A Long Overdue Update 2023-2025

It’s been a long time since my last update, and a lot has happened that I really should have posted about at the time, but things were just so busy, and there is even more to cover than there was when I started writing this update in August 2024, and it’s already June 2026, yikes! This update will cover 2023-2025, I will detail what has happened so far in 2026 in a separate post.

Highlights include:

A commission in the form of a necklace commemorating the client’s 10th wedding anniversary, participation in WE ARE SNAG: Anthology Ed 3, and WE ARE SNAG Anthology Ed 4, being named Maker of the Month for October 2023 at Heights Arts, participating in the Heights Arts 2023 Holiday Store, the Heights Arts 2024 Holiday Store, and the Heights Arts 2025 Holiday Store, I began teaching afterschool art classes for Art House, Inc., I had a commission in the form of an engagement ring (which turned into the wedding ring), and had another commission where I made a key plate for a reliquary box, and I had a solo exhibit at Art House, Inc.

Anniversary Necklace:

Silver Anniversary Pendant with Gold Inlay and Silver Chain Process Collage Image — This was a fun and challenging piece, from design to final execution. Moving from drawings, to making models, first by chasing copper, then by sand casting in bronze, and silver. The design called for inlaying 14K gold wire into the silver pendant, in the form of tally marks equal to the number of years of the client’s marriage. So, it became important to practice engraving and inlay, as I hadn’t had the opportunity to do much of either for many years. The final piece was sand cast in sterling silver with a liver of sulfur patina, and included 14K gold inlay and accent granulation, in addition to a custom hand-made sterling silver chain.
A “funny” anecdote: when I was doing the patina work for the piece, it was late in the evening, around midnight, and I was listening to the local classical music station on the radio (WCLV), and suddenly there was an emergency alert that there was a tornado warning for the Cleveland area, and that radar had detected rotation above Cleveland heading East (toward me) at 60 mph, and to take shelter immediately. I quickly shut things off in the studio, and grabbed the piece, and ran to the basement. Apparently several tornados touched down across northern Ohio, and the Cleveland area, only a few miles from me. This was very unusual, as historically we very rarely get tornados here. It certainly added some excitement to the final stages of completing the piece!

WE ARE SNAG: Anthology Ed 3:

Chased Silver Pendant of a Dolmen - Monument to Our Forgotten Past — **I was pleased to be able to participate once again in an online anthology exhibition by the Society of North American Goldsmiths (SNAG)!**
For this submission I repurposed a piece from the previous year, and recontextualized it. Giving it the title Monument to Our Forgotten Past. The piece made from sterling silver, the image created using chasing and repoussé, which was then hammer-set into the silver frame. On the bail, granulation is utilized as an accent. The completed piece was finished with a liver of sulfur patina, to accentuate the aged quality.
**The exhibition is no longer viewable, but using the Wayback Machine:** **https://web.archive.org/** **one may be able to see the original posting:** **https://snagmetalsmith.org/we_are_snag/monument-to-our-forgotten-past/**
**This is the statement I submitted with the piece:**
The image of a dolmen and stone circle, harkens back to our shared human past. Long forgotten peoples, and history. Human dramas lost to the ages, buried, with only fragments left to glean a sense of who our ancestors were. The use of the ancient techniques of chasing and repoussé accentuate this feeling, and brings life to this reminder of that which we have forgotten, and will never know.

Heights Arts Maker of the Month (October 2023):

I was honored to be named the Heights Arts Maker of the Month for October 2023. You can see the original article about me that is on their website here: https://www.heightsarts.org/portfolio-item/october-maker-of-the-month-dylan-eddy/?stayincat=95 which includes these pictures, this bio, and statement from me about my work and process:

Dylan Eddy grew up in Cleveland Heights, Ohio, USA. He majored in Jewellery + Metals at the Alberta College of Art + Design (ACAD) in Calgary, Alberta, where he received his Bachelor of Fine Arts in 2012. He is now a practising artist working out of his home studio, in Cleveland Heights. Dylan has taught Continuing Education jewellery classes, as well as jewellery workshops in Canada and the United States. His work has been exhibited across Canada, the US, and Japan.

