Erica Stankwytch Bailey

"The malleable nature of metal combined with the intimacy inherent in wearable art forges an immediate connection for me as the maker."

Erica Stankwytch Bailey creates work inspired by the significance of the smallest things. She inspects the world in great detail and has always collected shells, seed pods, and interesting organic elements. Her studio resembles a laboratory, with trays of specimens lined in rows. From the minuscule piece of reef collected on the shore to the vast expanse of Grand Canyon, Bailey is constantly inspired.

Bailey's work involves a variety of technical applications that allow her to create conceptual and aesthetic works. Lamination, chasing, fabrication, forging, raising, forming, and marriage of metals are combined in her work in an effort to create pieces that are tactile and invoke in the wearer a sense of personal attachment. All work is conceived, designed, and created by Bailey.

The artist attended East Carolina University, where she received her B.F.A. in metal design and had the privilege of learning under several masters of the craft, including Linda Darty, Robert Ebendorf, John Satterfield, Mi Sook Hur, Joe Muench, among many others. She has been teaching metalsmithing since her graduation in 2001, and selling her work nationally for the last five years.

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Selected Exhibitions & Awards
American Craft Council Show, Baltimore, Baltimore, MD, 2020
American Craft Council Show, Atlanta, Atlanta, GA, 2020
American Craft Council Show, St.Paul, St. Paul, MN, 2020
Materials: Hard and Soft, Greater Denton Arts Council, Denton, TX, 2010
Exhibition in Motion, Houston Museum of Art, Houston, TX, 2010