Upcycled Elegance: Clementine James Jewelry

Upcycling can give useless or damaged

materials a new life. It's inspiring to see

jewelry artists take something disposable

and re-design it to create

something of value.

We've featured several in previous posts:

such as Harriete Estel Berman using

recycled tin cans;

Holly Anne Mitchell and her use

of discarded newspapers.

We've seen upcycling occur in the

works of Emiko Oye

and Alice Sprintzen.

They all have proven their ability

to expose the hidden potential in

seemingly ordinary objects.

Today we're featuring

Clementine James who is a

treasure hunter - she finds and

gathers disparate objects to create

lusciously beautiful jewelry, and

each item becomes seamlessly

integrated into her

artistic creations.

Old, broken pieces of things, pebbles, lace,

 fabric, are all lovingly upcycled into

wearable jewels.

Fun and elegance find a home together.

She enchants us with her use of recycled

and vintage items.



Average, ordinary, commonplace items

enter a metamorphosis to become

one-of-a-kind items of jewelry.

We are inspired by artists who are using objects

that had a previous life and are creating

something with a different purpose.

Creating thoughtful and resourceful

 reused and repurposed items

provides us with unlimited beauty.

Enjoy!

Caroline Viene Jewelry

Some people follow their own internal compass.

Caroline Viene unleashes her inner visions

by creating wonderfully decorative jewelry.

Drawing upon her on metalsmithing

background, and utilizing techniques

such as reticulation, fusing,

embossing and roller printing

she purposely sets out to explore 

her own processes in patination,

surface texturing and patterning on 

 metal. 

Her vision is then set free to create

pieces that are richly textured

with strong coloration.
And each piece is more
appealing than the last.

Multiple layers of metal and processes

produce complex pieces filled

with visual and textural interest.

These pieces highlight the techniques she

masterfully incorporates in her work.

True to her training, she uses traditional

metalsmithing techniques to display

her distinctly unique vision.

Color and texture are deftly handled

by this artist who creates not just a piece

of jewelry but a sculptural piece of art.

We believe that the key to

creating art jewelry is

to find a way to express

one's inner vision.

This artist definitely succeeds.

Porcelain and Sterling Jewelry: Pauline Edie

Contemporary jewelry artists find

inspiration everywhere.

Taking her inspiration from childhood stories

and fairy tales, Pauline Edie creates
one-of-a-kind jewelry using

sterling silver and white porcelain.

Beginning each piece by illustrating an

idea or a story from folklore, she

creates a metal framework then incorporates

white porcelain clay into each work.

Some of her pieces also include her

drawings being transferred directly

onto the porcelain.

This necklace is aptly named

Raphunzel's Hair.

here is the 

 Raphunzel brooch



this one is called a petal necklace

This Raphunzel drawing necklace

 features the artist's hand drawing. 

These are called Sleeping Beauty Rings

Every piece tells a story.

What begins as a source of inspiration

leads to a wonderful result

filled with imagination

and creativity.

Enjoy!

Felt Jewelry by Danielle Gori-Montanelli

Let's consider three definitions of

the word felt:

as a type of cloth formed when wool

fibers are mixed with moisture,

heat and pressure;

as the past tense of the verb 'to feel'

 describing one's emotional reactions;

and as a term to

explain the tactile, physical

sensations of an object.

Few people would

attribute this trio of terminology

to one artist's work, but

 all three can be appropriately used

when discovering the jewelry and

accessories created by

Danielle Gori-Montanelli.

She designs with felt cloth making

wonderful pieces of wearable art.

While she doesn't actually make her

 own felt cloth, she does sew every

piece of her creations by hand with

 needle and thread.

  Her creative process is improvisational.

Her creations are multi-dimensional.

Vibrant colors and thick structural

elements combine in myriad ways

emerging as lush, dense sculptures.

Colorful is just the beginning.

Highly textured is an understatement.

Whether she uses spectral colors or

monochromatic themes each

piece is a work of art.

This composition is breathtaking.

This artist transforms simple felt cloth

into multi-dimensional, vibrantly-colored

colossal works that inspire and delight.

This large-scale work provides

 large-scale inspiration.

Enjoy!

