About AJDC

The American Jewelry Design Council is a non-profit educational corporation, which recognizes and promotes the appreciation of original jewelry design as art. AJDC is committed to raising the awareness of the jewelry industry, the art community, the media and the public about the aesthetic value of artistic fine jewelry.

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Annual Projects

Each year the group chooses a design theme for which members create one-of-a-kind pieces.  The projects are for exhibition only and will not be sold. The projects are meant to stimulate both the artist and the viewer to think beyond common limits and elevate jewelry expression to the realm of art.  The results are spectacular, with members employing the finest craftsmanship in precious and non-precious materials, as a painter would work from their palette of pigments.

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Alan's Comments

There is an air of excitement each year when the upcoming theme is announced. I used to dread the challenge, struggle to deliver, and fear that my results were uninspired. And then I got it. The jewelry in this collection is like none other in that the items are not for sale. So why make them? Purely for the artistic challenge. After that, I found my groove and I relished the most challenging themes. My work speaks for itself.

 

Some of the themes feel like a natural fit for me and the design comes easily, sometimes in an instant, like my jewelry projects for Cube, Puzzle and Explosion. And others challenge me to think further and undertake more complex pieces like Fold, Transformation, Rhythm and Secret Garden. 

 

My creative process includes research, play, drawing, model-making, exploration, activity, reflection, stillness, revision and more revision during the design and then execution at my bench. 

 

In the end, the magician has done his work, and a sparkling new jewel appears magically on my bench pin. It’s as if I just open to the possible and then add my flavor as it flows out my hands. These 25 pieces that I have created, not to be sold, represent my best work, my most creative work and the work I am most proud of. 

 

I am very grateful to the American Jewelry Design Council for affording me this opportunity to stretch my creativity and dive deep into my medium each year. And each year I have had the honor to create a unique treasure from the Earth's gifts with my two hands, as a lasting record of another step on my own journey.