Booth 511
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About the Artist
As a jewelry artist, I strive to tell whole stories in the form of silver and gold wearable sculptures. Conceptually, I am inspired by creations stories, both geological and spiritual, and my work is a meditation on how process and concept poetically overlap. It is a study in dichotomies: rugged yet elegant, ancient yet modern, bold yet delicate, dark yet light. The act of creation often involves destruction. While making, whole creation scenes play out in my imagination as I pierce, saw, and carve into metal only to join it back to itself in new ways with the torch flame. Through fabrication, forging, fusing, and a special technique that I call "flow," which is a hallmark of my work, I seek to express my ideas using traditional metalsmithing techniques in unconventional ways. Using the heat of the torch, I flow high karat alloys of gold on top of sterling. This process allows me to "draw" on the surface of the metal creating unique textures and compositions. Using this technique, I work on two collections in tandem. The "Genesis" collection explores spiritual creation stories and is a mediation on the beauty of simplicity with the molten gold representing smooth beams of light shooting through the dark silver. The Primordia collection is an exploration of the geological processes that form the landscape. It demonstrates a more earthy, yet still refined, and complex aesthetic with fused silver dust texture mimicking lava rock and the liquid gold representing flows of newly surfacing magma. The Primordia "Carved Lands" cuff demonstrates this fused silver dust texture that has been flooded with a flow of 18 karat yellow golden "lava." The gold lava seems to pour forth from the carved negative space as it would from a crack in the earth's crust. Hand formed arcs of solid 18 karat yellow gold bridge the divide and create added visual interest. A stunning teal blue sapphire adds color and sparkle while 6 flush set white diamonds add a hint of extra refined glamor to the piece. The refined stones against the rugged texture, the warm gold against the dark oxidized silver, and the refined shape of the cuff against the craggy negative space in the design highlight the juxtaposition of rustic and elegant that I strive to bring to my work. These are the tools used to visually express the power of creation stories through jewelry, and with them I seek to merge the physical, geological, and spiritual. I believe that jewelry holds a special power to act as small wearable metaphors that express big, awe inspiring ideas, and my work explores big questions through precious every day reminders of who we are, where we come from, and, perhaps, where we might ascend.
