Our professionally trained instructors love to teach! Each of them received degrees in Metalsmithing and Jewelry and make a living making jewelry and metal objects. They are delightful, compassionate, giving people who love what they do. They see the benefits of pursuing something they love – making jewelry and working with their hands.
Tayja Danger
Tayja Danger (she/her) is the metalsmith behind Stone Anvil Jewelry. She hails from the Pacific Northwest United States; she grew up in the small island town of Sitka, Alaska, and now calls Portland, Oregon her home. She received her BFA from Oregon College of Art and Craft with a concentration in Metals. Tayja teaches metalsmithing classes to all levels of learners at 9020 Studios and Multnomah Arts Center, and taught at OCAC until its closure in 2019. She is a founding member of the Portland-based New New Collective.
In her fine art practice, Tayja endeavors to advance Queer and Feminist movements by creating contemporary jewelry that speaks about social issues and popular culture. Her artwork emphasizes formal elements and high quality craftsmanship as she honors traditional metalsmithing processes, art jewelry and contemporary craft. She embraces traditional methods of making as well as innovation and alternative art materials.
As a production artist, Tayja uses her metalsmith skills to create elegant and playful jewelry. She fabricates limited run editions with her hammer and torch, and lost wax casting in bronze and sterling silver.
Arielle Brackett
Arielle Brackett (she/her) is a metalsmith and educator based in Portland, Oregon. She received her BFA in metals at the Oregon College of Art and Craft in 2017. She has shown nationally and internationally, including Canada, Romania and Russia. Brackett was awarded best in metals at the Colorado Gallery of the Arts and the Art Center of Estes Park. She received two scholarships to paint in Le Barroux, France and Grand Junction, Colorado. In May 2016, Brackett was granted a full ride scholarship to attend a two-week glass workshop at the Penland School of Craft. Brackett is published in Society of North American Goldsmiths (SNAG), Jams 2018 and How Art Heals, by Andra Stanton. In 2019, she had a piece in a runway show, Shift in Portland, Oregon. Brackett showed work in SNAG’s Exhibition in Motion in 2019 and 2021.
Winona Hwang
Winona Hwang (she/her) is an artist based in Portland, Oregon. Living in both America and Singapore has shaped her work to reflect the concepts of two cultures that cross one another. Her focus is on her Chinese heritage through the lens of protection, decoration, and tactility. She explores her cultural background through a plethora of artistic practices from video-making, music, fine-art, metalsmithing, and computer-aided design. With a BFA from Oregon College of Art and Craft, her work has been presented in “We Are SNAG: Appropriated Adornment” , an online exhibition (2018); “Matter of Course” at Oregon College of Art and Craft in association with SNAG (2018); the 2018 Student Commission Award; and an on-line student exhibition for the Enamelist Society (2018).
Colin Kippen
Colin Kippen (he/him) was born in San Francisco and grew up in rural Vermont. Along with a nine-year apprenticeship to a jeweler, he holds an MFA in Craft (2015) and a Post-Bacc Certificate in Metals (2006) from Oregon College of Art and Craft along with a BA in Studio Art (2004) from Carleton College. His sculptural practice loosely references domesticity, waste streams, gender roles and masculinity. Colin held artist residencies with the Metro/Recology GLEAN program and the Bullseye Glass Factory. Colin is an adjunct professor of sculpture, design and drawing at Portland Community College and Clark College in Vancouver, WA. He lives and works in Portland, OR.
Christine Clark
Christine Clark is an artist living and working in Portland OR. Her work focuses on public art, installation art and abstract sculpture in steel, steel wire and mixed materials. She is a former Professor and Head of the Metals department at Oregon College of Art and Craft where she taught jewelry/metalsmithing, sculpture and installation art. Clark is a member of the Nine Gallery, an alternative art gallery that exhibits experimental and installation-based work and is co-owner of Ninety Twenty Studios, a maker/education space in Portland, and runs Ninety Twenty Workshop, which offers both in person and online classes.