Dylan draws inspiration from a variety of sources, ranging from archaeological and historic works, to epic literature, such as Beowulf, and the Lord of the Rings, to space exploration and cosmology. Influenced by Celtic, Norse, and Japanese aesthetics, Dylan works with ideas related to the passage of time, and identity. He explores these themes through various artistic practices, including: jewellery + metals, textiles, drawing, and painting. Dylan integrates the values of enduring quality and the authenticity of hand-made work into all his pieces.

Dylan produces all of his work by hand, using traditional techniques. He believes in the importance of maintaining these practises, especially as automation, and now artificial intelligence continue to encroach on, subvert, and, dominate the creative industries. There is a danger that the creativity, and skills of traditional artisans will be lost, or greatly diminished.

As a result of industrialization, and modern consumerism, people today are largely unaware of what is required to produce pieces by hand – whether it be a piece of jewellery, or a woven garment. Traditional craftsmanship requires that a lot of time and effort go into every piece. The process begins on paper, with sketches, and progress into a design layout. In most cases samples and prototypes are produced, before a design is finalized.

The ancient dual process of chasing and repoussé is one of Dylan's favoured techniques. In these processes the piece is shaped, by hammering with punches of different shapes, both from the front (chasing) and/or from behind (repoussé). These techniques have been widely used all over the world, and only require simple tools. Despite this simplicity, chasing and repoussé can produce work that is hard to match, or replicate though more modern means.

Heights Arts 2023 Holiday Store:

**I was happy to participate in the Heights Arts Holiday Store again, which ran from November 3rd, and until December 30th, 2023.**
Based on the success I had had the previous year in a commission, where I made a locket, and included a framed chased image, I was inspired to produce some new designs in that same vein. Here you can see a knight in silver, oak leaves in copper, and an interlace knot in silver. In addition to the pieces pictured here, I also had some of the other designs from previous years, as well as some of my hand-woven scarves available.
**At Heights Arts, one can find a great selection of high quality work made by talented local artists. Height Arts is located at 2175 Lee Road Cleveland Heights, OH 44118.**
**https://www.heightsarts.org/** **#heightsarts**

Engagement / Wedding Ring:

This piece was a fun challenge! The design called for 22K gold, which I had not had the opportunity to work with before, a nice natural ruby, in addition to setting large sections of jade about a third the width of the band, would wrap at least half way around, and be as close to flush with the surface of the band as possible. Definitely a tall order. This meant I would need to custom carve the jade, as it would be impossible to find jade cut like that commercially.
I had not done any lapidary work since I graduated from the Alberta College of Art + Design, so I was exited for the opportunity to do so. I found a local lapidary club (The Parma Lapidary Club), and was able to do some of the work there, but due to the project timeline, I ended up improvising a setup in my studio, and finishing the cutting and polishing there.
I made a mock-up of the band in silver which I used as a test bed for the construction and finishing process, I wanted to be sure I knew exactly what I was doing at each stage of the process, since a mistake with the gold could be quite costly. The band was made by soldering together 3 rods, and then forming them into a band and soldering again. then using some of the excess I made a bezel and soldered that on top.
Next a channel needed to be cut for the jade. I did this with a separating disk, in addition to hand engraving tools. Setting the jade was quite difficult, and because of the thinness of the stone (less than half the thickness of the band, so perhaps 1/2, or 3/4 of 1 millimeter), it was hard not to crack it. I ended up recutting the jade from scratch once, because it had broken too much. For extra security I decided to use engraving tools to push up little beads at various locations to help hold the jade more securely. Once the jade was set, it was time for the ruby, thankfully a much easier operation! The band was finished primarily with chasing tools, to give it a somewhat textured surface, and an older look and feel.
**All in all, a very fun project, that I learned a lot from! I now have a deeper appreciation for gold, and working with it!**

WE ARE SNAG Anthology Ed. 4:

