About the artists

Artist Mary Wiese Gundelach was born on a South Dakota farm, attended public elementary schools, graduated from high school in Brookings, South Dakota and then entered Concordia University, Seward, Nebraska.

Her first call was as an elementary teacher at Trinity Lutheran Church in Evansville, Indiana, then at Grace Lutheran Church, San Diego, California where she also directed the youth program and furthered her education at San Diego State University. In 1959, she accepted the call to be Dean of Women at Concordia College, Austin, Texas and continued study towards a degree in art at the University of Texas, while establishing the art program on the Austin campus. In 1966, she moved to Oakland, California where she studied sculpture and painting at California College of Arts and established the art program on the Concordia campus in that city. From 1973 to 1978, she was principal of Concordia High School, Oakland and moved to the Peninsula after marrying Charles Gundelach, a documentary filmmaker, who died in 1990. She taught art at Bethany School in Menlo Park where she also served as principal. Intermittently, she has taught children's art classes, and continued work in metal, clay and fabric in her studio.

Mrs. Gundelach and her husband served in various supporting roles to establish assistance for parishes working in the inner cities of this country. She has served as a director and Vice President for Wheat Ridge Ministries, a director for the Concordia Foundation of Concordia University of Nebraska, and is Past Chair of the Board of Directors for the Peninsula Symphony Association. She has completed numerous commissions in liturgical designs along with writings, presentations, and workshops in art and theology. In 1988, Mary and Charles Gundelach were recipients of the Servant of Christ Award given by Concordia College, Bronxville, New York. In 1997 the degree of Doctor of Letters, honoris causa, was conferred upon her by Concordia University of Nebraska. Dr. Gundelach holds memberships in the Evangelical Lutheran Education Association, The Society of North American Goldsmiths, and the Bay Area Metal Arts Guild.

Adam Clark lives and works in San Francisco California. He is the owner and sole proprietor of Scintillant Studio, a successful school and community space for jewelry and metal arts in their 5th year. He also runs a blacksmithing, metal fabrication shop called Monkeyshines Metal. He takes on a diverse array of work from precision machine work to grand architectural projects. Mr. Clark is also the president of the Bay Area Metal Arts Guild a 50+year old non-profit org involved in the promotion and support of metal arts and craft. He finds time to also create and promote his own unique artwork ranging from detailed fine goldsmithing to large-scale steel sculpture. He is involved in several side projects including donating time at San Quentin machine shop to teach them how to use their metal working skills to create art. He is a dedicated and independent force in the metal arts world.

Deborah Lozier

My relationship with Craft began rooted in process first, content second. Recently my thinking has shifted, and they are becoming one and the same. This transition was somewhat inevitable as the seduction of a material is all encompassing initially, but by its very nature is short lived. Ideas which used to begin directly in my hands now begin on paper through drawings and words. How long they exist there is always a challenge and the notion of when to actually begin hammering becomes a leap of faith. It is this process of working with my hands, however, which extends my understanding, contributes to my thinking and at its best sheds light on an idea found hidden in a shadow.

I was trained as a metalsmith and began my experiments with fusing enamel on copper in 1986. I initially used a torch to fire the enamel because it was a tool I was familiar with and it seemed a natural way to create the heat. I began simply, with a small palette of colors applied to basic copper forms and have gradually pushed the complexity of this relationship. Metal and glass become a different material when combined. Each has to compromise a bit of its strengths to gather the promise of the other. In pushing one, the other will tolerate only so much before demanding immediate attention. The early pieces will always be my favorites as they are filled with discovery and illustrate the process unfolding, but finding the pressure points and refining this collaboration is my inspiration. I recently started firing my pieces in a kiln, which has opened up a broader range of color and scale. Keeping my options open and flexible allows for a deeper understanding and a greater opportunity to discover something new.

Born 1961, in Des Moines, Iowa. Lives in Oakland, California where she is a studio artist and Adjunct Professor at the California College of the Arts. Attended Arizona State University, Tempe (B.F.A. crafts, 1984). Exhibits and teaches internationally and is best known for her techniques of enameling onto fabricated copper and steel forms. Her jewelry and metalwork have been printed in Ornament, Metalsmith and American Craft Magazines and many recent Lark Publications including 1000 Rings and The Art of Enameling by Linda Darty. She has received artist grants from the City of Oakland and the Society of North American Goldsmiths. Currently she is serving on the Public Art Advisory Committee for the City of Oakland Cultural Arts & Marketing Department.