Sherry Tinsman

"I strive to create with gratitude and without judgment, giving myself complete freedom to be creative."
-Sherry Tinsman

Sherry Tinsman is a metalsmith located in Lumberville, Bucks County. Her jewelry designs blend nature and the architectural relics of England, where she spent most of her youth. Tinsman's work is represented by museum shops and galleries nationally, including the Michener Art Museum. Her husband, Daniel, daughters Kaya and Emeline, and artisan, Christina Ward, assist in her jewelry-making business.

She says, "For 27 years, I have worked as a jeweler out of my beautiful studio perched above the Delaware River in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. This setting allows me to interact with the poetry of the natural world, to translate its forms into jewelry so that the wearer can carry this beauty with her wherever she may travel. My work is also inspired by architectural relics of my heritage, and recalling my youth growing up in England has had a great influence on my designs. In Sterling Silver, with 14K yellow or rose gold accents, I meld natural and ancient elements, soldering a connection between the Earth and humanity. For a touch of whimsy, pearls or semi-precious stones, and their inherent properties, are sometimes set into my pieces."

Tinsman works mostly in sterling silver but also uses copper, brass, bronze, and 14k rose and yellow gold. All her work is handmade in her studio in Lumberville, Bucks County, Pennsylvania.

She explains, "I remain involved throughout the creation of each piece, and, if need be, select and set stones accordingly. Instead of drawing my designs on paper, I draw with my torch, freeing myself to explore and test the boundaries of the silver itself. My designs are sometimes years in the making as I experiment with the elements along the way."

Education and Training
Bucks County Community College, Newtown, PA, 1980s and early 1990s
Metalsmithing, lost wax casting, and business

Teachers and Influences
Influences: Daniel Tinsman, Helen Cuff
Teachers: Dorothy Dobbs, Trudy Battershall
Helen Cuff, the former owner of Artisan's Gallery in Peddlers Village, first to carry Sherry Tinsman's jewelry
Dorothy Dobbs, metalsmithing teacher at Bucks County Community College
Trudy Battershall, art teacher at Swarthmore High

Connection to Bucks County
Sherry Tinsman has been working as a metalsmith in Lumberville, Bucks County, since the late 1980s.