Victoria Dumbaugh

I am an independent jewelry artist and metalsmith working in the city of Boston. I am inspired by history, mythology, and the female figure. In my work I try to create through combining the craft of metalworking and the traditions of drawing. Metal possesses inherent qualities of strength and permanence, it is a material that has shaped our growth and development as a human race, and defines whole ages of our history. I am driven to explore the contrast between the graceful and fragile forms that can be achieved through drawing and the durability that metal brings to the work. I see this same contrast in heroic and mythical women throughout our history. I want to portray women as being able to skillfully balance delicacy and power, not as a contradiction, but as contrasting yet complementing elements of themselves. I think of my work as a way of marrying drawing and metalsmithing, to re-examine images of women, and notions of femininity. ​