Emily Booker

Jewelry

Chapel Hill | Exhibiting Since 2026

Emily Booker is a jeweler, metalsmith, and mixed media artist from Chapel Hill, NC. She received her BA in Studio art from University of Vermont before honing her technical skills while employed as a bench jeweler and starting her own fine jewelry line, Ursa Metals. Emily received her MFA from East Carolina University (NC) with a concentration in Metal Design in 2024 where she explored conceptual jewelry and sculpture. She is currently working to build a studio practice that balances wearable art and expressive sculptures.
The layering and juxtaposition of materials—their textures, colors, imagery, and implied values—has always been influential in my work. I am currently working with metal, stone, textiles, paper, and light to explore the subjectivity of perception, how that becomes memories that distort over time, and the weight of those memories we carry with us. By using material as representation for the differences between perceived reality and remembered experience, I aim to acknowledge the existence of multiple perspectives — and the validity of each one.
My jewelry is an extension of my fascination with the natural world. While my sculptures mimic the weathered form of riverstones, my jewelry incorporates cabochons and gemstones that reveal the colors and patterns of the world around us. I find inspiration in the individual beauty of each stone and strive to accentuate that uniqueness in each piece I create. I am particularly drawn to dendritic agate as each stone has a unique growth pattern that often reminds me of little paintings or landscapes. Each piece is handmade with sterling silver and occasion accents of 14k gold.