ABOUT SUSAN

Ceremonial + Talismans Pieces

Close your eyes and imagine sitting on a sandy beach.
A vibrant ocean is moving and creating an organic raw + rhythmic sound like irregular beats from each wave crashing upon the sand and each in its own unique rhythm.

You look over the ocean and see that the sky is a vibrant, smudged orange as the sun begins to set.
You feel peace from a gentle wind and salty pungent smell of the briny ocean.
You take a deep breath and feel yourself propelled into a rare + private space, a space that guides you to the core of your personal strength, beauty + wholeness. 

With each rhythmic movement and crescendo, you begin to feel a beautiful beat + rhythm within your body.
You look down and notice that you are wearing colorful fringed jewelry that moves gently in the wind.
The pieces carry the power of metal charms and altered objects. 

As you move + sway your body, you know that this moment is all about dance, movement, salty smell, and taste of the ocean.
You enjoy all senses at once as you get lost in time.  

You join the sound of the percussion of nature with your movement that chimes and, in joint effort, forms a vibrant + brilliant orchestra of raw sound that brings wholeness to your being.

Enjoy these ceremonial pieces that carry more than just the elements in themselves.
They are filled with gems, charms, altered personal and powerfully charged objects. 
Dance with them, use them as percussion, let them be in your life as you please. 
Wear them, honor them, put them on a wall and enjoy the shadow and light from a brilliant sun or dimming sunset or display them on a table to be enjoyed. 
Fill them with your own energy + life.
They are your Talismans. enjoy. 

About Susan Lenart

A piece of jewelry is more than just a beautiful accessory and more than the sum of its parts. In the past 30 years growing as an artist, I have travelled to Southeast Asia, South America, Central America, East Africa, Australia, Indonesia, France, and Croatia observing both nature and history. I visited small villages and marveled at being able to witness their ancient traditions. I found that history, art, tradition and culture can not help but to be a big influence on adornment. Culture becomes embedded into this medium through every stitched or stamped symbol in fabric and every carved and engraved mark in metal.

My journey to developing my voice in adornment has taken many twists and turns. After art school, I began collecting handmade traditional clothing, costumes, and jewelry. I spent two years repairing ethnographic jewelry. I found history and culture so fascinating that it has influenced my style. For example, nomadic cultures developed jewelry in order to wear their wealth. It was not only beautiful, but a core of their economies.

I’ve learned that the root of ancient adornment is storytelling. Adornment references specific symbolism created by the people showcasing what colors were around them, what food they hoped to catch, and what evil spirits they wanted to repel. It also was a visual history used to record wars, love, marriages, births and more. In these pieces, you can see their hopes, fears, and desires. Folk tales, music and dance directly influenced the shapes of jewelry. I witnessed beautiful cultural dances incorporating magnificent costumes and layers of jewelry moving and chiming with each drumbeat.

Through my travels, I began to see a common thread. I collected magical pieces created of metal, stone, gems, marks, icons  and symbolism to protect from evil and to bring abundance, love, and prosperity. What fascinated me most were magical jewelry pieces called talismans, amulets and prayer boxes. They were personal pieces of adornment built with specific vibrations. Talismans spread their magic by visually representing a word or an object that makes you feel a particular emotion.  Talismans are built to bring us joy, happiness, and protection from evil.

Susan Lenart Jewelry
SUSAN LENART JEWELRY

Career Highlights

– I built a high end handmade commercial line of silver jewelry which was carried by many larger stores such as Ann Taylor, Nordstrom, and Banana Republic.

– My pieces were worn on the runway in New York Fashion Week, Miami Swim Week and Milan Jewelry Week.

– My pieces were published in the pages of Elle and Vogue magazine.

– I won a special mention award at Milan Jewelry Week in 2019. 

– I won the Top 5 Influencer Award from Interweave in 2022

– I built full bodies of work that went on museum tours, American Craft Council and galleries including Smithsonian, Renwick and the Art Institute of New York.

– I taught international workshops where students explore, collect and build jewelry inspired by cultures in places like Indonesia, Australia, France, Morocco and India.

– I built an incredibly successful commercial line of charms and talismans jewelry components for Michael’s Craft Stores called Industrial Chic.

