Background
Worden was born in Boston, Massachusetts in 1954, and raised in Ellensburg, Washington.
Worden was born in Boston, Massachusetts in 1954, and raised in Ellensburg, Washington.
After high school, Worden enrolled in a degree program at Central Washington, earning her Bachelor of Fine Arts in 1977. There she studied with Ken Cory, who taught her jewelry fundamentals and encouraged her to develop her own personal artistic style. In 1980 Worden enrolled in the University of Georgia to study jewelry and metalsmithing under Gary Nofke.
He encouraged her to develop a unique creative voice that was expressed thorough technique and materials.
Worden received her Master of Fine Arts later in 1980.
Her jewelry art is known for weaving together personal narratives with current politics. Worden has exhibited internationally, and her work is represented in collections around the world. These include New York"s Museum of Arts and Design and the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston.
Her parents were both academics.
The family lived near Worden’s grandparents, who lived on a small farm. There Worden learned to use hand tools to express her creativity.
During her senior year she enrolled in undergraduate metalsmithing classes at Central Washington University. After graduate school, Worden worked in retail jewelry and art galleries.
This provided her training in the business aspects of jewelry as an art
During the 1980s, Worden organized shows for other artists, and refined her own style. In the 1990s, she developed a regional reputation. In 2014 the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian Museum acquired her necklace "The Family Reunion 2012." From June through September, 2009, the Tacoma Art Museum presented a major retrospective of Worden’s work, titled Loud Bones: The Jewelry of Nancy Worden.
The exhibit featured 41 pieces from throughout Worden’s 30-year career.
lieutenant was accompanied by a book of the same title. The show was then presented at the Hallie Ford Museum of Art at Willamette University from November 2009 to January 2010.
2009 Loud Bones: The Jewelry of Nancy Worden, Tacoma Art Gallery, Tacoma, Washington 2008 Fear Factor, Traver Gallery, Tacoma, Washington 2005 Modern Artifacts, William Traver Gallery, Seattle, Washington 2001 Adult, Helen Drut Gallery, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 2000 Homework, William Traver Gallery, Seattle, Washington 1998 Armed and Dangerous, William Traver Gallery, Seattle, Washington 1996 Pet Peeves, Mobilia Gallery, Cambridge, Master of Arts 1994 True Confessions, William Traver Gallery, Seattle, Washington 1993 Nancy Worden, Maxine"s Artisan Gallery, San Francisco, California 1984 Eight Brooches, Polly"s Wearable Art, Seattle, Washington.