Blue Quail Design

For Claire Hasemeier, art and creating have always been a part of her life. She has worked in ceramics, off-loom weaving, basketry, metalsmithing, and sewing. The inspiration for her work comes from the colors of nature. She lives in Lincoln County on top of a hill that overlooks the Mississippi River valley and is surrounded by the colors of nature – depending on the time of the day or the time of the year.

She brings this love of color into her jewelry designing. Her work is an ongoing exploration of the integration of fiber, metal, and color. Cotton threads that are hand-knotted using micro-macrame and cavandoli techniques are combined with metal that has been torched, hammered, patinaed, and/or enameled. There is a randomness and spontaneity of what happens with the metal patinas or the colors that emerge from the layers of enamels that are both contrasted and highlighted by the precision of the knotting and the color of the threads. In nature, this juxtaposition of randomness and precision exist in harmony. The combination of the organic, spontaneous results of the metal with the precision and accuracy of the knotting create unique items of jewelry where both the fiber and metal are meant to be an integral part of the design. More recently, embroidery and hand stitching has become an added element. This stitching creates another layer of texture and color to the jewelry design.

Claire has a BA in art from San Jose State University and a MEd in secondary education and a MA in history from the University of Missouri-St. Louis. In 2015, she became a Best of Missouri Hands juried artist in jewelry. Having spent 24 years teaching social studies and English, Claire is now retired from the classroom and devotes her time to her family and creating art.