Rebekah Frank
she/her Program Officer
Rebekah took her first welding course just out of high school. More than twenty-five years later, she’s fully invested in material-based making, with steel as her chosen material.
She has worked for artists, architects and engineers as a skilled maker, as well as maintained her own studio practice. She exhibits, lectures and loves thinking and writing about all things related to art and craft. Her education includes an associate of arts in mathematics, an associates of science in welding Ttechnology, a bachelor in fine arts and masters in fine arts in metalsmithing. An avid traveler, she's taken specialized courses in coppersmithing in Santa Clara del Cobre, Michoacan, Mexico; blacksmithing in En Shemer, Israel, and welding in Koblenz, Germany. After attending Cranbrook Academy of Art, Rebekah worked her way up from volunteer to executive director of Art Jewelry Forum, an international arts advocacy nonprofit focused on the unique creative space of art jewelry.
From her San Francisco studio, her creative practice explores themes of protection, vulnerability and boundaries. Her work can take the form of a piece of jewelry, a sculpture, a drawing, a monoprint or a container with steel being a constant presence and influence. In addition, Rebekah writes about artists with a strong material focus. Her articles have been published in outlets including Metalsmith Magazine and American Craft. In 2023, she was the guest editor of a Surface Design Journal special issue featuring LGBTQIA+ writers and textile-based makers.
Rebekah is deeply invested in the value of material knowledge and the joyous discovery that hands-on making brings to people. While she's happiest in the studio with grimy hands and a smudged face, she also finds pleasure in long motorcycle rides along the California coast on a vintage bike she's had almost as long as she's known how to weld.
