When Nancy was young she spent a good deal of her time at the Minneapolis Art Institute, where she took classes from kindergarten to precollege summer school. Her mother volunteered at the museum gift shop for many years, and was an avid art appreciator and amateur artist herself. At Colorado State University, Nancy majored in Illustration and Design. She began her career as an illustrator at Hallmark Cards for five years in Kansas City. She then pursued freelance illustration work while living in southern and central California.
Nancy has created greeting cards for all occasions, gift wrap, decorative plaques, jewellery boxes, address books, photo albums, stationary, wallpaper, needle point designs, plush toys, textile designs. She has also was chosen, then commissioned by the US Postal Service to create three separate stamp designs that were all used as US stamps.
“Designing jewelry is very much like painting," Nancy says. "Color choice, balance of elements, texture, focus, weight, and silhouette, are essential to strong design. But unlike painting, being sensitive to current fashion trends and necklines is a whole other dimension. The challenge is inspiring. I dream in beads. I want my clientele to enjoy wearing these pieces as much as I did creating them.”
Presently Nancy lives in the Colorado foothills of the Rocky Mountains. with her husband, Ezra Tucker, who is a
fine artist. They have three talented children, who have quickly become adults. Nancy and Ezra both have their studios at home, where they create spectacular art pieces while herds of mule deer graze in their forested property.
Where can a happy jade Buddha relax comfortably next to a clouded amber African, sitting beside a lapis lazuli Egyptian, next to a ancient mammoth tusked Alaskan, snuggled up to a brilliant turquoise Native American? Although this may sound like a 1960ʼs stand-up comicʼs joke set up, itʼs actually referring to a combination of stunning multicultural beads. You can not mix these together in an art museum, where the curators are finicky purists that scurry about segregating the dynasty, country, and media into disparate collections. But if you sincerely do appreciate an aesthetic global view, you will love the sensitive cultural infusions that Nancy Krause brings to her unique pieces of jewellery. Nancy, having a background in both illustration/design and Art History, knows how and when to break the rules.
Nancy believes, “There are no maxims that restrict setting the sparkle of a faceted cut roundel aquamarine beside a luminous carved bone monkey figurine. In fact, the vibrant inner jewel tone of one, compliments the luminous opacity of the other. The mere fact that your have not seen this combination before, make it desirable in itʼs genuine unique pairing.”
Nancy respects the conventions of jewellery making in her own way, saying, “Those cultural influences that have made a lasting impression upon me stretch from the fabulous Japanese silk kimonos with their hand carved inrō purses with netsuke and ojime beads... to King Tutankhamunʼs golden slippers and his enamelled, inlayed mosaic precious stone necklaces and headpieces ... to the pre-Columbian gold flat footed frog fertility fetishes ... to Native American hand beaded moccasins ... to puzzle-like Celtic charms. All colors, stones, metals, ceramics, pearls, leather, paper, grasses, silks, sinew, coral, carved bones, tusks, feathers, antlers, glass, wood, shells and seeds have been used before. I am not reinventing the wheel, just putting them together differently. Seeing my jewellery pieces, you will be reminded of a genre or two that you have seen before,... but with a twist. A sort of exotic gumbo of a jewellery collection. Hopefully this is jewellery that you always wanted, but didnʼt know it, until you saw it. New, and yet remembered.”
Mary Martin Gallery I is located on 103 Broad Street, Charleston, SC 29401 843-723-0303
Mary Martin Gallery IIis located at 143 East Bay Street, Charleston, SC 29401
Mary Martin has collections of art showing at the Andell Inn Kiawah Island, Bella Grace, The Vendue, the Harbour Club, and other venues.
Mary Martin Galleries have been selected as the best galleries in South Carolina for eleven years in a row and in the top 20 galleries in the nation, Also, selected as the best gallery by several local publications.
