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COCA Profile: Starr Payne “Alchemy of fire, metal fascinates jeweler”

Years ago, Starr Payne was told she would never look at food the same way again. As a jeweler and metalsmith, textures of even the most mundane cereals or chips, or a stray image from…

Years ago, Starr Payne was told she would never look at food the same way again. As a jeweler and metalsmith, textures of even the most mundane cereals or chips, or a stray image from a television show can spark up her ingenuity. Japanese crackers especially peak her interest, almost as much as the many metal techniques she employs from the same country. Recently, she’s tackled the mokume game technique, which was used in traditional swordmaking to join silver and copper together.

“The metals themselves have different properties so they don’t always like to play nicely together,” explains Payne. “You can put things in the kiln that look gorgeous going in, but when they come out you might end up with gaps between the metal or pieces looking twisted and not finished well. That’s been my biggest challenge lately, but I’m going to work through it.”

Payne says it was after she wandered into a bead store that she got hooked on jewelry making. From there, she took classes at Florida State University in metals and became involved with the Florida Society of Goldsmiths, not only making beads but molding the metals that surrounded them as well.

She is currently the treasurer of the organization and will be part of “The Seduction of Metals” showcase at the LeMoyne Center for the Visual Arts on display through Oct. 28.

Read the rest of the story by visiting the Tallahassee Democrat 

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