The RISD Jewelry + Metalsmithing Department was established to cultivate an individual’s distinctive abilities as a designer, jeweler and professional artist.
Though a rigorous program of study, students learn to think critically, master the varied technical processes inherent to creating work, and develop a true understanding of both traditional goldsmithing and contemporary jewelry. Students are guided by a distinctive faculty with a wide spectrum of skills, philosophies and professional experiences, as well as by an inspiring international roster of visiting artists.

Our goal is that students develop the confidence, resource-fulness, and commitment necessary to establish a self-reflective practice, creating work that is personally expressive and responsive to the changing values of our world. As a professional jewelry and metalsmithing department within an art and design school, our focus is on the growth of the student as a creative individual and as an innovator in our field. 

History
Founded in 1877, the Rhode Island School of Design offered its first classes in jewelry and goldsmithing in 1879. It established a formal Department of Jewelry + Metalsmithing in 1904 to train craftsmen and artists in producing metalwork – jewelry, silverware, holloware, and sculpture – for the trade and manufacturing industries in Rhode Island. A major in jewelry was temporarily unavailable around the time of World War II. In1963 Danish silversmith John Prip, who was widely credited with expanding the scope of contemporary jewelry, was hired to teach. He created a new Department of Contemporary Jewelry + Metalsmithing Design in 1969. A graduate program was established that year and an undergraduate program the following year. After 17 years of leadership, Prip retired and Louis Mueller became department head (1978-2003). A focus on international visiting faculty was established in the early eighties to bring talented European artists to teach in the Jewelry + Metalsmithing Department.
 
In 2003 Robin Quigley was appointed department head; and in 2004 Tracy Steepy joined the faculty as graduate program coordinator. With two full-time faculty members, six to eight adjunct instructors and visiting artists all in-house at any one time, the RISD jewelry + metalsmithing program is extraordinary among American colleges.
The Department is further distinguished by the RISD community that extends beyond our studios and offers students a uniquely well rounded artistic experience. Jewelry + metalsmithing students have access to exceptional resources including the world-class RISD Museum of Art collection, our magnificent contemporary library of art and design, a Nature Lab of specimens from the natural world, and ongoing collaboration with our renowned neighbor Brown University. RISD’s high standards of excellence in 19 major disciplines, as well as the caliber of students, faculty, facilities and resources generate a fertile setting for creative practice.

General Information
The RISD Jewelry + Metalsmithing Department offers a four-year undergraduate program (BFA) and a two-year graduate program (MFA) that allow for a wide range of approaches, from the goldsmith’s tradition to contemporary modes of experimentation. The department’s size and high ratio of faculty to students promote individual attention, free exchange of information and guided support. Department facilities support advanced and specialized work. Students have access to machine, forming and computer rooms as well as individual bench space, torch and ventilation. A full-time technician maintains the facilities to ensure a safe, efficient working environment. The program also offers highly technical elective classes in electroforming and CAD-CAM. Between fall and spring terms, the unique structure of Wintersession allows students to work intensively for six weeks with international visiting faculty or to explore interdisciplinary options.
Upon graduation students have gained critical and technical skills required to produce a body of work, exhibition, a digital portfolio and website, providing the network and confidence to enter the professional arena of their choice, from designer to fine artist. 

Undergraduate program
Following RISD students’ first year of Foundation Studies in drawing, two-dimensional design and three-dimensional design, freshmen declare their major. Entering sophomore year, J+M students follow a carefully planned three-year curriculum that guides them through progressive levels of design and technical proficiency. During the first year in J+M, students develop fundamental technical and design skills, and engage in a comprehensive study of the history of adornment. In the junior year, emphasis shifts to more interpretive projects and specialized processes, which encourage further development of individual aesthetics supported by the steady growth of technical abilities. Through our strong internship program and historic ties with industry, some juniors elect to devote a summer or Wintersession to gaining professional experience. The senior curriculum focuses on assisting students to create a self-motivated and unique body of work. Upon meeting graduation requirements – a written thesis, participation in the Senior Degree Project Exhibition and a professional portfolio of images documenting their work – J+M students are well prepared to launch their career.

For curriculum • courses • technology • faculty • gallery • video introduction • department statistics: www.risd.edu/jewelry.cfm


Graduate program
The intensive two-year graduate program emphasizes the interdependent activities of individual research and creative practice in jewelry and metalsmithing. Mentored throughout, students strengthen design and critical thinking skills through structured and self-directed studio work, as well as critiques with faculty, visiting critics and peers. Students are expected to identify and inform their personal inquiries, to maintain an active studio practice, and to locate their work within a theoretical and conceptual framework. A required J+M graduate seminar addresses issues specific to the discipline in the larger context of contemporary art and design. Interested graduates are given the opportunity to co-teach introductory jewelry classes in the J+M Department and to assist visiting artists. To fulfill their degree requirements, students complete a written thesis, body of studio work, CV, and digital portfolio as well as participating in RISD’s Graduate Thesis Exhibition. They are also required to create an artist book that houses the written thesis and documentation of studio work. The program prepares students to be self-reflective practitioners in the field at the highest level of professionalism.
A three-year MFA program is offered to applicants on an individual basis to accommodate promising students without the prerequisite level of design and technical skill. 

For application requirements • courses • curriculum • equipment • faculty • FAQs • thesis requirements • visiting artists/critics: risd.edu/graduate_jewel.cfm

FULLTIME FACULTY
For profiles: : http://www.risd.edu/jewelry_faculty.cfm

Robin Quigley, Professor (USA)
MFA, Rhode Island School of Design | A, Tyler School of Art
Tracy Steepy, Associate Professor (USA) | MFA, State University of New York, New Paltz | BFA, Indiana University

ADJUNCT FACULTY
Brian Bergeron, Technical Assistant (USA) | BFA, Rochester Institute of Technology
Lola Brooks, Assistant Professor (USA) BFA, State University of New York at New Paltz
Jeffrey Clancy (USA) MFA, San Diego State University, BFA, Kutztown University
Noam Elyashiv (Israel) MFA, Rhode Island School of Design | BFA, Bezalel Academy of Art and Design, Jerusalem
Michael Glancy (USA) MFA, BFA, Rhode Island School of Design
Sergey Jivetin, Critic (Uzbekistan) MFA, State University of New York at New Paltz | BFA, Parsons School of Design
Charlotte Meyer (UK) MFA, Pratt Institute | BA, Nottingham Trent University
Barbara Seidenath (Germany) MFA, Academy of Fine Arts, Munich, Germany | BFA, Staatliche Fachschule, Neugablonz, Germany 
Johan van Aswegan (South Africa)  Diploma, MFA, Akademie Bildenden Kunst, Munich, Germany 
Sissi Westerberg, Critic (Sweden) MFA, Konstfack
Andrea Zatarain (Mexico) BFA, Rhode Island School of Design

SELECTION OF VISITING ARTISTS AND LECTURERS
Giampaolo Babetto, Robert Baines, Peter Bauhuis, Melanie Belinker, Helen Britton, Lola Brooks, Lauren Fensterstock, Rebecca Hannon, David Huycke, Love Jönsson, Auli Laitain, Anders Ljungberg, Ruudt Peters, Karen Pontoppidan, Mary Preston, Katja Prins, Tina Raith, Gerd Rothman, Joyce Scott, Bettina Speckner, Lori Talcott, Sarah Kate Burgess, Donald Friedlich, Maria Phillips, Charlotte Meyer, Heather White, Deb Todd Wheeler, Iris Eichenberg.

Rhode Island School of Design on Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Providence-RI/RISD-Department-of-Jewelry-andMetalsmithing/133529397551

2013