Bio – Victoria Varga
The inlay process used is a co-invention of Victoria and her husband Daniel Brouder. Victoria designs each piece, and all Victoria Varga jewelry is hand made in their studio in
Maine. Victoria and Daniel are full-time studio jewelers. Both are graduates of
Skidmore
College in
Saratoga Springs,
NY. In addition to jewelry,
Victoria studied sculpture and print making. Daniel’s major was English with a minor in photography.
“We create our inlay jewelry with a process beginning with a series of drawings for each new design. The finished drawings are transferred to sterling silver sheet and cut out. For a bezel we fabricate sterling silver tubing to both frame the design and hold the inlay. A thin layer of resin is poured into the bezel covering our silver cut outs, and allowed to cure. This bonds the surface designs to the bezel, creating a hollow silver box.
To create an inlay we grind semi-precious stone or glass into a fine sand with a pestle and mortar. We make a porcelain-like paste by combining these powdered materials with resin. This process of grinding stone and mixing it with resin is reminiscent of “scagliola”,k the ancient Roman art of mixing ground marble and granite dust with plaster. The stone or glass paste is then applied to the back of each box. The box is now a solid element, a composite of metal, stone and resin. After the inlay is completely cured, each piece is ground and polished to a high luster.
“We also use 23Kt. Gold leaf as an inlay, setting it in each bezel with a layer of clear resin. This creates a two-tone, three-dimensional “shadow box”.
Two summers at Parsons School of Design in Lake Placid, New York, a Bachelor's degree in Fine Art at Skidmore College, and a Master of Fine Arts degree from Syracuse University helped launch Victoria as a fine jeweler and an expert designer.
Available at: Dashka Roth Contemporary Jewelry & Judaica
332 Chartres St.
New Orleans,
LA
70130
504-523-0805