About the Maker

Hello, my name is Heather Greenway and I am an artist and metalsmith. I split my time growing up in the small town of Elberton, Georgia, and on a farm outside of Anderson, South Carolina. My main interest was art growing up so I decided to pursue that in college. 

I attended the University of Georgia for Painting in Fine Arts at the Lamar Dodd School of Art. Graduating in 2008, I then took a year break at home to consider what to do next. I wanted to stay close to home because I really enjoy seeing and spending time with my family. After some thought and consideration, I decided to attend the painting graduate program at the Savannah College of Art and Design at their Atlanta, Georgia location. I began my MFA in 2010 and graduated in 2012. During this period, and in the years following, I evolved as an artist and became involved in the Atlanta art community. It was an exciting time of growth and I felt like I really began to find myself as an artist. 

In 2017, I started to realize that I wanted to explore different creative mediums. I will always love painting for what it has taught me about design and form but I needed something that would drive me more consistently as a maker. I tried photographing various staged clay and resin miniatures. I began baking colorful cakes and pastries as a side business. Nothing seemed to stick for long. Then, in the Fall of ‘18 my husband suggested taking a metalsmithing class. We took one, along with his sister, so it became a family activity every week. 

I already had a great interest in rocks and minerals so that was an exciting starting point for me—getting to make wearable vessels for special stones and gems. Something else that helped me begin my metalsmithing journey was being able to use tools that my husband’s father had left us when he passed away. During his lifetime he had always wanted to be a metalsmith but never found the space or time. But he did love going to flea markets and yard sales and found great deals on pliers, vises, hammers, and even silver. Over the years, he built up an impressive collection of tools and stones that helped me get started in this venture since these elements of the trade can be very expensive. 

After completing the class, my husband and I continued to make jewelry in the living room and kitchen of our apartment. We had a small drop leaf table and started to experiment with different materials and stones. About six months later, we moved into our own house and that allowed us to have a room fully dedicated as a studio. For the past year-and-a-half we have been selling our jewelry at local markets and online. It has been incredibly challenging at times, but even when things are hardest, I always find inspiration in the materials themselves. The stones call to me even when it seems like I don’t know what to do with them. At times it feels like the designs reveal themselves. I love working with metal, it forces me to work slower at times, and to be calmer and more intentional than with any other art I have practiced. It’s important to me to keep growing and learning and I hope to explore casting and stone cutting classes soon. I’m so grateful for the maker and jewelry community that I’ve become a part of these past few years. 

I want to provide quality pieces of art that you can wear every day! I’m so excited to share my jewelry with you and it fills me with joy that you can use it to express yourself.