Lifetime Achievement Award
SNAG’s highest honor, the Lifetime Achievement Award, is given each year to an individual who has made lasting and significant contributions to the field of contemporary jewelry and metalsmithing. A significant contribution is defined as noteworthy achievements within the field of contemporary metalsmithing such as writing, teaching, advocacy, leadership, metalsmithing or related activities which expand the impact or body of knowledge of the media.
Nominations
Nominations for the Lifetime Achievement Award are sought
towards the end of each year. Deadline February 1.
Any member may nominate an individual, living or deceased,
SNAG member or non-member for this award. Nomination
packages must include a resume or biography of the nominee and
an argument in support of their selection. A nomination
should consist of a resume or biography of the nominee and an
explanation of why that person is deserving.
Additionally, the nomination must be accompanied by at least
two letters of support from other SNAG members. The
Lifetime Achievement Award Committee selects the recipients of
this award from the nominations. The committee has three
members appointed by the Board of Directors.
For additional nomination information, contact Lifetime
Achievement Award Committee Chairperson Michael Croft.
For additional procedural information,
click here or contact Sandie Zilker, Board
Liaison.
2008 Award
In
March 2008, during the SNAG conference in Savannah, Heikki
Seppä became the most recent recipient, for a lifetime of
exceptional service and achievement in the jewelry and metal
arts field.
While at Cranbrook, Heikki Seppä introduced reticulation
as a process. In 1972, he devised the spiculum and along with
shell-forming and anticlastic raising, he pioneered a new
vocabulary of jewelry and metalworking processes.
Seppä’s experiments with asymmetrical and fluid
forms in silver lead him to write his seminal book, “Form
Emphasis for Metalsmiths,” a groundbreaking textbook that
remains in print and use. Beyond Seppä’s
contributions to metalsmithing discipline and education, he was
instrumental in the early development of SNAG as a founding
member in 1969. Heikki Seppä is recognized as a
Fellow of the American Crafts Council and is a recipient of the
Hans Christiansen Lifetime Achievement Award by the Society of
American Silversmiths. Seppä’s work is included in
the collections of the Renwick Gallery, Cranbrook Academy of
Art, and the St. Louis Museum of Art, among others.
The Award itself is the work of metalsmith Cynthia Eid, who
won a design competition sponsored by SNAG. Her design is
a stunning sterling silver vessel on a black marble base.
In addition to the Award, all honorees receive Lifetime
Membership in SNAG.
Previous Recipients
Mary Ann Scherr
Kurt Matzdorf
Harry Bober
Margaret Craver
Helen Drutt English
Arline Fisch
Imogene "Tex" Geiling
Kurt Matzdorf
John Paul Miller
Philip Morton
Oppi Untract
Nathan Winkler