– I developed and brought to market a successful art product called Ice Resin that sold internationally through distributors and large craft stores which was an Amazon best selling product. 

– I wrote an Amazon Best Selling Book in 2013 called Alchemy of Resin which was a 10-year body of work based on the Ice Resin product.

– I wrote a book on my collected knowledge on connecting, attaching and using cold joins called Making Connections. 

– I created a Nomadic Metalsmithing tool kit perfect for students who travel or have small spaces. 

– I created Intentional Metalsmithing to teach six of the main techniques I use to build my work.

JEWELS OF THE NOMAD SHOP
UNFOLDING MEMBERSHIP– a creativity program for jewelry designers to do their personal sacred work.

Selected Museum and Gallery Exhibits

2022 Miami Swim Week
2021 Milan Fashion Week, Italy
2020 Milan Fashion Week, Italy
2019 Milan Fashion Week, Italy
2018 Milan Fashion Week, Italy 
2008 Anchorage Museum of History and Art, Anchorage AK
2006/07 American Craft Council- Baltimore, MD
2007 Hansen Museum- Logan, Kansas
2007 Troy Hayner House Cultural Museum- Troy, OH
2007 Robert Hillstead Textile Museum- Lincoln, NE
2006 Ellen Noel Museum- Odessa, TX
2005 Post Picasso Gallery- Highlights of 2004
2005 Ohio Craft Museum,-Cleveland, Ohio
2005 Mansfield Art Center- Mansfield, Ohio
2004 Huntington Museum of Art- Huntington, West Virginia
2004 Dairy Barn Cultural Art Center- Athens, Ohio
2004 Jewelry with a Purpose- Post Picasso Gallery- International Online Gallery
2003 Talismans Jewelry- Culturefest, Renwick Gallery- Washington DC
2003 Material Explorations- Munson Williams Proctor Art Institute, Utica New York
2003 Yellow- Sandusky Cultural Art Center
1996 Works of Susan Lenart- Origins Gallery, Chicago, IL.
1995 Museum of American Folk Art- New York, NY
1995 Works of Susan Lenart – Gimcracks Gallery, Chicago
1995 Museum Collections- Boston, MA
1994 Works of Susan Lenart – Ramscale Gallery, Manhattan, NY
1994 Katie Gingrass Gallery- Milwaukee, WI
1994 SOFA Chicago- Jackie Lippitz Gallery, Chicago, IL.
1994 Chicago Architectural Foundation- Chicago, II
1991 Emerging Chicago Artists, Illinois Artisan Shop- Chicago, II.
1991 Folk Art International of San Francisco- San Francisco, CA
1991 San Jose Museum of Art, San Jose, New Mexico

Selected Teaching Venue

2006- International Fiber Convergence-Ann Arbor, Michigan
2006- University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, Michigan
2006- Baum school of Art,-Allentown, PA
2007- Gwen Gibson- Dufort, France
2007- Hacienda De Mosaica- Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
2006- Brookfield Craft Center- Brookfield CT.
2008/07 Bead and Button Show-Milwaukee, WI
2006- Cultural Art Center- Sandusky, Ohio
2006 FAVA Gallery, Oberlin Ohio

Selected Juried Invitational Events

1991 to 2007 American Craft Council -ACC Shows-Baltimore, MD, Columbus, OH, West Springfield, II. St. Paul, MN. Tampa Bay, FL. Atlanta, GA
1992 to 1994 Original Ann Arbor Art Fair, Ann Arbor, MI
1991 to 1994 Oak Brook Center Invitational, Oakbrook, IL.
1991 to 1995 Fountain on the Square, Evanston, IL.
1992 to 1993 Washington Fine Arts, Washington DC
1993 to 1996 Two Rivers Art Exposition, Minnesota and Iowa

AWARDS

2022- Interweave Top 5 Influencer Award
2019- Special Mention Award at Milan Jewelry Week 
2006- Most Innovative Use of the Medium-Dairy Barn Cultural Arts Center- Athens Ohio
2006- Telly Award-KS Inc. productions – Public Television
2006- Finalist- Bead and Button Show- Milwaukee, WI
2005- Jury’s Choice- Embellishment 2005- Portland, OR.
2004- Second Place- Bead and Button Show, Milwaukee, WI
2004- Best of 2004- Post Picasso Gallery-online gallery