Metalsmith BenchTalk: jeweler, metalsmith, and naturalist David C. Freda

My guest on Thursday, May 1st at 3 p.m. PDT on MetalSmith BenchTalk will be jeweler, enamelist, metalsmith, artist, and naturalist David C. Freda.

Abou David:  “Among the first images created by man were those of animals. One cannot trace the history of art without reference to the animal image. Since prehistoric times, the animal world has provided man the imagery by which to visually illuminate important aspects of himself and his life. The animal image provides a universal language that all cultures can share. Until the extinction of the last species, man will draw upon the animal world for inspiration.
 
I also probe the world of animals for my imagery. Bird watching, taxidermy, falconry, scuba diving, rock climbing, mountain biking, and numerous other adventuresome activities have educated me enabling me to express the natural world in an artistic sense. My forms are a distillation of these experiences. Some compositions feature realistic “renderings” of animal forms while others are abstractions suggesting a particular theme and create from it an unexpected or surprising result. 

To obtain this, I often juxtapose the animal image or abstraction using ancient processes with twentieth century materials such as fine metals, vitreous enamels, aluminum, acrylic, niobium, and so on, while maintaining the sense of a natural habitat via color, texture, and movement. I feel I share a kinship with artists of the past whose intimate knowledge of the natural world also provided them with their concepts..

To learn more about David, visit: http://www.davidcfreda.com.