The arts of Kolby Fehlberg-Burns developed during early childhood, drawing and painting from her vivid imagination.

She grew up surrounded by the arts and artists in many media.  It has been a major part of her everyday life.  She continued her arts education at Montana State University, Bozeman, Montana and earned her degree of Bachelor of Fine Arts with a print making emphasis.  Her prints have been juried into exhibitions and art auctions and are in private collections. Kolby Fehlberg-Burns has taught classes in several art mediums, curated exhibitions and was an Art Gallery Director. 

Her unique color sensitivity is evident in her selections of beads from many states and countries.   Each piece has its own character from elegance and subtle colors to bold and playful.

Kolby’s jewelry in recent years, created with beads, gemstones, fresh water pearls and silver,  has appeared in exhibitions and is in private collections.

Kolby J. Fehlberg's Jewelry

INTERVIEW - I asked myself the same questions that we ask our artists, and this is what I had to say:

What inspires you as a designer/artist?

My inspiration comes from everywhere, from driving down the road to the beach to even mowing the lawn in the early evening in Maui.  We like to take the back roads whenever possible; there is always something to look at. The color of light on a field, an old sign, even just letting my mind wander comes up with an idea. I like paper, always have.  So I like to visit paper and ephemera stores, boutiques for handcrafted home accessories, furniture.  My beads often sit in their cabinet and one will come to mind when I’m not even thinking beads and I will know instantly what I want to make with it. 

Do you sketch out your designs before creating them? 

No, never have for any of the artwork I have created.  When I was making prints, I would just sit down and draw out the design and go from there.  No color sketch or anything.  I would start with a base color and build the color up layer by layer, just as the print was “talking” to me.  This is how I design my jewelry.  The beads just “talk” to me.  I have a vast collection of beads which is always growing.  I don’t say “I going to make a necklace”, go to the store and pick out a couple of beads as the focal point and then add to the beads, counting and laying out as I go at the store. I pick out some beads from my collection, add some more, change some out and add some others.  I do this while I am stringing or creating the piece.  I may get up out of my chair a dozen times changing the beads I am using. I don’t sit at the table to work but rather in a recliner with my feet up.

Do you have an artistic background/education?

Yes, big time, do I have an artistic background!  My father is an architect/photographer and my mother a photographer/writer.  From a very early age, we would go to artist gatherings.  Our family friends were and are artists.  Many well known artists are our family friends.  We kids (2 girls and 2 boys) were encouraged to try every media.  We had a shop where we could make jewelry, throw pots, make wood sculptures, we worked in the fiber arts, and we even had a darkroom where we could develop our own film and make prints. If we wanted to we could take a class or workshop in metal smithing, ceramics, what ever was of interest to us.  In the summer, we would demonstrate Raku ceramics at the country fair as part of an artist-in-residence program. Firing the pots in an open kiln and pulling them out while they were still red hot and placing them in grass to cool and get that smoky black, crackled finish Raku pots are famous for.  It always amazed people that our parents would allow us to do that! We were encouraged to submit our art to juried shows where mostly adults would submit their work and our pieces were accepted.  We were always working on some form of artwork.   

In college, I started out in graphic design, changed to metal smithing and finished with a Bachelor of Fine Arts with a Printmaking Emphasis. I spent the last couple of college years taking independent studio classes where I was allowed to create prints all day, everyday.  That is where I was able to explore the use of color, playing one color off of another and using color opposites, hues, contrasts to create prints and taking paths that were of interest to me, trying and creating new techniques.

When and how did you begin making jewelry? 

I began making jewelry seriously as a teenager.  I started with wire working, using some of the techniques that are popular right now.  As a teenager, I even taught a wire working class for a time.  When I was in college, the town had a wonderful bead store with imported beads from everywhere.  Very bohemian.  They had vintage African trade beads, wonderful imported brass beads and other beautiful beads.  Back then the wonderful toggle clasps, crimps, etc. were not available.  I had to use brass fishing swivels for the clasps. 

Describe your artistic style.

My artistic style changes with the weather.  No really I just make what comes to mind.  It can be contemporary or more bohemian.  I just really do not make delicate, Victorian jewelry unless it has more of an edge to it. I make what ever comes to mind from images I have seen, color combinations, seed bead techniques I want to try or just what feels right at the time.