The Petrified Palm Wood + Cypress Earrings
The Cypress and PPW pieces. Swoon. The design for these earrings and necklace (which took a little longer and will be released when I get back to New Orleans) are easily some of my most favorite in these collections, much like their Forest counterparts. They make a perfecrt set, but will all be listed individually.
These earrings are all hand made, comprised of cypress branches I've collected while canoeing in the swamps of Louisiana, are made out of fine silver, with 24k gold branch buds, and Louisiana Petrified Palm Wood ((which was locally sourced from a Mom and Pop lapidary shop in BR a couple years back, so they fit my desire for only using what comes from my surroundings naturally, even if I didn't hand dig them from the dirt)), shaped by my hands and set in 14k gold bezels. Each piece connected by a circle of 14k gold to symbolize the beauty and strength in our imperfections, and ability to grow past our life’s obstacles. 🖤
The earrings hang from standard gauge sterling silver hooks. They measure just shy of 2" from the base of the earring hook to the tip of the branch and 5/8" wide. They weigh roughly .2oz (5.7g) a piece.
Damaged Goods - A Collection Divided
I am beyond pleased to finally begin unveiling my new works, a full collection of one of a kinds, in four parts. Likened to, and symbolizing the four elements: earth, air, fire and water; there will be collection correlating to each: The Forest, The Swamp, The Desert, and The Ocean. Which brings me to the title of this release, “Damaged Goods”. I started attempting to learn a new skill set three summers ago, and drew up the base of this collection then, but when I returned home to New Orleans I found myself deep in the darkest chapter of my life. Lots of intense trauma, and just a need for survival overpowered any ability to creatively focus on new directions. I had spent a long while attempting to keep all of my plates spinning, but many dropped. I’ve spent the last year and half very seriously working to properly mend those broken plates, which I’ve related on more than one occasion to the Japanese pottery technique of Kintsugi, the art of repairing cracks and damage with gold - to add to its beauty, strength, and value. Which is something I genuinely believe in: when someone actively works at healing their wounds, their trauma becomes growth, understanding, and more value. I wanted to use returning to this collection as a form of healing, so I applied these metaphors and techniques into my original drawings, and I adore the shape its taken. They maintain the integrity of being a true talisman of nature, made directly from materials I’ve found myself, be it the textures I use in the metal pieces or in the stones and shells I set, but also, each piece will contain that metaphor of gold bonds woven throughout to bring the wearer’s life more strength, growth, and value. I hope you treasure wearing these pieces as much I have making them.