Mica Gallery welcomes Deb Karash as one of its newest artists. Karash, a jewelry artist, moved to the area from Illinois where she studied at Northern Illinois University, and has taught widely, including at Penland School of Craft. Lisa Joerling, one of the owners of Mica Gallery, studied with Deb early in her jewelry career. “She is an incredible teacher and has an amazing sense of color and design,” Joerling says. “Her craftsmanship is impeccable. I am delighted to be showing her work now at Mica.”
How jewelry is worn is central to Karash’s design process, but function falls secondary to inspiration. “Because I have made jewelry for so long, the mechanics of function have become innate to me,” Karash says. “Inspiration, which keeps the work fresh for me, comes from many different places—like science fiction films for rockets and robots, or the color fields of painters and most definitely from nature.”
Deb Karash, artist
She says that pattern, color and texture always play roles in her creations. For color, Karash draws on copper with wax-based colored pencils which allow for a wide range of color choices and more freedom than techniques like enameling. She developed this technique using Prismacolor pencils, most commonly applied to paper. “Why do I choose to draw on metal?,” Karash says. “Jewelry is about intimacy and connection. It has a history of marking special moments in time, and it is one of the rare art forms that we carry into the world with us. We use it to tell the outside world something about ourselves.”
In addition to making unique pieces of jewelry, Karash has found teaching workshops to be as important to her career as her studio practice. “Through teaching, I delight in sharing my skills and bringing students together to learn and to share their own skills and stories,” she says. “For me, teaching is more than just imparting information. There is joy in giving a student that ‘aha’ moment when something really changes for them. I love guiding their skills to the next level.” To her workshops, she brings more than 40 years’ experience creating jewelry. This year, she will be teaching at Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts as well as leading workshops in Seattle, Denver, Bulverde (TX), Raleigh and Asheville.
When asked what makes a studio experience most successful for students, Karash says, “I prefer spacious facilities where students have room to spread out. I want my students to be comfortable and have fun; working in community with other artists is a valuable part of the workshop experience. It’s also important to teach them why we do something so they can better apply those techniques when they return to their own studios. I always encourage experimentation and questions.”
Mica is an artist-run gallery of fine art and contemporary craft located at 37 North Mitchell Avenue in Bakersville. Works on display range from clay to glass, metals, wood, basketry, jewelry, weaving, handmade books, painting, drawing and printmaking. The gallery is open daily from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and noon-5 p.m. on Sunday. Visit MicaGalleryNC.com or follow on Facebook and Instagram at micagallerync.
