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JOHN BEIRLE
After years of working hard at a job I did not
enjoy, I began to learn and train for a work I love: Designing and making
jewelry from the metals, stones and gems from around the world. I have perfected my craft
to a very satisfactory level, but am constantly learning new methods and proceedures to
incorporate into my art.
All my work is personally crafted, including the cutting. I use fabrication
and lost wax techniques for all the metalwork. There are trends in
jewelry but I refuse to follow any other than my own inspiration. My
pieces are truly unique.
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Thank you for your interest in my designs.
With passion, vitality and eagerness, I manifest and create with my hands
expressions of these minerals and metals, putting them together, unifying
them into an eye-pleasing piece of jewelry, inspired by the
excitement of fulfilling a vision of what I see in the rough material, and then
using my talents and expression to achieve the final results.
I was born and raised in Philadelphia. Throughout my school years I
attended a program for artistically talented students at Flesher
Memorial School of Art for classes in sculpture, thus increasing my
confidence and carving skills. In high school I studied as a machinist
and had an apprenticeship in tool and die making which led to employment
at Boeing making helicopter parts. In service in Vietnam I
received a Bronze Star for dangerous missions recovering
downed helicopters. This experience led me to make the life
changing decision to pursue that which would bring me happiness.
My interest in jewelry making was sparked when my young son asked me to buy
him a quartz crystal in the early 80’s. I then bought a faceting
machine. It was an intrigue, a curiosity which revealed the mystery of the
miracles of the earth and that which it reveals. I can transform
them into something even more appealing, a spiritual
movement that I’m expressing. It can bring happiness to the wearer, and
bears the ambiance and essence of the stone itself.
Good balance produces a good design, the harmony of the
metals and the stones in unison. The craftsmanship is
something I’ve evolved and perfected for years, being primarily
self-taught in faceting gemstones and metal and gold smithing. I also sought
the expertise of jewelers at famed “Jeweler’s Row” in Philadelphia, where I
found some excellent mentors during six years there. I’ve also
worked in Key West Florida for "Black Market Minerals" and "Whitfield Jack."
Since moving to Tucson in 2005, I’ve acquired a lot of new
minerals, such as turquoise and crysocolla, from the local shops. The
Tucson International Gem and Mineral Show, one of the largest on Earth,
has especially expanded my horizons and the
variety of gemstones that I incorporate into my work. The largeness of the southwest is
definitely inspiring, as are the American
Indians. I do not use or copy their techniques,
however they have inspired and influenced my current work, as does the brightness and
abundance of light here. My goal is to make this work available to all.
John Beirle
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