Three pairs of my Radiolaria earrings have been juried into in this international earring exhibition + sale . Wearable sculptural art created by 90 international artists is on display in-person and online. The International Juried Earring Exhibit + Sale is an annual fundraiser for the Craft Council British Columbia. CCBC is located in beautiful Vancouver, …
WE ARE SNAG: Anthology 2023 is online now and includes this piece I created in 2023! The 3rd edition of the SNAG members online exhibition is not to be missed. Spring Radiolaria Brooch-Necklace6.6 x 3.26 x 0.8 cm Spring Radiolaria brooch/necklace began as an enlarged hand drawing of a microscopic creature. Mentally deconstructing the zooplankton …
Inspiration to Creation of the Snowflake Coral Jewelry Series
The idea for a snowflake coral series came to me as I was observing the invasive coral species while SCUBA diving in the Hawaiian Islands. The earring designs began as hand drawings. The digitized drawings were converted into CAD drawings and sent to a local sheet metal shop to be fiber laser cut into sheets of sterling silver. Laser technology for the shiny highly conductive metal was a hurdle jumped with the help of the sheet metal shop team and the research department of a global laser equipment company. The earrings were hand built and hand finished. [Scroll down to continue reading]
Snowflake Coral Colonizing
Snowflake Coral Polyps Reaching Orange
Snowflake Coral Polyps Floating
Snowflake Coral Polyps Floating Angle
Snowflake Coral Polyps Floating Red
Snowflake Coral Polyps Reaching
Snowflake Coral Polyps Reaching Red
Snowflake Coral Polyps Reaching Coral
Snowflake Coral Polyps Reaching Teal
Snowflake Coral Polyps White Reaching Earrings
Snowflake Coral Polyps Red Reaching Earrings
Snowflake Coral Polyps Red Deep Earrings
Snowflake Coral is one species of coral that might survive and thrive in the ocean while other species struggle. Snowflake Coral polyps travel around the world in ship bilges. When the ship docks, polyps leave the bilge with the sea water and attach to the local reef, build colonies, and send out more polyps. The newly colonized shores frequently have no Snowflake Coral predators, such as the Hawaiian islands of Lanai’i and Hawai’i where I witnessed the coral.
How and why the sea and it’s creatures change is important for me to voice in my art. Humans deconstruct nature to figure it out. Corporations rebuild nature as genetically modified organisms. Plastics and other contaminants in our oceans lead to genetic mutations. My snowflake coral designs are modifications of the organisms deconstructed into flat layers of recycled sterling silver. Reconstructed with industrially produced stainless steel screws and nuts, my snowflake coral earrings are wearable portrayals of stories within our oceans. Suede and hide scraps from a local purse maker add eye catching color.
UNDERWATER MARVELS PROPEL MY ART My art jewelry is an expression of gratitude to the ocean and my way of giving it a voice. Experiencing the wonders and fragility of marine ecosystems while SCUBA diving, propels me to create jewelry which evokes vivid memories of beautiful ocean scenes while leaving sea creatures and the seaside untouched. All pieces are crafted by hand, and each work of art is unique.
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I’m a long time member of these metal arts guilds
In the underwater photo above, I am near a frogfish in the waters of Hawai’i. Photo by Mikhail Rudenko
Awards & Recognition
Finalist in the Silver Category of the 2007 Saul Bell International Design Award Competition for “Modern Frills” pendant / brooch
Second place winner in 2016 ENDANGERED: Art for Apes juried exhibition wearable art category for “Collosphaera Huxleyi, Müller, DMO Trio Red” pendant / brooch