Left:
Transformatiott
neckpiece, 2010
cotton, loofah,
freshwater pearl,
silk cord, thread,
sterling silver,
lacquer
I
Memorial Day
brooch,2008
hanji, oil paper,
23Kgold leaf,
sterling silver,
lacquer
she might inadvertently copy them. But
what emerged was a distinctive fusion of
East and West, of ancient and contempo-
rary, that continues to surprise her and
her admirers.
“In Korea, we have to fit ourselves in the
box. Everybody has to be similar,” she says.
“You are under control yet have to be cre-
ative. That makes the art really powerful
coming out.”
Her power, she says, is boosted by
American enthusiasm for her work - from
collectors such as Liz Grubow, an executive
who lives near Cincinnati and travels the
world designing brand identities for beauty
products. Grubow, who owns about a doz-
en Urso pieces, describes them as “pack-
able,” comfortable, durable, dramatic - and
emboldening. “It becomes such a distinctive
statement about me,” she says. “Her work
empowers me and helps me by communi-
cating the type of work I do.”
Those who admire Urso’s sculptural
talent wonder whether she’ll follow the
trajectory of her husband, whose towering
copper goddesses stand sentry outside their
house. But Urso says she’ll stick with jew-
elry. Sculpture stays in one place, she notes,
“but jewelry can go anywhere on the people
who wear it.”
Other fans wonder whether success
Lotus
neckpiece, 2008
silk, thread,
sterling silver,
lacquer
Impromptu
necklace, 2010
hanji, cotton,
ink, hand-dyed
silk cocoon,
rubber, sterling
silver, lacquer
IVraparound
neckpiece, 2011
silk, thread,
sterling silver,
lacquer
could cause her to shift from one-of-a-kind
to production pieces. But Urso insists that
won’t happen. “I started making jewelry to
be joyful and peaceful, not to be ambitious.”
+
myungurso.com
Sebby Wilson Jacobson is a writer, editor, and
journalism professor in Rochester, New 'York.
■
m
Variation
necklace, 2011
*
■
twig, antique
Korean book,
hanji, acrylic
052 american craft jun/juin
