Garden & Gun magazine highlighted in their 2023 April/May issue Interwoven: The Art of Indigo and Silver, the collaborative exhibition that includes silversmith Kaminer Haislip and indigo textile artist Leigh Magar. The exhibition will be on display at Aiken Center for the Arts in historic downtown Aiken, South Carolina March 30-May 3, 2023. Visit Kaminer’s website Blog for details.
Silver Nest Bowl by Kaminer Haislip and Boo Hag Blue Indigo Baskets by Leigh Magar
Photograph by Jack Alterman
Interwoven: The Art of Indigo and Silver brought together three contemporary artists—a silversmith, textile designer, and photographer—and a curator in 2018 at City Gallery located in Charleston, SC. Curator Brandy Culp worked with Jack Alterman, Kaminer Haislip, and Leigh Magar to weave a story based on their artwork and the Lowcountry’s deep culture both past and present. Haislip and Magar are now bringing a second version of this exhibition to Aiken Center for the Arts situated in historic, downtown Aiken, SC.
This exhibition explores the intersection between the past and present while recognizing that ultimately contemporary art and craft must be rooted in its own time. Inextricably linked, indigo and silver are transformative as raw materials, imbued with symbolism that transcends time and cultures, and imbedded within the early cultural fabric of the Carolina Lowcountry. Although inspired by Charleston’s cultural heritage, each artist brings unique contemporary perspective and original artwork to the exhibition. Interwoven will include silver hollowware, flatware and jewelry, textile art, and artist renderings.
Kaminer Haislip is the only practicing silversmith in Charleston that continues to employ traditional metalworking techniques and tools that have been used for centuries. As a contemporary silversmith, she is inspired by as well as carrying forth the city’s long-standing silversmithing tradition—the silver and metals manufacturing trade was vital to Charleston’s economy from the eighteenth through the early-twentieth centuries. With a nod to the past, she is most inspired by today’s domestic rituals and enhancing daily life through the creation of functional handcrafted objects that are entirely contemporary in form.
Additionally, Haislip received an artist grant from the South Carolina Arts Commission for a film project about her silversmithing. A television screen in the gallery will have the videos playing for the visitors to view. In the films, Haislip demonstrates traditional silversmithing techniques, such as how to make a silver bowl and silver serving spoon, and discusses her work in detail. This engaging educational element will enhance the viewer’s experience of the exhibition and illustrate silversmithing in an exciting way.
Milliner turned textile artist, Leigh Magar has established a small-batch label that combines art, fashion, history, and performance. The “Seed to Stitch” project was inspired by her sea island home’s Indigo history; both rich and tangled. The story of a young girl; Eliza Lucas Pinckney who had the vision of planting indigo and with the work of the enslaved, it was made into a cash crop in South Carolina during the mid 1700s. She interweaves design and nature with her local garden where indigo is grown and then used to create one-of-a-kind collections. Her work includes hand-dyed and hand-stitched garments and goods, textile art, and installations. Magar is inspired by traditional and simple sewing techniques, such as quilt making, rag quilting, and hand sewn-textiles, which she interlaces with contemporary, non-traditional elements.
In addition, Haislip, and Magar will create a collaborative installation for the exhibition inspired by the silhouette and miniature—art forms with long-standing Lowcountry traditions. Providing a modern look at historically significant mediums, these artists are transforming materials important to Charleston’s cultural fabric into contemporary art and inspiring appreciation of waning craft traditions among future generations. Interwoven: The Art of Indigo and Silver will be a unique showing of silver and textile art as it relates the theme of indigo and silver.
Opening Reception – Thursday, March 30 from 6-8pm
Aiken Center for the Arts will host an opening reception for Interwoven: The Art of Indigo and Silver on Thursday, March 30 from 6-8pm. It will be a great opportunity for the public to meet the artists in person and talk to them in the gallery with their artworks.
Stories from the Big Chair – Friday, March 31 from 6-8pm
Friday, March 31 engage with the exhibition during a free wine reception from 6-6:30pm in the main gallery and the power and craft of storytelling beginning at 6:30pm in the upstairs Brown Pavilion. Limited seating for storytelling, reserve your chair for $10 on Aiken Center for the Arts’ website. Join the guest speakers as they share perspectives, build points of connection, and unearth the wisdom and inspiration amongst us. Exploring the meaning of “Interwoven” from their perspectives will be Kaminer Haislip, silversmith, Madame Magar, indigo artist, and Dr. Walter Curry, local author and a mystery speaker.
