About the Artist

Georgia Morgan has lived in Urbana since 1970, and has been making jewelry since 1990. Since she has studied metalsmithing and polymer clay techniques with masters of these arts, she does not claim to be self-taught. Images of her work have been published in The Crafts Report and 400 Polymer Clay Designs (Lark Books).

Before I worked in jewelry, knitting and knotting (macramé) provided the challenge of being creative within a formal structure. Knitting and later, gemstone bead designs offered an opportunity to work with patterns of both color and texture, but I found the palette of colors limiting until I discovered polymer clay. This is a pigmented synthetic moldable material which cures to a flexible solid. The color patterns are the result of techniques derived from those used by lampwork glass
artists in the construction of canes for millefiori.
Working in polymer allows unlimited space to explore the synergy of color, pattern, and texture. All of the polymer beads and components in my work are handmade in my studio.

My main artistic influences have been the Art Nouveau and Art Deco movements, and the work that resonates the most with me combines organic elements in a geometric framework.

Although I generally have a plan when I sit down to work, I hardly ever know what will happen after it is executed—the wabi-sabi combination of materials before me in the studio is a continuing adventure--I have a hard time throwing out things-that-might-be-useful-someday (every member of my family will attest to this), and new designs regularly emerge from bits and pieces that have been lying around the studio (click to see). Some of them are favorites of mine.

2011 Shows

June 19-21, 2011 Taste of Champaign-Urbana, West Side Park Champaign, IL

Nov. 12-13, 2011 29th Annual Art Fair, Craft League of Champaign-Urbana, Urbana Civic Center

November 20, 2011 Holiday Art and Craft Fair, Sylvia's Irish Inn, Urbana, Illinois

December 2-3, 2011 Old East End Art Hooha 905 S. Lynn, Urbana, Illinois; Friday 6-9, Saturday 11-6

December 11, 2011 Hanukkah Showcase, Sinai Temple, Champaign, Illinois

 

Galleries and Exhibitions

Wind, Water & Light, Lincoln Square, Urbana, Illinois

Southern Illinois Artisans Shop, Rend Lake, Illinois

Illinois Artisans Shop, 100 W. Randolph, Suite 2-200, Chicago, Illinois

Gallery shows at David Alan Badger Gallery, Havana, Illinois

Exhibit at the Springer Cultural Center, Champaign, Illinois, July-August 2001.