Marge Hinge
[2011, Jewelry + Metalsmithing]

Based in Providence, RI

Marge Hinge’s RISD Craft Gallery

Drawn to the natural world, she strives to make work that responds to the materials in front of her. From rocks to feathers to metal, she studies materiality and works with color and form to create her evocative jewels. She has been collecting and making for as long as she can remember. As a child she was mesmerized by beads, cords and any other material she could get her hands on. Jewelry was the best outlet for this fascination, being able to take something handmade and carry it with you.

Tell us about some of your main sources of inspiration.

Weather it was growing up in the woods of Upstate New York, I spent my days outside exploring creeks, finding wild orchids, and catching crayfish. Or our yearly pilgrimage to the Cape, where I would cart home every beach stone and shell I could find. I have always felt the most myself surrounded by the natural world. Today I am still constantly in awe of the incredible treasures that our mother earth creates and that I get to work with such incredible materials. There is also a giant orchid cactus that lives in my studio, its not mine, but my studio mates and I all come together when it blooms once a year. I love the anticipation of watching its bright red flowers come out as a sign of spring.

How does your current creative practice tie into your time spent at RISD?

I would have never thought a glass cold working class (which I took because I couldn’t get into the hot shop) I took my sophomore year would have translated into the work I do now. Going from glass to stone has transformed how I look at and work with materials today. I also really appreciate the critical thinking that I learned and use in my business and creative work daily.

Is there a work/body of work that you are particularly excited about sharing with us at RISD Craft this year?

I work more in collections of materials rather than seasons, I have some incredible patterned and colorful stones that I am working with right now and I am excited to debut at RISD Craft. I also have been working with a whole stone and slicing it into slivers to create necklaces. It starts to tell a story with the colors and shapes that transform throughout the stone. I love finding new colors and lines that you can’t see from the outside.

To see more of Marge’s work, visit hingedesigns.co