22K Gold Wedding Ring with Ruby and Jade - Golden Promise — I was pleased to be able to participate once again in an online anthology exhibition by the Society of North American Goldsmiths (SNAG)! For this submission I utilized the engagement ring (now wedding ring) I had recently completed, giving it the title: Golden Promise.
**The exhibition is no longer viewable, but using the Wayback Machine:** **https://web.archive.org/** **one may be able to see the original posting:** **https://snagmetalsmith.org/we_are_snag/golden-promise/**
**This was the statement included with the piece:**
**This unique engagement ring features a hand constructed 22K gold band, with a bezel-set ruby, jade that Dylan hand-carved and polished – inlaid into the band, which was finished with chasing.**
Dylan draws inspiration from a variety of sources, ranging from archaeological and historic works, to epic literature, such as Beowulf, and the Lord of the Rings, to space exploration and cosmology. Influenced by Celtic, Norse, and Japanese aesthetics, Dylan works with ideas related to the passage of time, and identity. He explores these themes through various artistic practices, including: jewellery + metals, textiles, drawing, and painting. Dylan integrates the values of enduring quality and the authenticity of hand-made work into all his pieces.
Materials: 22K Gold, Ruby, Jade
Techniques: Soldering, Chasing, Bezel Setting, Inlay, Engraving, Lapidary
Bio
Dylan is a practicing artist working out of their home studio. Dylan has taught Continuing Education jewelry classes and workshops in Canada and the United States. Dylan's work has been exhibited across Canada, the US, and Japan. The importance, value and authenticity of making work by hand are central to the work Dylan produces.

Heights Arts 2024 Holiday Store

**I was happy to participate in the Heights Arts Holiday Store again, which ran from November 1st, and until December 30th, 2024.**
This year I was inspired by what I had seen after going to a Renaissance Fair, and decided to produce some ring belts, (which I felt were much better than the ones I saw at the fair, as I made and used real rivets, not pop rivets, and I made the buckle rings out of bronze by sand casting, and chasing the surfaces) I also made a new Thor’s Hammer design, and made some new penannular brooches. At some point soon I want to make some proper Medieval style belts and belt buckles, this just got my feet wet, so to say.
**In addition to the pieces pictured here, I also had some of the other designs from previous years, as well as some of my hand-woven scarves available.**
**There one can find a great selection of high quality work made by talented local artists. Height Arts is located at 2175 Lee Road Cleveland Heights, OH 44118.**
**https://www.heightsarts.org/** **#heightsarts**

Art House, Inc. Artist Dialogue

In April 2025, I was invited, and took part in the Art House, Inc. Artist Dialogue series. For the dialogue I was paired with another local artist, and we each presented, and then answered questions. I presented on my journey as an artist, and on my process. I think that there might be a recording of the presentation, but I have not seen it. It was a virtual event held over Zoom, and unfortunately there were some technical issues that arose, which impacted the presentations. But it was still a worthwhile experience, and I was happy, and honored to be invited!

Wedding Jewellery

In early 2025 was commissioned to produce a series of brooches for a wedding party, a pair of turtles in bronze for the bride and groom, and a set of my stag brooches for the rest of the wedding party. They wanted the turtles done in a similar style to the stag brooches, so I did some drawing, and a bit of iteration, to produce these. It should be noted that the linework is achieved using chasing, not engraving. The process for producing these brooches starts with transferring the drawing onto the metal, and then chasing the outline and any other details. Then I saw out the shape, and drill holes into the inside areas, and slot my saw in there to finish piercing out the forms. As an aside, it should be noted that the stag brooch is a design based on a piece in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art.

Reliquary Commission

In early 2025 I was brought in on to a project to make a new reliquary for a church in Cleveland. A local sculptor commissioned me to make the keyplate, and provided me with the design I was to follow. I was also instructed to do my best to match the style of the hinges, for the background, and metal thickness, and make it in a matching brass. This was an interesting, and fun project! I first started by making a few samples in copper, to get a better idea of how I would approach it, and for approval on design direction. I figured that flat chasing would be the easiest, and most effective way for me to go about it. Once I had the go ahead, I moved on to making the piece in brass, and only after I had the OK that everything was good, did I drill the holes, and polish the piece. The sculptor decided to cut the key hole, since they wanted to be able to make sure it lined up properly with the lock. Unfortunately I don’t have pictures of the key plate installed on the reliquary box, nor have I seen it, but I have heard that it turned out magnificently!

Art House, Inc. Exhibit - The Eddy Hoard, 2025

In June of 2025, I was invited to have a solo exhibit at Art House, Inc. I didn’t have much new work to show, but I did have a mix of old work, which I cleaned up a bit, newer work, a few old, and not so old show pieces, and samples from classes I had taught, which I used to put together a new installation of the “Eddy Hoard” a concept I have explored and revisited periodically since my the final year of my BFA. I was honoured to have had the opportunity to have a solo exhibit at Art House, Inc.!