Jeweler bringing handcrafted art to her SEDAST debut
Later this month, some of the area’s most noted craftsmen and artists will come together once again to benefit the next generation of the arts. The 15th Annual SouthEastern Delaware Artists Studio Tour (SEDAST) will feature 18 local painters, sculptors, glassblowers and crafters, with many favorite names returning – including Aubre Duncan, Laura Hickman, Ellen Rice and Damon Pla. Some fresh faces will be filling out the lineup, as well, including SEDAST newcomer Shelby Foxwell, whose handcrafted jewelry combines lines, colors and textures in one-of-a-kind creations.
Coastal Point • Ryan Saxton
Shelby Foxworthy wears some of her jewelry creations, which will be showcased during SEDAST’s annual tour.
Foxwell turned to jewelry-making only five years ago, after devoting her time as a customer service representative for Wilmington Trust and as a mother of two.
“I was vacationing with my husband in Colorado,” she recalled, “and I noticed hand-crafted jewelry at an art show. I was so amazed, and jewelry was something I had never tried before.”
She began looking through magazines and picked up pointers from other crafters and, before long, she was producing pieces of her own.
“I have always been the crafty type,” she admitted, “even as a little girl.”
With a daughter and son of her own now, it took a little while to find time to fine-tune her artistic passion.
“I got started with it after I’d put the kids to bed,” she explained. “Making the jewelry was an escape for me. It gave me a chance to relax. It’s really been therapeutic.”
In the past two years, she has concentrated more on wire and metalwork. From the earrings to the necklaces and bracelets, her creations unify high-quality materials, such as semi-precious stones, artisan lampwork glass beads, cultured freshwater pearls and Swarovski crystals, with fine- and heavy-gage sterling silver or copper wire, which is shaped into spirals, coils and links.
Wire bookmarks sporting designs of sea life and other shapes have also been hot items for her customers.
Recently, she has also been incorporating metal stamping into her jewelry work, personalizing sterling and copper pieces with names and inspirational sayings.
“The stamping seems to be a new craze,” she said. “It’s been a big hit with a lot of people. You can get something on a charm or the pendant of a necklace. It really makes the jewelry personal.”
Foxwell, a Sussex County native, has gained most of her recognition as an artist through local shows, tallying an average of five or so a year in the area, but her Web site and blog have been instrumental in helping her connect with clientele, as well.
“I started selling my jewelry at the Artful Bean through Kim [Doughty],” noted Foxwell. “That’s really helped me get my stuff out there.”
Doughty, a friend of Foxwell, has featured her ceramic artwork in SEDAST for years and will again this year. And Foxwell will continue reaching out to the public this weekend, when she features her work this Saturday, Nov. 7, in the Rehoboth Art League Holiday Fair, from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. at the art league’s facility in Rehoboth Beach.
As the newest participating artist in SEDAST, Foxwell is already weaving her way into one of the most recognized artistic groups in the region.
“The jewelry I plan to feature in the show will be all hand-crafted,” she said. “It was a little bit of a challenge at first, getting everything together, and some of my work had to be altered for the tour, but it’s great in the sense that I’m learning a lot more.”
SEDAST’s well-known Art in the Hat Raffle raises money for art programs in area schools from raffle ticket sales for original artwork and crafts, and Foxwell this year has donated a sterling silver and boro lampwork bead bracelet, which she calls “the Black Hole Bracelet.”
“It’s always great to give back like this,” she said. “I’ve been donating a lot of my work for some time now. I try to do my part and help out local charities when I can.”
The 15th Annual Southeastern Delaware Artists Studio Tour will take place Friday and Saturday, Nov. 27 and 28, from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. both days. The tour, which started up as a grassroots effort by 13 artists and artisans to raise awareness of the quality of art in the area, offers art lovers a glimpse of the artists working in their studios each fall.
In 2000, SEDAST started the “Art in the Hat Raffle,” in which tour-goers purchase raffle tickets for one-of-a-kind works donated by the artists, with proceeds going into the art education programs in the Indian River School District.
For more information about SEDAST, including a list of participating artists and the artwork donated for the Art in the Hat raffle, visit www.artstudiotour.com.
For information about Shelby Foxwell’s handcrafted art jewelry, including upcoming events and a link to her blog, visit her Web site at www.sundownbeaddesigns.com, or call (302) 236-4303.
