There is a philosophical journey I embark on when I am crafting a brand new piece of jewelry, and it is the depth of that journey that guides me to the final state.
I have been asked many times about where my interest in jewelry began. I think most people are, understandably, expecting a story that goes back generations, where I am digging through my grandmas jewelry box filled with adornments her grandmother gave her mother and then eventually gifted to her. In admiration, my young brain begins to water the seed of what would later become a flourishing garden of a business. However, my interest in jewelry has no such genesis. I have found my passion for this craft to have grown through its disastrous and magical process. In the end, I am left with a product of ancient learnings and personal story.
I love documenting the process not only as a reminder of my skillset, but because the process itself and the evolution of the final product is something I want to so desperately preserve. If my vision for the final piece wasn’t so strong, I would definitely leave some pieces in their fire-scaled state.
As we enter the new year, I want to take some time to honor some of my most cherished pieces in their in-progress state, because the evolution of a thing is powerful and deserves recognition.
The process of these pieces are undeniably gorgeous. From a single sheet of thin metal, I am able to add, manipulative, move, and seemingly grow fiction and fantasy into a slab of something ancient. My flow of the poetry really begins here. First is a sketch and an idea, but I begin the prose as my tactile experience with the material commences.
I see a swan alone at midnight, on a shimmery, lone river. The city is finally silent, and the noise of her glide is only loud enough for her. It is this moment of solitude where she remembers the beauty she elicits is just as beautiful when it is just for her. I begin etching her image onto the silver. I mess up a lot. The darkness of the night is present in the shape and outside of my Florentine studio. In the photo to the right, she is already glistening in midnight moonlight. I end the day here.
The next day, I add the twisted texture to the perimeter of what has become the pendant. The texture adds an aura of preservation. We watch the solo swan through our lens, whether it be a binocular or within a frame. Through this process, the swan has become white from 1200 degree Farenheit flame. I love it here. A natural color has surfaced from the silver and has covered the image. You can see this on the back of the large image above as well. A Northern Light aura raises and paints the piece in a gentle wash. I will usually just hold and admire the piece here. I photograph and document, because the piece must be finished.
Midnight Swan eats berries she collected in the daylight. Midnight Swan could taste the stars. As she enjoyed the gift of these winter berries, she heard the stars call her name. She liked to kiss the stars through their reflection in her water. One kiss, one berry, and only the sound of her body in the water. No one else.
The Grand Swan was one of my favorite processes of a piece I have done. Each step added a stanza to the final work. The photo above perfectly showcases why I would enjoy the stunning process of a creation. While I was working on this profoundly tedious Swan, I would pause and practice or drift into exhaustion on the frame of the swan. This was an unintentional frame, just necessary for the creation of this pendant. On the sixth or seventh hour in the studio, maybe I’d lay my head on the bench and etch feather ideas around her. Later, once I cut her body from the metal, I realized how stunning the whole of it was. It was like the Swan was released from her lifelong and binding frame, to begin her new world of evolution. The frame, though, still holding onto parts of her; an eternal space for her being. I would then keep this frame because she was just too beautiful to let go of.
When initially sketching this piece, I had an idea to make a large and moving swan as a representation of evolution. I chose evolution because I knew this pendant would be dynamic and more different than any piece I had made before. I was in Italy for the first time, alone, learning from someone I had only talked to once before, but I felt beautiful and powerful.
The Grand Swan became one of my most loved pieces throughout my internet presence. The beauty of this piece was that I created it with no intention to ever reproduce. It was detailed and profound and just for me. Later, I’d simplify it to offer to my most loyal customers who understand the depth of where a piece like this would come from.
The Heirloom
The color change of the jewelry in-progress is a huge source of my adoration for the process. The relationship between the chemistry and artistry reminds me of an impending harmony. Aside from the piece itself evolving, the intense process of handling fire and chemicals to create something luxurious and gorgeous is part of the magic. The colors then change, and the warm earth colors erupt onto the surface of the brass and create a marbled lake.
With the exception of the Heirloom Nameplates on the bottom of the gallery, these pieces were not made with the intention of reproduction. The feedback I have gotten from my most kind followers and customers have urged me to make a version for purchase to add to their collection, and those who have bought it or have admired it understand the depth of their creation. You can purchases these pieces here.
I love the process. The process of creation. The process of idea. The process of resolution. The process of learning. Without the process, there is no result. Whether the process is disaster or it is profound, it is necessary, and it is yours.
