Scroll further for links to exhibition image galleries and videos

It started with a community of makers who wanted to create in a radical new way," says Marissa Saneholtz, one of the co-founders of Smitten Forum. Every year since 2014, Saneholtz and her collaborator Sara Brown have invited a new group of jewelers and metalsmiths from across the nation to work side-by-side in a communal studio for a week. Call it a mobile artist colony, a colorful social experiment, or a crafty piece of performance art. Smitten Forum offers an opportunity for these makers to work elbow-to-elbow, removed from everyday distractions and limitations. The creative energy that ricochets through the shared space inspires participants to experiment with new materials, concepts, and styles. Makers often end up creating collaborative works, tackling unfamiliar techniques, and corresponding long after their forum ends

Invitees to the residency have ranged from emerging to well-established artists who employ a dazzling array of mediums and techniques. Six Years Smitten is the first long-term retrospective of artwork by Smitten Forum participants, and features over 70 artists and 165 objects of adornment and sculptures.

Images: in header, Sharon Massey, enameled locks, Jan Smith, Xanthoria elegans, Jennifer wells, enameled ring, Osgood, Red

View online albums of the work in the exhibition:

Album 1 • Album 2 • Album 3

Link to recording of artists' talk