Tucson Makers: Claire Webb uses metalsmithing to craft contemporary jewelry that are works of art

Tucson residents interested in making, wearing and collecting art will soon have a new local opportunity to explore metalsmithing and contemporary jewelry. Claire Webb, a jeweler and metalsmith who works from her home studio in Vail, has joined Pima Community College West as its new Jewelry and Metalsmithing instructor. She hopes to introduce more people in the region to a field that combines hands-on craft with questions about identity, culture, materials and the human body.

Webb does not see jewelry simply as an accessory or a finishing touch to an outfit. She describes contemporary jewelry as a form of art that engages with ideas much like contemporary art does. Pieces may use unexpected materials, take up significant space on the body, or challenge conventional assumptions about what jewelry is supposed to be. Some works are wearable, while others explore how jewelry can interact with the body or communicate identity without functioning as traditional adornment.

That connection to everyday life is part of what drew Webb to jewelry. Objects worn on the body can carry personal, cultural and symbolic meaning in ways that may feel especially immediate. Webb said jewelry has long been used to signify different aspects of who people are, and she is interested in why humans assign importance to metals, stones and other precious materials. Her work examines the ways people search for hidden truths, respond to uncertainty and pursue the things they need and desire.

Webb first encountered contemporary jewelry and metalsmithing while studying as an undergraduate at the University of Houston. The introduction came unexpectedly after she saw a metal bra made by another student and learned it had been created in a metalsmithing class. Webb enrolled in the class and quickly became interested in the possibilities of working with metal. She said the material’s durability and permanence appealed to her, along with the way technical skill allows it to be shaped into highly detailed forms.

For Webb, metalsmithing sits at an intersection between nature and culture. Jewelry is also one of humanity’s oldest art forms, she said, making the craft both historically deep and closely connected to the present. She later earned a Master of Fine Arts degree from the State University of New York at New Paltz in 2021. Her current research focuses on unusual ways of manipulating and combining materials to consider human curiosity, wonder, fundamental needs and desire.

Those ideas appear in the contrast between materials Webb selects. Her work can include familiar jewelry components such as silver and Swarovski crystals, alongside epoxy clay and resin. A recent body of work combines waste aluminum with embedded stone shells. She is drawn to luminous and transparent surfaces, as well as the tension between structure and unpredictability, including geometry paired with randomness and order placed beside chaos.

The new teaching position brings Webb back to an academic setting after three years as a Visiting Artist Assistant Professor of Jewelry and Metalsmithing at the University of Oregon. She said jewelry and metalsmithing programs are becoming smaller and less common, which made the opportunity at Pima Community College especially meaningful. Her classes will emphasize practical skills in jewelry making and metalsmithing, with brief presentations on the history of the field and substantial hands-on work.

Webb wants students to develop their own creative directions rather than follow a single model of what jewelry should be. Her plans include filling introductory and intermediate classes each semester, and she is considering guest artists, outside instructors and after-hours workshops focused on advanced techniques and different metals. She also hopes to build relationships with faculty and other programs so students who want to continue studying jewelry, pursue art jewelry or earn an MFA may be able to transfer their coursework to another institution.

That educational mission reflects Webb’s belief that the craft must be passed from one person to another through classes and apprenticeships. For Tucson students, the program could provide a starting point for learning the basic skills needed to cut, form, solder and assemble metal, while also opening a path toward more conceptual work. Her arrival adds a contemporary jewelry presence to the local arts community, connecting a traditional craft to experimentation and current artistic questions.

Webb’s work is available locally at El Be Goods, through select boutiques around the country and on her website, yoursbyclairewebb.com. Her production line includes epoxy clay and crystal rings, earrings, necklaces and charm bracelets. The pieces draw on the playful glamour of costume jewelry and what she calls childhood fantasies of regal adornment. Alongside those more accessible designs, her studio practice continues to investigate materials and ideas through one of a kind artworks.

Her ambitions extend beyond teaching and selling jewelry. Webb would like to curate a contemporary jewelry exhibition during Tucson’s spring Gem Show, creating an event that is larger and different from the existing exhibition presented by the Society of North American Goldsmiths. She also hopes to eventually open a gallery downtown, where contemporary jewelry could be shown to a broader Tucson audience. For now, her Vail studio and Pima Community College classroom offer two ways for that vision to take shape, through objects that can be worn, examined and understood as works of art.