Artist Lectures – Saturday, April 1 from 1-3pm
Lectures by artist Leigh Magar of the textile design studio Madame Magar and silversmith Kaminer Haislip will take place in the upstairs Brown Pavilion on Saturday, April 1, 2023 from 1pm-3pm.
Kaminer Haislip will present a lecture on the history of colonial Charleston silversmithing and how it relates to her contemporary silver designs. She will describe her handcrafted process in which she uses tools and techniques employed by silversmiths for centuries. Nationally recognized for her metalwork, Kaminer is the only silversmith practicing in Charleston. Inspired by Charleston’s long-standing silversmithing tradition, she feels compelled to carry it forth.
Madame Magar will present a lecture about her work and indigo farm that is inspired by nature, art, and history. She will talk about the rich yet tangled South Carolina indigo history that inspired her “seed to stitch” design philosophy and Madame Magar Blue School. Leigh will discuss her thought provoking, out of the box, one of a kind collections that intertwine art installations and performance with her design studio and shop.
For additional information on the exhibition, events, and programs visit www.aikencenterforthearts.org.
This project is funded in part by the South Carolina Arts Commission which receives support from the National Endowment for the Arts.
This project is also funded in part by a generous award from the John and Susan Bennett Memorial Arts Fund of The Coastal Community Foundation of South Carolina.
Join me for the Aiken Standard’s 4th Annual Mistletoe + Merlot holiday shopping event! It will be hosted at Newberry Hall in historic, downtown Aiken, South Carolina on Thursday, November 18 and Friday, November 19. This Holiday Market will feature forty vendors, including artists and artisans, selling a wide variety of handcrafted and boutique gift items and will give attendees a head start on their holiday shopping. It will be a ticketed event in order to limit the number of guests. I hope to see my Aiken friends there!
The information for this fun shopping event is below.
Thursday, November 18 from 6-9pm – Preview Party
Tickets are $25 and include one drink ticket and souvenir wineglass, cheeseboard and shopping bag for the first 200 guests. Heavy hors devours, desserts and wine and beer will also be available.
Purchase tickets for the Thursday Preview Party at https://tickets.aikenstandard.com/e/mistletoe-and-merlot-holiday-preview-party
Friday, November 19 from 9am-5pm – All Day Shopping
General Admission tickets are $5 for the entire day. Light snacks will be served.
Purchase tickets for Friday at https://tickets.aikenstandard.com/e/mistletoe-and-merlot-holiday-shopping-event-2
Newberry Hall
117 Newberry Street SW
Aiken, SC 29801
This fall and holiday season I have a great line up of trunk shows scheduled, so please save the date! Below are the events I have scheduled so far and more details will be posted on my website Blog closer to the dates.
Helena Fox Fine Art – Charleston, SC – Friday, November 5 and Saturday, November 6
Mistletoe & Merlot – Aiken, SC – Thursday, November 18 from 6pm-9pm and Friday, November 19 from 9am-5pm
Silver Showing with The Charleston Silver Lady – Lexington, SC – Wednesday, December 8
I discuss it briefly in my Bio posted on my website, but I get the same question so often I decided to share more of my story on my Blog.
Kaminer Haislip working in her silversmithing studio
Aiken, South Carolina, which received Southern Living’s 2018 award for The South’s Best Small Town, is my hometown. I grew up in my family’s business True Value Hardware & Appliance, which is located on the main street of Aiken’s historic downtown. My grandfather Bill Franklin started the hardware store as a side project when he was an accountant at Savannah River Site. When my parents Det and Lyanne Haislip were married, my father took over the business.
True Value Hardware & Appliance in historic downtown Aiken, SC
As children, my brother Wylie, cousins Anne and Franklin, and I spent a lot of time there, especially at Christmas. As you can see in the picture below, we had so much fun with the toys, go carts, and window displays!
Kaminer with her brother and cousins in the hardware store as children in the 1980’s
In high school, I worked in the hardware store and that is when my interest began in making sculpture and jewelry. Being around all of the tools and equipment, putting together bikes and toys, and cutting keys is now an obvious connection to how working with my hands became my career.
