Sustainably Crafted Jewelry with Basha Harris

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Photo by Rafael Luciano

Basha Harris

Basha Harris

Basha Harris is a jewelry-focused interdisciplinary artist. Her work intersects aesthetic and utility, encouraging the wearer to engage with and participate in their own individual creativity. Harris designs and fabricates earrings, rings, necklaces, bracelets and more, offering bespoke commissions, or one-of-a-kind pieces for purchase through her Instagram and website.

Born and raised in Shorewood, Basha Harris grew up enchanted by shiny objects. In addition to her mother’s full-time career as a physician, she had a first degree in visual art and art education, never pausing the pursuit of both. Her mother’s inclusive artistic projects inspired Harris, and she would often accompany her mother to art shows around Milwaukee and beyond, such as the Bead & Button Show in Chicago, as a preteen.

“She was extremely generous with sharing her tools and materials and would invite me, my sisters, cousins, friends and neighbors to bead and do art projects with her,” Harris recalls. “I’m eternally grateful that she shared her passion for being creative with my sisters and I, especially because we were definitely indoor kids. Making things kept me out of trouble when I struggled in more traditional subjects in school.” 

Harris graduated from UW-Milwaukee in 2016 with a degree in Jewelry & Metalsmithing and certificate in Community Art. “I loved every moment of art school,” she continues. “I would just love to learn for the rest of my life, and I aspire to through daily experimentation and research.”

Social History of Art

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Photo by Basha Harris

Jewelry by Basha Harris

Opal prehnite and ammonite earrings by Basha Harris

She cites Josie Osborne, Nicolas Lampert, Raoul Deal, Ray Chi, Matthew Rarey and Yevgeniya Kaganovich as instructors who had a significant impact on her in her studies, saying, “They were all really focused on the social history of art in relation to the context of the world. I was and still am extremely moved by learning why artists make what they make. In school I was drawn to those whose work aligned with a greater social movement or had a goal of promoting interaction and understanding.”

In hopes of bridging her passions for adornments and social justice, Harris’ senior thesis was the Project Safety Tool Kit, where she made a backpack out of recycled garbage bags and shower liner that contained wearable and utilitarian items pertaining to physical and emotional safety.

After college, Harris worked at the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art before becoming a founding member and resident artist of Riverwest gallery and ceramics studio Yours Truly. She wanted to open a space different from other galleries in Milwaukee, as she explains. 

“At the time, there seemed to be a surge of what I considered to be unapproachable exclusivity in the art community, and I wanted to offer a space where recent alumni, self-taught, aspiring and emerging artists could have access to and show their work. While working at the museum, I kept a notebook on me at all times, jotting down people and organizations in which I found inspiration. I started talking to my dear friends Ethan Kastner and Meg Zimont. We reached out to other peers we thought would want to participate in a collective studio and gallery, and then we found the space from a Craigslist ad. I really loved Yours Truly and still cherish it. It was everything I needed at the time of its fruition.”

Back to Milwaukee

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Photo by Lainie Harris

Jewelry by Basha Harris

Aquamarine ring by Basha Harris

Harris left Yours Truly upon accepting a job in New York after an awe-inspiring trip to the city assisting the Portrait Society Gallery at the Outsider Art Fair. She moved there in late 2017 before returning to Milwaukee in September 2020. “I was only there for shy of three years, but it felt like 10,” she chuckled about New York. “You really have to learn to understand people, and I think that was my greatest takeaway from being there. You’re constantly exposed to people from all walks of life, and everyone has no choice but to participate in the grind; if you stop, you’ll be trampled. I have never worked harder, nor have I felt more supported by strangers and friends alike. There is a sense of collective trauma that exists in places where stagnance is not an option and your dignity is rooted in survival.”

She recently announced that she is now pursuing jewelry full-time, stating, “Making jewelry and running my business has felt like the most ethical, sustainable and motivating thing for me right now.”

Harris sources both refined and scrap silver and gold to create her jewelry. The main techniques she uses are fabrication, lost-wax casting, and surface casting (using fireproof bricks to melt down and fuse silver while omitting the extra steps of the burn-out process). “My favorite tool is my torch,” she notes. “I have fairly rudimentary equipment so I make what I can with what I have. "Organic" is often used to describe the shapes used in my work - but actually the most organic thing about it is the process. Each piece requires plenty of patience and time."

Pieces are often decorated with gemstones and charms to reflect different moods and environments, or simply to honor the earth’s vibrant bounty. Burnie’s Rock Shop in Madison is a favorite spot for Harris to acquire stones from, but she also collects them from all over, adding, “I try to only buy stones if someone has a specific vision and I don’t have the stone that they want. I’ve been trying to use found and vintage materials more to keep my practice as sustainable as possible.”

Structurally Sound

Harris tries to make every piece structurally sound while also personal and intentional, which allows her to challenge herself with each. “I get inspired by functional hardware, like an iron gate, a belt buckle or a lock and key … anything involving a closure or mechanism that sparks curiosity,” she describes. “I don’t ever want to keep making the same things or mass produce anything in a capitalistic sort of way ... once something is mass-produced, it is no longer art. One-off pieces are more precious and interesting. I never want to stop experimenting.”

Some of Harris’ latest creations include “mismatched” chandelier earrings inspired by U.K.-based jeweler Grainne Morton. “I initially made a pair for a friend when I was living in New York, and I still love them,” Harris shares. “I keep going back and meditating about how to create a narrative with the pieces I have in a way that’s not too direct or kitschy. I enjoy using color and texture to bring abstract themes to life, while also sometimes incorporating representational charms in order to offer a poetic interpretation, tell a story, or transport the wearer to a nostalgic moment.” 

In terms of goals for 2024, Harris hopes to continue building upon both her organic designs and narrative pieces, repurposing materials before buying new. Additionally, she hopes to make time for some of her other creative pursuits, such as tattooing and airbrushing. “I just want to play around with different media and not limit myself,” she affirms. “I hope that my peers and the residents of Milwaukee at large keep wanting more for themselves and for each other. We are lucky to live in a city that, while expanding and pricing many of us out, still holds space for us to build small businesses and participate in slower, tactile methods of learning."

Basha Harris is vending at CIVAL Collective on February 10 and again the next day at the Cactus Club Winter Market on February 11. “I am very excited that my beloved sister Lainie, who makes functional and wearable resin work, is joining me for both,” she mentions.

Visit Basha Harris’ website at bashaharris.com or follow her on Instagram @basha_harris_jewelry.

“Making art reminds me that I’m allowed to be playful, and I want my art to remind you that you are limitless,” Harris concludes.