Emergence
Soul Searching Series
Photograph Credit ~ Daniel Krucoff

Another piece from my Soul Searching Series, I call this one Emergence.  The stone is an Amethyst Sage with Dendrites that I purchased from The Clam Shell, while attending the Denver Gem and Mineral Show in September.  I think this is my favorite piece to date.  It evolved as my work tends to do.  I find the stone captivating.

The reason I called this one Emergence is because I see a beautiful white cloud emerging from the stormy surface of a planet….as if a creative spirit has been freed from its bindings and released from the surface that has deep purple and rich rusts that comprise its surface.  It was a very freeing experience for me as I worked on this piece.  Why?  Well, it became more than the original design as I show in this next photo.

Working with metal has opened so many doors for me.  I really do work on my designs for the stones and I don’t just start something without a plan anymore.  I tended to not have specific designs in mind with the wire wrapped glass pieces I made.  Those wire wrapped pieces did turn out rather free form, which worked.  But now that I work with metal and stone, I can’t take that kind of cavalier approach anymore.

As you may have noticed, there are three textured sections in the final piece, not just two.  When the metal was ready for soldering, I looked at it with the stone and realized it wasn’t balanced.  The famous/infamous threes in art!  Keep the balance.  This was part of the fun for me in this piece.  I drew what I felt was the appropriate accent on the right side of the piece to draw attention to the shape of the stone and balance this pendant.  I found it worked.  And it made me very happy to realize that I could still capture some of that free ‘spirit-ness’ that made my wire wrap so unique.  I like carrying that into my metal work too!

I used Sterling Silver for the setting and applied liver of sulfur gel, with a hint of ammonia, to create the rainbow of colors that you see on the metal.  A couple of the textured components were overlaid to create the depth. And I really like adding the diamond shaped pieces of silver at the bottom.  I love the way this one moves too.

This piece truly symbolizes how I feel about my artistic spirit emerging as I grow with metal.  It wouldn’t be complete without me mentioning Lexi Erickson, my teacher/friend/mentor/sister.  She nurtures and nourishes me as a metalsmith, a person, an artist, and a friend.  Thank you Lexi!

I have been absent over the Thanksgiving holiday, but rest assured that I have more pieces in the works.  I look forward to sharing them with you soon.

Until the next time, aspire to be more as an artist and a person!