I am Sheena Thomas, a jewelry artist and metalsmith with a background in art.  I’ve taught jewelry and metalsmithing at the Des Moines Art Center since 1974 while running my own studio and/or serving clients in two thriving shops:  first, Jean Sampel Studio/Gallery and second as a co-owner of Elements, Ltd. in Des Moines.

My jewelry style suggests a tension between aiming for hard-edged geometric precision or for more organic and fluid forms.  This tension is influenced by my Pisces nature, always navigating structured angles versus flowing shapes.  I value the duality of hard and soft edges in my designs.

In my raised vessels, I aim to capture a sense of inner energy, much like Henry Moore’s approach to sculpture.  He said,  “A work can have in it a pent-up energy, an intense life of its own, independent of the subject it may represent.”  To me that means the work is bursting from within, having an energy trying to explode. I push the limits of metal to bring this vitality to life, and the process brings me immense joy.