Marlene True | Upcycling with Purpose: Transforming Materials, Creating Narrative

In this lecture, jewelry artist and educator Marlene True will share her creative process fueled by a commitment to sustainability and a curiosity about the overlooked. True explores the expressive possibilities of discarded items by transforming them into bold, wearable art that challenges ideas of beauty and value while carrying subtle traces of the materials’ former life.  

True has worked with found materials since early in her career, creating pieces that reflect a love of color, pattern, and narrative. Her work has been widely exhibited and acquired by public and private collections such as the Racine Art Museum, the National Ornamental Metal Museum, and the Enamel Arts Foundation. She has been published in numerous books, including The Fine Art of the Tin Can, Crafting A Legacy: 40 Years of Collecting and Exhibiting at the Metal Museum,Little Dreams in Glass and Metal, Fabulous Jewelry from Found Objects, and Jewellery from Recycled Materials.  

True has taught widely, sharing her approach to making at craft schools across the United States and internationally, including Haystack, Penland, Arrowmont, Peters Valley, and West Dean College in the United Kingdom. After serving as Executive Director of Pocosin Arts School of Fine Craft in eastern North Carolina, where she helped expand programs and access to craft education, Marlene has returned to her full-time studio practice. 

For more of the artist's work, see her website at www.marlenetrue.com or find her on Instagram at @marlenetrue.