Pair of spoons

Mildred Watkins served as a guiding creative force within the dynamic and innovative community of Arts and Crafts artists in Cleveland, Ohio. The Arts and Crafts Movement’s interest in reviving medieval techniques of enameling found particularly skilled and inventive expression in Watkins’ work, as evident in the subtle textures and jewel-like effect achieved in the delicate white flowers on these spoons.




After graduating from the Cleveland School of Art in 1901, Watkins spent time in Boston studying metalsmithing with the silversmith George C. Gebelein and enameling with Laurin Hovey Martin. Best known for her enameled work, Watkins was active throughout her life as a metalsmith and jeweler. She taught at the Cleveland School of Art (later the Cleveland Institute of Art) from 1918 to 1953 and studied and worked with many of her fellow Cleveland metalsmiths including Horace Potter, Jane Carson, and Frances Barnum.