True Value newspaper feature from 1990’s
When I was in high school, I took the industrial tech class, because I wanted to learn how to make sculptures in metal and wood. Being the only girl in the class did not bother me at all and I took to learning welding and wood working immediately. One of my first wood sculptures is shown below. Displayed in a downtown Aiken park not far from my family’s business, it was my first artwork exhibited outside of a school setting.
Sculpture from high school in 1990’s
I knew by then I wanted to be a professional artist and major in jewelry and sculpture in college, so I sought out a college with a strong jewelry and sculpture program. After careful deliberation, I decided the small liberal arts college Winthrop University in Rock Hill, SC would be the best fit for me. Alfred Ward, an English silversmith from London, was head of the jewelry and metals program and I was excited to study under such a renowned silversmith.
Silver and ebony wood spoon from undergraduate studies
The first functional silver object I made studying under Alf was the silver spoon with ebony wood handle shown above. This piece is significant to my work, because it was the first time I laminated silver and wood. I continue to use this method of fabrication for spoon, teapot and coffeepot handles, because it creates strength in the handle and a beautiful line of silver down the center.
Kaminer and her brother Wylie at her first gallery exhibition
From there I was hooked on silversmithing, because it combined my interest in jewelry techniques and sculptural forms. My graduation exhibition with my classmates in Charlotte, NC was my first commercial art gallery exhibit. Pictured above is me with my brother Wylie looking at one of my display cases at the opening reception. After graduating with my BFA in Jewelry and Metals, I moved to Charlotte and started my MFA silversmithing studies under Alf at Winthrop.
Kaminer and her professor Alf at Sir John Cass London Metropolitan University in London, England
While in graduate school, I focused on silversmithing and immersed myself in it completely. During that time, I also taught the Jewelry II and III classes and jewelry workshops at Winthrop. Additionally, I interned and was a docent at the Mint Museum, where I learned up close the history of craft and design and how a professional institution operates. During the summer of 2004, I went to London for a family trip and my MFA thesis research. Alf and his wife were in England visiting family, so he was kind enough to meet us in London and show us around. Pictured above is me with Alf in the stake room of Sir John Cass London Metropolitan University, where Alf was formerly head of the silversmithing and jewelry department.
Perched Flight silver and ebony wood teapot
In 2005 I graduated with my MFA in Silversmithing and Design with a minor in Sculpture. The first teapot I made was Perched Flight and it is silver with an ebony wood handle that is laminated with silver in the center. It was the central piece to my MFA thesis exhibition and after was accepted to five national exhibitions and one international exhibition. I became very attached to it, so it is now in me and my husband’s collection.
Immediately following graduation, I moved to Charleston, South Carolina and established my studio and business. Three years later my husband Matt and I had our wedding reception at the William Aiken House. My hometown was named for William Aiken and he is my great-great-great-great uncle.
Charleston Weddings Magazine feature – see full article on website Press page
My path to silversmithing began at a very young age, but it wasn’t until I started my business and began exhibiting my work nationally that people started asking me “How did you get into silversmithing?”. When I thought about it and shared my story, I realized how unusual it is for a girl to grow up in a small southern town hardware store and become a contemporary silversmith. Really?!
For less lengthy answers to frequently asked questions, visit my FAQ page on my website!
Kaminer Haislip is participating in the annual Night of 1000 Lights in historic downtown Aiken, South Carolina on Thursday, December 3 from 6-8pm. Sponsoring businesses will stay open late, thousands of gorgeous luminaries will line the streets, and there will be wide variety of fun holiday activities taking place. This exciting event, organized by the Aiken Downtown Development Association, is a festive tradition not to be missed.
During the event, Kaminer’s handcrafted silver jewelry, functional objects, and Christmas ornaments will be displayed for sale at her family’s business, True Value Hardware & Appliance, located at 121 Laurens Street. Stop by True Value to see her work and enjoy some holiday cheer!
Private appointments before the event are available. Please contact Kaminer directly at kaminer@kaminerhaislip.com to schedule.
http://www.visitaikensc.com/whattodo/detail/aiken_downtown_development_association_adda
In October 2019 the silver communion tray pictured above was dedicated to First Presbyterian Church in Aiken, SC. The entire process from designing it to making it to the dedication was a great experience I so enjoyed! This Blog post highlights this very special commission project for a church my family has been members of for four generations.
