Slate Gray March: Trunk Show Featuring Jewelry by Heinrich & Sasha!

22 Feb Slate Gray March: Trunk Show Featuring Jewelry by Heinrich & Sasha!

At Beth McLaughlin’s Slate Gray Gallery, the mentor/mentee thing is trending: sculptors Gil Bruvel and David Davis in August 2022; now jewelry designers Barbara Heinrich and Sasha Golovanenko. Their work is on display through early March.

Go here for much more about Slate Gray.

Telluride knows all about the award-winning baubles, bangles and beads fashioned by Barbara Heinrich, a force in high jewelry for decades. Collectively the dearly departed Telluride Gallery and now Slate Gray have shown her work in town for over three decades and counting.

“My 35 years in Telluride has inspired my work tremendously, from creating an aspen collection to presenting many one-of-a-kind pieces for locals in town. I love the rawness and genuine unpolished spirit of the region. In my work, I intentionally stay away from mainstream – just like Telluride!! I am so proud to be part – even in a small way – of this community of free spirits! Thank you Telluride for your ever fresh and wonderful vibe !!!!”

In contrast to high-gloss, blown-out glam slam bling there is an undeniable and consistent understated elegance to Barbara’s work. In other words, her masterpieces of quiet elegance are the opposite of “statement pieces” that shout for attention. Bottom line: Barbara is all about enhancing the beauty of the wearer with jewelry that goes ‘round the clock and lasts for generations.

“I work with intention, and my intention is not purely aesthetic. I want to touch the soul of the person wearing my jewelry and enhance them as spiritual beings.”

Barbara’s latest collections for Slate Gray include her “Glacier “series and new colored stone pieces.

“When my family traveled to Patagonia for a hiking trip a few years ago, my husband and I went on a glacier hike. It was a sunny day and I was enchanted by the light shining on the beautiful Viedma glacier. Inspired by the textures and forms I observed that day, I designed my new pieces. Those plateaus of ice carved by years of water and snow melting and thawing called to me, inspiring images of new jewelry forms in my imagination. In general, when I am out of the studio hiking with my husband, an avid adventurer, I always keep a sketchbook on hand. That day, I wanted to catch that one magical moment when the sun made the glacier glisten and the crevasses glow, and translate those wondrous phenomena into jewelry. So I did!”

The colored stone work was inspired by the word “connection.”

“With Covid and the requirement to isolate, we all experienced the deep-seated need we have for one another. I made that impulse my leitmotif for 2023. In my way, I am reaching out to ‘connect’ diverse pieces I would not have put together in the past. In one specific example I combined coral, lapis, pearls, amber, fossilized tree coral, green garnet and gold, collectively transforming them into a tangible, visual metaphor for the beauty that comes when we embrace one another despite superficial differences. A piece of lapis from Afghanistan next to 150-million-year-old tree coral underlines the magic that happens when we form new bonds. We make a stronger, more resilient, more fun, more exciting, more alive, more interesting unit than what was when we stood alone and isolated.”

Barbara Heinrich, more:

Barbara Heinrich grew up on a farm in Heilbronn, Germany, the daughter of winemakers and her designs reflect her roots: pieces inspired by the natural world, but anchored in German precision engineering.

Barbara went on to apprentice in gold-smithing at Pestalozzi Kinderdorf Wahlwies for almost four years. The institution operated under Rudolph Steiner’s holistic philosophy: We are part of nature and must live in harmony with the natural world, which inspires us and directs what we ultimately do.

After her apprenticeship, Barbara attended Fachhocheschule fur Gestaltung Pforzheim, the most renowned jewelry school in the world at the time, 1977, for a master’s of fine art in jewelry and hollow ware.

Rotary Club scholarship in hand, Barbara then traveled to America to study at the Rochester Institute of Technology, where she earned a second master’s degree in fine art.

After graduation, she was determined to work for Tiffany or Cartier– but life had another plan:

“As a girl, I dreamed about selling my pieces in New York. After looking at my portfolio, however, a potential employer encouraged me to work for myself. I had just met my husband Gregory, an established chiropractor and acupuncturist in Rochester. Working for myself would allow us to remain close. In 1989, we built a beautiful new studio for me adjacent to our home.”

Sasha Golovanenko:

Sasha Golovanenko is a protean being. We have seen him around town since 2000 in many incarnations: from the check-out counter at Clark’s market to bartender, clothing designer and, for eight years, a super star on the Telluride AIDS Benefit’s cat walk.

Nowadays, however, Sasha is hard-focused on designing and crafting fine jewelry, a talent he is honing with the support and guidance of the other well-established metal artists in the Slate Gray stable – especially Barbara Heinrich. As his primary mentor, when Sasha told her of his passion, Barbara sent him a box of gemstones – and a green light to go for it.

Initially Sasha worked in precious metal clay, but Telluride proved to be to be too dry for that technique to stand up. Ever resourceful, he turned to You Tube, where Sasha taught himself how to create in sheet metal and wire, then in 3D printing and wax. Nowadays he is working in laser-grown metal, which enables him to create pieces with greater detail.

Sasha’s designs are a many-splendored thing, like jetsam from a vast ocean of unfathomable luxe, nowadays (and thanks to Barbara’s directive to focus, focus, focus on one unifying theme) inspired by the cosmos. There are earrings, rings, bracelets and necklaces with names like Cassiopeia Andromeda, Neptune, and Nebula, all fashioned in silver, gold, platinum and precious stones.

How does Sasha feel about his latest incarnation?

“Nervous, excited and eager to share my work.”

Sasha, more:

Sasha Golovanenko was born and raised in the USSR (in the days the empire was intact). His mother was in the military, so mother and son were sent to live in Germany, England and Italy and other exotic locales.

Back in Russia, Sasha attended the Kuban University of Fashion and Design in Sochi, graduating in fashion design. Which helps explain why new work flows like the Danube from his fertile imagination.

Sasha’s curiosity knows no bounds – or boundaries. One year a friend from university wound up by happenstance at the Telluride Bluegrass Festival and told Sasha about the wonders of the region. Eager to become fluent in English, and explore new turf, he packed his bag and headed for our hills.

The rest is history in the making.

Note: Sasha also repairs and repurposes jewelry and takes commissions.