Artist Statement and Bio

The process of organic metalsmithing, in which the material exhibits a sense of movement and shows the hand of the maker, is at the heart of my work. I express this aesthetic by using the ancient techniques of chasing (surface detailing and texturing) and repoussé (to punch sheet metal from the back to create volume). I share with artisans from all ages a process that is one of the most intimate conversations with an inanimate material that exists in metalsmithing. The repetitive hammering used to make these forms and marks in the metal has become my heartbeat and my breath. Every blow, and there are thousands in each piece, is its own mark, regardless of whether the end results show them individually or as contiguous. The forms and surfaces of my work are responses to the plant, rock and marine life materials that I collect and study. It is not their outlines or recognizable aspects that interest me. Rather it is the rhythm and depth of the textures that are my inspiration.


Nancy Mēgan Corwin is a jeweler/metalsmith, teacher and writer in the field of art metals. She teaches workshops around the United States, Canada and England including Penland School of Crafts in North Carolina, The Haystack Mountain School of Crafts in Maine, Arrowmont School of Crafts in Tennesse and at West Dean College in Chichester, England.

In 2009 Mēgan published a book on the techniques of chasing and repoussé, titled “Chasing and Repoussé: Methods Ancient and Modern,” which is in it’s second printing and is currently available for purchase through jewelry suppliers and Amazon.com. The October 2009 issue of Ornament magazine featured Mēgan with her piece “Tiara” on the cover and with a lead article. She has curated two shows in conjunction with the book: “Metal Magic, Chasing and Repoussé” with Facèré Jewelry Art Gallery in Seattle, WA 2009 and the 2010 exhibition “Chased + Repoussé” at Velvet da Vinci Gallery in San Francisco, CA.

In 2010 Mēgan exhibited with Facèré Jewelry Art Gallery in Seattle, WA as part of the exclusive series titled “Signs of Life.” This annual exhibition is the brainchild of the owner, Karen Lorene. She chooses nine nationally known jewelry artists and the same number of well-published novelists and poets, and produces a magazine in which the writers receive an image of one of the artists’ works and uses that as inspiration for a creative piece. These magazines are beautifully produced and are archives of jewelry art and literature. 
Mēgan has work in a number of private collections throughout the United States, in The Victoria and Albert Museum, London, England, The State University of New Mexico Art Gallery at Las Cruces in their permanent collection, and at the Tacoma Art Museum, Washington in their permanent collection. Mēgan exhibits her work at Facèré Jewelry Art Gallery in Seattle, WA.