I create my jewelry designs drawing inspiration from each carefully chosen fine gemstone.  Combining curvilinear silver to create a distinct melodic energy in each piece while considering every element of the jewelry as worthy of design, I often manifest a new functionality.

 

The stones are chosen one-by-one at gem shows where I pour over piles of gems to find the individual pieces which spark a tingle of excitement in me. I recognize this tingle as a message which will eventually translate into a piece of jewelry with extraordinary dynamics.  Other than this initial feeling for a stone, premeditated sketches of design elude me.  I prepare "sticks" of silver in random lengths and thicknesses as well as solid balls of silver. With these on hand I contemplate a particular stick or two alongside the stone. Shorter sticks will have a swoosh effect. Longer sticks will loop and wind around and back. Balls have a staccato effect. Unlimited are the combinations I can make with these sticks and balls. The curves the sticks become produce character. The character of the curves evolves. The interplay between sticks and stones varies depending on the point at which they are joined and then again by a staccato ball placed sometimes a balancing point, sometimes as an accent.

 

Balance. Symmetry. Asymmetry. I think in terms of balance. Quite literally in regards to my pendants. The positions of the asymmetrical curving designs mean that the application of the bale (portion through which the necklace passes) determines the success of the piece.  I must lift the newly soldered pendant off of the soldering pad and hold it up by the bale to see if it is in balance. Instinct is strong within me and I succeed more times than not in creating a complex and comfortable balance in the work.

 

Another wave of excitement comes after the extensive, labor-intensive polishing of the silver that has been altered by the high temperatures of the torch in the soldering stages.  This is the moment of setting the stone, without use of adhesives, but through moving the silver metal over the stone to hold it securely in place.  With stone set, piece complete, a broad consciousness arrives. The previous stages of the creative process occur in different levels of consciousness, connections to Spirit.

 

A piece complete. A character created. Time to relax and look forward to the final chapter for the piece . . . finding its person.