SOLD Pieces
 

BIOGRAPHY

Melody Armstrong is an internationally recognized contemporary jewellery artist based in Regina, Saskatchewan. She earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree majoring in Jewellery and Metals from the Alberta College of Art and Design, graduating with Distinction in 1999.  Working with traditional and non-traditional metals, enamels and stones Armstrong’s Industrial-Organic aesthetic combines abstraction with a truth to materials that reflects both her attention to detail and quality of workmanship.  Armstrong delights with her use of contrasts in surface treatments to highlight the elements she has imposed throughout the metal. Vitreous Enamel, anodized metals, or gemstones creates bursts of colour and reflection while the patina oxidizes much of the metallic surfaces, providing a sense of distress, corrosion and age.

As a juried member of the Saskatchewan Craft Council, Armstrong’s work has been recognized in numerous competitions including: Dimensions 2008, 2011, 2015 and 2019; and internationally in the Lewton-Brain Foldform International Competitions 2012, 2015 and 2018. Armstrong’s work has been published internationally, recently featured in New Rings 500+ Designs From Around the World by Nicolas Estrada (Thames and Hudson, 2016) and Art Jewelry Today 4 by Sandra Korinchak (Schiffer Books 2016); Armstrong’s writing on fine jewellery techniques includes publications in the international Art Jewelry Magazine. Armstrong’s awards include the ACAD Alumni Honour Award in 2016, and Independent Artists Grants from the Saskatchewan Arts Board in 2010, 2013 and 2019. 

Melody Armstrong's "Hinged Pyrite Cube Bracelet" has been awarded Honorable Mention in the 2018 International Metal Jewelry Artistry Awards competition in the Metal category and was exhibited at the Bead & Jewelry Expo, in Milwaukee, WI, USA. As an Honorable Mention winner, the Hinged Pyrite Cube Bracelet was featured in the October 2018 issue of Bead&Button magazine.  

Solo exhibitions include:
Adorn - featuring paintings and jewellery - Mysteria Gallery 2008; Pattern Series - two-dimensional work directly influenced by her jewellery designs - Mysteria Gallery 2014; and Contemporary Jewellery by Melody Armstrong - a collection of sculptural, wearable art jewellery – Saskatchewan Craft Council Gallery 2015. 

Melody Armstrong served as Resident Artist and Jewellery Instructor at the Neil Balkwill Civic Arts Centre, in Regina, Saskatchewan from 2007 to 2023.  

Melody Armstrong Jewellery is represented in Gallery Shops across Canada, in addition to the SK ARTS Permanent Collection, her work is also held in numerous private collections internationally including Australia, New Zealand, United Kingdom, Germany, Belgium and the United States.

Artist Statement:
"I have always been fascinated by the mysterious potential that metals have to offer and the opportunity of transforming their original properties in order to stretch the scope of what can be achieved. What is particularly distinctive about my body of work is its structural form, created to deliberately play with negative and positive space. 

My jewellery designs testify to the textural dynamic and technical approach within my practice, seeming to have evolved organically, taking on an industrial influence. The varied interplay of colours and textures creates distinctive contrasts, evoking vividness of exquisite dimensions, which are rich, bold and engaging.

My objective has always been to transfer my emotions, creative passion and risk taking into my jewellery in an expressive way to arrive at exciting jewellery forms that elicit awe and inspiration, and personalize them in order to give my work a distinctive character.

Exploration and experimenting encourages my creative spontaneity to flourish, allowing me to focus on the development of my contemporary body of work giving me the opportunity to introduce new techniques and design possibilities to my practice."