Estela Rivero
Category
Our Artists – Jewelers
Fire Arts members who are jewelers.
Doug Kile
Jeweler
My name is Doug. After 30 plus years in the retail business, my wife and I moved to Green Valley, Arizona. We returned to our Michiana roots in 2009. My wife is from Niles, Michigan and I, South Bend, Indiana.
I have always enjoyed working with my hands and while in Arizona, I started doing clay work, however, I was introduced to Silversmithing in 2001. I truly enjoy the creativity and challenges this profession entails. My pieces are custom or original one of a kind, keeping in mind that when a project is handmade no two are alike.
I also make the cabochons from rough stone that you will see in my signed pieces. A number of my pieces are inlaid. I use 925 sterling silver and 999 fine silver. Above all, I have learned the patience and respect that artist apply to their medium.
Tabatha Gulino
Tabatha Gulino is a Michigan based metalsmith. Working with silver, copper, and steel, Tabatha uses a variety of techniques to make visually dynamic, one-of-a-kind pieces. Her design concepts are drawn from the quiet stillness of nature and the hustle and bustle of everyday life, which she deftly blends to form rustic yet contemporary pieces of wearable art.
Tabatha went to college at Grand Valley State University where she studied Health Communication and Art with an emphasis in Jewelry and Metalsmithing. She has been interested in art for as long as she can remember, but it wasn’t until college that she was able to fully immerse herself in the exploration of different mediums and begin to create her own works. Her exploration led her to jewelry and metalsmithing in 2015, which quickly became the focus of her passion.
Her personal connection to each piece lies in the transformative nature of the creative process, beginning with raw materials and ending with unique, hand-crafted works that may either be adorned or displayed. Tabatha strives to make jewelry that embodies this metamorphic process and inspires conversation and creative expression.
Tabatha’s work has been on display during ArtPrize in Grand Rapids, MI and at the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts in Kalamazoo, MI.
Janine Faini
Jacqueline Carlson
Sculptor, Jeweler, Painter, Founding Artist
Jackie attended Indiana University at South Bend in the early 70s, where she took sculpture from Tuck Langland. In 1976, she joined the Army and was selected to become part of the White House Communications Agency as a communications specialist. From 1977 to 1981 she provided communications support at the White House and on three overseas and 16 stateside trips in support of the President of the United States. Upon her return to northern Indiana, she resumed studies at IUSB, and received a B.A. in Fine Arts in 1986.
She is interested in peace, justice and conservation. “We could probably have a pretty good life on this planet,” she says, “if everyone would just cooperate.”
Most recently, Jackie has concentrated efforts on icons of the civil rights movement. “I have never felt particularly courageous, and I really admire the courage of many who have been involved in civil rights.” She is planning a series of heads and figures of civil rights icons.
Jackie is also interested in endangered species and is hoping to do a series in tandem with her friends Julie and Yvonne.
Jackie has sold several of her sculptures and received a purchase award from the Midwest Museum of American Art. Jackie also does copper enameling and teaches an occasional workshop on the art form; email us if that would interest you.
