Several dozen University of Wisconsin-Stout students will help give new life to old, broken or unwanted jewelry.
Jewelry students from UW-Stout, UW-Madison and UW-Milwaukee, as well as professional jewelers, will be transforming donations into fresh and responsible jewelry, said Kathleen Kennedy, co-director of Radical Jewelry Makeover.
Donations of any variety, quality, quantity or material type can be made through Tuesday, Feb. 20. The local drop-off site is room 235, Applied Arts Building, 415 13th Ave. E., at UW-Stout’s School of Art and Design Office. Donations may also be mailed to Union Art Gallery, 2200 E. Kenwood Blvd., Milwaukee, Wis., 53211. For a list of donations sites go here.
Those who donate will receive a coupon to purchase some of the remade jewelry.
Radical Jewelry Makeover has been traveling nationally and internationally since 2007, educating jewelers of all levels about mining and material source issues.
“RJM started because we wanted to create a dialogue why it is important to recycle these things and to encourage people to think where the materials come from,” Kennedy said. “For every gold ring created there are 20 tons of mine waste created to get that material.”
Gold and silver can be infinitely recycled, Kennedy said. Costume jewelry can be remade into a conversational piece, which opens dialogues about the importance of not just throwing away unwanted or damaged jewelry.
The spring project is the 14th one Radical Jewelry Makeover has held since the organization started in 2007. This is the first such project in Wisconsin, Kennedy said.
More than 70 UW-Stout students helping
From 70 to 80 UW-Stout students in Metals and Jewelry I, II and III will participate, said Vincent Pontillo-Verrastro, UW-Stout assistant professor in art and art history.
Sorting of donated jewelry will take place Saturday, Feb. 24, and to split up donations among the participants. UW-Stout students will begin working Monday, Feb. 26, on the makeover project, which will take about one month.
“A lot of it is coming down to recycling and being resourceful and bringing new life to old jewelry that is just sitting around or is broken,” Pontillo-Verrastro said.
Pontillo-Verrastro said when he was working on finishing his bachelor’s degree in fine arts in 2010, sterling silver prices were about $53 an ounce. He learned to shop for sterling silver flatware at yard sales and reused it for jewelry.
“Because I knew how to prepare materials and make an ingot, it allowed me to be resourceful,” he said. “It is a valuable skill to be able to melt down metals and make your own materials.”
Students and professionals will transform the donations through March. A juried exhibition of some of the jewelry will take place at the UW-Milwaukee Union Art Gallery April 13 to May 11. An opening reception is planned from 5 to 8 p.m. Friday, April 13.
Proceeds from jewelry sales will support Ethical Metalsmiths. The nonprofit organization started in 2004 to encourage social change that values jewelry made with ethically sourced materials and to support student scholarships at the participating universities. To learn more about Ethical Metalsmiths visit here.
The makeover is an educational experience for students, Kennedy said.
“It’s allowing the students to use the techniques they are learning in their regular classes and how to apply those to make old materials new,” Kennedy said. “What we’re looking for is donations (will be) transformed, but they have to stand up and be able to be worn.”
To donate jewelry, submit the official project donation form in a sealed plastic bag along with your items. The form is available at all donation sites or for download here. Donors are encouraged to keep a copy for their records.
Learn more about UW-Stout’s School of Art and Design.
