Designer Lynda Thorp Sterling Silver - Blue Topaz and Amethyst Modernist Abstract Brooch with 14k Gold Accents Circa 1994

Measurements: 1.75"T x 2"W (4.45cm x 5.08cm)

Markings: Thorp © 1-7-94 Ster

Weight: 12g

Fantastic hand-forged modernist sterling silver brooch by the iconic jewelry designer, Lynda Thorp. Brooch features layers of ornate details and textures, 14k yellow gold accents, a prong set faceted Blue Topaz stone and a bezel set polished, dome shaped Amethyst stone. Hand-signed and dated, it's in excellent condition with no damage of any kind. It will be professionally polished before shipping. Included with purchase is a converter so it can be worn as a pendant on a chain if preferred. 

Mannequin is a life-size torso representation

Lynda Greenwade Thorp is an American modernist designer from Philadelphia who used gold, sterling silver, and precious stones to create her jewelry. She studies at the Tyler School of Art, after spending her childhood in New Mexico and Colorado, Lynda grew to appreciate the cultural significance art could bring. She grew up in a household full of artists; her father was a cartoonist and had a comic strip in their local newspaper about Lynda called My Little Girl. Her mother was a trained tailor. When she was five, Lynda first attempted metalsmithing in her fireplace while trying to make a piece of metal that she found into a fine piece of jewelry. It almost ended up in a house fire.

    Lynda has studied different cultures’ art through National Endowments for the Humanities (NEH), a federal agency “dedicated to supporting research, education, preservation, and public programs in the humanities.” NEH has centered art from Nepalese, African, and Native American cultures. One of her big fears is that the cultural significance of art will be lost.

    An NEH endowment helps support and fund research, education, and preservation in libraries, universities, and for individual scholars. Few people receive a National Endowment for the Humanities because funds are extremely limited.
    Linda has received an endowment from NEH, along with four additional endowments: Mapmaking and Cartography at the University of Chicago, History and Art of Africa at Michigan State, South-Eastern Asia at Clark University, and Contested Homelands, about the history of New Mexico and its indigenous people. Even though she has received these national awards, she says, “My favorite award of all time will always be my 2018 [FSS] Alumni Outstanding Teacher Award!”
    Lynda has taught art at Friends Select School for 34 years. She has also taught at Tyler School of Art and Architecture and Lehigh University, among many other schools. However, she likes Friends Select and teaching high school students the most. She says, “They have much more humor and are very inquisitive. College students are much more serious and don’t laugh as much.”
    Lynda first started working at Friends Select in the 70s, but she decided to take a break from teaching in the 80s to start her own jewelry company called Thorp Artisans.
Lynda’s company strived to encourage and train women who never had the opportunity to learn the skills of metalworking. Lynda then decided to leave Thorp Artisans and come back to teach at Friends Select when two of her three children attended and she wanted to spend more time with them. Lynda has been teaching since then. She says her favorite thing about teaching is “seeing kids all of a sudden go, oh wow I did that.” Lynda’s new 3D art studio is a lot bigger than her last studio, and she sees students complaining about always bumping into each other.