UA Little Rock’s School of Art and Design Launches Jewelry and Metalsmithing Internship Program – News
In the summer of 2023, three UA Little Rock students participated in the inaugural Jewelry and Metalsmithing Internship Program created by Professor Lydia Martin, a Windgate Artist-in-Residence, in partnership with Career Services and the College of Humanities, Arts, Social Sciences, and Education.
Bob Baldridge, Bailey Holley, and Brice Horn are three jewelry and metalsmithing students who took part in the program that culminated in a four-week out-of-state internship. Bob Baldridge interned with the Baltimore Jewelry Center, Bailey Holley interned with Halstead Bead Company in Prescott, Arizona, and Brice Horn interned with Heather Guidero Jewelry in Providence, Rhode Island.
Martin, who started at UA Little Rock in the fall of 2021 as a Windgate Artist-in-Residence, created the program with collaborative mentorship in mind. Students first applied for the program, they were mentored by Martin himself, then the students conducted a research project in a field of their interest.
“Each internship created was individualized to fit the needs of the partnering organization and the interests of the students,” Martin said. “While my mentorship is closely tied to the studio classroom and how best to prepare students for an upcoming experience such as this, the mentorship received from the partnering organization was specialized,