Paige Van Doren

Degree: BFA Metalsmithing and Jewelry

Expected Graduation Date: Spring 2020

I’m From: Portland, Oregon

Why I Came to the UO and How I Chose My Major
I transferred to the University of Oregon specifically for the Metalsmithing and Jewelry program. What I value most about the College of Design is the demand and rigor of the course work, and the rich commitment to student success I have found in the faculty. Through my time in the College of Design, I have become fiercely certain of the fact that I want to pursue a career in the field of metalsmithing and jewelry. I have gained a deep appreciation of the craft fields broadly and have become heavily invested in a research practice that moves between text and studio based inquiry.

I fell into metalsmithing and jewelry entirely by chance. At The Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington, I was pursuing a degree in cultural studies. I had intended to study abroad in Mexico in the Spring of 2017, however, I was ultimately unable to travel and decided to register for a metals class instead. I fell in love with contemporary jewelry and I felt driven to fully invest in and pursue the medium. When I made the decision to transfer schools, I looked for an institution with a strong metals program and the University of Oregon was a perfect fit.

Unique Qualities I Bring to My Studies
Relationships between trauma, the body, memory, and time drive the substance and form of my work. My art practice is informed in part by my experience as a survivor of trauma. This experience is something I carry with me everyday. It has shaped my process as a maker and it has shaped the way I move through the world.

My Influential Professors
My metalsmithing professor and mentor Anya Kivarkis has changed my life. She has high expectations, pushes me to work both rigorously and sensitively, to think deeply and critically, to research thoroughly and to be willing to adjust again and again. One of the most important things I have learned from Anya is to remain curious and to embrace what I perceive as shortcomings of each piece of work I make. These “shortcomings” are opportunities, and it is through these opportunities that a practice matures and evolves. Anya is someone I look up to and aspire to be more like. She is generous, patient and quite frankly one of the most brilliant people I have ever encountered.

My Extracurricular Activities
Outside of my academics, I coach gymnastics at Bounce Gymnastics and Circus Arts Center. I trained intensely as a gymnast for thirteen years and this sport remains an important part of my life. I work primarily with the competitive team and part of my job is to teach skills and help young athletes progress. However, another core component of my job is to ensure my athletes feel safe, have agency around their training and bodies, and feel empowered in the gym. In a sport that is so demanding and body focused, I center my athletes physical and mental well being above all else. Approaching my job in this way feels significant to me as this style of coaching is few and far between in the world of gymnastics. It is certainly not how I was trained and it feels important to work to shift gymnastics culture even if it is on a small scale.

My Greatest Learning Experience at UO
Last spring, I had a mental health crisis which resulted in a stay in the behavioral health unit at the hospital. During this period of struggle, my community from the metalsmithing studio supported me in tremendous ways and were the primary people who took care of me through this challenging moment. This event taught me many things, most importantly being the value of community. In the studio, critiquing and discussing work with my metals peers helps fuel my art practice. Outside of an academic context, these are the people who bring joy to my life. Building and sustaining community is essential’ both for maintaining a robust art practice and for living a life that aligns with my core values.

After Graduation
I believe that a studio practice is as much about engaging in research and in critical conceptual dialogue as it is about actual making. Rigorous work in the field of contemporary jewelry does not simply fall together, but is constructed with an awareness of ongoing conversations in the field, of relevant related histories, of the power of methodology and materiality and so on. Beyond UO, I hope to produce work that not only participates in existing conversations in the field of craft, but that amplifies, expands, or challenges these contemporary dialogues. I hope to go to graduate school. I hope to ultimately teach and research at a University. I hope to make work that is dynamic and successful, however, I hope to also take big risks and make work that falls short. I hope I am forced to grapple with failure over and over as I believe that this is what fuels a long term practice. Failing, asking questions, researching, making, making again and asking more questions, is what I believe to be at the core of a craft based inquiry.

Your Gift
Receiving these funds in the midst of the pandemic we are experiencing will help alleviate some financial stress.The pandemic has resulted in my place of work shutting down and I have very limited income. This award will allow me to purchase materials and make work through this uncertain time.

Thank you. Thank you for the support and for the opportunities that come with it. Thank you for supporting the arts broadly. Metalsmithing is what I want to do with my life, and without financial support, it will not happen. I am incredibly excited to work intensively this term and to make your support worthwhile.