COUP de COEUR : Carla REITER – knitting metal

Carla REITER  will exhibit at the Smithsonian Craft show 2011
« I like the directness of knitting metal with pliers and fingers. I aim for a very handmade feeling: if I could I’d abandon tools altogether and just work the metal with my fingers. I’m exploring the knitted structures on their own and in combination with stones and fabricated elements. I see my jewelry as incomplete without a body. As I work on a piece I am constantly trying it on to see where it sits and how it interacts with the body. It wants to be worn. »

« Carla Reiter doesn’t use yarn to make her complex jewelry—she knits silver, copper and gold. A trained sculptor, Reiter opened her jewelry studio in 1997, after stints as a journalist, museum curator and nightclub singer. Using her sculpting background, she creates every piece with a woman’s body in mind. “Someone once said to me that my jewelry only ‘wakes up’ when you put it on,” explains Reiter. “That seems right to me.”« 

Carla REITER- Raisin Garland necklace

Carla REITER- Berries off-center necklace – knitted silver, carnelians

Carla REITER- “Berry Sprig Necklace,” 2010, knitted silver, carnelian, diamonds.

Carla REITER- Petal Collar – knitted silver,pink pearls

Carla REITER- Pink Cascade Necklace -knitted silver, rose quartz

Carla REITER- berry necklace

Carla REITER- « Night » bracelet