Member Spotlight

Welcome to the Featured Member Spotlight Page! Here you can read about our featured members in depth. A new profile will be added every month and previous profiles will be archived to a link. If you are a current member and would like to be featured in the future, please complete this online form by the 12th of any month. Alternatively, you can contact our Communications Chair at communications@coloradometalsmiths.org for a Word document of the questionnaire. You will be notified when your profile is featured. This is not juried and any current member who takes the time to return the questionnaire will be featured! We can't wait to get to know you better!

Member Spotlight March '21: Jennie Milner

Tell us about yourself

My name is Jennie Milner, I am the artist behind J.C. Milner Metalworks. I'm a maker in a million ways, from public art murals and installations to sculpture and jewelry.

I graduated from CSU in 1997 with a B.F.A. in Metalsmithing (I was one of the last students of Nilda Getty). I have made jewelry for almost 20 years. I taught at University of Northern Colorado. I travelled around teaching resin workshops for years and have six resin videos with Interweave Press.

Tell us about your practice

I made jewelry for fifteen years in my home studio. I did wholesale shows, retail shows, and partnered with galleries during those years. After 20 years I was faced with an opportunity to either hire employees, or switch gears. I no longer make jewelry to sell. I'm currently at Artworks Center for Contemporary Art in Loveland with 30 studio mates working on public art and sculpture most days and I spend 1-2 days/week teaching metalsmithing in my garage shop. I love box construction, fusing, texture, etching, stone setting, resin, and reticulation. My ideal student is a beginner, or a recent graduate who needs a skills refresher, or needs introduction to time-saving skills.

South Pass City 2018, Sterling silver, faux grass, steel, acrylic, resin

What was the most memorable thing you have made?

I made a Brooch called South Pass City, with 14 solder seems and faux grass. On the 14th solder seem I tried and tried to solder the pin back on & the whole thing kept coming apart. I eventually hired Deb Miller to laser weld the pin back on. I felt like I met my match on that one. It was in a show in Milwaukee and went to SNAG in 2019. It's about a ghost mining town in Wyoming with a population of 1.5 near where I grew up.

Why are you a member of CoMA and what do you get out of it?

I have been a CoMA member since 1997.
I am a past president (and it's possible I did every other job on the board too, except treasurer). There are no similar organizations out there for artists. Painters do not skill share nearly as much as metalsmiths do. This is a very special organization to be a part of.

Where can we find your work?

My work is in private collections, I own very few pieces. Chemers Gallery in Tustin, CA has what is left to sell. You can find me on Instagram under JCMilner_Artwork and JCMilner_Metalworks, or with the hashtags #JCMILNER and #JCMILNERMETALWORKS. Class descriptions can be found on my website here.