My research occupies a space where the traditions of craft, new technology and expanded visual making/thinking co-exist as a blended contemporary craft practice. My work intends to challenge the construct of jewelry as a means to examine value, material sign systems and extensions of identity through the lens of place and site specificity. Much of my investigation lies within the formal and material languages of place and symbolically how these sites embody essences of personal experiences to act as signifier. Ultimately, I see the framework of jewelry as a means to connect us closer to the world we are surrounded by.
Demitra Thomloudis is a studio jeweler and an Assistant Professor in the Jewelry & Metalwork area at the Lamar Dodd School of Art located at the University of Georgia. Originally from the greater Philadelphia area, she received her MFA from San Diego State University and her BFA from the Cleveland Institute of Art. Her exhibition record includes predominate institutions such as the Museum of Arts and Design in New York; The Benaki Museum in Athens, Greece; The Museum for Modern Art in Arnhem, Netherlands; The Hellenic Museum in Melbourne, Australia and the Franz Mayer Museum in Mexico City, Mexico. Artist residencies include a yearlong appointment at the Houston Center for Contemporary Craft, The Ilias Lalaounis Jewellery Museum in Athens Greece and Smitten Forum in the USA. Demitra’s work is included in publications such as, To the Point, New Necklaces, CAST, 500 Plastic and Resin Jewelry, 500 Enameled Objects, and The Art of Jewelry: Plastic & Resin. Her work can be found in the permanent collection of the Museum Espace Solidor in France, in numerous private collections internationally. She is represented by Charon Kransen Arts-USA, Alliages Organization-France, and the Penland Gallery located at the Penland School of Crafts- USA.