Ashley Nettye Pollack, MFA

Visions of wonderment occur more readily in a mystical world. During the renaissance, alchemists existed in a vibrant and enchanted milieu. The type of knowledge that craftspeople possess is alchemical by nature and traditionally, a metalsmith’s craft was a well-kept secret. To the uninitiated, material knowledge would have been seen as sacred, ritualized, and even magical. Ashley encourages this connection to the enchanting by implementing alchemical-like techniques focused on transmuting matter. Thereby, alloying, the combining of pure metals through melting, and fusing, the buttressing of two metals through heat and pressure as well as patination, a chemical solution applied to metal in order alter the surface coloration, are all core methodologies in her work. The ways in which Ashley transforms metal reminds us that, if you are curious enough, the matter that surrounds us at any given moment is astonishing; that wonderment can be a state of being.

After completing her BA in Drawing and Painting at Bates College, Ashley traveled to Florence to study at Alchimia Contemporary Jewellery School for a summer before commencing a Post-Baccalaureate at RISD in Jewelry + Metalsmithing. Ashley worked as a bench jeweler in NYC before pursuing her MFA in Metal at SUNY New Paltz.

@ashleynettye
ashley@ashleynettye.com