Kumi Fisher
An Artist’s Journey
By Cynthia Machata
I recently had the chance to interview the talented Kumi Fisher who has a flair for
unique color combinations and rustic metals. She is an artist on a journey.
One of the first things I wanted to ask Kumi was about her wide ranging style. She
combines so many different techniques that I was curious if she had a favorite?
She told me pretty much anything involving metal. “I’m a bit of a pyro,” she said. “I
love working with any technique that involves the torch.” I personally find Kumi’s
work very feminine, so I laughed thinking about her in her studio with her torch.
She went on, “I love working with any unappealing raw materials and transforming them into beautiful jewelry. Enameling was a perfect transition to add color to
metal. The unpredictability of the outcome of colors is so thrilling especially when
it turns out just like you imagined, or better!”
Kumi lives in Hawaii (lucky girl!), and so I asked if this had any influence on her
style? “We are surrounded with beautiful colors all year round. The multiple hues of
blues and green is what inspires me. I also have a thing for trees and leaves. Never
thought about why, but I guess it’s because I’m surrounded by them.” You can see
the influence of these rich color saturations in her work.
Kumi seems to love of her art, and her desire to continually learn and perfect it.
“There are so many new techniques I want to learn, but my focus right now is to
master my skills in enameling and soldering. I’m also planning on taking multi-media classes to incorporate into my future enameling work.”
Kumi has taken a plethora of classes, telling me “I’ve loved every single class I’ve
taken. It’s so inspiring to learn from talented teachers.” So when I asked if she had a
favorite she immediately said “Thomas Mann’s sawing class. That changed my life! I
used to hate using the jeweler’s saw, but now I feel like I can saw intricate designs.
I started off taking project workshops where you follow instructions and everyone
makes some variation. But now I look for workshops that I can learn a specific technique. One of the benefits with taking a workshop in person is that it allows you
the opportunity to make mistakes and learn how to fix them.”
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