About
Jesse Lee Jacobs, the artist behind Liberal Jewelry.com and Jesse-international.com, was born on September 22, 1975 in the city of Philadelphia. In one of America's oldest cities, he discovered art in many forms such as music, woodworking and ultimately, silversmithing.
Early creative expressions came in the form of song as early as age 8. Jesse would sing and play every instrument, yet deplore the idea of being referred to as a "musician" but rather as an artist who felt sound is color. His experiences, as well as his interest in Chinese philosophy, dreams and astronomy, would become relevant later in his work. The love of working with his hands came after highschool when he found employment as a woodworker in various Philadelphia cabinet shops.
As Jesse grew tired of blue-prints he would find his second passion in college: metals. His evolution to becoming a silversmith was as natural as it was inevitable. With metals, Jesse could ignore the rigid angles of cabinetry and bridge the gap between melody and shapes.Metals have a wonderful permanency; Jewelry is passed down through generations and is essentially the people and stories of yesteryear.
Jesse freely admits his obsession with making his mark on the world. To him, metals have a wonderful permanency; Jewelry is passed down through generations and is essentially the people and stories of yesteryear. This idea is one of many that drives his hands to work.
In addition to his creation of new pieces in silver, and more recently, in leather, Jesse continues his search for other creative outlets. His latest muse came in the form of a camera. He now plays with the art of film-making, stop motion animation, soundtracks, and editing.
Jesse made his move to Los Angeles in early 2000 where his jewelry found its way into many prestigious LA boutiques. Stylists pull his work for photo shoots and television which pleases Jesse as he believes that television, fashion and film is modern-day mythology.
As a designer, he describes his work as looking like something found in an archaeological dig, or futuristic jewelry for super-heros. Either way, it is truly glamorous. Liberal Jewelry is his first venture into a production line.
Jesse has never had an interest in production line jewelry before, but like all true artists, when there's a point to make or the right cause to support, he will rise to the occasion, never afraid to evolve.
