Class Character
Class Character is a platform for faculty of Canadian Jewellery programs to share the victories of their graduating students and open the doors of their respective departments to the MetalAid community. This is an ongoing, annual project. If you would like to see your school featured in future editions of Class Character, please contact us for submission guidelines and details.
Compiled by: The MetalAid Team
Published: 2019/07/12
NSCAD university
Nova scotia college of art and design university
halifax, nova scotia
As the 2018 school year came to a close, we celebrated long time professor Pamela Ritchie’s retirement. Previous students, many of whom are now professors themselves, came from across Canada to toast Pam. The NSCAD Jewellery Department created a charm necklace for her with almost 100 distinct pieces sent in by former students and colleagues.
NSCAD Jewellery welcomed new full-time faculty member Greg Sims. Greg brings deep digital knowledge to the department. The addition of a new Form 2, SLA 3D printer and Trotec laser cutter has allowed students new possibilities in fabrication that compliment traditional goldsmithing techniques.
Borguesse Mozaffarian
Nest Ball Neckpiece (2019)
Metal, thread, tulle
Image by the artist
NSCAD students demonstrated huge amounts of hustle and had works accepted into the Play[ground] exhibition sponsored by Vancouver Metal Arts Association, SoFresh SoClean sponsored by Ethical Metalsmiths, Goldsmith’s Craft & Design Council Competition, NSCAD Fashion show Tooth and Nail and the inaugural exhibition from Halifax art jewellery society Co-Adorn, entitled Conversation Starter. Department chair Kye Yeon Son was a finalist for the 2019 LOEWE Craft Prize and Rebecca Hannon had her first solo exhibition in Nova Scotia called Contemporary Camouflage at the Mary Black Gallery.
One of the strengths of NSCAD is the diverse student body it attracts, the visiting speakers we are fortunate to welcome, and the opportunities for exchange study that have been established. Understanding the diversity of opportunities in our field is of utmost importance. NSCAD welcomed jeweller Pedro Sequeira from Lisbon as well as Wesley Harris and West Coast jeweller Louise Perrone for artist talks and workshops.
Andreea Murgu
Untitled (2018)
Sterling silver, fine silver, pearls, copper flashing
Image by the artist
Anna Ferguson
I Don’t Get Art (2019)
Copper, liver of sulphur, polyester thread
Image by the artist
Graduating students Borguesse Mozaffarian had the opportunity to study at Glasgow School of Art and Alex Gasparis is currently on exchange at the Rietveld Academy in Amsterdam. Current students also spent a semester at Rhode Island School of Design, Pforzheim, KEA Denmark and the National College of Art and Design in Dublin. In Fall we will welcome our first student through a newly established exchange agreement with the Hochschule Trier Department of Jewellery and Gemstones in the stone-cutting town of
Idar-Oberstein, Germany.
Alex Gasparis
swallowed by (2019)
PVC tube, epoxy, water
Image by the artist
Currently one of the most popular majors at NSCAD, the Jewellery Department was given the opportunity to mount an exhibition at our year end awards gala, called the Starfish Student Awards. Students worked alongside faculty members to build an exceptional exhibition at the gala that threatened to upstage the finalists’ works on display for the Starfish prize. It was a banner year for jewellery, as senior jewellery student Kim Paquet took home the top prize, the first jeweller to ever win this award.
Rebecca Hannon, Associate Professor, Jewellery & Metalsmithing
