"Whenever I get gloomy... with the state of the world, l think about the arrivals gate... at Heathrow airport. General opinion makes that we live in a world of hatred and greed... but I don't see that. [...] As an artist and jewelry designer, Linda has always believed in the power of art to convey messages of hope and unity. That is what she aims to do with this collection..

Curated by Helen Williams Drutt, an exhibition of art works by contemporary American artists from the National Museum of Sweden will open in March, 2023.

From Ancient Egypt 2000 B.C. to Modern Day, Some Ideas Persist.

This month I am exploring the idea of whether these works can travel through time by holding it up to iconic women in art from different eras and cultures. So far the illusion and play on perception has me mesmerized.

This month I am exploring the idea of whether these works can travel through time by holding it up to iconic women in art from different eras and cultures. So far the illusion and play on perception has me mesmerized.

… grandfather Robert Charles Dean (1903-1997), American Architect, (MIT 1927) was a great influence on your life and work. Notable projects he worked on included: the 1936 original Restoration of Colonial Williamsburg, Va. pictured above, known today as known as the world’s largest “living history” museum; the United States National Cemetery, Cambridge, England; and the Campus of Furman University, Greenville, SC. What are your memories of him and how did he impact your path as an artist?

“I am pleased to announce that one of my earliest sculptures, The Bell with Stand, 1974, created while I was at RISD has been acquired and is now in the permanent collection at The Metal Museum in Memphis, TN.” – Linda MacNeil

Like many artists working with the medium of glass, I made a point of visiting the Myrna and Sheldon Palley Pavilion for Contemporary Glass and Studio Arts at the Lowe Art Museum when my husband Dan Dailey and I visited Miami in 2018. We were welcomed by the Lowe’s director, Dr. Jill Deupi, who toured us through the Museum’s surprisingly large facility. Dan (a fellow artist) and I were astonished by the breadth and depth of the Lowe’s holdings, including the impressive display in the Pavilion, which featured a number of works from the Palleys’ personal collection. These promised gifts to the Museum are an expression of the couple’s commitment to ensuring that the public can enjoy their collection as a source of intellectual and aesthetic stimulation, as they themselves have, for more than fifty years.

I went to school for metalsmithing and jewelry, and I evolved into using glass because it’s such an intriguing material. Working with glass is a unique way of making things, and I’m hooked on the range of colors I can develop with glass processes. I find that with minerals commonly used only in jewelry, I just don’t have the freedom of making any shape I want.

Fritted Glass… I use this method of kiln casting to create more organic, 3-dimensional forms. By filling the negative space in a plaster mold with chips, flakes or chunks of glass ranging in size, this technique allows me to control the number of the trapped air bubbles and scale of the bubbles I want to achieve through texture within my design.

Linda MacNeil nominates Paul Klecka as her successor as President of the board of directors of The American Jewelry Design Council (AJDC). Paul Klecka will assume the role of President on April 29, 2021

Linda has always been fearless where materials are concerned. She is never one to conform nor one to shy away away from trying something new. Although her work is mostly on an intricate scale this does not deter her from exploring materials normally used at industrial sizes. Her passion for color and light is the driver of her exploration and has led her to different under-explored materials like Vitrolite (plate glass) and Granite. In 1985 after New Hampshire declared Granite their state rock and became “The Granite State" she introduced granite into her work.

In my most recent work, the Neck Collar Series in particular, the overall form is very geometric with strong symmetry. I have introduced a softer touch which is brought out in the round forms and by varying of the textures of the glass.

The entire form of each necklace is engineered to be functional and yet keep it’s shape on the body. For instance my necklaces can have a rigid form like the Neck Collar series, or a necklace can be flexible like the Floral, Lucent Lines and Elements Series but I rarely allow gravity to decide its form on the body.

Q: Why do you mix opacities in your work?

The play of light and how it reflects and refracts through glass fascinates me. That is actually one of my favorite characteristics of glass. First, I focus on determining the form, but thereafter, being able to manipulate color and change how much a jewel interacts with light is probably one of the most enjoyable parts of my process. The possibilities presented by these properties are endless.