My practice derives from my compulsion to adorn the body with objects that tell of my views and experiences of the world. Practicing the craft of jewelry and metalsmithing over the past decade has become the medium through which I create these adornments. I took my time in discovering the broader aspects of making before honing the traditional methods and hand fabrication processes that currently drive my practice. I create pillowed metal forms that act as vessels for encapsulating fragments of myself and my past, to be observed from a removed perspective. Escaping the restraints of shame that ensnared my childhood, replacing sensations of joy and pleasure – no matter how innocent – with guilt, condemned my desires as filthy and shameful. Through the lens of my adult self, I consider how shame, denial, and desire can be the source of pleasure through control, restraint, and restriction. Seeking pleasure and comfort through "toy" based forms, I refabricate these moments lost in my childhood. Evoking sensations, memories, and emotions through tactile experiences, I am in control of these experiences; replaying these sensations, and commanding these moments by rewriting them to soothe myself, or to give them form; begging them to stay with me and not slip through the cracks of my memory; dissolving into nothing.
Sarah Montagnoli is a jeweler, metalsmith, and educator based in Philadelphia, PA. She received her BFA from Moore College of Art & Design (2018) and moved on to pursue her MFA and Teaching Certification at Tyler School of Art & Architecture (2021). Since receiving her Masters, she has been teaching jewelry at her alma mater as well as at Rowan University in Glassboro, New Jersey. She can also be found teaching at Alloy Atelier and Fleisher Art Memorial. In her work, Montagnoli creates pillowed metal forms via hydraulic pressing that act as vessels for encapsulating fragments of herself and her past, to be rewritten or observed from a removed perspective. When not teaching or seated at her bench, she enjoys time with her cats, collecting small trinkets, and wandering in the rain.
Tyler School of Art and Architecture - 2021 - Philadelphia, PA
MFA in Metals/Jewelry/CAD-CAM with Certificate in Teaching in Higher Education Machine and Technician Assistantship Fall 2020-Spring 2021
Moore College of Art & Design - 2018 - Philadelphia, PA
BFA in Fine ArtsJewelry Design & Metalsmithing with a Minor in Business
Recipient of Presidential Scholarship 2021-2018
The Jewelry Vault at the Woodmere Art Museum in Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia, PA
June 2025 - present
Jewelry and Metals Instructor, Fleisher Art Memorial, Philadelphia, PA
Jewelry Fabrication Metalworking, basics such as piercing, filing, sanding, riveting, and soldering. Basic bezel stone setting and silversmithing, metal forming for vessel creations, and chain making.
June 2025 - present
Alloy Atelier, Philadelphia, PA
Jewelry and Metals Instructor, Stacking rings, bangles, hoop earrings, and charms workshops- Metalworking basics such as piercing, filing, sanding, forming, soldering, and silversmithing basics.
August 2024 - present
Rowan University, Adjunct Faculty, Glassboro, NJ
Introduction to Jewelry, Metalworking basics such as piercing, filing, sanding, riveting, and soldering. Basic bezel stone setting and silversmithing, metal forming for vessel creations, and chain making.
August 2021 - present
Tyler School of Art and Architecture/MJCC, Adjunct Faculty, Philadelphia, PA
Introduction to Jewelry - Junior Metalsmithing, Metalworking basics such as piercing, filing, sanding, riveting, and soldering. Wax carving and Lost Wax Casting technique sand processes. Basic silversmithing, metal forming for hollow form creations, and chain making. Basics of Rhino CAD for Laser Cutting/Etching/Engraving.
September 2021 - August 2024
Wax Model Worker, Independent Casting, Philadelphia, PA
Assisting in creating and preparing waxes via casting, chasing, gating/spruing patterns for metal casting. Rotating member of pour team and mold department.
June - September 2021
Enamelist, Simons Brothers Cleaning, Philadelphia, PA
Preparing, packing, and firing enamel into metal die-formed pins, pendants and other jewelry.
January - May 2021
Instruction of Record, Tyler School of Art and Architecture/MJCC, Philadelphia, PA
Introduction to Jewelry for Non-Majors, Lost Wax Casting, the Basics of Rhino CAD for Laser Cutting/Etching/Engraving, and metalworking basics such as piercing, filing, sanding, riveting, soldering, metal forming and chain making.
August 2020 - April 2021
Machine Technician Assistance, Tyler School of Art and Architecture, Philadelphia, PA
Overseeing student usage, training, maintenance, and research on WAZER Water Jet Cutter and two Laser Cutting Machines.
February 2020 - January 2021
Intern Doug Bucci Studio, Staack Moore Woodworking, Philadelphia, PA
Sanding, sealing, preparing custom MDF mold for large scale resin pour; cutting and fabricating aluminum rails and plates tostructural support/integrity. Sanding, painting, and burnishing custom wainscotting panels for exhibition.
August 2019 - May 2021
Teaching Assistant, Tyler School of Art and Architecture/MJCC, Philadelphia, PA
Juniors and Seniors 2020, Jewelry 2 Spring 2020, Seniors Spring 2021
May - September 2017
JV Collective Intern, Assistant to Mallory Weston, Philadelphia, PA
Producing limited production pins - piercing brass, sanding, soldering. Finishing carved stone pendants, wet filing & sanding to satin finish.
August 2016 - May 2018
Metals Studio Monitor, Moore College of Art & Design, Philadelphia, PA
Exchanging acetylene tanks, maintaining tools and equipment. Assisting students on using equipment and overseeing safetyprocedures in the studio.
