Peaceful Surroundings
Photo Credit ~ Daniel Krucoff

Another pendant in my Soul Searching Series, this one I call “Peaceful Surroundings“.  I have been able to complete a number of art jewelry pieces over the holiday break and it’s nice to reveal this one at the beginning of 2010.  I feel it represents many of the good things to come in this new year.

The stone in this setting is Dendrites in Limestone that I purchased from Gary B. Wilson at the Gem & Mineral Show in Denver this past September.  I textured the metal to carry the dendrite markings from the stone into the surrounding setting.  This is set in Sterling Silver and I added 24kt Keum Boo to the top piece.  I thought the gold was a nice touch to sort of extend the rich color of the limestone into the top piece.  I oxidized the sterling with a liver of sulfur and as I worked with it, I wanted to emphasize the texture I had added to represent the dendrite extensions into the metal.

I find that the name for a piece is an interesting process for me.  Sometime it comes to me as I start the design.  In other cases, nothing manifests until it is complete.  This time, it was the latter.  As I looked at the completed pendant, I saw some of the gentle grasses that line the hiking trails in the Tetons.  I always feel at peace when I’m in the Tetons and there was my title, Peaceful Surroundings.

Wishing all of you a healthy, happy, and peaceful 2010.

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