Lacy & Dainty Jewelry by Amy C. Mackay

We have recently become aware

of some lovely jewelry

designed by Amy C. Mackay.

Her one-of-a-kind works

are made to resemble nests and

this inspiration carries through

her entire jewelry line as well as

a line of sculptural vessels.

The time and energy

devoted to her work rewards

all of us with beautiful, elegant objects

 that simply exude delicacy and texture.

Here's a great example of what
we're talking about.

 

Each intertwined concave

surface provides immense texture

and interest.

Yet, they're so dainty and romantic.

   

These sweet little numbers may look fragile

but they're not.

We appreciate her

delicate manipulation of fine metal wires

to create pieces that are lacy

yet strong at the same time.

 

We find Amy's work to be rather

creative and imaginative.

We'd love to know what you think.

Feel free to leave us a comment.

Paper Beauty: Sabrina Meyns Jewelry

Handmade paper and

precious metal can transform magically

into exquisite petals and flowers

in the hands of an artist.

Jewelry created by

Sabrina Meyns is inspired by

the botanical world around us

while she inspires us with her creativity

and proficient skills in papermaking

and jewelry design.

Here's a snippet of how she describes her work

 on her website:

“For my work I draw my inspiration from the garden, focusing particularly on the late summer and autumn periods. I am especially fascinated by the delicate qualities of seedpods and the miniature elements that are seeds. . . The gold and silver details represent the precious seed held in their fragile vessels, waiting to fall and grow.”

We love the fragility and delicacy

in this brooch. The subtle, neutral

colors add to the effect.

It's fascinating to see her include the tiniest details

of each floral structure like the pistils, stamens

and minuscule seeds.

This brooch is almost translucent

yet shows each lovely detail.

Monochromatic tones enhance

the overall effect.

Last but not least,

when you create your own paper

you get to make the colors as intense

as you like.

Love it!

We want one of everything!

Yoko Izawa Jewelry

The fiber-art-inspired aesthetic of Yoko Izawa's

veiled jewelry collection appeals to 

individuals looking to push the boundaries

of the ordinary and the typical.

 Experimenting with unorthodox materials

 has empowered this artist

to create a jewelry collection that 

addresses her personal search

 for the 'elusive and the ambiguous.'

There are spiritual and philosophical

 themes running through her personal

 narrative and she describes them at

length on her website:

When immersed in creative activities I feel that the sense of beauty and value within my culture surfaces and molds my work. For my means of expression, I feel more comfortable when the work has a quality of ambiguity or transience. My interest has been for sometime in containing, covering, or wrapping things. The search has been for something elusive. The function and material nature of jewellery does not concern me as much as the presence and feeling of an object. Veiled jewellery reflects my assumption that although certainty is often required in modern society, ambiguous expression has been the most distinctive characteristic found in Japanese values and religious beliefs.

The genesis of veiling her work is rather

interesting. Her process begins with 

cloth design. Using an industrial-size

knitting machine she transforms Lycra

and Nylon thread into tubular structures.

 The mesh-like, ribbed cloth is then

 hand dyed, and the entire piece of

 jewelry usually will be created

using one continuous piece

of fabric dyed one solid color.

It's not until these components are in place

that she then fills the cloth tubing with 

curvilinear shapes cut from

sheets of polpropylene resin.

The process sounds rather unyielding

but the effects are very supple and graceful.

For instance, this monochromatic piece

has an insert that

produces a wavy, undulating effect.

Multi-toned color

combinations are achieved by inserting

different colored pieces of polpropylene.

 Each insert adds its

own shape, dimension and variation

of color to the whole.

It's interesting how each enveloped disc

contributes its own subtle color and 

 a sense of resistance

with suppleness at the same time.

 These

voluminous coils are

especially remarkable.

The mesh cloth shows off the

interlaced curves of each piece

in distinct ways.

While volume, structure and texture is what

describes her work,

her aesthetic is what gives it meaning.

Her work successfully evokes a sense of something

ethereal, ambiguous and elusive.

We're inspired by her original techniques

and compelling color palettes.

By combining her signature

surface textures

with unusual shapes,

this artist has created elegant, original jewelry.

We hope you enjoy it as much

as we do.