Today we’d like to introduce you to Jennie Lorette Keatts.
Hi Jennie Lorette, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
In 1996 I was in Colorado working as an International Marketing Manage for tourism for the city of Denver. My sister, Pam Owens of Jugtown Pottery encouraged me to take a jewelry making class as she had some glaze drips from the kilns that she wanted made into earrings, and I had always been interested in jewelry making. The following day I met a jeweler at a pottery show that recommended a local community college. I called, a class was starting and my jewelry career began.
In 1999, I left the stress of the tourism job and moved to Seagrove to embark on my jewelry business full time.
I create designer ceramic cabochons using Jugtown Pottery’s clay and glazes. I work mainly in sterling silver using my handmade ceramic stones as a focal point. Sterling silver is malleable and adding texture, marks and form to it is integral to the design of each piece. My pottery stones are all hand formed, going through many steps and firings to achieve the depth of colors. Accenting with semi-precious stones and occaisionally gold, each piece is unique and mostly one of a kind. I create a line of jewelry, meant to be worn often, dressed up or down. Mostly self taught I love to experiment with materials to create new and one of a kind pieces. I love texture and marks and it is found in most of my pieces.
In 2024 I added a new line of torch fired enamel jewelry. Two different techniques are what I mainly use to create these enamel pieces. First I use my jewelers saw to create different shapes out of copper sheet as the base.
Sgriffito: liquid enamel is painted on, allowed to dry and then I meticulously draw designs by scratching through the surface coat with a fine drawing tool. I then fire it with my torch until the enamel is molten to the perfect state. To add color to the piece I use glass enamel powder and carefully place it in each spot and then fire with my torch again. Often there are several firings to achieve the final result. The second is: Ceramic Stain Drawings: a ceramic ink is created from stains and oils. After I have fired one layer of powered enamel onto the copper surface with my torch, I use a fine quill pen to draw my designs and fill them with different colors. These are then torch fired to set the stains into the enamel base.
Both lines are created from start to finish by hand and are created using fire to create color and shape.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I am very fortunate in that Jugtown Pottery is very well known and so I was introduced to Museum Shop Managers and many collectors early on. My sister and her family hosted me in their home for my first year and a half and provided me with studio space, clay, glazes, kiln space and a sales outlet.
As I branched out I moved into selling to galleries and doing retail shows. Of course there are normal business challenges in sales and marketing yourself but I pursued it relentlessly. In 2006, I married and my husband would help me with my shows. He became very ill with leukemia in 2017, passing in 2018. At that time I made the decision to work with more galleries and stopped exhibiting in shows outside my immediate area. Certainly those years presented me with challenges, but I made the right decision and love working with galleries, leaving me more time in the studio. Today’s biggest challenge is the price of precious metals. At all time highs I have hated having to raise my prices, but creating work to last is worth it.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
What sets me apart, and what I specialize in and am know for are my designer ceramic cabochons. I use Jugtown’s glazes and can achieve a different result on my stones than you would see on a pot, as I am hand painting the glazes onto a horizontal surface, a pretty small surface! My line of enamels has also become very popular-it if funky and fun.
I am mostly self taught having taken only one goldsmithing class. From the beginning I was eager to learn new techniques, especially those that could create texture, and so I experimented, read and tried new things out (You Tube was not available then!) Lapidary artists have been known to be fooled by my stones thinking they are natural, and though I create them…all the materials come from the earth and contain. many of the same minerals, etc that mined stones are made from.
I am proud of my line of work, pieces that can be worn with any outfit, dressed up or down. They are made to last and hopefully be passed down. My customers frequently share with me that strangers stop them to comment on their jewelry, and that is the highest praise I can receive, and very gratifying.
Networking and finding a mentor can have such a positive impact on one’s life and career. Any advice?
Living in a rural area I have not really had a mentor. My sister is my mentor in the development of the color in the stones, as she and now her son create all the glazes that I use. I definitely would advocate for finding a mentor to work with in starting out. The internet has provided me with many resources, as well as my large collection of books and magazines.
Pricing:
- I price my work to be affordable by many. The price of Silver is now at an all time high which has created a challenge in keeping prices low, however I make work to last a lifetime and silver is the new gold!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.jlkjewelry.com/
- Instagram: JLKJewelry
- Facebook: JLKJewelry
- LinkedIn: Jennie Lorette Keatts