The church contacted me in the spring of 2019 and asked if I could make a custom, silver communion tray for them. The current tray they were using was not the right size or shape for the communion bread loaf, so they needed a more appropriate, oval shaped tray. During the communion ceremony the church also uses a silver chalice and flagon, or pitcher, both shown above, as well as small round silver bread trays to pass the bread throughout the congregation. All contributed to the design elements incorporated into the tray.
I worked very closely with the church’s committee on the design and met with them to discuss the project in depth and look at the existing church silver together. One extremely important item was the size and shape of the bread, because it would determine those elements of the tray. I did several rounds of drawings with numerous options for them to choose from. The existing silver pieces were so gorgeous they provided a lot of beautiful design inspiration!
The drawing above was the final rendering of the top view. I also provided other renderings of additional angles of the tray and all were drawn to scale of the actual object.
The chalice and some of the small, round bread trays have a bead rim in their design, so that element influenced the bead rim on the tray. Both the chalice and the flagon have very curved, flared shapes as part of their surface design that include on the chalice a chased floral pattern and on the flagon around the spout, so the tray handle design is a combination of those two motifs. The tray plate has a very slight curve, so when seen from the side angle it looks like angel wings lifting up. The dimensions of the tray plate were based on the size of the bread loaf used for communion.
The chalice and flagon both have an interesting past and during the Civil War they were hidden from the Union soldiers in a cistern. During both the Revolutionary War and Civil War, silver was frequently plundered from churches and private residences. Now it is not uncommon for historic silver pieces from the American South to show up in auctions in the American Northeast and England.
The chalice was made by Rogers Brothers Manufacturing in Hartford, CT between the dates of 1853-1861 and has the date 1856 hand engraved on the front of it. The flagon was made by Reed & Barton in Taunton, Massachusetts with the date unknown. Reed & Barton was founded in 1824 by silversmiths Henry Reed and Charles Barton, so we know if was made after 1824. I am still researching what the numbers stamped on the bottom mean and likely they hold the key to the date it was made.
Once the design was finalized and agreed upon, I created the tray out of sterling silver sheet and wire. It was an extremely challenging piece to make! The dimensions are 15.5″ length by 9″ width, so it is a very large and heavy object. The shape and curve to the tray plate required a lot of attention to detail and many rounds of hammering to get it in the correct shallow curve. The bead rim was a careful application on top of the flat, rectangular rim. In order for the slightly curved tray to stay stationary on the alter, I added a silver foot. The handles were the finishing touch to a very complex design.
The interior and exterior of the tray has a high shine, mirror finish, which to achieve over that large of a surface required many, many hours of sanding and polishing. The end result is stunning and worth every minute of time!
The perfect finishing touch was the gorgeous hand engraving on the back done by the very talented Kristina McClure, the only hand engraver in Charleston.
The inscription commemorates the dedication of the tray in celebration of First Presbyterian Church being located on Barnwell Avenue in Aiken, SC for fifty years. The worship service on October 27, 2019 was the church’s Jubilee celebration and the tray was dedicated then. It was a lovely service and a special day enjoyed by many. It was an honor to have created this silver tray to commemorate this momentous occasion. I love the idea that it will be used and enjoyed for many generations past mine and likely by my future family members.
If you are interested in commissioning a custom object or jewelry piece from me, then please check out my website Commission page that has examples of drawings and finished pieces. My Commission Policy outlines the details of commissioning me to make something unique and special for you. Thank you for your interest in my work!
Kaminer Haislip is participating in the annual Night of 1000 Lights in historic downtown Aiken, SC on Thursday, December 6 from 6-8pm. Sponsoring businesses will stay open late, thousands of gorgeous luminaries will line the streets of downtown Aiken, and there will be wide variety of fun holiday activities taking place. This exciting event, organized by the Aiken Downtown Development Association, is a tradition not to be missed!
During the event, Kaminer’s handcrafted silver jewelry, functional objects, and Christmas ornaments will be displayed for sale at her family’s business, True Value Hardware & Appliance, located at 121 Laurens Street. Stop by True Value to see her work and enjoy some holiday cheer!
http://www.visitaikensc.com/whattodo/detail/aiken_downtown_development_association_adda
I discuss it briefly in my Bio posted on my website, but I get the same question so often I decided to share more of my story on my Blog.
Kaminer Haislip working in her silversmithing studio
Aiken, South Carolina, which received Southern Living’s 2018 award for The South’s Best Small Town, is my hometown. I grew up in my family’s business True Value Hardware & Appliance, which is located on the main street of Aiken’s historic downtown. My grandfather Bill Franklin started the hardware store as a side project when he was an accountant at Savannah River Site. When my parents Det and Lyanne Haislip were married, my father took over the business.
