Nicole is currently an Associate Professor at Indiana University in Bloomington, IN. Her education includes a Bachelor of Arts from IU in 1991 & her first MFA from the University of Michigan. Nicole received her second MFA in 1995 while on a Fulbright Scholarship to Australia at RMIT

University in Melbourne. In 2004 Nicole returned to RMIT and completed her Ph.D. in Fine Arts. 

Nicole's residencies include: the International Ceramics Studio in Kecskemet Hungary, Grey Street Studio in Adelaide Australia, the Vermont Studio Center in Johnston Vermont, and in 08 she was a Visiting Artist & Scholar at the American Academy in Rome, Italy. Nicole has had 6 solo exhibitions and participated in over 100 invitational/juried exhibitions internationally.

Nicole has presented over 25 lectures on her work & is published in over 35 books, catalogues + websites. Her work can be found in the collection of the International Ceramics Studio in Kecskemet, Hungary + the Riga Porcelain Museum in Riga, Latvia.

Q & A  

There are dividing viewpoints within SNAG relating to entrepreneurship vs. academia, technology vs. tradition, and professionals vs. hobbyists.  Please explain how you believe SNAG can redefine the differences of its membership in a positive way, transforming these divisions into strengths.

Nicole: Every member has something to offer SNAG.

I realize there are different viewpoints within the organization; though, I do think there are common interests and experiences in which we all share. For example, though I am currently a professor in academia, in my own background I have had the opportunity to work for several independent jewelers - jobs that ranged from bench work and sales to designing marketing campaigns. I have volunteered for a range of organizations including non-profits to community outreach programs. I have been both a student and instructor in the university setting and community-oriented arts centers - and I am vested in the rich historical traditions that make metalsmithing and jewelry design unique and strong, yet, I see the benefits of new technologies and what doors they can open for future work. Through this path I have been privileged to continually see that the need and desire to 'make work' comes from all over. Whether it is taken on as a professional career or as someone who is interested in playing with materials and making beautiful things - It is exciting.

With that said, it is through constantly getting to know your membership and having them get to know one another that we can continue to identify unique skills each of us have and work together to build a stronger organization that strengthens the diverse skillsets of our members.

Some strategies for doing this are obvious and ongoing - continuing to develop new conference programs to highlight these differences and show how they are not disparities, but rather how they are a part of the overall spectrum that makes our organization diverse.

• Currently there is a digital slide show for academic institutions - perhaps providing an ongoing slide show during the entire conference, open to all members, would be a way to showcase the diversity of the attendees at the conference. * Everyone likes to have his or her work shown.
• Poll the members pre-conference for specific questions and address the questions in smaller breakout sessions in which individual voices can be heard and people will not feel shy about speaking up.
• Rotating some volunteer positions within the organization in order to ensure that no one is continually undertaking for the same job and that other points of view are developed. This is already being done with many positions; however, there are some that have not.

By continually asking questions of the members, listening to their ideas, developing new programs that bring the strengths of the membership together, it will help transform many of the divides and hopefully demonstrate that we all have the same goal AND what divides can also unite us.