Annie Hammer was predestined to be an artist. Surrounded by art as a child, her grandmother has a museum quality collection featuring Pablo Picasso, Paul Klee, George Braque, David Smith, Arp, Archapinko, Man Ray, Brancusi. Hammer found her niche in her 30's as a jewelry designer. For Annie, jewelry is a simple innate way of looking at the world. "I envision things in sculptural form and then create it into jewelry," she says.
Annie's work shows the graphic design sensibilities of an artist comfortable with the dynamics of form and rhythm. "I know where the eye needs to move," she says. She mixes shapes and textures to create elegantly balanced pieces. "Everything is very detailed. There is a reason for everything - color, stone shape, proportion and movement." Annie has an instinctive knack for knowing the kind of design that will fulfill the season's fashion look and yet remain a timeless piece.
Hammer began her adventure into the art world with a year of study at Chicago's Art Institute followed by formal training as a Windy City jeweler's apprentice. Exchanging city living for the desert, Annie moved to Tucson, Arizona, where she earned a degree in graphic design from The University of Arizona. A position as a graphic designer at the city's ABC television affiliate gave her a taste of the commercial world and taught her how to blend the purely artistic with a commercial mind set for success. She began designing jewelry evolving from costume pieces to a finer look using silver, gold, semi-precious stones and pearls—which is her signature today.