True Value Hardware & Appliance in historic downtown Aiken, SC
As children, my brother Wylie, cousins Anne and Franklin, and I spent a lot of time there, especially at Christmas. As you can see in the picture below, we had so much fun with the toys, go carts, and window displays!
Kaminer with her brother and cousins in the hardware store as children in the 1980’s
In high school, I worked in the hardware store and that is when my interest began in making sculpture and jewelry. Being around all of the tools and equipment, putting together bikes and toys, and cutting keys is now an obvious connection to how working with my hands became my career.
True Value newspaper feature from 1990’s
When I was in high school, I took the industrial tech class, because I wanted to learn how to make sculptures in metal and wood. Being the only girl in the class did not bother me at all and I took to learning welding and wood working immediately. One of my first wood sculptures is shown below. Displayed in a downtown Aiken park not far from my family’s business, it was my first artwork exhibited outside of a school setting.
Sculpture from high school in 1990’s
I knew by then I wanted to be a professional artist and major in jewelry and sculpture in college, so I sought out a college with a strong jewelry and sculpture program. After careful deliberation, I decided the small liberal arts college Winthrop University in Rock Hill, SC would be the best fit for me. Alfred Ward, an English silversmith from London, was head of the jewelry and metals program and I was excited to study under such a renowned silversmith.
Silver and ebony wood spoon from undergraduate studies
The first functional silver object I made studying under Alf was the silver spoon with ebony wood handle shown above. This piece is significant to my work, because it was the first time I laminated silver and wood. I continue to use this method of fabrication for spoon, teapot and coffeepot handles, because it creates strength in the handle and a beautiful line of silver down the center.
Kaminer and her brother Wylie at her first gallery exhibition
From there I was hooked on silversmithing, because it combined my interest in jewelry techniques and sculptural forms. My graduation exhibition with my classmates in Charlotte, NC was my first commercial art gallery exhibit. Pictured above is me with my brother Wylie looking at one of my display cases at the opening reception. After graduating with my BFA in Jewelry and Metals, I moved to Charlotte and started my MFA silversmithing studies under Alf at Winthrop.
Kaminer and her professor Alf at Sir John Cass London Metropolitan University in London, England
While in graduate school, I focused on silversmithing and immersed myself in it completely. During that time, I also taught the Jewelry II and III classes and jewelry workshops at Winthrop. Additionally, I interned and was a docent at the Mint Museum, where I learned up close the history of craft and design and how a professional institution operates. During the summer of 2004, I went to London for a family trip and my MFA thesis research. Alf and his wife were in England visiting family, so he was kind enough to meet us in London and show us around. Pictured above is me with Alf in the stake room of Sir John Cass London Metropolitan University, where Alf was formerly head of the silversmithing and jewelry department.
Perched Flight silver and ebony wood teapot
In 2005 I graduated with my MFA in Silversmithing and Design with a minor in Sculpture. The first teapot I made was Perched Flight and it is silver with an ebony wood handle that is laminated with silver in the center. It was the central piece to my MFA thesis exhibition and after was accepted to five national exhibitions and one international exhibition. I became very attached to it, so it is now in me and my husband’s collection.
Immediately following graduation, I moved to Charleston, South Carolina and established my studio and business. Three years later my husband Matt and I had our wedding reception at the William Aiken House. My hometown was named for William Aiken and his father is my great-great-great-great uncle.
Charleston Weddings Magazine feature – see full article on website Press page
My path to silversmithing began at a very young age, but it wasn’t until I started my business and began exhibiting my work nationally that people started asking me “How did you get into silversmithing?”. When I thought about it and shared my story, I realized how unusual it is for a girl to grow up in a small southern town hardware store and become a contemporary silversmith. Really?!
For less lengthy answers to frequently asked questions, visit my FAQ page on my website!
Thank you so much Matt Kaufax for featuring me on News Channel 12 for Aiken Kicks Off Night of 1000 Lights! My trunk show was held during the event at my family’s business True Value Hardware & Appliance in downtown Aiken, SC on December 7, 2017. It was great to see old friends and meet new ones despite the rainy weather!
Watch the feature at the link below!
http://www.wrdw.com/video?vid=462686203