Pilar Baker is contemporary metalsmith, designer and artist who embraces the concept that art is the ultimate form of self-expression. She creates jewelry and sculpture with elements that focus primarily on the many cycles in life, the permanence and impermanence of the world around her; or, on a less emotional basis, expresses her love for pure geometric form and line.
Circles and triangles appear often in her work with their ancient and symbolic references to wholeness, eternity and equality. The physical act of manipulating metal, designing jewelry with obscure symbols, exploring the intimacy of scale, the intensity of contrasting textures and the rhythms of repetition, is cathartic for Pilar. Pieces are thought provoking yet elegant.
Pilar believes there is unsurpassed beauty in that made by hand and infused with the passionate eye of an artist. That is apparent in the random but controlled marks left by her hammer or a deliberately hand-sanded surface contrasting a highly polished edge. Employing a variety of traditional metalsmithing techniques, Pilar creates limited quantities of finely-crafted pieces using precious metals and gemstones in her studio in Houston, Texas.
Pilar has taught at various locations throughout southwest Florida and in Houston, Texas. Through workshops she shares her knowledge of various metalsmithing techniques including fold-forming, shell-forming and cold connections.
In the beginning...