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About

Mikala Hess is a BFA student in the University of Iowa's Jewelry and Metal Arts program and a an apprentice bench jeweler.

My body of work reflects the tension between escape and remembrance. A past of moving between separations and divorce, of hearing arguments through door cracks, of assaults carried out by friends but also of songs belted off-key, fires lit in the Midwest's summer humidity, and I love you's exchanged in tight hugs. Etching into metal, something so hard yet so malleable, speaks to how trauma imprints itself on memory. Casting allows backyard relics to be transformed into stable, permanent versions of themselves. Patinas illustrate how good memories can be distorted or tarnished over time, a quality then contrasted by the warmth of personal relics and vivid enamels that highlight beauty within the grotesque. Home, change, and trauma are deeply personal themes yet universally understood. I combine these experiences in installation and sculptural works as well as wearable pieces that pair into a cohesive narrative identity. 

When I began my journey in metalworking, I wanted to make something for myself, something that I had always enjoyed. My first project was a copper cicada necklace: pierced, formed, and finished with patinas. Much like the cicada, I felt I had been hibernating, waiting for the moment to burrow my way out, shed my past, spread my wings, and scream into the sky. Metalworking gave me exactly that opportunity. As my skills developed and as I found home in new friendships and redefined familial relationships, I found a new confidence in myself. I incorporated silver and fine jewelry techniques, spread my wings and allowed my work to undergo its own metamorphosis. 

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Artist Statement

Growing up, I spent most of my free time outside, hands in the dirt, playing with bugs, napping under trees, and collecting every rock that just felt right. Spring into summer was always my favorite time of year, when the annual cicadas would emerge from their subterranean sleep, shed their old skin, and fly off to scream after the setting sun. I was an imaginative kid, and when home life was rough, I found my solace among the cicada shells, wood chips, and garden rocks. What I understand now, as an adult, is that the outdoors was my refuge. 

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Professional Experience

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2025-current Sales Associate and Apprentice Bench Jeweler, Cook’s Jewelry, Iowa City, IA

  • Repair fine jewelry using precise soldering, cleaning, and polishing techniques

  • Ensure timely and personally curated experiences for customers

  • Update pricing structures of stock to reflect price of materials

2025-current Studio Monitor, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA

  • Maintain a clean and orderly studio as students worked on class projects

  • Ensure all safety measures are being followed as students work in the studio

  • Ensure the studio stays clean, organized, and safe between classes and semesters

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Education

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2023-2026 BFA emphasis in Jewelry and Metal Arts, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa

2018-2021 Associate in Arts, Black Hawk College, Moline, Illinois

 

Exhibitions

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2026 Spotlight Exhibition, Gallery Name, Visual Arts Building, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa, May 11-22

2026 Honors Exhibition, Gallery Name, Visual Arts Building, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa, May 4-8

2026 Jewelry and Metal Art Exhibition, 3rd Floor Atrium, Visual Arts Building, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa, May 4-8

2026 Where the Cicadas Sing, Gallery E148, Visual Arts Building, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa, February 23-27

2025 Jewelry and Metal Arts Exhibition, Levitt Gallery, Arts Building West, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa, November 3-8

2025 Chromaticity, Ana Mendieta Gallery, Visual Arts Building, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa, October 20-24

2025 Jewelry and Metal Arts Exhibition, Mauricio L. and Emilia B. Lasansky Atrium, Visual Arts Building, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa, April 13-19

2024 Jewelry and Metal Arts Exhibition, Eve Drewlowe Gallery, Visual Arts Building, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa, November 10-16

 

Skills

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  • Metal Working

    • Soldering

    • Electroplating

    • Jewelry Repair

    • Prong Retipping

    • Ring Resizing

    • Tac Welding

    • Polishing

    • Riveting

    • Casting

    • Stone Setting

    • Patinas

    • Raising

    • Piercing

    • Hydraulic Die Forming

    • Chasing and Repousse

    • Enameling

    • Fold Forming

    • Wire Working

    • Hinges

  • Drawing/Painting

    • Charcoal

    • Watercolor

    • Life drawing

  • Graphic Design

    • Lightroom

    • InDesign

    • Illustrator

    • Photoshop

  • Printmaking

    • Linocut Carving

    • Relief Carving

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