By Rick Morwick
Jill Dunn spent most of her post-college career working with intellectually and developmentally delayed children and adults. Only after retiring from that profession did she revisit another of her lifelong interests.
“As I approached retirement, I rekindled my passion for art,” said Dunn, a Carmel resident who studied studio art and psychology at Michigan State University. “I found myself drawn to jewelry design and metalsmithing.”
Dunn, who spent 42 years working in her previous vocation, is now a full-time artist. She works with silver and fine metals and was recently designated an Indiana Artisan, meaning her creations have been judged among the best in the state.
A former Kokomo resident who moved to Carmel with her husband, Craig, in June, Dunn crafts fine-metal jewelry, specializing in pendants, earrings and bracelets, incorporating gemstones and enamels to create exquisite textures and designs unique to each piece.
“I chose silver and other fine metals because they offer the most potential to express my creativity and lend themselves to sculpting by the artist,” said Dunn, a mother of four adult children. “Metals afford an opportunity to begin with a flat piece of silver or Argentium silver and then sculpt it into wearable art.
“Using a torch, textures, chasing, patinas, etching, coloring techniques and an array of unique stones, I am able to create a piece that is both unique, affordable and made right here in Indiana.”
Dunn is one of 212 visual and food artists in 55 Hoosier counties with the Indiana Artisan designation. Her work can be found at the Indiana Artisan Gifts & Gallery store in Carmel, 22 North Range Line Road. Her pieces also can be found at The Venue Fine Arts & Gifts store in Bloomington and at art fairs throughout the Midwest.
Visit Dunn’s Etsy shop at jilldunndesigns.com.