https://elisestellingjewelry.com
Artist Bio
Elise Stelling has been making jewelry in the Wood River Valley for over four decades. She began studying art at the University of Wisconsin before moving to Sun Valley in 1981, where she trained as an apprentice and bench jeweler at Paul Hurley LTD and later Gem Expose, learning soldering, stone-setting, and fine metalwork from experienced hands in the trade.
After stepping away for several years to raise her daughter, Elise returned to the craft largely self-taught, refining her skills through hands-on practice and a deep curiosity for her materials. Over the past several years she has focused on wire wrapping, developing her technique to an intermediate-to-advanced level and making it her signature medium.
Working primarily in sustainably sourced silver, recycled copper, and fine gemstones, Elise draws inspiration from the fluid lines and textures of Idaho’s natural landscape. Each piece is handmade in her Bellevue home studio.
Artist Statement
My jewelry begins with a piece of wire and a question: how far can it bend before it finds its shape?
I’ve been shaping metal since 1981, when I first trained as a bench jeweler here in Sun Valley. That early training gave me a foundation, but the years since — teaching myself, experimenting, and eventually falling in love with wire wrapping — have given me a voice. Wire lets me draw in three dimensions. It coils, twists, and catches light the way a mountain stream catches light, and that’s exactly what I’m after: the fluidity and texture of this valley, translated into something you can wear.
Every piece I make is done by hand, in my home studio, using sustainably sourced silver, recycled copper, and gemstones chosen for their color and character as much as their meaning. Nothing is cast or mass-produced.
Thank you for taking the time to see my work.