Two use animal teeth and bones. Another works with coins. Others employ hair and fur. Several work in plastic, another with parts of vintage irons. All of these makers of jewelry and jewelry-inspired sculpture prove it’s not what you’ve got that matters; it’s what you do with it. Intrigued by jewelry artists who use unusual materials, we asked a panel of experts to tell us whose work they are most excited about today. The people below are a sampling of their recommendations.

Click the names to view photos and read profiles:

Jenny Wu
Yuka Saito
Caroline Gore
Tony Esola
Steven Gordon Holman
Nancy Worden
Melanie Bilenker
Sayumi Yokouchi
Anna Johnson
Kat Cole
Teresa Faris
Vincent Pontillo-Verrastro
Hilary Sanders
Stacey Lee Webber
Cynthia Toops


Contributors:

Marilyn da Silva, professor and program chair of jewelry/metal arts, California College of the Arts

Susie Ganch, associate professor, head of metal program, Virginia Commonwealth University; president-elect, Ethical Metalsmiths; director, Radical Jewelry Makeover

Michael Gayk, assistant professor of metal/digital design and fabrication, SUNY New Paltz

Arthur Hash, assistant professor, metalsmithing and jewelry design, Rhode Island School of Design

Mike Holmes, owner, Velvet da Vinci gallery

Rock Hushka, chief curator, Tacoma Art Museum

Karen Lorene, owner, Facèré Jewelry Art Gallery; publisher, Signs of Life magazine

Gwynne Rukenbrod Smith, executive director, Society of North American Goldsmiths

Emily Stoehrer, Rita J. Kaplan and Susan B. Kaplan curator of jewelry, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston