About Us > Alexis Lempke
Hands are our most useful tool. They leave our mark on everything we form. We connect to our materials through our hands and they leave an imprint that draws others to what we have created. It allows others to feel connected to our work in a way that no machine can reproduce. A thumbprint on the lip of a ceramic mug inexplicably draws others to pick up that mug and fit their thumb to the indent. This is one of the reasons that crafts will always have a strong place in todays market.
My goal in creating is the same as one of my goals in life. I strive toward perfection, in search of beauty. I do not believe that perfection is truly attainable, neither in my creations nor in myself. However, the search for, the process towards achieving perfection is important nonetheless.
Machine made items are often seen as the ideal, the perfect version of a form. The more perfect an item, the less handmade it seems. Therefore there is a contradiction in attempting to create by hand something perfect. However, in my experience, the handmade is often capable of surpassing the quality of the machine made. The hand is capable of making more intricate forms, a higher polish, more attention to detail. So while in theory, the closer to perfect my work becomes the less handmade it would look; the reality is there are always marks of the handmade which cannot be recreated by machine. In striving toward perfection, my work continues to improve and reach new levels of complexity without ever truly nearing the danger of appearing machine made.
I weave, bead, bind books, and work in metal. In all of these disciplines I have found the most freedom of form in metalworking. However, I enjoy finding, or creating connections between the various disciplines in which I work, so I tend to incorporate techniques and media from one discipline to another. This relates to one of my other goals, finding connections: between hand and media, between various media, creator and viewer, past and present. For example, I enjoy using chain mail, an ancient technique, in jewelry with a modern twist. These smaller connections are a shadow of the interconnectedness of the individual to the larger world.
Most of my current work pertains to the exploration of the fiber-like properties of metal. I am using textile techniques such as weaving, knitting, macrame, and braiding to create jewelry that combines the intricacy and flexibility of textile forms with the shining beauty and rigidity of metal.
-Alexis Lempke