Portland, Maine 
As an artist I embrace curiosity, visual awareness, nature/plant/land advocacy. Walking and photography are part of my art practice. I am a jeweler by trade but my skill set spans fine art, design, metalsmithing, ecological horticulture and landscape studies. Our planet is in peril and the time is now to take action as well as to advocate through art in order to illuminate our responsibilities at this time and work towards changing the paradigm before it is too late. My work celebrates nature, but also is acting as a siren to sound alarm.
j.e. paterak has been living and working in Maine since 1989. Two years spent away from Maine were to attend Cranbrook Academy of Art in Michigan to attain her MFA.
She is an avid walker/hiker and is heavily inspired by nature. She lives in Portland, Maine with her two children and husband. Her studio is located in East Bayside within Zero Station gallery.
j.e. paterak’s contemporary jewelry has been featured in Ornament, American Craft, Metalsmith Magazine. Also featured in Lark Books 1000 Rings and 500 Earrings, and, and in select technical books published by Brynmorgen Press . She has written for Metalsmith, and curated locally for Zero Station.
J.E. Paterak
EDUCATION
1994 Cranbrook Academy of Art MFA - Bloomfield Hills, Michigan
1988 Hungarian University of Fine Arts Independent post-grad studies, Budapest, Hungary
1986 Massachusetts College of Art BFA with honors - Boston, MA
1985 Cooper Union College of Arts and Sciences Semester exchange, New York, NY
collections
Museum of Fine Arts Boston, MA Infinite Knowledge neckpiece acquired 2007
Chodokorf Collection Detroit, MI Out of Context neckpiece acquired 1994
Honors and awards
2020 Artist in Residence Monson
2020 Craft Apprentice Program Grant funded by Maine Craft and Maine Arts Commission
2019 Artist in Residence Haystack Mountain School of Crafts, Deer Isle, ME
2019 Artist in Residence Fiore Art Center, Rolling Acres Farm Jefferson, ME an affiliate program managed through Maine Farmland Trust.
2018-19 Project Grant Maine Arts Commission, partial grant for new body of work and exhibition, Intimate Universe, June 2019
2014 HewnOaks Residency Lovell, Maine
Honors and awards (cont.)
2000 Good Idea Grant Maine Arts Commission
1998 Anderson Jurors Award Cherry Creek Arts Festival
1992-94 Robert P Daisley Merit Award Cranbrook Academy
1991 Mary Beason Bishop Award Haystack Mountain School of Crafts Jewelry Designer’s Way with Words, Winter 1998
Exhibitions
2020 Fiore Art Residents, an exhibition of 2019 residents work, Maine Farmland Trust Gallery Belfast Maine
2020 Haystack Gallery, invitational to represent the 2019 residents, Deer Isle, ME
2020 Pickwick, part of the alumni portfolio on display , Portland Public Library
2020 Twenty Zero Station, Portland, Maine
2019 Intimate Universe solo exhibition - this exhibition was made possible with a grant by the Maine Arts Commission, Zero Station Portland Maine
Exhibitions history
I exhibited regionally in New England from 1986-1990 as a painter and printmaker. After graduate school from 1994-2004 I worked solely in the metalsmithing field, and exhibited extensively during this time throughout the US. I now consider this exhibition record archival, and I am looking forward to building a new exhibition record based on new work.
PUBLICATIONS
Jewelry: books
500 Earrings Lark Books, Juried by Alan Revere, 2007
1000 Rings Lark books, Invited by Robert Ebendorf , 2004
Discovery; Fifty Years of Craft Experience At Haystack Mountain School of Craft Edited by Carl Little, 2004
The Metalsmith’s Book of Boxes and Lockets Brynmorgen Press by Tim McCreight, 1999
Jewelry; Fundamentals of Metalsmithing Brynmorgen Press by Tim McCreight, 1997
PUBLICATIONS (cont.)
Jewelry: magazines and journals
Ornament featured article The Creative Endeavor by Carl Little, Summer 2002
Maine Sunday Telegram Featured article The Craft Question by Bob Keyes 4.27.2003
New England Craft Connoisseur A Trio of Jewelers Call the Shots, Winter 2003
Portfolio of Boston All that Glitters, Winter 2003
Metalsmith - Exhibition in Print Special Edition, 1996
American Craft Featured artist Gallery Section, Winter/Spring 2002
Ornament Crafts at the Castle Preview, 1999
American Craft Portfolio Artist, June/July 1998
Writing
Discovery; Fifty Years of Craft Experience At Haystack Mountain School of Craft 2004, Edited by Carl Little, essay and image
Metalsmith Review of J.Fred Woell at Élan Gallery, Rockland, Maine, 2005 Vol. 25 no 3
Metalsmith Studio Visit : Dan Jocz photos and text, 2004 Vol. 24 no 3
Metalsmith Review: From the Centre to the Edge, an exhibition at Maine College of Art - ICA Gallery, Portland, ME, 2000 Vol. 20 no 5
Rescue Magazine Comparative Roses, using the pen name Lucia Ray, 2004 February
EXPERIENCE
Curatorial
Hope Through Art Zero Station exhibition to benefit Immigrant Legal Advocacy Project write-up by Bob Keyes for Maine Today, 2017
TopoPhilia Portland and Ways of Knowing Place Zero Station, exhibition and invitation to present and have panel discussion with artists, Osher Map Library Portland, 2016
The Other Biennial plum, Portland, ME, article in Portland Press (PPH) by Bob Keyes, 2003
Primary Zero Station, South Portland, ME, reviewed by Phil Isaacson, for PPH, 2000
Teaching
Haystack Mountain School of Crafts 1-3 day workshops 2003, 2013, 2018
Maine College of Art Continuing Studies courses 1994-2001
Future Builders Scarborough, ME, co-taught with Pauline Warg 1994-96
Technician
Haystack Mountain School of Crafts Various workshops, 1994 - 2004
Cranbrook Academy of Art Shop Tech, Metals Department under Gary Griffin, 1993-94
Massachusetts College of Art Print Shop Tech Assistant, 1985-1986
Additional education
2012-2018 Certificate of Sustainable Ecology Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens
2014 Certificate, Historic Landscape Institute at Monticello, VA and University of Virginia
1994-2014 Haystack Mountains School of Crafts, Maine Penland, North Carolina and Metalwerx, Massachusetts - Workshops with master craftsman, goldsmiths and silversmiths such as Harlan Butt, Michael Good, John Paul Miller, Pat Flynn, Barbara Seidenath, Mi Sook Hur, Kate Wolf and others
2007-2009 Studied botany and horticulture at Southern Maine Community College
Organizational Affiliations
- Society of North American Goldsmiths | current 2019-2020
- American Craft Council | member since 1994
- Maine Crafts Association | member & represented in the Portland shop
- Maine Mycological Association | member and photographer
- Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens | regular volunteer herbarium project
- Architalx - Advisory Board 2010-present, Board Member and Vice President 2007-2010
Where to Buy
Work is not available for sale through the SNAG website. Please contact the artist directly to inquire about making a purchase.