The Silver Ceremonial Necklace
>>>SILVER•FAUNA<<<
The silver section of Eastern Winds, inspired by the fauna of the Savannah. You can't have an ode to Eastern Africa without showcasing the wildlife that makes the lands feel so full and rich. Excited to share with you these creatures less celebrated, but endlessly deserving! 🐅🌞✨
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 hone 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.
This necklace, hand fabricated in two circle of hammer textured sterling, to catch the light just right. A stamped diamond in the North, South, East, and West of the pendant. The bottom one possessing a "stone" of shimmering black and green Eypitian Goose feather in a scalloped bezel. Hanging from this bottom "diamond" are three individually hand fabricated chains, each with stamped charms dancing from the bottom. A stamped tube bail at the top holds a long and dazzling sterling silver figaro chain.
The pendant measures 3" tall and 2 1/2" wide.
The handmade chains are 1 3/4" long, making the piece from the top of the pendant to the bottom of the chains 4 1/2" long.The sterling silver figaro chain is 30" long.
The piece weighs 1.32 oz.
>>> 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! 🐅🌞✨