe Gallery, Rehoboth Beach, MDGroup Exhibition, Taboo Studio, San Diego, CA | Penland Group Exhibtion, Sparta Teapot Museum, Sparta, NC
2008 Night of the Stud, Heidi Lowe Gallery, Rehoboth Beach, DE | 30 Small Works, Gallery UP, Rock Hill, SC | 21st. Century Jewelry, Bainbridge Arts Council, Bainbridge Isl, WA
2007 Handmade for the Holidays, Museum of Contemporary Craft, Portland, OR
2005 Wearable Expressions, Palos Verdes Art Center, Palos Verdes, CA | Refined IV, Stephen F. Austin University Gallery, Nacogdoches, TX
2004 Exaggerations/Understatements, Free-Thinking Residency Show (solo), Vain, Seattle, WA | Receive and Transmit (solo), Fancy, Seattle, WA
2003 bigLittle, Craft and Cultural Arts Gallery, Oakland, CA 

Awards:
2009 Emerging Artist, American Craft Exposition | American Craft Council Searchlight Artist
2002 Rabinovitch Scholarship Award, University of Washington
2001 Women’s Jewelry Association Scholarship Award
2000 Bob and Peggy Culbertson Scholarship Award, Penland School of Crafts 

Artist residencies:
2009 Resident Artist, Penland School of Craft, Penland, NC
2004 Free-Thinking Residency, Vain, Seattle, WA 

Teaching & lecturing:
2010 Instructor, "It's the Little Things", Penland School of Crafts, Penland, NC | Presenter, "Making in the Real World" Lecture Series, Winthrop University, Rock Hill, SC | Instructor, Beginning Jewelry Workshop, Penland School of Crafts,
Penland, NC
2008 Professional Practices Presenter, Long Beach City College, Long Beach, CA Beginning Jewelry, Penland School of Crafts, Penland, NC | Visiting Artist, Penland School of Crafts, Penland, NC | Professional Development Seminar Presenter, SNAG Conference, Savannah, GA
2007 Business of Craft Panel Discussion, Penland School of Crafts, Penland, NC | Visiting Artist, University of Washington, Seattle, WA
2005 Instructor, Beginning Jewelry, Pratt Fine Arts Center, Seattle, WA
2003 Visiting Artist, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 

Assistantships & apprenticeships:
2007 Studio Assistant for Raissa Bump, Penland School of Crafts, Penland, NC
2006 Studio Assistant for Joanna Gollberg, Penland School of Crafts, Penland, NC
2005 Studio Assistant for Joanna Gollberg, Penland School of Crafts, Penland, NC
2002-2006 Studio Assistant for Lori Talcott, Seattle, WA
2002 Teaching Assistant for Mary Lee Hu, University of Washington, Seattle, WA | Apprentice for Lori Talcott, Seattle, WA
2001 Teaching Assistant for Mary Lee Hu, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 

Professional affiliations:
2009 American Craft Council
2002-present Society of North American Goldsmiths 

2010 Jewelry Design Challenge: 30-Minute Earrings, ed. Marthe Le Van, Lark Books
2009 Jewelry Artist Magazine, article by Sharon Elaine Thompson, September issue | 500 Plastic Jewelry Designs
2007 Modern Jewelry from Modular Parts, Lark Books, ed. Marthe Le Van, 3 projects
2003 Making Metal Jewelry by Joanna Gollberg, Lark Books, image on page 100 

Sienna Gallery, Lenox, MA
Quirk Represents, Richmond, VA
Heidi Lowe Gallery, Rehoboth Beach, DE
Penland Gallery, Penland, NC
Gallery Lulo, Healdsburg, CA