So Young Park

"My jewelry expresses desire, hope, and the power of life through organic plant and ocean forms rendered in simple, geometric, and sophisticated ways."

So Young Park uses various hammering techniques to draw out shapes and movement in sterling silver and 18 karat yellow gold. This direct and immediate method of working creates elegant and unusual forms. She individually solders small metal cup shapes on the hammered surfaces to create tiny grouped elements that work together, much like plant or ocean forms, to express the internal movements found in life.

The artist was born in 1973 and grew up in Ul-San, South Korea. She became interested in the arts at an early age and attended Pusan Art High School, where she studied fine art painting. Afterwards, she attended Kon-Kuk University in Seoul, where she began working in metal. After graduating in 1999, Park moved to the United States to continue her study of metalsmithing. In 2003, Park graduated with a second degree in metal and jewelry design from the Rochester Institute of Technology.

Today, the artist exhibits her work nationally and internationally and teaches aspiring jewelry makers at the university level.