Katherine Bagley is a North Shore native who has lived in Gloucester for 22 years. She works out of her home to make handcrafted jewelry using mostly sterling and Argentium silver, as well as copper, sea glass and colorful beads.
She first started making jewelry fresh out of high school when she apprenticed with a silversmith in Boston. After setting up a workshop in her apartment, Katherine honed her skills with many self taught methods and sold her work in various stores on the North Shore.
A move to New Hampshire in 1986 gave her the opportunity to become a juried member of the League of New Hampshire Craftsmen where she had her work in the retail shops across the state as well as taking part in the League’s annual 10 day Sunapee Fair. She also was a juried member of the Valley Artisans in Epping, NH. Katherine furthered her skills at the Manchester Institute of Art where she took classes from silversmith Elizabeth Nutt and participated in various jewelry workshops within the NH League studying under Pauline Warg. Her work was accepted at the New Hampshire Gallery of Art Spring Show.
Katherine and her husband returned to Gloucester with their 2 year old son in 1992. Jewelry took a back seat in her life for many years as she was busy being a mom. She returned to her craft 3 years ago and is thrilled to have her tools out of the boxes and into her hands. “It is so fun to be able to take a piece of wire or a sheet of metal and turn it into something completely different, something with form and beauty and wearability.” She has been pleasantly surprised that the skills of working with metals have been imbedded in her memory even after so long so that the re-entry into silversmithing has been a real joy.
Katherine has shown her work for the past two seasons at the Rocky Neck Gallery as well as Flatrocks Gallery in Lanesville, Fish Fish Gallery in Rockport and the Newburyport Art Association where she has been accepted into two juried shows and has shown work in their gift shop. She looks forward to continuing in the creative process and seeing where this path will take her.
Her latest work is a series of earrings and necklaces called “Redeemed by Fire” and can be found at the Rocky Neck Holiday Art & Fine Crafts Festival held at the Cultural Center at Rocky Neck, 6 Wonson St. The festival is being held Saturdays and Sundays from noon – 4:00 through December 29.
E.J. Lefavour
Good Morning Gloucester 