Cooking Class or Jewelry Design?

 

I know you are probably thinking that I am at some gourmet cooking school learning to prepare mouth watering marrow bones as only the French can do. No. You are so wrong.

 

Actually I am at the end of a dirt road not far from the shores of Puget Sound! I have made a great discovery. I have found a terrific new source for my jewelry, one that gives new meaning to eco friendly.

I admit it. I am a city girl and not so savvy about wild animals. So I honestly did not know that deer, elk and moose shed their antlers. I have now met someone who is an expert on that topic. He forages the woods and retrieves those antlers!

 

 

Look, he has a whole workshop filled with antlers! You had to be there to appreciate the fact that my new best friend Jerry has been repurposing deer antlers for forty years. Jerry has been doing this since long before we used the word "repurposing!"

 

I know you are wondering what in the world I have planned for my new treasures. I definitely have a plan for these goodies as a part of my 2014 collections. Think organic, eco friendly jewelry, very cool and edgy with an unexpected use of contrasting materials. More will be revealed in later posts. Stay tuned!

 

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Art Imitating Art

So often I am asked where I get my ideas for my jewelry. Like most people who design, I am inspired by everything around me. I often take in information, store it in my subconscious, and reinterpret it when I create. Here are some great examples of my latest creations with some accompanying designs that could easily have been a stimulus for my work. In other words, "Art Imitating Art."

 

 

 

Handwoven color block bracelets could have been rooted in either of the above designs.

 

 

 

Is it possible that these fabulous Swarovski crystal earrings were inspired by those countless orange cones we find at construction sites?

 

 

Ever since I was a child, I have been fascinated with pinwheel designs. That fascination took root in my new Katherine necklaces embellished with suede tassels.

 

 

The ropes and chains of the Tess necklace may be based in some home interior design I have admired similar to the effects in the above photo.

 

 

And if you are fascinated by grids, you can easily understand the basis of my matte hematite and iolite Ellenore cuff bracelet.

 

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