The Copper Ceremonial Earrings
>>>COPPER•VULTURES<<<
The copper section of Eastern Winds, the first part I began to work on those five years ago, inspired by the African Vulture. The stewards to the land, watching everything from above, cleaning up the remains. An often thankless creature, they are some of my most favorite. I hope you, as I will (thus far, I've only made myself one of the Vultures!), wear them with pride, for they are the unsung rulers of the East African landscape! 🐅🌞✨
These pieces, well, they are special. A big part of my trip was also spent meeting people, naturally, but specifically seeking out artisans. As a jeweler/multi dimensional artist, collecting work from others as well as just discussing their process is a big part of travel for me. ((I also left the trip having given away many of my own personal jewels to people I connected with. I wanted to share my work with them, in gratitude of coming home with work of theirs). The most visible jewelry of Eastern Africa was beaded pieces. Colorful seed beads, each color with its own meaning, and many styles specific to an occassion. The Enkarewa is a traditional hand-made Maasai wedding necklace worn by brides and passed down through the generations. The colours and designs used in each unique necklace symbolise the coming together of the families as well as the entire community. I found these heirlooms incredibly inspiring, as it touches on many reasons I love creating. So, the ceremonial pieces were born, with my VERY LOOSE tribute to these wide brimmed circular necklaces with dangling beads... into metal.
These earrings, each hand fabricated in two circles of hammer textured copper, to catch the light just right. A stamped diamond in the East and West of the pendant, and a "stone" of Vulture feather sits in the Southern position in a serrated fine silver bezel. Hanging from it's setting are three individual chains, the two on the sides ended with textured chain links, the central chain has a bright blue wooden bead (the sky) capped by two tan seed beads (the earth). At the top of the hoop, hand formed sterling silver earring hooks are hugged by the "Northern star", to fit both a standard pierced ear, as well as through tunnels in stretched ears.
The hoops measure 1 7/8" wide, and 3 1/2" long (from the top of the pendant to the bottom of chains).
The sterling silver earring hook wire is 18g.
The earrings weigh roughly .75 oz. a piece.
>>> The Eastern Winds Collection <<<
A three part, mixed metal collection, five years in the making. Inspired by a month I spent in August of 2017, with my mother, in Kenya and Tanzania. A huge trip we shared in both celebration and mourning. It was life changing. I came home and drew this collection, although initially much larger... but then my life changed again. Everything was put on hold. This collection (and the handful of copper pieces I made first) all were tabled in the corner of my studio ever since.
Now, after all these years of working on other aspects of my life, it finally became clear I was ready to finish what I started, and to clear those cobwebs from my memory, and cast these idea back into the wind.
The copper/vulture, the brass/sun, and silver/fauna sections, now a whole collection. Set with African Vulture feathers, Egyptian Geese feathers, life casted Wildebeest teeth, and sparkling Raw Tanzanian Sunstone, all found in the wilds of the Serengeti. Images created in metal from photographs I personally took. Inspired by textiles I've decorated my studio with. I'm so thrilled to release this deeply personal, cathartic, and now, only joy filled, collection with you all! 🐅🌞✨