There is a sacred quality to the creative work that I do, in that each piece has a distinct meaning to reflect. I create metal jewelry that is inspired by the ancient symbols of spirit.
As a jewelry designer, I create wearable art that carries the reflections of archetypal and sacred symbols. These symbols are sacred objects that may be worn as a reminder of the intangible energy of spirit. They are imbued with the intentional energy of sacred qualities. Each piece represents it's own unique power. Protection, Abundance, Goddess Power, The 7 Chakra's, The Sacred Eye of Egypt, The Ankh, Transformation and whatever moves my spirit to create.....
My art is an expression inspired by ancient tribal cultures of Egypt and Africa and includes the reclamation and celebration of the Goddess. The process of creation allows me to explore, reveal and follow the path of the creative healing arts. I bring the hope to my work that it is imbued with the vibrational energy of sacred qualities, during the act of creation and the actual manifestation of that work. That my jewelry will serve as a catalyst for healing, not only to my own psyche and soul, but also to those who wear it and bear witness to it. Namaste, Ayanna Spears
About Ayanna Spears
Ayanna Spears is a multidisciplinary artist, teaching artist and Tai Chi Instructor who has been creating art and teaching for three decades. Over the years she has demonstrated her expertise as a fiber artist, ceramicist, sculptor, mask-maker, ritual performance artist and goldsmith. She has also curated several successful art exhibitions and worked as a Master Teaching Artist & Creative Consultant for the Partners Arts Education Program of the Bushnell Theater based in Hartford, CT. These artistic expressions have guided her current creative expression of metal jewelry sculpture and teaching of healing movement. Ms. Spears has exhibited her work in the touring exhibitions of the American Crafts Museum in New York, Uncommon Beauty in Common Objects which toured at: The National Afro-American Museum, Wilberforce, Ohio; The African-American Panoramic Experience Museum in Atlanta, Georgia: The Museum of African-American Life and Culture in Dallas, Texas; The African American Museum of Fine Arts, San Diego, CA, and the Renwick Gallery in the National Museum of American Art at the Smithsonian Institute in Washing, DC. She also exhibited her textiles and jewelry in the National Black Arts Festival in Atlanta, Georgia in 1992 & 1994. In Connecticut her works have been exhibited in several shows at Artspace Gallery, CRT Craftery Gallery, The Charter Oak Cultural Center in Wilberforce, Ohio; exhibited works by former City of Hartford Curator, Yvonne Harris and exhibits permanent work at the public collection of the North Hartford Senior Center in Connecticut. Ayanna is a graduate of the Entrepreneurial Center, HCW/University of Hartford's Comprehensive Small Business Training Program in 1998, She attended the University of Minnesota with a major in Experimental Theater, Studied Dance and art at Cornish College of Art in Seattle, WA. She has finished the Advanced Jewelry and Goldsmith Program at the CT School of Jewelry Art taught by Master Jeweler Emily Cohen. She is a recipient of several Evelyn Preston Grant Awards and the National Arts Program Award in Hartford. Ayanna received an Official Citation from Mayor Mike Peters in recognition for her work as a textile artist in 2000. She received a Chuck Drake Scholarship for Sculpture from FVAC (Farmington Valley Arts Center) in Avon, Ct. Ayanna recently received her Certification in the Jewelry Program as a Goldsmith at Austin Community College and won first place in the jewelry category at the Kerrville Festival 2010. Ayanna has also taught metal art for the Dougherty Arts Center TCTA program for inner city youth in Austin, Tx. Ayanna currently creates metal jewelry in her Retreat studio apt. in Austin. She is excited about her new line of Sacred Jewelry Designs.
Texas Arts and Crafts Education Foundation Emerging Texas Arts and Crafts Scholarship Winners
http://www.tacef.org/ Winners of the Emerging Texas Artist Scholarship Program underwritten by James Avery Craftsman!! Jessica Battes – UTSA, Jennifer Modesett – ACC, Henry Bloomer – UNT, Mick Burson – MCC, Andrea Duarte – Baylor, Martin Kruk – UNT, Ayanna Spears – ACC, Marybeth Sudan – Baylor. CONGRATULATIONS!! (Names not in order of photo).