Jeffrey Jobe thinks of himself as a specialist in hand forged and braided metal. He uses a mixture of traditional silversmith, blacksmith, and contemporary jewelry techniques and equipment to create wearable works of art such as pins, bracelets, earrings, buttons, necklaces, and rings, many of which are inspired by religious traditions.
A North Carolina native, he was trained in historical archaeology with a subspecialty in metals. He uses vintage tools, some of which date as far back as 1775. Most were originally crafted in the 19th Century. Several of the tools come from the Holocaust and were used by a German Jewish goldsmith who survived the concentration camps and emigrated to the United States in 1947. Many of the techniques he used, which Jobe re-creates, are hundreds of years old, the oldest dating back about 2800 years.
Jobe uses precious metals including nickel-free sterling silver, platinum sterling, gold (yellow, white, red, and green in 10, 12, 14, and 18 karat), copper, and jewelry-grade stones (precious, semiprecious, and common).
He draws his inspiration the multitude of graceful flowing lines and geometric patterns in Nature. He will see a natural form or shape, alter it, and restate its core essence in metal and/or stone. His goal is to create designs that are not only meant to be viewed but to be touched—and that glorify God.
The deadline for submitting entries for the 2021 Directory of Traditional American Crafts has past. All entries we have recevied are being processed and will be submitted to the jurors for anonymous judging. The 2021 Directory will appear in the August 2021 edition of Early American Life. Please do not call us. We cannot report on the status of any particular entry until the Directory is published..
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