We are fortunate to have David LaPlantz join our gallery. David is an accomplished jeweler and sculptor with almost 50 years of experience. Born in Toledo, Ohio and raised in a small rural farming town, he earned a BS in Art from Bowling Green State University (1966) and a MFA in Metalsmithing from Cranbrook Academy of Art (1969). A long teaching career followed, most of which was at Humboldt State University (1971-2002) where he was proud to be named Outstanding Professor in 1981. Currently David is a full time studio artist living in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Awards and Recognitions

David has received wide acclaim as a jeweler, educator, author, and publisher. He is included in Who’s Who in American Art and Who’s Who in the West and his jewelry appears in a long list of collections, including the Smithsonian Museum of American Art (Washington, DC), National Museum of Modern Art (Kyoto, Japan), Oakland Museum (Oakland, CA), Saint Paul Art Center (Saint Paul, MN) and Museum of Arts & Design (New York City, NY).

David’s work is also in many books, such as 500 Brooches, Lark Books (2005), Color on Metal, Guild Publishing (2001), 20th Century Jewelry, Apple Press, London (1990), The Travelers Guide to American Crafts, EP Dutton (1990), and The New Jewelry: Trends and Tractions, Thames and Hudson, London (1985), among others. Major catalogs include California Design, 1976: A Bicentennial Celebration, Pasadena Art Museum (1976) and California Design XI, Pasadena Art Museum (1971).

Numerous magazines have also published David’s work, including Craft Horizons, American Craft, Ornament and Metalsmith. Ornament profiled him in 2012 and wrote an article about his “collectable” work in 1995. David also published three metalwork surveys, produced four instructional videos and authored portions of Workshop Notes: Metals, Brynmorger Press (1993) and Jewelry Concepts and Technology, Doubleday (1983).

"Cartoonos Roundos"

David is well known for his 2" round brooches, which are created from industrially painted aluminum which he engraves, stacks and cold connects together. Each piece begins with a detailed sketch or by massaging an existing piece that suggest a particular direction. He jokingly calls his brooches “Cartoonos Roundos” because he sees them as precise, image driven cartoons. Similar to a cartoon panel in a newspaper, David tells his story in an individual panel evidenced by the round brooch.

Some brooches tell a clear story while others require some translation with words or symbols. To tell his story David uses abstract images and/or recognizable forms, such as top hats, bowlers, arrows, hearts, windows, doors and archways. The round format may be divided into several vertical or horizontal parts or left alone as one flat image. David sets a two hour time limit to complete each piece which keeps his ideas fresh and alive.