The Metal Arts Guild (MAG) is an independent, non-profit, educational organization
of people who are skilled, interested, or share in the production and exhibition of metals.
Our Community
Everyone is welcome to join: from the beginner to the master craftsperson, teachers and students, metal arts collectors and more. Each member is a vital part of making the Guild work for our community.
We support the work of outstanding metal artists by organizing exhibitions, lectures, and workshops, awarding an annual MAG Community Project Grant, various student scholarships, and offering resources and opportunities for our members.
Featured Member
Each month a new Featured Member is chosen from the completed member profiles on our website. Their interview and work is highlighted on our blog and social media. Visit our archive of past Featured Members.
April 2021
Sudha Irwin
Websites: sudhairwin.com
Instagram: sudhairwin
Tell us a little about yourself.
I was born and raised in India and came to the US almost fifty years ago. After college in India, I joined a four-year art program but dropped out after the first introductory year to pursue a graduate degree in English Literature. The art school was considered a vocational school, my sister and I were the only female students. Our father persuaded us to go back to academics, as he didn’t think a vocation in arts was appropriate for women in our family.
Almost twenty-seven years later, here in California, I had the opportunity to enroll in metal arts classes. This opportunity came in a chance encounter with a local librarian whose metal brooch I admired and inquired how I could learn to make such things. She sent me a catalog of classes at the Richmond Art Center. I have been learning ever since.
A couple of years after I started classes at the College of Marin (while continuing classes with Hugh Power at the RAC), our jewelry teacher selected a few students to form a small partnership of jewelers to rent a space at ArtWorks Downtown in San Rafael. We called our group the Marin Jewelers Guild. I have been part of the Guild since its inception in 2000.
