2012 FESTIVAL JUDGES

A native Charlestonian (Sullivan’s Island), Peg Fetter moved to St. Louis to attend Washington University to study metalsmithing with Heikki Seppa. She received her MFA from Washington University and her BFA from Winthrop University in Rock Hill S.C. Because of her love of the medium, she teaches metalsmithing at several institutions: Craft Alliance, St. Louis University, and Fontbonne University, where she started the small metals/metalsmithing program and was the 2010 adjunct instructor of the year. Fetter also teaches workshops around the country focusing on a technique utilizing steel and precious metal. Fetter’s work combines the rawness of steel with the elegance of gold; the juxtaposition of the two elements creates the perfect foil. The jewelry looks delicate but is very strong because of the industrial materials. Her work can be seen around the country at many prestigious galleries, and she was invited to show at the Walker in Minneapolis for their 2010 Holiday Show. She has been the recipient of many awards and her work has been published in several books, the most recent: The Best of the 500 Series,  Art Jewelry Today 3, and Ironworks Today 3.

Jay Williams is the Curator of Collections and Exhibitions Art at the Vero Beach Museum of Art. He is responsible for the museum’s exhibitions program as well as the collection of paintings, sculpture, prints, drawings, and photographs. He served previously as the Gary R. Libby Curator of Art at the Museum of Arts and Sciences in Daytona Beach, and Curator of the Morris Museum of Art in Augusta, Georgia, where in each instance he was responsible for a wide variety of temporary and permanent exhibitions. Williams came to the Morris from McKissick Museum of the University of South Carolina, where he was Chief Curator of Exhibitions and taught art history in the Art Department. Earlier, Williams administered the Edison College galleries in Fort Myers, Florida as curator. He began his museum career as Head of Education and State Services at the Ringling Museum of Art. Williams holds a master’s degree in art history from Norwich University, and a master’s in art education from the University of South Florida. His thesis was a catalogue raisonné on the American impressionist, Henry Salem Hubbell, whose paintings he continues to research.